Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Amira McKee<\/p>\n
THE FINAL STRAW? Construction executive Erden Arkan must not have friends in the Trump administration like Mayor Eric Adams does. So while the Department of Justice moved to dismiss the mayor\u2019s case, the wheels of justice kept turning for Arkan.<\/p>\n
The Turkish-American co-owner of KSK Construction Group was given a light sentence of one year probation today in Manhattan federal court. He\u2019ll also pay a $9,500 fine and $18,000 in restitution after pleading guilty<\/a> in January to giving 10 employees $1,250 each to donate to Adams\u2019 campaign.<\/p>\n But even while accepting that he broke New York City campaign finance laws, Arkan\u2019s lawyer Jonathan Rosen presented him as a victim of \u201can unprecedented act of prosecutorial discretion,\u201d suggesting that federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York wanted to salvage some sort of a win following the tumult<\/a> and rounds of resignations<\/a> over the dismissal<\/a> of Adams\u2019 case.<\/p>\n Rosen also suggested Arkan\u2019s case never should have been brought in federal court in the first place, arguing he was \u201ctargeted\u2026 to serve some greater end in a bureaucratic power struggle over the Adams case.\u201d<\/p>\n While an official from the Turkish consulate helped coordinate Arkan\u2019s May 2021 fundraising event for Adams, Rosen said that Arkan \u201cnever had any knowledge of foreign interference\u201d alleged by federal prosecutors. He maintained that neither the Adams campaign nor the Turkish consulate knew about Arkan\u2019s straw donor scheme, which he\u2019d cooked up himself.<\/p>\n Judge Dale Ho dismissed the arguments. While he conceded \u201cit is true that there is some incongruency between the government\u2019s handling of Mr. Arkan\u2019s case and Mayor Adams\u2019 case,\u201d he was firm that \u201cthere is not a shred of evidence in the record\u201d indicating that the prosecutors acted wrongly prosecuting Arkan.<\/p>\n Another related case hasn\u2019t been resolved yet. Former Adams aide Mohamed Bahi pleaded guilty Tuesday to helping to organize a separate straw donor scheme for Adams\u2019 2021 campaign.<\/p>\n While Adams himself hasn\u2019t been accused of coordinating straw donations, the practice has been a serious problem for his campaign. Adams\u2019 old friend Dwayne Montgomery pleaded guilty last year<\/a> along with other co-conspirators to giving Adams illegal donations, and THE CITY has reported on numerous examples<\/a> of more apparent straw donations<\/a> to Adams.<\/p>\n Rep. Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, told Playbook earlier this week that this wasn\u2019t an ideal outcome for Adams\u2019 case.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a prosecutor, I never liked when, ultimately, the only people held accountable for their crimes were the lower level people,\u201d he said. \u201cBut under the circumstances, when you’ve charged someone and there’s a legitimate reason to charge that person, the right thing to do is to finish off the case.\u201d \u2014 Jeff Coltin<\/p>\n LET\u2019S ALL GO TO THE (ASSEMBLY) LOBBY: New York moviegoers might soon have an easier time skipping the increasingly lengthy block of advertisements and trailers shown before the film starts, if a bill<\/a> introduced this week becomes law.<\/p>\n Assemblymember Clyde Vanel wants to require theaters to display the time a movie actually starts when promoting showings or selling tickets. His proposal comes as movies increasingly start as much as half an hour<\/a> after the advertised time.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the consumer, this can have a real monetary and social impact,\u201d he wrote in his memo accompanying the bill. \u201cConsumers not only may leave obligations earlier than they needed to in order to see the motion picture, but they may also consume their snacks purchased at the theater prior to the movie beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no justification for deceiving consumers,\u201d he wrote, especially since moviegoers \u201ccannot bring their own snacks to eat if they consumed their purchased snacks within the extremely long 30-minute preview period.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill would not apply to broadcasts of the Assembly session \u2014 where starting within half an hour of the scheduled time would be a major improvement. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n NO \u2018SHOOK ONES\u2019: Queens Borough President Donovan Richards pledged today to help turn out Black voters for Zohran Mamdani in November, evoking both Martin Luther King Jr. and Mobb Deep in his enthusiastic endorsement.<\/p>\n The Democratic mayoral nominee\u2019s policies \u2014 including a rent freeze and free and fast buses \u2014 are common sense, not socialism, Richards said in the borough that he and Mamdani both call home. Richmond Hill, Queens was the last stop of Mamdani\u2019s \u201cFive Boroughs Against Trump\u201d tour.<\/p>\n \u201cCount me in as a democratic socialist if it means that everyday New Yorkers will be able to afford this city,\u201d Richards said, adding that civil rights icon King \u201cwas called a socialist and communist as well\u201d and referencing hip-hoppers Mobb Deep by boasting that there are no \u201cshook ones\u201d in the borough, a reference to the group\u2019s hit song. Richards had previewed his endorsement<\/a> of Mamdani a day earlier.<\/p>\n One of Mamdani\u2019s biggest weak spots electorally has been politically moderate Black voters in areas like southeast Queens.<\/a> And while he now has Richards as a surrogate, Queens Democratic Party leader Rep. Greg Meeks has yet to endorse him. (A Meeks spokesperson did not respond today to a query on whether the House member plans to meet with Mamdani.)<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s support in the primary<\/a> was stronger in parts of the city that are heavily gentrified. Southeast Queens includes neighborhoods that have resisted being priced out.<\/p>\n Mamdani acknowledged the critical balance between creating homes for new residents without pushing out longer-term residents.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the many things I appreciate about the borough president is how he has been able to chart a course of building more housing (though) not at the expense of displacing those who already live there,\u201d he said. \u2014 Emily Ngo<\/p>\n SEX WORK DEBATE: Andrew Cuomo went on the offensive today over Mamdani\u2019s past support for state legislation that would decriminalize sex work in New York.<\/p>\n The former governor said in a statement that he spent years fighting iterations of the bill over concerns it would lead to an increase in sex trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable New Yorkers.<\/p>\n \u201cMark my words: This is the real world and if passed, this legislation will open the floodgates,\u201d Cuomo said in the statement. \u201cMamdani may not remember the bad old days of New York City, where Times Square was seedy and crime infested and New Yorkers knew which neighborhoods to avoid at all costs. We do, and no one should be eager to return to that era.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuomo\u2019s stance was backed by Sonia Ossorio, executive director at National Organization for Women New York City. Ossorio has previously criticized<\/a> Mamdani\u2019s position on decriminalization.<\/p>\n \u201cFull decriminalization doesn\u2019t protect vulnerable people \u2014 it expands a market that thrives on exploitation, human trafficking, and crime in our neighborhoods,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n Mamdani twice co-sponsored a bill that would decriminalize sex work and clear past arrest records related to prostitution while still allowing law enforcement to go after trafficking operations.<\/p>\n Campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec declined to say whether Mamdani still supports the concept and whether he would advocate for the legislation from City Hall if elected. But she noted that the Democratic nominee has pledged additional resources to assist victims of prostitution and sex trafficking.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Andrew Cuomo is only interested in \u2018governing\u2019 behind a phone screen, Zohran is committed to genuine public safety, including combatting sex trafficking,\u201d Pekec said in a statement that referenced a new department Mamdani plans to create. \u201cHis Department of Community Safety will invest $40 million towards victims services including for programs like Safe Horizon, for which funding has been cut in past budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n The issue of whether to decriminalize sex work has been the subject of heated debate over the years. Organizations like DecrimNY, a coalition of sex workers and various organizations aligned with the decriminalization movement, argue the changes would make sex workers safer by allowing them to report violence or unsafe working conditions to authorities without fear of arrest while delivering more autonomy to consenting adults. \u2014 Joe Anuta\u00a0<\/p>\n CANNABIS REGULATORS SUED AGAIN: A dozen cannabis dispensary licensees are suing the state over a flip-flop<\/a> on the cannabis agency\u2019s interpretation of the state\u2019s 2021 legalization law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe consequences are staggering. Petitioners\u2019 investments, often more than a million dollars, are now at risk\u201d the petition reads. \u201cTheir livelihoods are being threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n The petitioners are licensed under the Conditional Adult-use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) and Social and Economic Equity (SEE) licensing programs, which prioritize entrepreneurs with past cannabis convictions, women and minorities.<\/p>\n The legal challenge seeks to block regulators from enforcing a new interpretation of school distance requirements in the state\u2019s cannabis legalization law, which would force licensees out of their dispensary locations that had been previously approved by the agency.<\/p>\n Agency about-face: Earlier this month, the Office of Cannabis Management notified more than 100 licensees<\/a> that their dispensary locations could be impacted due to the agency\u2019s misinterpretation of state law.<\/p>\n The licensees are asking the court to annul the agency\u2019s new interpretation of the law, declare their locations compliant and block the state from taking any enforcement actions against them over the school distance requirement.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the OCM said that the office does not comment on pending litigation.<\/p>\n The agency is proposing a legislative fix that would allow licensees to remain in their locations, but emphasized on its website<\/a> that passing such legislation \u201cis not a guarantee.\u201d The state is also creating an $15 million applicant relief fund for up to $250,000 per applicant to help find new locations. \u2014 Mona Zhang<\/p>\n \u201426 FED PLAZA: As fewer immigrants show up for their court hearings, arrests at 26 Federal Plaza\u2019s immigration courthouses are nearing a standstill. (THE CITY<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 GOV. CLEMENCY: Hochul pardoned a Laotian immigrant Friday to stop his deportation. (The New York Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 CUT THE CHECK: Progressive Democrats in the New York Legislature are decrying Hochul\u2019s $2 billion rebate program as fiscally irresponsible amid looming federal cuts. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n