Source: Politics<\/p>\n
911 EMERGENCY: An ambulance in New York City now takes an average of 13 minutes to reach someone in life-threatening distress.<\/p>\n
That response time has risen five years straight and is up 41.2% from a decade ago, a city comptroller\u2019s report revealed earlier this month<\/a>. According to this year\u2019s Mayor\u2019s Management Report, which came out<\/a> in September, ambulance response times to life-threatening emergencies shot up by almost 16% between fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 \u2014 the sharpest increase this decade.<\/p>\n A core part of the issue is that calling 911 does not necessarily mean an ambulance will be immediately dispatched. Callers are put in dispatch queues. If a higher-priority call comes through, the ambulance might be rerouted. And all of this happens behind the scenes \u2014 which means those experiencing medical emergencies have no idea when help will actually arrive.<\/p>\n Council member Joann Ariola, chair of the Fire and Emergency Management Committee, proposed a bill in August that would require the city to send New Yorkers broad notifications when the emergency response system is overloaded.<\/p>\n Now, the Queens Republican is pushing for these notifications to be completely personalized.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is that I would be able to track my ambulance in real time, just like you\u2019re able to do for your bus, or your train, or your rideshare car,\u201d she told Playbook.<\/p>\n If patients know how far away help is, they can make an informed decision to forgo an ambulance and instead pursue other means of transportation to a hospital, she said. That would also alleviate pressure on the already overloaded EMS system and potentially get callers the care they need faster.<\/p>\n The idea has support from a council member across the political aisle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get live texts about everything under the sun, but for some reason, in our current system, we don\u2019t get alerts about this,\u201d Democratic Council member Harvey Epstein said. \u201cIf I\u2019m waiting for an ambulance because my kid broke their leg, and I learn that it\u2019s going to be half an hour, it\u2019s smarter for me to just hop in a cab anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Ariola said she met with top FDNY officials \u2014 including Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, Chief of Department John Esposito and Chief of EMS Paul Miano \u2014 ahead of Tuesday\u2019s hearing to discuss the idea. All of them, she said, appeared more receptive to specific text alerts than to the broad notification system proposed in her initial bill.<\/p>\n Amanda Farinacci, an FDNY spokesperson, said the department is \u201cconsidering and exploring all options that will help us respond to emergency medical calls quickly and keep New Yorkers informed.\u201d<\/p>\n “We are exploring all our options, this included,\u201d she said, referring to the live text-update model.<\/p>\n Ariola said she\u2019s submitted the new version of the bill and is waiting to hear back from the legislative affairs committee.<\/p>\n The solution proposed by she and Epstein would address the public-facing side of the problem, offering relief to callers in emergency situations.<\/p>\n The root cause of the issue, though, is retaining EMS employees \u2014 a challenge officials and union leaders say stems from low pay for a high-stress job.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not fixing the broken system,\u201d Ariola said. \u201cWe are in a state of emergency right now. It\u2019s a systemic problem with EMS because they cannot retain their members, because it\u2019s not a career.\u201d<\/p>\n Entry-level pay for emergency medical technicians is less than that of sanitation workers, firefighters, correction officers and police officers. Since 2019, about 4,300 EMTs and paramedics have left their titles, many for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the department. Last fiscal year, 58% of departing EMTs became firefighters.<\/p>\n The union representing emergency medical workers is negotiating a contract that lapsed in 2022, and it\u2019s seeking pay parity with firefighters. But the comptroller\u2019s report found that parity alone would raise EMS salary-related expenses by $184 million a year, a 66% jump.<\/p>\n \u201cThe City can reverse this dangerous trend by ensuring members of EMS are treated as equals to members of fire operations, and by providing EMS personnel with pay and benefit parity comparable to their firefighter counterparts,\u201d Local 3621 President Vincent Variale and Local 2507 President Michael Greco said in a joint statement. \u201cThese actions would not only treat our EMS workforce respectfully and properly; they would save the lives of New Yorkers in peril.\u201d<\/p>\n Response times to life-threatening emergencies saw the sharpest year-to-year increase of the decade between the last two fiscal years, a timeframe that straddles the Mamdani administration and the administration of former Mayor Eric Adams.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that each mayor inherited, but the new administration, it is now absolutely their issue,\u201d Ariola said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping this is the administration that finally solves the retention problem. And the only way to solve that problem is to pay EMTs their worth and also recognize them as uniformed workers.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office declined to comment on Ariola\u2019s new proposal and referred to a comment from the fire department.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department is currently engaged in a challenging period of increasing response times. We know this is unacceptable and we are working tirelessly to reverse this trend,\u201d Farinacci said. \u201cWe will continue to take steps to improve response times and keep New Yorkers safe, including improving coordination with hospitals, enhancing efficiency in high-volume areas, and increased operational visibility to help return units to service quickly.” \u00a0\u2014 Molly Reinmann<\/p>\n A SUBURBAN ALARM: Suburban voters across the country are turning against President Donald Trump, according to a poll<\/a> that amounts to a major warning sign for the GOP this election season.<\/p>\n The results of the National Suburban Poll by the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University paint a bleak picture for Trump and his party.<\/p>\n \u201cNumbers that are concerning Republicans throughout the country become even more so when they show up in suburbs, which for years have been the \u2018swing\u2019 voting bloc that determines national and many statewide elections,\u201d said Larry Levy, the center\u2019s dean. \u201cWhen a party\u2019s or candidate\u2019s numbers are weak in the suburbs, as we\u2019ve found in many instances for Republicans, the situation goes from concerning to alarming.\u201d<\/p>\n The survey found 33% of suburban voters approve of the president\u2019s job performance. His approval rating in swing suburban House seats isn\u2019t much better: 35%.<\/p>\n Just over a quarter of suburban voters nationally \u2014 26% \u2014 are satisfied with the direction of the country.<\/p>\n Suburban voters by a margin of 50% to 42% prefer Democrats over Republicans in the generic Congressional ballot question. The GOP, though, is in a statistical tie with Democrats in suburban swing seats. In those districts, Democrats lead Republicans 47% to 44%.<\/p>\n Taken together, the numbers highlight the challenge Republicans face this year, especially in deep blue New York, home to several swing House districts in the New York City suburbs.<\/p>\n The most competitive race is in the Hudson Valley, where GOP Rep. Mike Lawler is fending off a challenge from Democratic opponent Cait Conley.<\/p>\n The survey included 1,500 people nationwide and was conducted in late September. It oversampled suburban residents who live in swing House districts. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n SARATOGA FRESH: To get an idea of how much national headwinds might apply to the New York State Senate, look to Saratoga County.<\/p>\n Plenty of indicators suggest two factors will heavily influence the outcome: Voters are angry at Republicans and willing to oppose well-tenured incumbents.<\/p>\n That could be a double-barreled problem for Sen. Jim Tedisco, who\u2019s running in a district where Donald Trump lost by 8 points two years ago. The Republican is now the dean of the state Legislature by a large margin: Tedisco came to Albany in 1983, the first year of Mario Cuomo\u2019s time as governor. Only four other members who might be in office next year served in 1999.<\/p>\n \u201cJim Tedisco\u2019s been in office for over 40 years, almost as long as I\u2019ve been alive,\u201d said Sarah Rogerson, Tedisco\u2019s Democratic challenger. \u201cPeople are ready for some fresh voices.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if current assumptions about the electorate\u2019s mood prove true, Republicans remain optimistic they won\u2019t apply to New York. The GOP believes 2026 will be a repeat of 2022, when a lack of enthusiasm for the top of the ticket meant a good year for Democrats nationwide bypassed the Empire State.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s going to be a blue wave across the country, it\u2019s probably going to miss New York, and it\u2019s largely because of how deeply unpopular Kathy Hochul is,\u201d Senate Republican Campaign Committee Chair George Borrello said.<\/p>\n Nobody\u2019s predicting Republicans will retake the majority in a chamber where Democrats had a 41-22 edge this year. The main question now is whether Democrats can pull off a two-thirds supermajority of 42 or more members, a feat accomplished in 2020 and 2022 but not 2024.<\/p>\n READ MORE in POLITICO Pro from Bill Mahoney.<\/a><\/p>\n BILL SIGNING TIME: Mayor Zohran Mamdani will sign two bills passed by the City Council that come with significant transit and housing policy ramifications, his office confirmed today.<\/p>\n The first measure Mamdani plans to put his John Hancock on will abolish New York City\u2019s horse carriage industry<\/a>. The second will give nonprofit groups and local land trusts first dibs on buying distressed residential properties in their communities, with the idea that those regulations<\/a> will protect affordable housing stock.<\/p>\n Mamdani had already voiced support for both pieces of legislation before the Council passed them yesterday. But his office hadn\u2019t until today confirmed he would sign the bills, as opposed to letting them lapse into law.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s office did not immediately provide a date for when he plans to sign the bills.<\/p>\n The issue of signing bills came to the fore this week when the New York Post noted<\/a> that Mamdani has only inked one bill since taking office. Ultimately, as long as the mayor doesn\u2019t veto a bill, there\u2019s no practical difference between whether he signs it or lets it lapse, as it becomes law regardless. \u2014 Chris Sommerfeldt\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 IN THE SCHOOLS: New York City is considering closing a Harlem high school due to underenrollment, the first in what could be a growing number of school mergers and closures amid public school enrollment declines. (Chalkbeat<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 HOCHUL: The governor\u2019s vision for New York is largely shaped by her upbringing in a small Rust Belt city in western New York and her family\u2019s slow climb up the socioeconomic ladder. (New York Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 CORNELL 7: Attorney General Letitia James is asking a court to dismiss a request to remove her from the investigation into the alleged sexual assault at Cornell University due to impartiality concerns. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\nFROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL<\/h3>\n
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