Source: Politics<\/p>\n
MONEY TALKS: Sherif Soliman, Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s budget chief, privately briefed members of the Democratic Socialists of America on the state of New York City\u2019s finances last week \u2014 a move that could raise ethical concerns, according to a person at the meeting and a prominent government watchdog.<\/p>\n
The meeting, billed as a \u201cdebrief\u201d on the DSA\u2019s \u201cTax the Rich Campaign,\u201d was held on June 1 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Clinton Hill. An invitation to the event obtained by Playbook encouraged people to sign up to become dues-paying DSA members in order to participate in the briefing.<\/p>\n
During the gathering, Soliman told DSA members he has \u201cthe privilege of working alongside our mayor to lead the Office of Management and Budget,\u201d according to the person who attended the closed-door affair and was granted anonymity to divulge details about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I have the power of the purse,\u201d the OMB director added, per that person\u2019s retelling.<\/p>\n
Soliman, the mayor\u2019s lead negotiator in budget talks with the City Council, then delivered a 10-minute presentation on how Mamdani\u2019s administration has plugged a multibillion-dollar municipal deficit this year using savings initiatives, state funding commitments and new revenue generators, including a new tax on wealthy homeowners, said the person.<\/p>\n
Soliman\u2019s participation in the DSA confab is a strong sign of the deep ties between Mamdani and the socialist group, which the mayor has said remains his \u201cpolitical home.\u201d<\/p>\n
A former city government official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about an issue he didn\u2019t have direct knowledge of, said the briefing Soliman delivered sounds like the sort of detailed budget breakdowns mayoral administrations usually reserve for Council members as part of financial plan negotiations.<\/p>\n
Under city ethics law, a non-elected public servant like Soliman cannot use \u201cany city resources,\u201d such as their \u201ccity title\u201d or \u201ccity personnel,\u201d for \u201cany non-city purpose,\u201d according to a municipal government handbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Richard Briffault, a former chair of the city\u2019s Conflicts of Interest Board, said there are scenarios where it\u2019s okay under the law for senior municipal employees to deliver remarks in their official capacity at events hosted by political organizations.<\/p>\n But given that last week\u2019s DSA forum included a membership drive component, Briffault said that Soliman\u2019s participation \u2014 and use of his full city title \u2014 could raise legal concerns. \u201cThis strikes me as maybe on that line of using his title to promote a political organization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Briffault said the situation would be even more serious if Soliman used municipal resources, like staffers or city government time, to help prepare for the briefing. If no city resources were used, he said, any violations at play would likely be minor.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there was anything wrong, it was likely minimally wrong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec would not say whether Soliman \u2014 who delivered budget testimony before the City Council this morning (more on that below) \u2014 used city staff or other resources in preparation for his DSA presentation. She also would not say whether he consulted the Conflicts of Interest Board beforehand.<\/p>\n Pekec, however, did say it\u2019s common for mayoral administration officials to \u201cengage with a wide range of external stakeholders on matters concerning the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Due to confidentiality protocols, the Conflicts of Interest Board doesn\u2019t comment on possible ethical infractions involving individual city government employees.<\/p>\n Speaking in general, Carolyn Miller, the board\u2019s executive director, said it \u201cmight\u201d be an ethics law violation for a public servant to use their title in connection with a political club event where participants are encouraged to become dues-paying members.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, meetings of political clubs are also gatherings of City residents, and there may be circumstances where a presentation by a City official about a City policy issue (such as a DOHMH<\/a> official speaking about virus transmission and prevention) would have a City purpose for which the use of City title would be appropriate,\u201d Miller wrote in an email. \u2014 Chris Sommerfeldt\u00a0<\/p>\n HOMAN SPEAKS: Trump administration border czar Tom Homan insisted today that the upcoming surge of ICE agents into New York won\u2019t be like Minneapolis.<\/p>\n \u201cYou will not see a Minnesota,\u201d he told SiriusXM\u2019s Chris Cuomo in an interview. \u201cI will not let Minnesota happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Concern is high among Democrats that an aggressive enforcement effort in New York will create similar unrest that led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens earlier this year in the North Star State.<\/p>\n Flooding New York with federal immigration enforcement agents would be a different prospect, though \u2014 something Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s administration has been bracing for since the start of the year.<\/p>\n Homan maintains that the stepped-up enforcement is needed after Hochul and the Democratic-led Legislature approved a package of measures meant to put legal guardrails around Trump\u2019s deportation campaign.<\/p>\n The New York-focused push will be \u201cwell planned,\u201d Homan said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s gonna be a controlled operation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s gonna be a targeted enforcement operation. Every day we leave the office and we know exactly who we’re looking for, more likely where we will find them, because we have a targeted operation.\u201d<\/p>\n On X, Hochul said<\/a> the measures she backed would not provide \u201csanctuary\u201d for dangerous criminals.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue working with federal authorities to target violent offenders,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we will not stand by if ICE floods our communities with agents, separates families, and turns our neighborhoods into the backdrop for a campaign of fear.\u201d \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n RED WHITE AND BLUE: French jets with red, white and blue exhaust plumes flew over the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty this morning as part of the country\u2019s 250th birthday present to America. The Patrouille de France, the French equivalent of the Blue Angels, are touring the region and expected to be back in New York for a multinational armed forces review<\/a> on July 4 that President Donald Trump is expected to attend.<\/p>\n During a Monday press conference at the French consulate on the Upper East Side, Brigadier General Pierre Gaudilli\u00e8re, head of the Libert\u00e9 250 mission, said planning for the flyovers began months ago to celebrate a military alliance that dates back to when the French provided aid to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Americans observe our 250th anniversary, it is especially meaningful to have one of our oldest allies helping us mark the occasion in our skies,\u201d U.S. Air Force Maj. General Ricky Mills told reporters.<\/p>\n Asked about ongoing rifts over the Iran war<\/a>, both Mills and Gaudilli\u00e8re emphasized ongoing cooperation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some arenas of the world, we can share the premises where our forces are deployed and sometimes the missions differ for political reasons,\u201d Gaudilli\u00e8r said. \u201cBut there still is a very strong bond between the French and the American air and space forces.\u201d \u2014 Ry Rivard<\/p>\n COUNCIL\u2019S WISH LIST: Council Speaker Julie Menin telegraphed some of the body\u2019s budget priorities during a four-hour hearing today.<\/p>\n The marathon session with the Office of Management and Budget nearly finishes the latest round of oversight hearings before lawmakers begin final negotiations with the Mamdani administration. The Council must then approve the final spending plan before the start of the fiscal year on July 1.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Council and administration can agree to fund many programs for the success, health and safety of all New Yorkers,\u201d Menin said before rattling off some of lawmakers\u2019 top priorities.<\/p>\n She specifically name-checked the Fair Fares program, which provides discounted public transit fares to lower-income New Yorkers. She floated the idea of bringing the budget for the Department of Parks and Recreation in line with historic spending. She wants to expand the New York City Kids RISE program, which helps young New Yorkers start scholarship funds early. And Menin wants to funnel more money to oversight agencies like the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the Department of Investigation.<\/p>\n While Mamdani just got through precariously balancing the city\u2019s finances with a major assist from Albany, Menin\u2019s beancounters predict the city will have around $2 billion in even more revenue this fiscal year and next to pay for some of the Council\u2019s asks. \u2014 Joe Anuta<\/p>\n ZONED OUT: Assemblymember Grace Lee\u2019s sleek white Tesla has accumulated two dozen parking, bus-lane and speed-camera tickets around the city over the past three years \u2014 and her car-less political opponent is trying to make it an issue as they compete for an open Lower Manhattan state Senate seat.<\/p>\n Records from howsmydrivingny.nyc show Lee\u2019s vehicle has been fined $1,800 by the city in the last three years. Four of the six school-zone speeding tickets her car has received came at the exact same location \u2014 right by P.S. 97 at FDR Drive and East Houston Street, which is located in the senate district she\u2019s running to represent. She also snagged a parking ticket for the \u201cmisuse\u201d of her Assembly parking placard, something Niou said indicates her callous attitude toward the law.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople make mistakes, but abusing her placard and getting six school zone speeding tickets in just the last three years, seems like she doesn\u2019t care about the danger and doesn\u2019t believe that the law applies to her,\u201d former Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, who is challenging Lee for retiring state Sen. Brian Kavanagh\u2019s seat, told Playbook in a statement.<\/p>\n Lee was part of previous pushes to tighten restrictions on drivers in the state and city. She joined city officials in 2024<\/a> to applaud the lowering of speed limits in the city, and the same year appeared with Hochul<\/a> to celebrate a state law expanding red light camera programs.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Lower Manhattan, where heavy traffic and busy pedestrian areas meet daily, these expanded and newly established programs will reduce accidents and hold reckless drivers accountable,\u201d Lee said at the time. \u201cTogether, we are building safer streets for all New Yorkers by protecting lives and preventing tragedies.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s campaign spokesperson Austin Shafran responded to Niou\u2019s attack in a statement.<\/p>\n “This attack reeks of desperation from a flailing candidate who’s been absent from the community and doesn’t have much of a record of public service to run on,\u201d he said. \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n \u2014 BLANK SLATE: After pressure from Mamdani and tenant organizers, a landlord agreed to forgive millions of dollars in back rent for 5,100 apartments. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 MOM AND POP: A Long Island official is pushing a resolution that would require the use of the words \u201cmother\u201d and \u201cfather\u201d in town code in response to a state bill on surrogacy that seeks to remove those labels. (New York Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 UNEQUAL BURDEN: A new report finds New York City\u2019s property tax system, which Mamdani campaigned on fixing, places the tax burden more on rent-stabilized buildings than high-end homes. (The City Reporter<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\nFrom the Capitol<\/h3>\n
FROM CITY HALL<\/h3>\n
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL<\/h3>\n
IN OTHER NEWS<\/h3>\n