AFTER 57 DAYS, THE BUDGET IS DONE!

TAXING TRUMP’S BUCKS: Gov. Kathy Hochul believes there should be ramifications for anyone who accepts cash from President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund — and the money should go toward helping New Yorkers.

“I have no problem with there being consequences for people who accept that money,” she told reporters at an unrelated news conference.

The Democratic governor stopped short today of fully endorsing proposals germinating in the Legislature that would slap a 100 percent tax on payouts from the president’s $1.776 billion fund — a posture she takes with nearly every bill before it’s approved.

But Hochul clearly signaled she would support an arrangement in which payouts are taxed by New York.

“If there’s a tax that goes into a fund that helps New Yorkers, it might be a good way to go,” she said.

POLITICO first reported Wednesday night that New York Democratic state lawmakers are pushing for a vote by next week for a bill that would, in essence, confiscate any payments.

Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris is in the process of introducing a bill in his chamber. Assemblymember Alex Bores, a Democratic House candidate, initially proposed the measure.

Money from the fund is meant for people who are “victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” according to Trump’s acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Trump has not ruled out providing some of the money for people who were convicted of crimes in connection to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In remarks before signing a budget bill, Hochul called the pot of cash “a slush fund.”

“That kind of money — it’s obscene to be setting aside to award people who have committed crimes and injustices, including assaulting police officers on Jan. 6,” she said.

In Albany, lawmakers are racing to get the bill over the finish line by next week. The legislative session is scheduled to end June 4.

New York is among the blue states considering 100 percent taxes on payouts from the fund, which the president announced as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice after he sued the IRS.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom this week embraced fully taxing the money. Democratic state lawmakers in New Jersey and Wisconsin are also pursuing similar measures.

Some Republicans have blasted the fund, and it's received a cool reception among the GOP in the U.S. Senate.

Republican candidate for governor Bruce Blakeman, though, steered clear when asked about it this morning.

“I haven’t even focused on it,” said Blakeman, the Nassau County executive and a Trump ally. “I’m too busy focusing on state issues where I can actually make a difference in peoples’ lives.”

His response underscores the politically delicate position the fund puts Republican candidates in this election season.

Blakeman, though, insisted Democrats should be trying to spend the remaining session days addressing utility costs and public safety, not a national issue.

“Those are the things people want the Legislature and the executive branch to focus on,” he said. — Nick Reisman

From the Capitol

HOLTZMAN BACKS ANTI-TRAFFICKING BILL: Former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman worked the halls of Albany today in support of a bill that would allow Jeffrey Epstein’s victims to seek damages from his estate.

“I’ve fought for a long time in Congress and as district attorney against sexual violence against women, so it’s a subject that’s very dear to my heart,” Holtzman said.

The bill is one of several high-profile measures competing for attention in the condensed homestretch of this year’s legislative session where there’ll only be time to pass a handful of complicated bills. But the sponsors have been doing what they can to help raise its profile — state Sen. Zellnor Myrie hosted Epstein’s victims in a committee meeting earlier this month and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal joined the former representative today.

“The fact that Congresswoman Holtzman made the trip to Albany and talked to members really gives it a lot more prominence and chance of passing,” Rosenthal said. — Bill Mahoney

FROM CITY HALL

ZO TENSE: Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch agree that security must be beefed up in Manhattan during this weekend’s Israel Day Parade.

But there was no doubt about the tension bubbling just beneath the surface during a parade security briefing both of them held at NYPD headquarters today.

“It’s the mayor’s decision not to march and it is my decision to march — proudly,” Tisch, the NYPD’s first female Jewish commissioner, said when asked if she’s concerned about Mamdani opting not to join her and thousands of other New Yorkers. Mamdani’s decision to sit out the parade breaks with a long-standing tradition of mayors participating in the annual event.

Standing alongside Mamdani, Tisch said she is also “incredibly proud” that the organizer, the Jewish Community Relations Council, named her an honorary grand marshal of this year’s parade. The event’s theme is “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists.”

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor and a longtime critic of Israel, insisted he’s committed to making the parade safe for all participants even though he won’t be at it.

“I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending the parade, and I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,” he told reporters. “I also said on that same campaign that I would have a responsibility as the mayor of the city to ensure the safety and security of each and every New Yorker, and I don’t believe my presence as the mayor should determine whether or not a New Yorker is safe or secure.”

It would be extraordinarily fraught for Mamdani to attend the parade. His pro-Palestinian supporters would likely be outraged. And parade-goers might be inclined to boo him if he showed up.

Still, Marc Schneier, a Long Island rabbi and frequent critic of Mamdani, said the mayor is signaling by skipping the parade that “the Jewish community of New York is not a constituency he is willing to stand beside.” His takeaway: good riddance. 

“We don't want you anyway,” Schneier said of Mamdani.

In an apparent extension of his long-running effort to troll his successor, former Mayor Eric Adams also announced yesterday that he will march in the parade.

Asked by Playbook after today’s security briefing how he feels about Adams’ parade attendance, Mamdani said: “He's welcome to spend his time as he so chooses.” — Chris Sommerfeldt 

NOT ZO FAST: Citizens Union, a New York City-based government watchdog group, is raising concerns about Mamdani’s newly announced Commission on Government Efficiency, warning that its timeline — particularly a push to advance ballot questions this November — risks being rushed.

While calling the commission's goals “laudable” the group cautioned that a new charter commission “will have less time to seek public input, conduct research, and deliberate than even the highly criticized, rushed commission established by Eric Adams.”

The new commission comes immediately after Mamdani dismantled Adams’ Charter Revision Commission, first reported by POLITICO. The current mayor’s commission is tasked with proposing government efficiency measures to voters this fall. Mamdani’s team says the commission will hold 10 hearings across the city in the coming months ahead of any ballot proposals.

Citizens Union pointed to the clash between the new panel and the Adams-era commission — which has signaled it may sue to continue its work — as emblematic of the use of charter commissions for political reasons. The group noted that five such bodies have been created in three years, a rate they say erodes public trust and participation.

Kayla Mamelak Altus, a spokesperson for the Adams commission who served as the former mayor’s press secretary, pointed to the commission’s work to add open primaries and told Playbook “the idea of New Yorkers having a voice in the future of their city — and the right to vote in open primaries — terrifies City Hall.” The advent of open primaries, which would expand the pool of voters to more moderates, would complicate a reelection run for Mamdani in 2029.

“We are prepared to pursue all available legal remedies to protect the people’s voice,” Mamelak Altus said.

Mamdani said today the commission, known as COGE — a nod to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — is part of a “sincere commitment” to improve government.

Asked whether there’s anything he admired and is trying to emulate from Musk’s DOGE, or whether it’s just a similar name, Mamdani told reporters, “It’s just the name, and what it should have been.”

“Elon Musk took that language and used it to cut as many jobs that were as critical as possible for so many of the neediest people across the country and across the world,” he said. “Ours is going to be a focus on actually delivering efficiency.” — Gelila Negesse and Janaki Chadha

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

PAC IT UP: VoteVets is investing $1 million to boost Army veteran Cait Conley, one of five Democrats vying to take on Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.

The ad touts Conley’s military service, saying that “after the Towers fell, [she] answered the call,” and that in Congress, she’ll “take on Trump’s corruption, rein in ICE and bring down costs.”

The ad buy makes VoteVets, a Democratic group that backs veterans, the biggest spender in the primary, according to the ad tracker AdImpact. Conley and Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson have been on the air for weeks, though neither have spent close to as much as VoteVets’ $1 million.

The group also released a poll, conducted by Global Strategy Group earlier this month, showing Conley and Davidson pulling away from the pack — though more than one-third of respondents were still undecided. The survey, which polled 500 likely Democratic primary voters, had Conley with 29 percent of support, Davidson with 22 percent, Tarrytown trustee Effie Phillips-Staley with 6 percent, former TV reporter Mike Sacks with 4 percent and Air Force veteran John Cappello with 2 percent. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.4 percentage points.

Earlier this week, two former primary contenders — tech executive and local government official Peter Chatzky and former FBI official John Sullivan — endorsed Davidson, citing her experience as a local elected official. — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— A CHANGE IN TUNE: Mamdani is considering endorsing Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist, in the NY-13 race, despite committing to support incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat last year. (The New York Times)

— BUFF UP: Facing a $103 million structural deficit, Buffalo scored a $65 million aid boost in state budget deal. (Buffalo News)

— ‘THIS IS INSANE’: In a federal case brought by immigrants detained at 26 Federal Plaza, internal emails show ICE agents were aware and concerned over conditions there. (Gothamist)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

Programming note: We’ll be off this Monday but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 52

ALBANY AUTOPSY ANGST: National Democrats entrusted their 2024 autopsy to a strategist entwined with another long-ago party calamity: the Obama-era implosion of the New York Senate.

Paul Rivera previously served as a key adviser to state Senate Democratic leader John Sampson, a Brooklyn lawmaker who led an infamously dysfunctional majority for part of 2009 and into 2010 — and was later convicted of federal fraud charges.

Rivera arrived in the Senate with a strong resume after working on gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, including Al Gore and John Kerry. Staffers and lawmakers alike found him to be an inscrutable, enigmatic aide who murmured advice in the background. It was the kind of shapeless profile many advisers hone in power centers across the globe, but seemed especially befitting a state Capitol known for its bewildering opacity.

“The man lurked in the shadows. No one knew where he came from,” former Democratic Senate press aide Travis Proulx said. “It was like a ship in the night working with him. Of everyone I’ve ever worked with he stands out as the man behind the curtain. No one knew how he got there.”

Rivera did not return five phone calls and text messages seeking comment on Thursday and Friday. Sampson also did not return messages seeking comment.

The strategist has little national profile, but his involvement in crafting the widely panned autopsy report was befuddling to Albany Democrats who recall with unease a deeply broken era of New York politics. They still shudder when thinking about their unhappy two-year state Senate majority during the Obama years.

Rivera’s Zelig-like reputation was fostered during that benighted era and even lawmakers struggled to figure out where his power flowed from in the building.

“You never know who he was really loyal to, on whose behalf he was acting,” said former Democratic state Sen. Diane Savino.

Rivera’s name does not appear on the Democratic National Committee’s 192-page report on the 2024 election, formally released Thursday after it was published online by CNN. The autopsy was widely criticized by party officials, ex-Harris campaign aides and former Biden staffers.

The report did not include any references to the party’s challenges over Israel and Gaza, while only making passing references to President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside — widely considered two crucial reasons for the party’s failure two years ago.

DNC Chair Ken Martin apologized for the document in a long statement. But that hasn’t stemmed widespread calls for him to resign the leadership post he’s held for less than 18 months.

Democratic alumni of the fractious state Senate Democratic conference in Albany were flabbergasted that the national party would hand such an important job — analyzing why droves of Americans backed President Donald Trump’s unlikely White House return — to a strategist associated with a disastrous era for Empire State Democrats.

“He sold himself as a guy who knew everything and that he was a master of politics,” Savino said of the former Senate aide’s Albany tenure. “He didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about.”

Read more from POLITICO's Nick Reisman.

From the Capitol

MICAH’S SUPERNATURAL VOTE: Assemblymember and former teen magician Micah Lasher seemingly made a miraculous journey to New York City from Albany on Thursday.

And Lasher — who is running for the congressional seat held by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler — is refusing to answer questions about how it happened.

The assemblymember apparently was able to cast his vote from Albany at around 4:50 p.m. and make it to Manhattan’s Upper West Side in time for a 7 p.m. candidate forum.

Anyone who’s ever driven the roughly 150 miles from Albany to New York City knows that timetable stretches the limits of reality — unless you’re driving well over the speed limit and get a lucky streak of zero traffic congestion.

Lasher’s campaign refused to say where he physically was at the time he voted, and then ignored multiple follow-up calls from Playbook.

The vote was on a budget bill that included a slate of measures designed to protect immigrants from the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement tactics. Lasher has called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the campaign trail, and even traveled to Minnesota in January to join protests against the federal agency.

Earlier today, Lasher touted passage of the bill, saying “I am incredibly proud to have authored this legislation to protect the dignity and safety of all.”

Assembly rules state members need to be in the “bar of the House” in order to be considered present. The “bar” is defined as “the entire Assembly Chamber and lobbies contiguous thereto as designated by the Speaker.”

As our Playbook colleague Bill Mahoney reported last month, members have taken advantage of the policy by routinely being absent from the chambers during votes and debates. Instead, many clock in during the morning and then spend session elsewhere in the Capitol or the adjacent Legislative Office Building. Because they’re technically checked-in and considered present, the members are automatically counted as a “yes” vote on legislation — even if they’re holed up somewhere else in the Capitol complex.

But there’s no indication the “bar” of the House extends to the Catskill exit of the New York State Thruway — a reasonable, but still tight, starting point for someone hoping to make it all the way to West 97th St. in 130 minutes.

And if members do need to leave town early, they’re instructed to tell Assembly leadership so they don’t get mistakenly counted in the vote tally when they’re in another zip code.

Assemblymember Alex Bores, who is also running for the congressional seat — along with Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and former Republican Trump antagonist George Conway — made it to the forum late because he voted for the bill and also took time to explain his vote on the floor.

After Bores apologized for his tardiness at the forum, which was hosted by a group of tenant associations, he expressed befuddlement at how Lasher was seemingly able to beam across the Hudson Valley and also cast his vote.

“You got to tell me the route that gets me here in two hours. That’s remarkable,” Bores said, in a video reviewed by Playbook. “You voted on it?”

“I did,” Lasher said, giving a nod. — Jason Beeferman

BURSTING INTO TIERS: A package of changes to the Tier 6 pension plan have been finalized as state budget talks come to an end, two people familiar with the conversations said.

"Tier 6 is done," said one of the people, who was granted anonymity to relay the closed-door negotiations.

The changes will allow teachers to retire at age 58 after 30 years of service. Employee contribution rates for many public workers will fall to 3 percent of their pay checks. The total cost stands at more than $550 million a year spread out between the state government, municipalities and school districts.

The provision is expected to be tucked inside the transportation and economic development budget bill.

The overhaul represents a major victory for labor, which has detested the less-generous pension tier since its 2012 inception.

Read more from POLITICO Pro’s Nick Reisman.

FROM CITY HALL

SIGNS OF LIFE: The zombie charter revision commission created by former Mayor Eric Adams will release a report next week listing proposed changes to the City Charter the body may pursue — even as state legislation seeks to kill the outfit altogether and ensure it stays dead.

The report, which was obtained by Playbook, is set to appear in the City Record Tuesday. In addition to the prospect of open primaries, it suggests more reforms to the city’s land use process, prohibiting elected officials from giving themselves pay raises and making it harder to change term limit laws. The report also muses about making permanent several mayoral offices relating to combating hate crimes and antisemitism and forcing City Hall to fund future charter revision commissions. That last one is key.

This particular commission was created on the last day of Adams’ tenure and is being spearheaded by his first deputy mayor, Randy Mastro.

The rogue body is advancing proposals that would make life difficult for Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Open primaries, for example, would empower more moderate candidates and complicate the mayor’s reelection prospects. The report also recommended putting to voters several executive orders related to combating antisemitism that were signed by Adams — also in the waning days of his term — and left to lapse by the current mayor. The expiration of the executive orders predictably sparked consternation with many Jewish residents.

The commission has been criticized as an abuse of the process by city and state government ethics organizations — even by those who support the concept of open primaries. And while Mamdani has starved the commission of funds, Albany went a step further by passing legislation Thursday that effectively dissolves the body.

The mayor has been playing coy about what he will do (despite being the person who asked for the state provision in the first place). He said at a press conference Thursday he is still considering his options.

The commission remains undeterred, however. It plans to sue over the state legislation while plowing ahead with its work. A public hearing remains on the schedule for next week.

Kayla Mamelak Altus, a commission member, said state lawmakers are attempting to silence the will of the people, who would otherwise be able to help shape the commission’s eventual ballot questions.

“That should send chills down the spines of all New Yorkers who care about having a voice in our local democracy,” she said in a statement. “This attempt to retroactively dismantle a legally constituted Charter Revision Commission in the middle of its work flies in the face of municipal home rule.” — Joe Anuta

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

BREWING SUPPORT: City Council member and Upper West Side fixture Gale Brewer has endorsed Stephanie Ruskay in the race for an open state Assembly seat covering the vote-rich enclave.

“We need leaders who are smart, compassionate, and deeply rooted in the communities they serve,” Brewer said in a statement shared exclusively with Playbook. “That’s why I’m proud to support Stephanie Ruskay for State Assembly.”

Ruskay, who would be the first female rabbi elected to the state Legislature, is running for the seat being vacated by Assemblymember Micah Lasher, who himself is vying for an open congressional seat.

In addition to Brewer, who has represented the area over two stints in the Council, Ruskay is being backed by a number of sitting officials including City Comptroller Mark Levine, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and City Council member Shaun Abreu.

She’s locked in a battle with Eli Northrup, a public defender who has received endorsements from local Democratic clubs and organizations farther to the left in a proxy war between different wings of the Democratic Party. — Joe Anuta

IN OTHER NEWS

— PRESSURE FROM WITHIN: Hundreds of immigrants detained at a Newark immigration detention center went on a hunger and labor strike, demanding the facility’s closure, their release and visits from elected officials. (Gothamist)

— PLAY NICE!: Kathy Wylde, former head of the Partnership for New York City and a key business broker, is again playing go-between for Mamdani and corporate leaders. (New York Post)

— FARE FIGHT: World Cup fans are opting for $20 buses over $98 train rides to MetLife Stadium, amid backlash over steep transit prices. (The New York Times)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 43

PRIMARY COLORS: Republican Assemblymember Robert Smullen sat down with Rep. Elise Stefanik five years ago to talk about a rural development bill, but instead he made a bold claim: He intended to challenge her in a GOP primary.

The previously unreported meeting, according to two people with direct knowledge of the private conversation who were granted anonymity to discuss it, occurred in July 2021.

Smullen never followed through with a Stefanik primary challenge. And in a statement, he denied ever planning to challenge her for the nomination.

“I’ve never planned to primary Elise Stefanik,” he said in a statement. “I have too much respect for her, her leadership, and the job she has done fighting for NY-21 and Upstate New York.”

According to the people, the sitdown occurred as Republican House members in deep blue New York were bracing for what was expected to be a challenging round of redistricting. Smullen’s primary threat against Stefanik was based, in part, on the potential of her home being drawn out of the sprawling North Country seat she’s represented since 2015.

“To have the audacity to do that — to not read the room, but also not read the polling,” one of the people said. “By the end of the meeting he was set straight.”

It also came months after Stefanik replaced then-Rep. Liz Cheney as the Republican House conference chair following the Wyoming Republican’s emergence as an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump. Stefanik had previously emerged as a prominent Trump ally in Congress.

Yet Smullen over the years has donated frequently to Stefanik’s campaigns — including thousands of dollars between 2020 and 2024.

She also frequently appeared alongside Smullen at events, like at an October 2022 fundraiser for his Assembly reelection campaign as well as a rally a month later.

“I have known Elise personally for years, supported and donated to her campaigns, and appreciated her support for me during my own races,” Smullen said. “Like many elected officials and political allies do over the years, we had conversations about the future and the importance of continuing strong Republican representation for this district someday. That is very different from this narrative POLITICO is trying to create.”

He added, “What is especially disappointing is that my opponent and his operatives are trying to drag Elise into a primary she has made clear she is staying out of so voters can make their own decision.”

Smullen also told Playbook that Stefanik comforted his family when his son was hospitalized and later died after he was struck by a car.

“During the hardest time in my family’s life, Elise was there for us while my son AJ was in the hospital and after we lost him. Those are not the actions of people involved in some fabricated political feud,” Smullen said. “I am focused on earning the support of voters across NY-21 and fighting for the conservative values that unite Republicans across Upstate New York."

The state lawmaker is now running for the House seat Stefanik is vacating this year, competing for the nomination against Republican Anthony Constantino, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the June 23 primary.

Stefanik has not endorsed in the primary to succeed her. But her support is highly coveted by both Republican candidates.

She’s represented the House district for the last decade, building up a base of ardent supporters and aligning herself closely with the president’s MAGA movement.

Stefanik bowed out of running for reelection after scuttling a short-lived bid for governor.

Her decision not to run for another term has ignited a heated Republican primary to succeed her in a ruby red House seat that Trump has handily won three times.

Constantino, the CEO of the merchandise and printing company Sticker Mule, has marshaled the backing of Trump-allied luminaries like political operative Roger Stone, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and retired Gen. Michael Flynn.

His candidacy has split Empire State Republicans, however.

The New York Republican Committee in April formally endorsed Smullen — a rare nod by the party’s statewide leadership in a GOP primary. — Nick Reisman

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

HOCHUL FILMS VIDEO FOR LASHER: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Jerry Nadler, Assemblymember Micah Lasher and political strategist Morris Katz all walked into a bagel shop.

It’s not the start of a joke, it’s what happened Tuesday at Tal Bagels on 90th and Broadway.

The three elected officials were spotted with the wunderkind political strategist filming a video together for Lasher’s run for Congress, according to two Playbook spies and a third person who confirmed the events. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Council Member Gale Brewer were also there.

Lasher is running for the Manhattan seat held by Nadler, his former boss, and was already endorsed by Hochul, also his former boss, last month.

But the soon-to-be released video will mark a unique level of involvement for Hochul in the race.

In the 2024 Democratic primaries, Hochul held a strict no-primary-endorsements policy, even though she privately fundraised for some candidates. Now, she’s filming Katzian videos over lox & schmear for Lasher in a competitive primary, where he’s up against Assemblymember Alex Bores, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and anti-Trump commentator George Conway.

The meeting also shows a sort of détente in the political consulting world. In the bruising battle in neighboring NY-10, Katz’s Fight Agency is backing former city comptroller Brad Lander’s primary challenge of Rep. Dan Goldman, whose campaign is powered by consultants Haley Scott and Mark Guma.

Guma and Scott both work on Lasher’s campaign, which now can officially count Katz as a partner.

Behind the scenes, Katz, a key strategist on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign, has already been boosting Lasher. In February, POLITICO reported Katz was making calls to progressives to line up support for Lasher, identifying himself as “Morris Katz with the mayor” on the phone.

In a statement, Lasher spokesperson Caroline Crowell celebrated how the great bagel confab represented a unity between the rival consultants.

“Team Lasher is thrilled to welcome Fight Agency to our team that includes powerhouses Mark Guma and Haley Scott,” Crowell said. “We can't wait for you to see what we've been cooking up. Stay tuned!” — Jason Beeferman and Irie Sentner

RELATED: It’s unclear if Mamdani is going to wade into the primary for Nadler’s seat — and there haven’t been any significant signs that he will. But in an interview with the New York Editorial Board, Bores said he would “love” to have the mayor’s endorsement.

“I haven’t talked to him about an endorsement,” Bores said, adding that he would “welcome his endorsement, just like I welcome the endorsement of any voter in the district.”

“That’s a little lukewarm,” journalist Ben Smith replied.

“Given the opportunity to ask and, yes, I would love to have his endorsement, but I don’t expect that he will get involved in this race,” Bores, who often likes to mention that he and Mamdani were basketball buddies in Albany, continued.

Bores has raked in some eye-catching progressive endorsements, including from Our Revolution, the group founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

At a recent forum at a synagogue, both Bores and Lasher were asked if they regretted endorsing Mamdani in the general election; neither said no, but both qualified their support for the mayor, who has drawn the ire of some Jewish voters. NY-12 has a prominent Jewish constituency. — Madison Fernandez

From the Capitol

CLOCK’S TICKING: The state Capitol is starting to take on some post-budget vibes — despite the fact that budget talks haven’t yet concluded.

“This is later than usual,” Assemblymember David Weprin said of this year’s spending plan. “It took a long time till we were going to start doing regular bills because we thought we were going to have a budget relatively on time. Once that became a reality, we started taking up more regular bills."

The advocacy focus in the halls near the Legislature’s chambers has increasingly moved away from last-minute budget pleas to stand-alone bills. Weprin joined former Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist today to push for more insurance coverage for stuttering. Other groups pushed for bans on data centers, a herbicide prohibition and new regulations on gun safes.

Both houses of the Legislature, meanwhile, are increasingly spending their days plowing through dense agendas.

“Would I have wanted to be at this point in session?” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said while announcing a consumer protection package Tuesday. “No, I would hope as always that we were able to get an on-time budget and that we were able to accomplish what we needed to accomplish sooner than now. But that has not stopped us from paying attention to the things we care about.”

But time is still clearly running out — even if the budget is wrapped up next week, there will only be eight remaining session days. “We’re just going to run out of time,” Assemblymember Anna Kelles said.

And while legislative leaders have been adamant that June 4 will remain the last day, that pinch is stirring talks of overtime.

“I think we will have some special session after our session ends before the end of the year to do some bills we haven’t done,” Weprin predicted. — Bill Mahoney

FROM THE DELEGATION

BELTWAY VITRIOL: Rep. Mike Lawler called antisemitic insults hurled at him by William Paul, the son of Sen. Rand Paul, “reprehensible” and “fucking disgusting.”

NOTUS reported on Wednesday that last night, the younger Paul “confronted Lawler about Rep. Thomas Massie’s GOP primary election in Kentucky next week” and said that if he loses, it’s going to be because of “your people” — which he followed by saying “you Jews.”

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Lawler said Paul “went on a roughly 10 minute diatribe about Israel and about Jews, about Paul Singer and accusing Jews of being responsible for so many things, playing right into the typical antisemitic tropes that so many people rely on.”

Lawler is not Jewish. His district, just north of New York City, has a large Jewish population.

“It speaks to a larger issue, obviously, in society and what we're seeing among young people and what we see online,” he said. “This is the level of hatred and vitriol, frankly, that some of my Jewish colleagues experience, but many of my constituents experience.”

Paul responded to the incident in an X post, writing that he “had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem.” — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— WALDEN IN THE WATERS: A coalition of wealthy donors has raised over $1 million to oppose Mamdani’s agenda. (The New York Times)

—COURTSIDE CONGESTION: The Knicks’ playoff run could collide with World Cup transit restrictions, creating a major commuting problem for Penn Station. (Gothamist)

—MAYOR TAKES AIM: Mamdani is urging state regulators to block Western Union’s $500 million merger with Intermex, warning it could raise costs for immigrant New Yorkers. (Semafor)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated Brad Hoylman-Sigal’s title as state Senator. He is now Manhattan’s borough president.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 41 

SPENDING SPECIFICS: Crucial state budget details — including aid for New York City, the structure of a surcharge on high-value second homes and the contours of major pension changes — are yet to be fully ironed out.

Gov. Kathy Hochul last week announced a "general agreement" for a $268 billion spending plan — but without specifics on many items. The closed-door discussions remain underway in Albany and none of the nine remaining budget bills have been printed.

The state budget is now destined to be at least six weeks past its March 31 due date. Yet Hochul is counting on voters to appreciate her policy wins and not focus on what has been an at-times messy process.

Hammering out these final specifics won't make or break a final deal. But the fine print will matter for how much New York plans for its massive tax-and-spend plan — impacting some 19 million people.

Here's what's to still expect when you're expecting a budget.

New York City aid: More help for the Big Apple is on the way from Albany. Lawmakers and Hochul are discussing additional foundation aid, potentially changing the formula for how public education spending is determined, and more cash for homeless students. At the same time, enabling legislation for pension amortization is being considered.

Those measures are designed to help New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani close what's left of a $5.4 billion budget gap. And they come on top of the additional $1.5 billion Hochul agreed to earlier this year.

The governor told reporters Monday morning her office has been working well with the Mamdani administration to fix the city's budget woes.

"There's quite a bit that needs to be OK'd by New York state," she said. "I spent last night talking to the mayor, Friday night talking to the mayor. It's been a great level of cooperation."

Pied-à-terre structure: Lawmakers are yet to see any detailed budget language for Hochul's proposed surcharge on non-primary second residences worth $5 million and above. How that surcharge is structured — including how much it will rely on a home's assessed value — will matter for how many residences are actually captured by the tax.

Overhauling Tier 6: Overhauling the Tier 6 pension category is a potentially costly endeavor. Hochul and lawmakers are now considering what's being called a "skinny" version of a plan originally pushed by unions, according to two people familiar with the talks.

The change would lower the retirement age for teachers to 58 after 30 years of service, but it would not alter how much they contribute from their paychecks. For the rest of the public workforce, contributions of no lower than 3 percent of a worker's take-home pay is under consideration, but no change would be made to their retirement age.

The move is expected to cost $500 million combined for the state, local governments and school districts. That's far less than the $1.5 billion proposal advanced earlier this year by the New York State AFL-CIO.

Buffer zones: As POLITICO Pro reported earlier, lawmakers and Hochul have weighed a 50-foot protest buffer zone that would allow local officials to expand it as they see fit. Having those zones around houses of worship is largely agreed to, but working through the specifics remains a sticking point. — Nick Reisman

From the Capitol

HANTAVIRUS IN NEW YORK: Three New Yorkers were aboard a cruise ship at the center of an international hantavirus outbreak, state Health Commissioner James McDonald said in a statement this afternoon. The three passengers were sent to the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where they are expected to be subject to a 42-day monitoring period, according to McDonald.

"While the Department is working in close coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health departments to gather information, at this point it is unclear how long they will stay in Nebraska and whether, or when those individuals intend to return to New York,” McDonald said.

“At this point, it is important to emphasize that there is no immediate risk to the public. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed," he added.

When asked about the threat of the virus to New Yorkers, Hochul said the state health agency is working with the CDC, and she is monitoring the federal government to make sure officials have the capacity to handle any potential outbreak.

“I want to make sure that the CDC is capable of handling something that could be larger than they are predicting, and I say that because I know that over a year ago, there were significant cuts to the CDC,” Hochul said. “We have outstanding resources here in the state of New York…so I’ve activated them to start preparing New York for worst-case scenarios and hope they do not come.”

She noted that the state is putting together a plan to address any spread of the virus, but she does not believe it will turn into another coronavirus pandemic. She said she will begin doing briefings if it spreads beyond the three individuals flown in from the ship. — Katelyn Cordero 

GOV’S SOCIAL ACCOUNT GETS PLAUDITS: The state government’s eyebrow-raising, joke-telling, irreverent social media accounts were honored with a Webby Awards “Honoree” award last week, Hochul’s office told Playbook.

The accounts, which go under the handle @NYGov on Instagram and X, are separate from the “Governor Hochul Press Office” account, which drew the ire of Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy last week when it mocked him for his age.

@NYGov, also known as “State of New York” on X, most recently posted messages like “it’s hole filling season” to spread the word about the state’s pothole reporting hotline on X, or "UNALIVE THOSE FLYS" as an Instagram PSA on the invasive spotted lantern fly.

“I’ve always believed that government is for the people, and in order to reach people, we need to communicate like them,” said Milly Czerwinski, a digital content strategist who works in Hochul’s comms shop and runs the account. “NYGov’s oddity and authenticity has broken down the traditional bureaucratic barriers to reach millions of people. Being weird works — this award is proof of that.” — Jason Beeferman

FROM CITY HALL

CCR-CHI COMPLAINT: City Councilmember Chi Ossé filed a misconduct complaint today against an NYPD officer who arrested him, advancing a case that stands to drive a further wedge between the police department and Mayor Mamdani.

The complaint, which Ossé shared with POLITICO, alleges the officer used excessive force during the April 22 arrest in Brooklyn, where the Council member and others were protesting the planned eviction of a woman who claims she’s the victim of deed theft.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates and prosecutes cases of police misconduct, has received Ossé’s claim and is reviewing it, a spokesperson confirmed.

Ossé, a democratic socialist and ally of Mamdani, told POLITICO he believes the arresting officer violated his civil rights. “My rights were violated, but more importantly, my responsibility to my community and constituents demands a fact-finding,” said Ossé, who claims he suffered a concussion from being slammed to the ground.

The NYPD previously said Ossé and three other protesters were only arrested after refusing verbal commands to stop blocking access to the property where the eviction was set to be executed.

A spokesperson for Mamdani — who called video of Ossé’s arrest "incredibly concerning” last month — said in response to the Council member’s complaint that "the mayor respects the independence of the CCRB and will allow the disciplinary process to play out based on the evidence, established procedures, and the NYPD’s disciplinary matrix."

Mamdani, a longtime NYPD critic, faces a fraught situation in responding to Ossé’s complaint.

If he doesn’t back up his fellow democratic socialist, Mamdani is likely to anger his allies on the left. On the flipside, if he condemns the arresting officer, he risks drawing the ire of NYPD leaders, including Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as well as the department’s rank-and-file cops.

Read more about the CCRB and Ossé from Chris Sommerfeldt in POLITICO.

CASE CLOSED: Council member Vickie Paladino has reached a settlement with the City Council to resolve disciplinary charges focused on her controversial social media posts.

The takeaway? The Council has withdrawn its disciplinary charges, and Paladino is dropping her lawsuit challenging the proceedings.

The agreement, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, effectively dismisses the charges and cancels an ethics hearing that could have led to censure, fines or expulsion. As part of the settlement, Paladino must delete three posts cited in the case. She must also remove “Council Woman” from her personal X account display name within 48 hours of court approval to communicate to the public a clearer separation between her official posts, which are subject to some of the Council’s rules and regulations, and her personal opinions, one member familiar with the parameters of the settlement told Playbook.

The case stemmed from a string of inflammatory posts starting in December where, in a deleted post, she called for the “expulsion of Muslims from western nations,” prompting the committee to look into her conduct.

In February, she posted that New York was under “foreign occupation” following Mamdani’s appointment of a top immigration official. Paladino questioned whether the administration included “one single actual American” and later described a photo of Muslim sanitation workers praying as part of an “Islamic conquest.”

The Council’s Rules and Ethics Committee had charged Paladino with disorderly conduct and violations of its anti-harassment and discrimination policy in March.

Paladino sued to block the proceedings, arguing she was being targeted for her conservative views and that the discipline violated her First Amendment rights.

As part of the settlement, Paladino must issue a statement saying she did not intend to make colleagues or staff feel “unwelcomed or unsafe.” Council member Sandra Ung, who chairs the ethics committee, issued her own statement Monday afternoon saying the resolution “strikes the balance” between protecting staff and lawmakers’ free speech rights.

Both sides agreed to issue limited public statements and refrain from further comment. — Gelila Negesse

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

EYES ON AI: Rep. Pat Ryan is backing state Assemblymember Alex Bores to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, making him the latest member of the New York delegation to weigh in on one of the state’s most competitive primary elections.

In making his endorsement, the Hudson Valley Democrat cited the high-profile AI fight that’s become a central theme of the race as a key reason for backing Bores.

“He’s going to be the next member of Congress for the New York 12th District,” Ryan said at an event in Midtown with Bores today. “If you have any doubt, you don’t have to take my word for it — follow the money. Look at the incredible unprecedented amount … It’s because these tech billionaires are terrified, they’re terrified of Alex specifically.”

The millions of dollars in spending by a pro-artificial intelligence super PAC against Bores — an alum-turned-critic of data analytics company Palantir and a sponsor of the AI safety RAISE Act in the state Legislature — has also drawn an influx of money from regulation-friendly AI and tech-affiliated groups to boost him.

Bores’ campaign said that both he and Ryan “share a belief that the next Congress must take decisive action to regulate artificial intelligence before this transformative technology outpaces the rules meant to govern it” — a debate that continues to rage on in Washington and globally.

Bores is viewed as one of the top contenders for the 12th District, which covers a large swath of Manhattan. He’s up against Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and anti-Trump commentator George Conway, as well as a handful of lesser-known challengers. Public polling has been sparse in the race, and internal polls from earlier this year don’t show a clear front-runner. — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— CLOCK’S TICKING: Mamdani has less than a month to fill two longstanding vacancies on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board — and the appointments could be key for his mission to make the city’s buses “fast and free.” (THE CITY)

— NECK AND NECK: Hochul made a joint campaign appearance with Rep. Dan Goldman who’s running for reelection in New York's 10th congressional district, with a primary challenge from Mamdani-backed Brad Lander. (Gothamist)

— SARCONE DOGGED: The top prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York is accused of misconduct, according to the watchdog organization Campaign for Accountability. (POLITICO Pro)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 37

WHEELIN’ AND DEALIN’: Gov. Kathy Hochul claimed this morning she has a budget deal. Moments later, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters that, actually, nothing is final.

It’s a Planet Albany pantomime that’s played out over the last several years — a governor anxious to tout what's generally been agreed to after a weeks-long impasse and an Assembly speaker who denies anything is truly finalized.

Only this year is different.

Heastie was noticeably more exasperated than in prior years when he told reporters this morning that the Legislature has yet to sign off on a budget agreement, contradicting the governor’s victory lap.

“There’s no budget deal,” the Bronx Democrat said. “There’s no deal. I said to her last night I was comfortable with saying we’re close. It’s close.”

He pledged to no longer discuss policy-related matters with Democratic lawmakers until the budget’s financial picture was in clear focus — suggesting he’s at something of a breaking point with a governor he considers an ally.

“We’ve signed off on nothing major,” he said. “This is what’s wrong with this process.”

Earlier in the morning, Hochul stood in the Red Room praising the “general agreement” (a chestnut that will join the pantheon of other state budget-deal upspeak like “tentative framework”).

She ran through a list of what has been, well, generally agreed to: Protections for undocumented immigrants, changing the environmental review process in order to fast-track home building and a package of car insurance laws meant to reduce premium costs.

Budget details tend to matter, not just to the 19 million New Yorkers who the document will impact, but to the army of advocates, lobbyists, staffers and lawmakers who have sweated the specifics for the last four months. And what’s yet to be determined is consequential.

The pied-à-terre tax on pricey second homes? 

“We are working to come up with the right way to calculate,” Hochul said. “What you have is a rather bizarre property tax system in New York City right now.”

Changing the Tier 6 pension, a move that may cost $1.5 billion?

“We’ll release those numbers as soon as it’s absolutely done, but it won’t be the scale that was out there in the news,” she said.

Why come out now with so much TBD?

“All these financial details — as we’ve done in the past — we talk about initially the policy agreements, and this is a policy agreement we’ve accomplished, working tirelessly with the two leaders I have such respect for, Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart-Cousins,” Hochul said.

It’s true that this has been Hochul’s strategy in the late stages of the budget — to fete the policy wins and leave the financial stuff written in pencil.

It’s also true that most voters aren’t following the blow-by-blow of the arcane Albany process and care far more about the results. As she runs for reelection, Hochul can show voters victories on issues like a school cellphone ban.

But while the governor has long placed a bet on voters not minding late budgets, Republicans are eager to trot out the “D” word — dysfunction — to describe the Albany fracas.

“We’ve gone so far away from having responsible leadership in this state and caring about what it means to have a budget on time,” Republican Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra said. “It’s May 7 — the latest budget in my time in the Legislature — and she’s out here announcing a deal that doesn’t actually exist.” — Nick Reisman

From the Capitol

WONKS WEIGH IN: As noted above, details on the state’s spending plan remain scant. But some experts are seeing good news in what’s out there.

The fiscal hawks at the Citizens Budget Commission applauded policy measures like changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act that were made to spur more home building, as well as the car insurance changes

Still, the group has concerns even as the final numbers aren’t yet clear. The $268 billion topline spending figure may increase once the dust settles.

“What we do know is that the budget is bigger, but not likely better for fiscal stability compared to the governor’s proposal,” the group said. — Nick Reisman

FROM CITY HALL

ICE CLASH: Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing mounting pressure from progressive leaders to enact stricter rules on how the NYPD can interact with federal immigration authorities — the latest sign of a broadening chasm between the mayor and his own supporters, our Chris Sommerfeldt reports today.

Attention on the issue intensified Saturday when police officers blocked protesters advancing toward U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were transporting an immigrant detainee from a Brooklyn hospital. As video of the chaos went viral, accusations that Mamdani’s NYPD had coordinated with ICE in violation of local sanctuary laws quickly accumulated. The mayor has rejected that claim.

In a letter to Mamdani, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and four other elected Democrats who endorsed the mayor’s 2025 campaign wrote that they believe the NYPD “coordinated on the ground with ICE agents” outside the hospital. And they implored him to immediately overhaul NYPD policies in response.

“Officers arriving at a scene where federal agents are already operating cannot be left to improvise. They need a bright-line rule, communicated up and down the chain of command, that informs them when to disengage, when to step back, when to refuse a request for assistance, and how to document what they observed,” they wrote in the Wednesday letter, which was obtained by POLITICO. “The absence of such a standard, or the failure to enforce one, is how we ended up with NYPD officers visibly working alongside ICE outside a hospital.”

Specifically, they called on Mamdani to release new rules within 30 days that “clearly outline” how NYPD officers should interact with ICE agents in the field. The rules, they wrote, should dictate when “disengagement” and “refusal of assistance” to ICE is appropriate so NYPD officers “do not aid, facilitate, or appear to facilitate civil immigration enforcement.”

Among the letter’s other signatories was state Sen. Julia Salazar, one of the earliest supporters of Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign and a fellow democratic socialist.

The fact that Mamdani’s elected supporters opted to call him out in such a direct way is a strong indication elements of his base are growing frustrated with his handling of public safety issues — and his perceived drift to the political center since entering City Hall.

Read more from Chris in POLITICO Pro.

SECOND TRY: Council Speaker Julie Menin is moving forward with a controversial bill that would boost pay for home health workers — legislation that’s also tangled up with her run for the leadership post last year.

As POLITICO previously reported, Menin is working with Council Member Chris Marte on a measure that would outlaw 24-hour shifts for home health aides who are only paid for 13 hours. Their collaboration began to unfold after Marte dropped his own bid for the speakership last fall and threw his support behind Menin.

The effort, however, has put the speaker in a political bind. A previous version of the bill drew opposition from major labor unions, the mayor and Hochul over concerns it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, endanger patients and deprive workers of flexibility.

Menin, in the hopes of blunting that opposition, prepped a new version for a vote last night. The modified bill exempts home health workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement, delays the implementation for a year and allows home health workers to opt into longer shifts through the fall of 2027.

“As part of the ongoing legislative process, the Council has updated the bill after many conversations with stakeholders,” Council spokesperson Benjamin Fang said in a statement. “We look forward to phasing out the 24-hour workday, an outdated practice that places workers under extreme physical and emotional strain."

The changes to the bill, however, do not seem to have appeased much of the opposition that killed it the first time around. A person with knowledge of negotiations said the modified version sparked backlash this morning. The legislation still sticks the state with the cost — the reason Hochul opposed it last time around. And some of the same critics are now reiterating their opposition, putting the bill on shaky ground should Menin attempt to bring it to a vote.

“This bill still leaves people with disabilities without care, creates legal conflicts with State Medicaid rules, lacks the funding necessary to keep from endangering the lives of people with disabilities, and risks destabilizing access to critical care for thousands of New Yorkers,” a Legal Aid Society spokesperson said in a statement. “We can and must pursue reforms that protect home care workers from exploitation without jeopardizing the health, independence, and dignity of the people who depend on these services every day.” — Joe Anuta

IN OTHER NEWS

— QUOTE CONTROVERSY: A recent TV ad from Anthony Constantino’s congressional campaign used a fabricated quote attributed to the Times Union. The dubiously sourced claim? “Constantino is now guaranteed to be a major entity in Congress.” (Times Union)

— STUDENT EXODUS: Enrollment in New York City’s public schools could plunge by as many as 153,000 students over the next decade. Falling fertility rates and more charter schools are driving the downturn. (The New York Times)

— ICE UPHEAVAL: Nigerian immigrant sues ICE after his arrest sparked chaotic protests in Brooklyn. Chidozie Wilson Okeke's lawsuit says he was “unlawfully, brutally and violently detained.” (Gothamist)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 30

ICE WATCH: Gov. Kathy Hochul wants assurances from President Donald Trump’s administration that a very specific federal immigration officer isn’t operating in New York: The ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good.

The Democratic governor sent a letter this week to Trump border czar Tom Homan insisting he confirm whether the reportedly redeployed agent, Jonathan Ross, is now working in the Empire State.

“If Jonathan Ross has been reassigned to work in New York, I demand that he be immediately removed and not redeployed unless cleared after a full, independent investigation,” Hochul wrote in the previously unreported letter. “I have no confidence that Ross can be trusted to safely interact with the public. Nor should you.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The notice is the latest effort by Hochul to place guardrails around Trump’s sweeping deportation policies — a push that includes direct White House outreach and expected legislative action to limit the reach of federal immigration agencies like ICE.

The two-track approach underscores how New York officials, including the governor, have been desperate to avoid a potentially destabilizing surge of federal immigration officers in the five boroughs, home to an estimated 560,000 undocumented immigrants.

The push also highlights how Hochul stands to benefit politically from taking an assertive posture against Trump’s immigration policies as she runs for reelection. The president rode back to the White House pledging to remove millions of people living illegally in the United States, only for voter support to quickly erode following the deaths of Good and Alex Pretti during January’s Minnesota crackdown.

A Siena University poll in February found 67 percent of New York voters believe federal immigration tactics had gone too far. The same survey found 59 percent of voters did not want to see more ICE agents flow into New York City.

Trump has dialed back the publicly aggressive deportation effort, but that’s done little to assuage the Hochul administration. The February death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind refugee who was left in front of a Buffalo coffee shop by federal agents, further inflamed New York officials.

“I have repeatedly stated that any agents involved in these types of incidents must be properly investigated and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law — not simply reassigned to administrative or investigative duties or shuffled to other states,” Hochul wrote in the letter.

Homan, who has become the Trump administration’s blue state ambassador following the deadly unrest in Minneapolis, met privately with her in Albany last month, and the governor urged him to not conduct a similar operation in the Big Apple.

To that end, Hochul and Democratic state lawmakers are also on the verge of approving a package of sanctuary-like measures meant to erect legal barriers around federal immigration enforcement in New York.

The measures would prohibit federal authorities from carrying out civil deportation warrants in sensitive locations like education facilities and houses of worship. It would also ban formal agreements between agencies like ICE and local police departments from coordinating operations and sharing equipment. And New York is poised to make it easier to sue federal officers if a person believes their constitutional rights have been violated.

The expected package of protections amounts to a sweeping blue state rebuke of Trump’s immigration and deportation policies. It also marks a change for Hochul, a moderate who as a local official two decades ago opposed allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain state driver’s licenses.

Yet some left-leaning state lawmakers worry that Hochul’s opposition to a strict ban on local police communicating with federal immigration authorities will leave undocumented immigrants exposed even as existing sanctuary protections will remain in place.

One legislator, granted anonymity to speak frankly, said the likely agreement is “really inadequate, arguably harmful, because her proposal would create an illusion of legal protections while still proactively permitting law enforcement to share info.” — Nick Reisman

FROM CITY HALL

FARE-LY AUTOMATIC: A majority of City Council members are pushing Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to automatically enroll low-income New Yorkers in the city’s transit discount program.

Currently, New Yorkers need to furnish proof of identity, age, residence and taxable income to enroll in Fair Fares, which offers a 50 percent discount on subway, bus and paratransit rides for those at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

In a Wednesday letter to Erin Dalton, Mamdani’s social services commissioner, 28 of the Council’s 51 members wrote that the application requirements needlessly keep people out of the program.

The letter, obtained by Playbook, says only about 370,000 of the city’s 1.4 million eligible residents benefit from Fair Faires, largely because many don’t know of its existence.

The city lawmakers, led by progressive Council Member Crystal Hudson, wrote to Dalton that the disparity can be fixed by automatically enrolling all eligible residents by using application information they’ve already provided while applying for SNAP, Cash Assistance, Medicaid and other city-administered public benefits.

“The City of New York has the information on hand and could easily enact automatic enrollment,” wrote the Council members, who included democratic socialist allies of the mayor like Tiffany Cabán and more moderate colleagues like Eric Dinowitz.

“Affordability is a top concern for New York City residents, and one in five New Yorkers struggles to pay the fare,” the lawmakers also wrote. “In short, we can help lower costs for New Yorkers by making it easier to enroll in the Fair Fares program.”

Asked about the letter, Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said Thursday that the administration is “reviewing the automatic Fair Fares enrollment proposal.”

“The mayor remains deeply committed to collaborating with our city and state partners to make transit more affordable for all New Yorkers,” Pekec said.

Mamdani campaigned last year on a promise to eliminate fares on city buses so riding them would become completely free. But he acknowledged in an interview with POLITICO earlier this month that he won’t be able to make good on that pledge this year.

In the meantime, transportation advocates are ramping up pressure on him to find other ways to make transit more affordable. The letter from the Council members comes after a coalition of transit advocates earlier this month called on the mayor to usher in automatic Fair Fares enrollment.

Such a measure would likely come with a cost increase for the city-funded program. And that could prove tricky for Mamdani, who’s scrambling to address a multibillion-dollar city budget deficit.

Council Speaker Julie Menin, who’s in negotiations with Mamdani on the budget, did not sign Wednesday’s letter. “She doesn’t always sign on to colleague letters as speaker, but she is on record supporting automatic enrollment for Fair Fares,” her spokesperson Henry Robins said. — Chris Sommerfeldt

PIED-À-TERREABLE MATH: City Comptroller Mark Levine released a reality check for the mayor and governor, who are hoping to raise $500 million annually through a pied-à-terre tax to help the city’s ailing budget.

Levine found by using past proposals as a rubric that the tax would only reach those heights under the most ideal of scenarios. When factoring in otherwise eligible properties that are rentals — meaning they would be exempt — and pied-à-terre owners who would either sell or rent to avoid the tax, the yearly take-home for the city would be between $340 million to $380 million.

“As we continue to work toward budget agreements at the City and State levels, it’s imperative that government leaders, advocates and New Yorkers know how major new revenue proposals might reliably impact our budget,” Levine said in a statement.

The mayor’s office countered that the proposal is not yet fully baked, and that it will be designed in concert with the governor in a way that ensures it nets at least $500 million.

“The Comptroller’s report makes one thing very clear: thoughtfully crafting and implementing this legislation will do exactly that,” a spokesperson said. — Joe Anuta

VOUCHER FIGHT: Menin is playing to both sides of the debate over the costly rental subsidy known as CityFHEPS.

She joined advocates and Council members at a rally Thursday morning to urge Mamdani to drop a lawsuit fighting a voucher expansion — which the mayor pledged to do on the campaign trail. But Menin also agreed the costs “are not sustainable” and said a settlement the council has offered will contain them, while still expanding the program in some form.

“We have come in, with the leadership of Council member [Pierina] Sanchez and the advocates, with a responsible, reasonable settlement,” Menin said at the rally, where Council members and advocates chanted, “Mayor Mamdani, keep your promise!”

Menin declined to elaborate on the specifics of the settlement proposal since talks are ongoing.

The vouchers are already growing in cost at a rate of 4 percent per month, and the laws to expand eligibility — which the Council approved in 2023 — are estimated to increase costs further by somewhere between $6 and $22 billion over five years, according to the city comptroller’s office.

“We do agree that there has to be a change to the cost structure,” Menin told reporters at a press conference later Thursday. “We have been working very closely with the advocates on that. We have put forward a reasonable settlement, which is why we believe that continuing to litigate delays our ability to reach the settlement.”

Hochul has reportedly asked the mayor to look at the rental subsidies as one place where the city can find savings. Asked whether she’s spoken to the governor about the program, Menin said “she and I both agree we need to have cost containment.”

“We recognize the cost has grown exponentially,” Menin said. “I think we’re in a very good place on cost containment that literally contains the cost but also protects vulnerable New Yorkers.”

Mamdani has argued that if the city were to drop its appeal, it would be on the hook for billions in additional costs over just the next few years.

“Mayor Mamdani has been clear that CityFHEPS is an invaluable tool to prevent homelessness and support homeless New Yorkers,” City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said in a statement on Thursday’s rally. “That is why our team is working hard to ensure that it is fiscally sound and sustainable for the long-term.” — Janaki Chadha and Gelila Negesse

IN OTHER NEWS

— COMMUNITY SAFETY: Advocates are worried Mamdani’s police reform efforts in cases involving mentally ill people may sideline the anti-domestic violence office at City Hall. (The New York Times)

— BOARD OF REJECTIONS: A candidate for an Albany assembly district seat is contesting the state election board’s decision to reject his bid after he was disqualified for allegedly failing to meet residency and party enrollment requirements. (Times Union)

— BEHIND THE BARS: New York state prisons are seeing a sharp rise in violence with staff and incarcerated people both sounding the alarm of increased assault rates. (NY 1)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 21

TRUMP FOR CONSTANTINO: Republican House candidate Anthony Constantino’s campaign to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik is a textbook example of how aligning with the MAGA extended universe pays off.

President Donald Trump today endorsed Constantino, the brash and hard-edged CEO of Sticker Mule, over Assemblymember Robert Smullen.

Trump’s nod for the businessperson is a microcosm of a decade of Republican politics. Smullen has lined up institutional support from the state GOP, county chairs and his fellow elected officials in Albany.

But none of that matters to Trump, who won his own insurgent primary a decade ago by bucking the Republican establishment.

Now the president is backing Constantino, who has assembled his own slate of endorsees far more suited to Trump’s temperament. That includes Rudy Giuliani, who backed Constantino after the candidate, according to his telling, wrote a “beautiful two-page letter” to the former New York City mayor.

Constantino has also enlisted Trump confidant and political operative Roger Stone.

Those ties were not lost on the president when he posted on Truth Social this afternoon. “Anthony is strongly supported by many of the most Highly Respected MAGA Warriors in our Movement, including Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone!” he wrote.

Then of course, there’s the large “Vote for Trump” sign Constantino erected atop a building that can be seen from Interstate 90.

That kind of tangible loyalty — which withstood a legal challenge by local Democrats — also played well with the president.

“Anthony has been such a Great Supporter that he actually put up a somewhat ‘controversial’ sign, against strong opposition, in my honor,” Trump posted. “The sign is still there!”

For his part, Smullen — whose support from numerous county chairs doesn’t quite equate to the large pro-Trump signage visible from I-90 — was publicly unconcerned by the president weighing in on the primary.

“A consultant got to the president, somebody who is being paid by my opponent,” he told our Bill Mahoney. “And I think the president’s made a mistake here.”

Still, it’s hard not to view this development as anything but a massive blow for Smullen, running to succeed an ardently pro-MAGA House lawmaker in a district that the president won three times.

The endorsement also highlights the strange position the state GOP finds itself in. The party took the unusual step of backing Smullen in the race amid deep concerns from party leaders over Constantino’s temperament.

New York Republicans are preparing for a future without Stefanik as its leader and top fundraiser with national standing. The North Country House lawmaker was in line to become Trump’s United Nations ambassador, only to have the nod yanked amid a messy selection process to pick her successor. Hard feelings from Stefanik’s team following the scuttled special election to replace her have lingered as a result.

One GOP official chortled at the situation, which also comes after Stefanik bowed out of the race for governor following Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s entrance.

“They knifed Elise in the special and then they got crushed by Roger Stone,” said the person, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “It is just the beginning of Elise’s allies including the president settling the score as Elise is in the midst of her successful book tour!”

For Constantino’s part, the endorsement is another step in what had initially seemed like a long-shot bid.

"I had a great talk with President Trump and am honored to receive his endorsement,” he said in a statement. “He noted every primary candidate he endorses wins so I look forward to winning the general election and making everyone who supported me very proud once I am in Congress.”

FROM CITY HALL

CC YOU IN COURT: A prominent police union filed a federal lawsuit against the Civilian Complaint Review Board today, alleging the oversight body is tarnishing officers’ reputations by releasing unredacted — and unsubstantiated — complaints against cops.

Beginning in October, the suit from the New York City Police Benevolent Association alleges, the CCRB began responding to Freedom of Information Law requests about three types of allegations against officers — sexual misconduct, racial bias and offering false statements — by releasing unredacted complaints that are then subsequently uploaded to a public database. Because CCRB does not redact identifying information, the police union argued, the accused officers’ reputations, safety, and employment prospects are unduly damaged.

“CCRB’s under-the-table collusion with anti-police activists to smear cops with false complaints is not only unfair and unconstitutional — it is a calculated effort to end proactive enforcement and drive cops away from the job,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said.

The PBA argued the complaint board is aware of how damaging the allegations can be to cops. The CCRB publishes a redacted version of the complaints on its own website.

The city’s Law Department declined to comment. And a CCRB spokesperson defended the agency but noted its ability to comment was limited by the suit.

“The CCRB’s investigations are complete, thorough and impartial,” spokesperson Dakota Gardner said in a statement. “The Agency continually reviews all applicable laws and regulations regarding the public release of its records, including disciplinary histories of members of service, to ensure it is fully compliant.” — Joe Anuta

CHARTERING A NEW COURSE?: Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference that his administration is weighing its options regarding the future of former Mayor Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission, which convened publicly for the first time Monday.

“We are reviewing all of the options that we have when it comes to this previously set up charter review,” Mamdani said at the press conference in Brooklyn.

Pressed on what those options might entail, the mayor added little clarity aside from noting with a laugh that “more and more are being presented by the day.”

The commission’s meeting focused on procedural steps, including selecting acting chair Gilford Monrose, as reported in today's Playbook.

Created on Adams’ final day in office, the commission is tasked with crafting ballot proposals, including one to establish an open primary election system. This shift could complicate reelection prospects for Mamdani by opening the Democratic primary electorate up to a larger, more moderate-leaning pool of voters.

Mamdani — who has previously criticized the body as undemocratic — has several avenues to blunt its work. Charter experts say one option for the mayor’s office would be installing a chair who could stall proceedings.

Randy Mastro, the former first deputy mayor under Adams who’s now advising the commission pro bono, told Playbook yesterday he has received no assurances from the Mamdani administration about its plans. A person familiar with the matter said Mastro has also discussed the commission with Mamdani’s corporation counsel, Steve Banks.

Still, Mastro downplayed the influence of any single appointee amid the possibility of a Mamdani-selected chair helming the commission.

“I welcome anyone who wants to participate in a constructive process to improve our local democracy,” Mastro said. — Gelila Negesse

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

PRIMARY COLORS: Former state Assemblymember Taylor Darling ended her primary bid against battleground Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen earlier this week.

“Unfortunately, the technicalities of the current system make it challenging for community focused campaigns to fully participate in the Democratic process,” Darling wrote on social media. “While I respect the rules, it is clear that these barriers need to be addressed if we want a system where all voices, especially those from our communities, are heard and valued.”

Any primary challenger is poised to have an uphill climb against the incumbent Gillen, who has more than $3 million on hand. Darling, who entered the race after Gillen voted in support of funding for the Department of Homeland Security, raised just $24,000 last quarter and had $15,000 in the bank. Progressive organizer Kiana Bierria-Anderson is also in the race, though she said her petitions to get on the ballot are being challenged. — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— WATCHDOG BARKS: Citizens Budget Commission urges lawmakers to limit government spending and hold off on tax hikes as new report shows tens of thousands of New Yorkers are leaving the city. (Gothamist)

— POLLUTERS PAY: Republicans in Congress are aiming to end New York’s climate law that requires fossil fuel companies to pay for weather-related damages. (Newsday)

— THAT STINKS: As state-funded daycare expands in New York, new education mandates regarding potty training and diaper changes for young students have left schools scrambling to create new policies. (New York Post)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.