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With help from Jason Beeferman
Gift shopping for a New York political obsessive? Bradley Tusk has a fix: His new novel, “Obvious in Hindsight.”
In it, a political consultant based on Tusk himself pits New York, Los Angeles and Austin against one another to be the first to legalize flying cars.
Spoiler alert: the FBI starts investigating the mayor of New York City. By the way — Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference last month promoting flying-car-like electric helicopters.
Escapism, it is not. But “if you’re the kind of person that’s reading Playbook, you’ll like this book,” Tusk told Playbook.
The mayor character is based on Bill de Blasio, always late to press conferences. And like the real Blaz, he got outplayed by Uber in a regulatory battle and now hates the company.
Even briefly mentioned characters are based on New Yorkers. A young councilmember named Espinal. A Skelos, who’s always “looking to sell his vote to the highest bidder.” An Addabbo, a Rosenthal, and an oppo researcher who seems a lot like ex-Tusk consultant-turned Eric Adams-adviser Menashe Shapiro.
“The book is slightly fantastical, because it’s satire,” Tusk said, “but I’ve testified at five grand jury and corruption trials. … This is life if you’re working in the high levels of politics.”
Tusk worked for Chuck Schumer and Mike Bloomberg, and tried to make Andrew Yang mayor. He consulted for Uber during its massive rise so while his firm Tusk Strategies is very active in New York, its founder is focusing on philanthropy, owning a money-losing bookstore, and writing a novel.
But before that, Tusk was deputy governor of Illinois while his boss, Rod Blagojevich, was under federal investigation. Blago, as he was often called, was later convicted on corruption charges.
“It’s a giant distraction,” Tusk said of an investigation. “It makes governing harder. It makes getting the press’s attention on anything else harder.”
(The investigation into the mayor’s campaign is not a distraction, Adams told PIX11 Sunday. “Stay focused and grind.”)
What else to read over the holidays? We asked Playbook readers their favorite novels touching on New York politics. Some responses:
— Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow
— Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee
— The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick
— The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
— The Alienist by Caleb Carr
— The Intuitionist and Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead
— Machine by Denis Hamill
— Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughan — Jeff Coltin
IT’S WEDNESDAY. Got news? What are you reading this holiday season? Send it all our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
WHERE’S KATHY? Making a child care announcement in Albany.
WHERE’S ERIC? Appearing live on Fox5’s “Good Day New York,” discussing the asylum seeker crisis and other issues with Baptist ministers, making an announcement related to affordable housing and economic development, speaking at the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ’s “Commercial Cleaners Strike Vote Rally,” appearing live on 77 WABC’s “CATS & COSBY” and joining NY1’s “Inside City Hall.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This is the beginning of healing the scars” — The Rev. Al Sharpton after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law Tuesday to study potential reparations for state residents of African descent.
ABOVE THE FOLD
POLICE REPORTING BILLS: The City Council is expected today to pass legislation requiring the NYPD to report information on lower-level stops — a task that backers say adds seconds to officers’ routines but goes a long way toward transparency.
The two-bill How Many Stops package would collect data potentially shedding light on unlawfulness and discrimination just as the numbers on stop, question and frisk did, said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a co-sponsor.
But he and councilmembers are pushing back on charges — including by Mayor Eric Adams — that the legislation would hamstring officers.
“This is not the first or fifth time that the mayor or the Adams administration have verifiably given misinformation to the public,” Williams said.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, blasted the legislation, saying Tuesday, “We are about to pass a bill that is going to damage our ability to keep our city safe because of the police resources that are going to be used.”
The mayor also snarked that How Many Stops is being advanced by the same City Council that criticizes NYPD overtime.
“Idealism collides with realism,” Adams said.
The reporting requirement would cover Level 1 and 2 stops, and officers would answer four or five questions, including on demographics, using their smartphones — nothing in the realm of arduous paperwork, Williams said.
“The bill that they’re describing is not a bill that we would pass,” he added.
Indeed, council officials said the bill went through extensive negotiations with the Adams administration and the NYPD, the council incorporating into the final draft nearly all the police-suggested changes.
“Int. 586 is not about capturing officers’ casual conversations and interactions to assist the public, despite rampant misinformation being spread about the bill,” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement. “This legislation provides basic data and transparency on investigative stops that intrude in people’s daily lives.”
Mayor Adams did not say whether he would veto the package, though it appears it would be moot. Williams said he expects the legislation to pass with a veto-proof majority. — Emily Ngo
WHAT CITY HALL IS READING
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Major health organizations are fed up that a City Council bill to ban the sale of flavored cigarettes — like menthol, mint, and wintergreen flavored smokes — is still stuck in committee since its July 2022 introduction to council, and the groups are even suggesting Big Tobacco influence may have something to do with it.
“Despite the fact that the legislation is now supported by half of the Council, the Health Committee has declined to hold — or perhaps been prevented from holding — even a hearing on the bill,” the groups say in a letter shared with POLITICO.
The letter is signed by the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and the American Cancer Society and addressed to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilmember Lynn Schulman.
“We are concerned that your lack of action to protect children and people of color from being targeted by Big Tobacco is due to increased pressure from special interests who profit from the sale of menthol,” the groups write.
Schulman, the chair of the council’s health committee and a sponsor on the bill, denied its delay had anything to do with outside interests, and emphasized her support for the bill.
“I understand the frustration,” Schulman said.
Adams and Councilmember Rita Joseph, the bill’s lead sponsor, did not respond to POLITICO’s requests for comment. — Jason Beeferman
More from the city:
— Adams’ ‘unusually severe’ budget cuts have brought him a unique coalition of critics from different sides of New York’s political spectrum. (POLITICO)
— Fourteen percent of Adams’ campaign fundraisers were hosted by people with business before the city or seeking business. (NY1)
— Criticizing Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is standard practice for most Democrats, but for Adams, it seems to be a defense. (POLITICO)
— Adams hosted a party at private club Zero Bond last summer to promote the unsuccessful effort to host the Democratic National Convention, and the city picked up the $6,098 tab. (Hell Gate)
WHAT ALBANY'S READING
LAWMAKERS GET GREEN SCORES: The New York League of Conservation Voters ranked Senate Democrats higher than the Assembly majority in their 2023 annual scorecard released Wednesday, reflecting growing pressure on Speaker Carl Heastie’s conference from environmentalists .
The chamber that regularly passed an earlier version of New York’s landmark climate law is now viewed as the laggard — or, alternatively, the more sober and pragmatic restraint — on environmental policy issues.
NYLCV gave an average score to Assembly Democrats, based on sponsorship or passage of various priorities, of 85 percent. Senate Democrats got a 96 percent average.
“While the 2023 legislative session took steps forward as New York continues to lead on climate action, the urgency of the climate crisis demands that lawmakers go even further next year. In many ways, however, the Senate met the moment,” wrote NYLCV president Julie Tighe in the scorecard.
She notes the Senate passage of NY HEAT, which would end subsidies for gas system expansions and limit utilities’ obligation to serve customers, and a clean fuel standard, which would support alternative fuels in the transportation sector.
“The Assembly must now follow their lead and get these measures over the finish line next year,” Tighe added.
Lawmakers often celebrate their scorecard rankings by NYLCV and point to it as evidence of their green credibility. The ratings are based on bills NYLCV identifies as priorities during the session. — Marie J. French
CASE OF THE SUNDAYS: Democrats in the state Legislature are taking aim at Chick-fil-A’s growth in New York.
A proposal backed by Assemblymember Tony Simone and state Sen. Michelle Hinchey would require all restaurants at Thruway rest areas to be open seven days a week.
The Chick-fil-A chain, which has locations in the newly revamped rest areas along the Thruway, is by policy closed on Sundays.
“A company, that by policy, is closed on one of the busiest travel days of the week should not be the company that travelers have to rely on for food services,” Simone said in a statement. “This bill ensures that travelers have access to the services they need to travel comfortably.”
The measure would not apply to restaurants that are currently in operation. But the proposal is the latest measure from Democrats who expressed dissatisfaction with Chick-fil-A’s presence.
The company and its leadership in the past has donated to charities with anti-LGBTQ views, a policy that ended in 2019.
Chick-fil-A did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Thruway rest areas are now operated by Applegreen, an Ireland-based company that has a 33-year contract to manage the facilities. The company is required to provide both a hot and cold food option 24 hours a day, Thruway spokesperson Jon Dougherty said.
“Chick-fil-A’s Sunday closure is a brand requirement which Applegreen factored into their tenant plan,” he said. “When the project is complete, Chick-fil-A will operate in less than half of the service areas on the Thruway – all of which have at least one other food concept and a convenience store open seven days a week with up to three additional concepts and a convenience store at the largest and highest volume locations.” — Nick Reisman
More from Albany:
— Will New York lawmakers be open to a housing deal next year? (NY1)
— The Working Families Party is pressing candidates to back a tax increase next year. (New York Post)
FROM THE DELEGATION
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: End Citizens United // Let America Vote will endorse Democrat Tom Suozzi today in his Feb. 13 special election against Republican-backed Mazi Melesa Pilip.
The advocacy group had filed complaints against George Santos, who was ousted from the Nassau County and Queens seat, with the Federal Election Commission, the Office of Congressional Ethics and the Department of Justice, alleging that he acted illegally.
Tiffany Muller, president of ECU // LAV, commended Suozzi’s work to “pass pro-democracy legislation aimed at rooting out corruption and protecting the right to vote.”
Pilip, who is lesser known nationally than Suozzi, meanwhile, revealed more of where she stands on key issues in a Jewish Insider interview published Tuesday. She had been rushed out of her campaign launch event last week and dodged reporters.
“Trump has to go through his process. Nobody’s above the law,” Pilip told the outlet of the former president’s indictments.
And on abortion? “I am pro-life. However, I’m not going to push my own beliefs on any woman. Therefore, I’m not going to support a national abortion ban,” she said. — Emily Ngo
EMPIRE STATE SHRINKAGE: New York is shedding population faster than any state in the country, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.
And in less than a decade, that could mean a significant reduction in clout for the Empire State in Washington.
The Brennan Center projected New York’s House delegation would shrink from 26 seats to 23 if the current population trends continue.
The state already lost one seat in the House after the 2020 Census due to New York not growing as fast as the rest of the nation.
A decline in House representation has been a consistent story for New York for more than half a century. In 1952, the state had 43 House districts and since then has steadily lost seats in the chamber.
“This is a long-term story for New York,” Michael Li, senior counsel at the Brennan Center, told Playbook. “New York is well used to the trauma that comes with losing seats and figuring out what to do.” — Nick Reisman
More from the delegation:
— Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrapped up his annual 62-county tour. (Buffalo News)
AROUND NEW YORK
— A Queens Democrat was indicted Tuesday for voter fraud after prosecutors said the man cast 20 absentee ballots in 2022. (Gothamist)
— Nurses at three Montefiore hospitals in the Lower Hudson Valley voted to go on a strike once their current contract expires on Dec. 31. (LoHud)
— A Rochester man was freed Tuesday after 37 years behind bars upon a state judge’s ruling that he was wrongfully convicted. (Democrat & Chronicle)
SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN
OUT AND ABOUT – SPOTTED at a Christmas party thrown by NY Mag’s Shawn McCreesh and Air Mail’s Harrison Vail and the Edition Hotel in Manhattan Monday night: Maureen Dowd, Graydon Carter, Alessandra Stanley, Kaitlan Collins, Lis Smith, Alexandra Pelosi, Risa Heller, Carl Swanson, Stella Bugbee, Alex Levy, Ann Coulter, Vanessa Friedman, Pamela Paul, Lydia Polgreen, Angelo Roefaro, Adrian Lesser, Michael Grynbaum, Ben Mullin, Clare Malone, Charlotte Klein, Lachlan Cartwright, Nathan King and Michael Hainey.
– Climate Defiance, a youth-led org group that engages in direct action targeting climate policymakers held a “fund-rager” at Turnmill Bar in Manhattan Monday night. SPOTTED: City Council Member Sandy Nurse, state Sens. Kristen Gonzalez and Jabari Brisport, Assembly members Emily Gallagher and Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls and Reps. Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman.
MAKING MOVES – Karina Albistegui Adler and Sophie Dalsimer have been promoted to be co-directors of health justice at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: AP’s Mary Clare Jalonick … HuffPost’s Jen Bendery … SKDK VP Alyssa Villanueva … Cory Epstein … Murray Waas … Lauren Milnes … Cameron Willis … William Benedict … Jordan Emont … Louise Linton …
(WAS TUESDAY): Bernard Weinraub ... Douglas Durst ... Marsha Weiss ... Jane Hausman-Troy … Michael Kroll
Real Estate
— A bill barring landlords, co-op boards and brokers from running background checks on many apartment renters and buyers is likely to be passed by the City Council today. (Crain’s New York Business)
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