Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Amira McKee<\/p>\n
WHAT COULD BE ON TAP FOR 2028: There\u2019s never been a full-fledged partisan gerrymander on the books for New York\u2019s congressional districts.<\/p>\n
Democrats and Republicans have split power in Albany during most modern redistricting cycles. When they didn\u2019t in 2024, the lines drawn by Democrats<\/a> after a series of court battles were nowhere near as aggressive as some partisans hoped.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul now wants to change that<\/a> in response to similar Republican efforts in Texas.<\/p>\n Redrawing the lines would be complicated in the Empire State. It couldn\u2019t happen until 2028 at the earliest, and even then, it could only move forward if voters approve a constitutional amendment to permit a mid-decade gerrymander.<\/p>\n But that begs a big question: What would an all-out New York gerrymander look like? The political realities of 2028 are tough to predict. Some incumbents will be gone by then, and political shifts could come to various pockets of the state. And if President Donald Trump has his way, a new Census<\/a> could throw the current mapmaking calculus out the window. But as things stand now, at least two Republicans have reason to fret, and maybe as many as four.<\/p>\n Rep. Nicole Malliotakis has topped 60 percent in the past two elections. Her district currently encompasses Staten Island and merges it with portions of Brooklyn mostly to the east of the Verrazzano Bridge, most of them Republican-friendly.<\/p>\n In 2022, Democrats wanted to extend the district further north into Brooklyn to include portions of the left-leaning enclave of Park Slope. Enacting such a plan would turn the district into a battleground. A more aggressive approach \u2014 harkening back to a map used in the 1970s \u2014 would merge Staten Island with parts of Manhattan.<\/p>\n In Westchester, Democratic Rep. George Latimer has a lot of breathing room \u2014 he received 72 percent of the vote in 2024. Republican Rep. Mike Lawler doesn\u2019t \u2014 he received 52 percent. There are towns, such as the ones immediately south of the Tappan Zee, that could be swapped from Latimer\u2019s district to Lawler\u2019s, growing the number of Democrats in the Republican\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n The four Congressional seats on Long Island are currently split between Democratic Reps. Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi and Republican Reps. Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could pull Suozzi\u2019s district more into the city. You could pull Gillen\u2019s district more into Gregory Meeks\u2019 territory,\u201d Hofstra University\u2019s Larry Levy said, referring to the Queens Congress member.<\/p>\n That would allow for some portions of the Suozzi and Gillen districts to be merged with the Democratic strongholds currently situated in Republican districts: \u201cYou probably could make either Garbarino or LaLota more vulnerable, but not both,\u201d Levy said.<\/p>\n In the western half of upstate, Democratic Rep. Tim Kennedy and Republican Reps. Claudia Tenney and Nick Langworthy each received around 65 percent of the vote in 2024. Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle got 60 percent.<\/p>\n There might be a path to joining slices of the Kennedy and Morelle seats with Democratic-friendly towns like Geneva and Oswego, allowing the Tenney district to become a bit more competitive.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s not much to work with.<\/p>\n \u201cKennedy and Morelle are kind of islands of Democrats in a sea of Republicans,\u201d one Buffalo Democrat said. With that in mind, the end result might just be jeopardizing two Democrats without actually making the Tenney seat winnable. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n MAMDANI TURNS UP PRESSURE: Zohran Mamdani sought to press his advantage today among Democrats who have yet to support him by leveraging a New York Times report<\/a> that rival Andrew Cuomo and President Donald Trump have discussed the mayoral race.<\/p>\n \u201cMy administration will be Donald Trump\u2019s worst nightmare,\u201d Mamdani declared, predicting his policies to boost working-class New Yorkers would show how Trump has failed those communities.<\/p>\n The Democratic nominee for mayor accused Cuomo of \u201cconspiring\u201d with Trump. He spoke to reporters in Lower Manhattan outside 26 Federal Plaza, where federal immigration agents have been detaining migrants outside of court. Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo by 12 points in the June primary, stood with the leaders of labor unions that have endorsed him after previously backing Cuomo.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that Andrew Cuomo will sell working people out for his interests, for the interests of the billionaires that support him, for the interests of Donald Trump,\u201d Mamdani said, \u201cbecause all of those interests are lining up as one and the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuomo, who\u2019s running an independent general election bid, told reporters in Midtown Manhattan that he doesn\u2019t remember the last time he spoke with Trump and knocked the story as \u201cpalace intrigue.\u201d The former governor said he did \u201cleave word\u201d with the president after an assasination attempt.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never spoken to him about the mayor\u2019s race,\u201d Cuomo said, denying the Times report. \u201cI had spoken to him when I was governor dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of times. We went through Covid together.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuomo told reporters he would defend New York City against Trump \u201cwith every ounce of my strength.\u201d<\/p>\n The Times additionally reported<\/a> today that Cuomo has told business leaders he\u2019s not \u201cpersonally” looking for a fight with the president.<\/p>\n In Brooklyn, Mayor Eric Adams, who\u2019s also running as an independent, said he\u2019s never discussed the campaign with Trump and that his “conversations with the president is about bringing resources to the city.”<\/p>\n Mamdani told reporters today that he\u2019s willing to talk with Trump and keep an open dialogue but only to improve the lives of New Yorkers.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he wants to actually act upon the cheaper groceries that he told us he would deliver, that is a different conversation,\u201d the candidate said. \u2014 Emily Ngo, Joe Anuta and Amira McKee<\/p>\n \u2018LOOK ON THE HAT\u2019: The first borough office of Adams\u2019 uphill reelection campaign is borrowing the headquarters of one of Brooklyn’s old-guard political clubs.<\/p>\n The self-titled \u201cchild from Brownsville\u201d cut the ribbon at his new Mill Basin office Thursday, announcing that the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club headquarters \u2014 now plastered with \u201cre-elect Eric for Mayor\u201d posters \u2014 will serve as the nerve center for the campaign\u2019s Brooklyn efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy Brooklyn?\u201d Adams said at the Thursday event, gesturing to his cap. \u201cBrooklyn is the place I was born. When you look on the hat, it says Brownsville. It was the place that shaped and made me. It was the place that taught me the fortitude that I have right now to lead this city.\u201d<\/p>\n Adams\u2019 team said today it expects to unveil more offices across the five boroughs \u2014 just a day after the New York City Campaign Finance board denied the incumbent millions of dollars in public matching funds, putting him at a weighty financial disadvantage against Mamdani.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time Adams has encountered trouble with the CFB, whose public matching fund program requires strict adherence to reporting mandates and individual donation limits.<\/p>\n A 900-page CFB audit of Adams\u2019 2021 campaign found more than 150 fundraising events that the Adams campaign said they paid for but did not document how much was spent and by whom \u2014 a red flag for potentially prohibited in-kind contributions. The campaign declined to address those irregularities in its official response<\/a>.<\/p>\n POLITICO reported in 2021<\/a> that Adams also intermittently used office space occupied by the Democratic Party\u2019s law firm without disclosing the relationship in campaign finance filings.<\/p>\n When asked about how much his campaign was spending to rent the home of one of New York\u2019s oldest and most influential Democratic clubs, Adams shrugged. \u201cEvery payment we do is listed on the campaign finance so you can look at that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Despite the CFB denying his funding request for the tenth time yesterday, Adams said he was unfazed, dodging questions about whether he would shake up his campaign staff or forgo the matching program to accept larger donations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe life of a person born in Brownsville, you’re always meeting obstacles,\u201d Adams said, again gesturing to his cap. \u201cBut in all those obstacles, what happened? I’m the mayor, because I’m a working class, resilient, hard working New Yorker, and we’re used to obstacles.\u201d \u2014 Amira McKee<\/p>\n DEPARTMENT OF WISHFUL THINKING: City Hall is asking agencies to contribute ideas for Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 2026 State of the City address \u2014 a request that assumes the mayor will win reelection despite poll numbers suggesting otherwise.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy blasted out a message encouraging agencies to submit ideas for the theoretical address by Aug. 11, according to a copy of the missive obtained by Playbook.<\/p>\n The request comes as Adams, who is running as an independent, remains a longshot contender for a second term.<\/p>\n The incumbent is running as an independent in an overwhelmingly Democratic town. The Campaign Finance Board appears determined to deny him millions of dollars<\/a> in public matching funds. And the latest poll<\/a> had the mayor winning just 7 percent of the vote, coming in behind Mamdani, Cuomo and GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa.<\/p>\n Regardless, Levy is bullish on the mayor\u2019s odds.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York City\u2019s public servants are at their best when putting politics aside and staying focused on the work \u2014 and that is exactly what we are doing,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThe State of the City takes months of thoughtful planning, and we intend to deliver a speech in early 2026 that is as groundbreaking as ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the aura of futility, some municipal workers are treating the exercise as a job preservation strategy, according to one city employee who was granted anonymity to discuss internal thinking. Should Mamdani win the general election, as polling currently indicates, senior staffers would have a readymade plan to pitch to the new administration and prove their worth.<\/p>\n \u201cZohran\u2019s people are going to gravitate to those who have an agenda that aligns with his populism,\u201d another city staffer, also granted anonymity, told Playbook.<\/p>\n Levy is convinced there will be no changing of the guard.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have appreciated POLITICO\u2019s coverage of our past four State of the City addresses, and we look forward to their continued coverage of Mayor Adams\u2019 next four,\u201d he said in his statement. \u2014 Joe Anuta<\/p>\n \u2014 MEGABILL CUTS: New York\u2019s social service providers are bracing for deep federal funding cuts as poverty rates rise among the state\u2019s elderly. (New York Focus<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 ANOTHER LAWSUIT: A former top NYPD lawyer is suing the department, accusing top brass of firing her for investigating Adams\u2019 former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 SLOW DOWN: New York City has instituted a new e-bike speed limit, but local officials don\u2019t have the teeth to enforce it. (The Wall Street Journal<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n