Source: Politics<\/p>\n
DEPARTMENT OF UNFORCED ERRORS: Mayor Zohran Mamdani held an annual Puerto Rican heritage event today at Gracie Mansion that underscored a growing tiff.<\/p>\n
The afternoon celebration was pared-down. Prominent leaders never received an invite or declined to attend. And Nuyoricans were initially told it wasn\u2019t going to happen at all.<\/p>\n
Roughly 200 people milled about the ornate entertaining room in the mayor\u2019s official residence on the Upper East Side. A smattering of elected officials past and present were there, among them state Sens. Gustavo Rivera and Kristen Gonzalez and former Council members Rafael Salamanca and Carlina Rivera.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York City government has not done its part to serve Puerto Rican New Yorkers. Our City Hall is determined to change that,\u201d Mamdani told the crowd, citing his administration\u2019s plan to build municipal grocery stores in East Harlem and the Bronx.<\/p>\n
The vibe, however, was a bit off.<\/p>\n
In a matter of weeks, the mayor\u2019s office has turned what\u2019s normally a routine and low-stakes way of keeping in good stead with the Puerto Rican community into a self-inflicted political wound<\/a> that comes as the democratic socialist tries more broadly to sweep out an old guard of Latino elected officials.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people who are still upset about this,\u201d said Erica Gonz\u00e1lez, former executive editor of El Diario La Prensa, the oldest, largest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the country. \u201cIt\u2019s begging the question about what the treatment of the Puerto Rican community is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Upon taking office, Mamdani created an outreach division called the Mayor\u2019s Office of Mass Engagement, which seeks to replicate the success of the volunteer army that helped propel him to victory (and in the process provide a taxpayer-funded boost to Mamdani\u2019s reelection campaign). As POLITICO previously reported<\/a>, the office also absorbed \u2014 and de-prioritized \u2014 several longstanding outreach divisions that help plan and execute events like today\u2019s Gracie Mansion fiesta.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, a mass engagement representative told Puerto Rican leaders the annual event was not happening.<\/p>\n \u201cIn an effort to celebrate the National Puerto Rican Day in the company of as many working-class New Yorkers as possible, Mayor Mamdani and our administration are prioritizing his attendance at the 5th Ave Parade and the Knickerbocker Parade on June 14th instead of hosting an invitation-only reception,\u201d \u00c1lvaro L\u00f3pez, a former campaign staffer and DSA organizer who now works in the Office of Mass Engagement, wrote in an email.<\/p>\n Outrage inevitably followed. The mayor\u2019s office quickly disavowed the email and said a reception was indeed in the works.<\/p>\n But at least some invitations didn\u2019t go out until last week. Several prominent people weren\u2019t contacted at all, and notable Puerto Rican political figures in the city \u2014 like former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito \u2014 were no-shows. On top of that, today\u2019s midday event didn\u2019t keep with the tradition of throwing a large-scale, invite-only evening bash ahead of Sunday’s annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in Midtown. (The mayor\u2019s office said heritage events will no longer feature a large tent in Gracie Mansion\u2019s backyard). Some community leaders upset about the Mamdani snub held an alternative event<\/a> Thursday evening in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n \u201cIt concerns me there is someone in the administration that thinks there\u2019s some mythical, Downton Abbey class of Puerto Ricans that shows up to Gracie,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez said.<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez, the Mass Engagement staffer whose email triggered much of the backlash, was on hand for Friday\u2019s Gracie reception, tasked with checking in media at the front entrance. When a Playbook reporter arrived, L\u00f3pez questioned why POLITICO should be allowed in. When asked why, L\u00f3pez said he was only joking.<\/p>\n The dustup over the reception doesn\u2019t seem to have affected Mamdani\u2019s poll numbers with Latino voters. In a Data for Progress survey of New York City voters conducted May 20-26, nearly 60 percent of Latino respondents viewed the mayor either somewhat or very favorably.<\/p>\n The mayor is creating rifts elsewhere as well, though.<\/p>\n Mamdani endorsed a democratic socialist challenger to Rep. Adriano Espaillat in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, touching off a generational battle<\/a> between older Dominican voters and younger, more affluent supporters of Darializa Avila Chevalier. And in Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Mamdani is betting against the chosen successor to Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, one of the city\u2019s most prominent Puerto Rican figures.<\/p>\n Vel\u00e1zquez was among those who skipped Mamdani\u2019s Friday afternoon event, vaguely telling Playbook she had \u201ctoo many things\u201d to do. But in a sign of her irritation with Mamdani, she questioned why he threw a FIFA soccer event in Gracie\u2019s backyard Thursday evening, saying it seemed like the same sort of private party his office is saying they want to move away from.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to be clear about what is the policy going forward,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause otherwise people will feel: Why them and not us?\u201d \u2014 Chris Sommerfeldt\u00a0 and Joe Anuta <\/p>\n ZOMBIE DISASSEMBLING: Yet another member of former Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 legally dubious Charter Revision Commission has resigned \u2014 putting the zombie-like panel on the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n Ismael Claudio, a Brooklyn pastor who acted as a faith adviser to Adams while he was still mayor, resigned from the commission Monday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n Kayla Mamelak, Adams\u2019 former press secretary who also sits on the commission, wouldn\u2019t comment on Claudio\u2019s resignation. Claudio couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n Charter revision commissions, which are convened by mayors to propose ballot referendum questions for local elections, can only legally operate if they have at least nine members. With Claudio out, Adams\u2019 panel only has nine members \u2014 the bare minimum to live on.<\/p>\n Three other members, Robert Tucker, Fernando Mateo and Shams DaBaron, also resigned<\/a> in the past few weeks. Another two appointees, Martin Connor and Alfred Curtis, never filed the requisite paperwork to join the commission in the first place.<\/p>\n At least one additional member, retired labor leader Denis Hughes, hasn\u2019t shown up to any of the commission\u2019s public hearings. Mamelak insisted he is still a member of the commission, though. Hughes couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n Ultimately, resignations may be the smallest problem for the panel, which Adams launched on his final day in office.<\/p>\n Mamdani ordered Adams\u2019 commission disbanded<\/a> in late May, using a new authority granted him by the state. Mamdani also launched his own Charter Revision Commission and tasked it with advancing ballot questions for November related to improving government efficiency.<\/p>\n Randy Mastro, Adams\u2019 former first deputy mayor and the counsel for Adams\u2019 commission, has insisted Mamdani\u2019s nullification order wasn\u2019t lawful and is forging ahead.<\/p>\n On the same day Mamdani ordered Adams\u2019 commission disbanded, the panel voted to advance a November ballot question that would, if approved by voters, establish an open primary system in local elections. Under such a system, it would likely be harder for democratic socialists like Mamdani to be elected, as the pool of primary voters would be expanded to include more conservative voters \u2014 a wrinkle that has reinforced many observers\u2019 belief that Adams created his commission to deliberately stymie his successor.<\/p>\n In addition to voting to advance that referendum question, Adams\u2019 commission has continued to hold public hearings to consider more questions for the November ballot. Among the additional proposals they\u2019re looking at is a ballot question to create new, unspecified initiatives aimed at combating antisemitism in New York.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear how the Adams commission\u2019s actions \u2014 including those already taken \u2014 would be impacted if enough members resign for the panel to be nullified by default.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s administration has maintained that nothing the Adams commission is doing holds legal relevance since the mayor killed it weeks ago. \u2014 Chris Sommerfeldt\u00a0<\/p>\n PAC IT UP, PART I: A shadowy super PAC war has descended upon the Democratic primary to take on Rep. Mike Lawler.<\/p>\n Progressive Champions PAC, a group that filed with the Federal Election Commission<\/a> last month and has yet to disclose its donors, has placed close to $1 million on a TV advertising buy attacking Democratic candidate Cait Conley in the final days of the campaign.<\/p>\n Democrats were quick to accuse the group of being backed by GOP interests, pointing to a bank it shares with another PAC<\/a> with ties to Republicans that spent in other Democratic primaries across the country.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not unheard of for the opposite party to get involved in a primary across the aisle in an attempt to elevate candidates they think will be easier to defeat in the general election.<\/p>\n The ad<\/a> hits Conley, an Army veteran who has drawn the support of national groups, over Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The narrator states that she is \u201cbankrolled by firms partnered with a major ICE contractor targeting immigrants\u201d \u2014 a reference to reporting<\/a> that firms she consulted for aided immigration enforcement. She has repeatedly denied this claim<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue activists fought ICE\u2019s atrocities, but Conley kept collecting,\u201d the ad continues. \u201cThat\u2019s not progressive, that\u2019s profiteering.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Conley said that \u201cRepublicans are seriously underestimating NY-17 Democrats who will see through their political lies and deceit.\u201d<\/p>\n The PAC didn\u2019t respond to Playbook\u2019s request for comment. Its site states<\/a> that its mission is to \u201celect bold, progressive candidates up and down the ballot who will fight for working families, protect our democracy, and build a future that works for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Conley is one of five candidates running for the Democratic nod. Her two most high-profile challengers are Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson, who like Conley is running as a moderate, and Tarrytown Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley, who has sought to claim the progressive lane. Some Democrats worry that a far-left candidate would make flipping the battleground seat more difficult in November.<\/p>\n Conley also placed some blame for the PAC attack on Davidson, who has public messaging on her site<\/a> echoing a similar sentiment as the ad. Davidson also ran a spot<\/a> hitting Conley on the immigration issue.<\/p>\n In response, Davidson in a statement said \u201cMike Lawler and Republican dark money groups have no place meddling in our Democratic primary. Full stop.\u201d (Phillips-Staley also condemned the spending<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Lawler hasn\u2019t shied away<\/a> from hitting<\/a> his potential Democratic opponents throughout the primary. But on Friday, his campaign insisted it couldn\u2019t be bothered by the messiness across the aisle.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly, we don\u2019t care who survives this clown car primary because every single one of them supports raising taxes on working people, making New York a Sanctuary State, and doesn\u2019t have an independent or bipartisan bone in their body,\u201d Lawler campaign manager Ciro Riccardi said in a statement. \u2014 Madison Fernandez<\/p>\n PAC IT UP, PART II: There\u2019s yet another super PAC in the high-dollar Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.<\/p>\n Guardrails Alliance, a super PAC that registered with the FEC last month<\/a>, has made a six-figure ad buy in the race, according to the ad tracker AdImpact. Public filings with the Federal Communications Commission show that the ad will refer to Assemblymember Alex Bores and focus on artificial intelligence \u2014 making it the latest AI-related PAC in the race.<\/p>\n Bores\u2019 work on landmark AI regulation in the state Legislature has attracted millions of dollars<\/a> both in support of and against him amid his congressional bid. Think Big \u2014 a super PAC backed by leaders at OpenAI and the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, among others who claim such regulation stifles innovation \u2014 has targeted Bores with more than $6 million in spending, according to FEC filings. A handful of other PACs, many of which have ties to those in the tech industry who are friendlier to AI guardrails, have spent $8 million supporting him, per the FEC.<\/p>\n Super PAC spending has been a sore spot in the race. In the closing days of the campaign, Bores\u2019 opponents have expressed frustration<\/a> with the heavy super PAC spending in support of him. \u2014 Madison Fernandez<\/p>\n BERNIE COMES TO TOWN: Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and democratic socialist forefather, is coming to New York on Thursday in a last-minute push to boost progressive congressional candidates.<\/p>\n The New York Times first reported<\/a> the event is set to feature Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who is running in the open race to succeed Vel\u00e1zquez; Darializa Avila Chevalier, who\u2019s challenging Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat; and former city Comptroller Brad Lander, who\u2019s looking to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman. All three are endorsed by Mamdani, who is also expected to join the rally.<\/p>\n Sanders\u2019 team confirmed the event to Playbook.<\/p>\n Sanders, who is wildly popular in New York<\/a>, previously endorsed Valdez and Lander. Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier are members of the Democratic Socialists of America and are backed by the city chapter in their bids; the two cross-endorsed each other.<\/p>\n But Lander has tried to keep some distance, despite appearing in a joint advertisement<\/a> with Mamdani\u2019s congressional slate. When asked at a press conference earlier this week why he would appear in that ad with Avila Chevalier, who attended a pro-Palestinian rally<\/a> the day after Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 attack in 2023 \u2014 the same rally Lander said he left the DSA over \u2014 he said it was an \u201copportunity to show New Yorkers that politics can be a team sport.\u201d He also clarified that he has not endorsed candidates in any other congressional primaries.<\/p>\n Avila Chevalier told reporters last week that she went to that rally to \u201cstand against\u201d Israel engaging in \u201ca response that is often disproportionate and creates a greater loss of life.\u201d She added that she has \u201ccondemned Hamas\u201d and does \u201cnot believe that celebrating the loss of anybody\u2019s life is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n Avila Chevalier\u2019s profile has been heightened in recent weeks, following Mamdani\u2019s endorsement. But with that has also come more scrutiny \u2014 particularly of her social media activity from the beginning of the decade. One such post<\/a> criticized what she called Sanders\u2019 \u201cliberal Zionism.\u201d But Avila Chevalier has repeatedly said that she has changed in the years since she made those posts and has accused Espaillat of relitigating old posts to distract from other issues in the race. \u2014 Jason Beeferman and Madison Fernandez<\/p>\n MOHAWK VALLEY MADNESS: When Bosnian refugees started arriving in Utica in the mid-1990s, it was a down-on-its-heels upstate Rust Belt city that had seen its population crater by roughly a third from a midcentury peak of just over 100,000 residents.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I came to another war zone when I came here,\u201d said Hanka Grabovica, who arrived in the Mohawk Valley city in 2001 when she was 16 years old, citing the prevalence of boarded-up buildings and garbage on the streets. \u201cUtica was pretty bad back then.\u201d<\/p>\n Grabovica was part of a wave of Bosnian refugees who settled in Utica after fleeing the brutal war in their native country \u2014 and its messy aftermath \u2014 that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia. Exact figures are tough to pin down, but it\u2019s believed that about 6,000 Bosnians now live in Utica \u2014 or nearly 10 percent of the total population.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s unlikely emergence as an epicenter of Bosnian American culture will probably never be more prominently on display than this afternoon when Bosnia and Herzegovina faces Canada on the second day of the World Cup. It\u2019s just the second time Bosnia has qualified for the tournament since it became an independent country in 1992.<\/p>\n The dramatic and unlikely way that the country punched its ticket to North America \u2014 knocking off four-time World Cup champion Italy via penalty kicks in a one-match playoff \u2014 has heightened the delirium among Bosnians from Sarajevo to St. Louis (the largest enclave of Bosnians in the U.S.) to Utica.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing this national team progress to the World Cup is definitely something amazing,\u201d said Sandro Sehic, secretary of the Bosnian American Community Association of Utica, noting that many ethnic Serbians and Croatians who live in the country still refuse to play for the national team owing to lingering tensions from the war. \u201cBosnia is still struggling politically, socially. There are still so many problems that are still affecting the country.\u201d Read more from Paul Demko in POLITICO<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 GROCERY EXPANSION: City Council member Jennifer Guti\u00e9rrez introduced a bill to expand Mamdani\u2019s city-owned grocery story plan and make it a permanent part of city government. (The City Reporter<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 WHO CALLS THE SHOTS: GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman called Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s newly passed bill that requires children to be vaccinated for summer camp \u201cun-American.\u201d (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 BUG INVASION: Tick season is in full swing with a rare case of Lyme disease being detected in the Empire State for the first time. (CBS News<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\nFROM CITY HALL<\/h3>\n
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL<\/h3>\n
WORLD CUP WATCH<\/h3>\n
IN OTHER NEWS<\/h3>\n