DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 56

GETTING TO 200K: Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a wide-ranging housing plan today that he said will usher in the “largest municipal housing transformation this country has ever seen.”

The blueprint lays out how Mamdani plans to address the single biggest driver of the city’s affordability crisis, the central focus of the mayoral campaign that propelled him into City Hall.

While the plan lays out ambitious targets that would surpass past mayors if achieved — including the planned creation and preservation of a combined 400,000 affordable homes over a decade — it also illustrates how Mamdani is not reinventing the wheel on many housing issues, but rather leaning into or expanding policies pursued by his predecessors.

The plan seeks to tackle a range of coinciding crises: the severe shortage of available housing; a public housing system that’s crumbling and facing massive capital needs; and a rental housing stock that is experiencing growing distress as operating costs skyrocket.

“If the absence of good government created the conditions we now face, the presence of good government can build the solutions we now need,” Mamdani said in a speech announcing the plan in Brooklyn’s Gowanus section, where a city-led rezoning enacted nearly five years ago has spurred a residential building boom.

Mamdani is already encountering the limits of some of his campaign promises and moderating costly plans as his administration grapples with a strained municipal budget. On the campaign trail, the mayor said he would create 200,000 publicly-subsidized homes over a decade, tripling current rates of production. He is standing by that goal, while also pledging to preserve another 200,000 affordable homes.

“Scaling to these levels of affordable housing production will not be easy and cannot be done overnight,” the blueprint states. The administration is aiming to create some 14,000 affordable homes in fiscal year 2027, which starts July 1, while ramping up to 21,000 units per year by fiscal year 2031.

Under the blueprint released Tuesday, Mamdani’s housing department plans to finance 8,000 new affordable homes in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 — which would grow subsidized housing by more than 35 percent from the prior two years. But the plan does not spell out specifically how the administration will produce roughly 12,000 remaining units annually to get to Mamdani’s 200,000-unit goal.

Much of that additional affordable housing will rely on zoning, tax and other financing tools rather than direct city subsidies. And it would require the private sector to embrace those tools. — Janaki Chadha

From the Capitol

‘BIG UGLY’ VOTE: The Legislature spent the better part of today plowing through votes on the budget’s “big ugly” bill, which contains most of the hot-button issues in this year’s spending plan.

“This bill has some really good stuff in it and some really bad stuff,” said Assemblymember Jeff Dinowitz, who cited Tier VI pension plan changes when speaking about his “yes” vote. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact it’s going to have on many, many state workers.”

That was the common theme that emerged among Democratic during today’s debate — they hate the rollbacks to the climate law, but they’re also supportive of the inclusion of what Republican Assemblymember Michael Fitzpatrick dubbed “the mother of all pension sweeteners” that they reluctantly voted yes. That line of reasoning appeared especially common from members who, like Dinowitz, have Democratic primaries in four weeks and stand to face attacks for being weak on the environment.

“This is not an easy vote for me,” said Assemblymember Grace Lee, who’s running for an open Senate seat and wound up backing the bill because of Tier VI.

“I am voting yes because I refuse to deny hardworking union members and retirees the retirement security they have worked years to achieve,” Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas said.

Gonzalez-Rojas also took time to slam the climate law changes.

“Communities like Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, LeFrak City have already experienced the consequences of environmental injustice,” she said. “Climate change is not theoretical for our communities. It is personal.”

That might be another indication of just how much budget season has blended into primary season. Not all of those neighborhoods fall within Gonzalez-Rojas’ district — but they’re a perfect description of the Senate district where she’s challenging fellow Democrat Jessica Ramos next month. — Bill Mahoney

FROM CITY HALL

MEANWHILE, IN KNICKS WORLD: Mamdani appeared to indicate today that watch parties will be back outside Madison Square Garden during next month’s NBA finals.

“They will be there,” Mamdani said with a laugh when asked at an unrelated press conference if the partying will resume outside the iconic arena next month when the Knicks play their first NBA finals in nearly three decades.

But a Mamdani spokesperson told Playbook that the mayor wasn’t referring to official watch parties. Rather, the spokesperson said he was talking about how Knicks fans inevitably gather outside the Garden during and after games to celebrate or mourn — oftentimes in rather raucous fashion.

Whether official watch parties — replete with massive screens showing the games — will be back outside the Garden during the finals, the Mamdani spokesperson wouldn’t say, adding that plans are still being finalized.

“It’s not a question of if there will be watch parties but where,” spokesperson Dora Pekec said.

The issue could become a bone of contention for Knicks fans.

Last week, the city pulled MSG’s permit to hold its usual large-scale parties outside the arena during Knicks games due to concerns from the NYPD about public drinking and other debauchery. During one of the Knicks’ Eastern Conference Finals games against the Cleveland Cavaliers last week, six people were arrested in connection with the outdoor watch party.

The NYPD’s decision to put the kibosh on the parties may infuriate Knicks fans who are ecstatic about their team making it to the NBA finals for the first time since 1999. Mamdani, an avid Knicks fan, is already facing tension with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch over how to police this summer’s World Cup, as previously reported by POLITICO, and an MSG dispute could drive a further wedge.

With the outdoor party permit scrapped, MSG hosted a watch party at Radio City Music Hall for the Knicks’ clincher against the Cavs last night.

No matter what, Mamdani said at today’s press conference that Knicks fans will be able to cheer on their team at a variety of watch parties across the city during next month’s finals.

“We’re looking forward to making sure that it is a time for New Yorkers to celebrate, it’s a time that they’re also safe,” he said. “We’re going to have a number of different kinds of watch parties, and we’ll get back to you as we keep going through those plans.”

The Knicks will face either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals next month. The first game in the series is set for June 3. — Chris Sommerfeldt

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

DEBATE-A-PALOOZA: Got plans in June? How about a congressional primary debate — or six?

After forums galore across the city’s competitive primaries, a slew of televised debates are on the books ahead of the June 23 election: two each for the races to replace retiring Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Jerry Nadler, and another two for Rep. Dan Goldman’s primary challenge from former City Comptroller Brad Lander.

All debates will be live at 7 p.m., with the exception of the first NY-07 debate on June 3, which will be prerecorded earlier that day and air at 7 p.m. Here’s when to block off your schedule:

— June 1: Goldman and Lander will be facing off for their first televised debate, hosted by Spectrum News NY1. NY1’s Errol Louis and Courtney Gross will moderate the program.

Goldman’s campaign has frequently criticized Lander for not agreeing to partake in seven debates.

— June 3: State Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Council member Julie Won will take the stage as they vie for Velázquez’s seat. The debate will be hosted by NY1 and moderated by Louis and Gross. Public defender Vichal Kumar is also on the ballot, though he did not qualify for the debate.

— June 4: The four leading candidates looking to succeed Nadler will meet in a PIX11 debate: state Assemblymembers Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and anti-Trump commentator George Conway. It will be moderated by Dan Mannarino.

— June 9: Another NY-12 debate will be hosted by NY1 and WNYC. Louis and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer and Brigid Bergin will moderate. This debate is set to feature Bores, Conway, Lasher, Schlossberg and public health practitioner Nina Schwalbe.

Schwalbe, a progressive candidate who has struggled to break through in the crowded field, has frequently criticized media coverage and events for not including her. A handful of other lesser-known candidates are also on the ballot next month.

— June 10: Valdez, Reynoso and Won will partake in a PIX11 debate, with Mannarino moderating.

— June 15: PIX11 will host Goldman and Lander for another showdown, moderated by Mannarino.

Early voting starts June 13. — Madison Fernandez

MUM-DANI: Mamdani is noncommittal about getting involved in the competitive race in what is now his home district.

When asked by PIX11’s Henry Rosoff who he’s voting for in the Democratic primary to succeed Nadler, Gracie Mansion’s newest resident laughed and said he hadn’t made a decision but is “following the race as a keen constituent.”

“At this time, I would say that I’ve focused on the two decisions I’ve made thus far,” Mamdani continued, referring to his endorsements for Lander and Valdez.

Bores recently said he would “love” to have Mamdani’s backing. Lasher, meanwhile, is getting campaign help from political strategist Morris Katz, an architect of Mamdani’s win last year. A recent Emerson College/PIX11 poll found that Mamdani has a strong approval rating, at 66 percent, among Democratic primary voters in the district. But a Mamdani endorsement could also turn off some Jewish voters — a prominent constituency in the district — who are not fans of the mayor.

“It was a pleasure to serve with both of them in Albany,” Mamdani said of Bores and Lasher. — Madison Fernandez 

ENDORSEMENT CORNER: Abundance New York rolled out its voter guide on Tuesday, highlighting candidates in competitive races who the group’s executive director Catherine Vaughan said in a statement are “willing to actually build the things New York needs.”

They include Reynoso and Lander, as well as a dual-endorsement for Bores and Lasher. (The group said that between Bores and Lasher, it “cannot recommend one over the other at this time, but we may revisit as the race continues.”)

The endorsements aren’t exactly all glowing. In the rationale for Reynoso, it states that his “record has not always supported our agenda, but we have decided to take his evolution at face value and to commit to holding him to his word.”

The blurb about Lander acknowledged that the group has “concerns about [his] record and some of his current stances,” including opposing some rezonings during his time on the Council and supporting a ban on what the group described as “investor-owned ‘build-to-rent’ housing.” The guide also states that the group is “dismayed at his demand that Brooklyn Marine Terminal development be delayed; this is a NIMBY stance that seems cynically targeted at Goldman’s leadership on the issue.” Despite that, Abundance New York pointed to Lander’s “record on housing production, transit, and the local land-use machinery in this district” and said it thinks he “would prioritize the built environment issues that we champion more strongly.”

The group is also backing Drew Warshaw — the affordable housing nonprofit executive who’s one of two primary challengers to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli — along with a handful of candidates in the state Legislature and City Council member Carl Wilson. — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— THINGS GO SOUTH: Mamdani-backed congressional candidate Claire Valdez, who has called to abolish ICE, is facing scrutiny over her father’s work for a firm involved in Texas border projects. (New York Post)

— WHAT’S IN A NAME: Internal renderings for the Penn Station overhaul project show a presidential seal featuring Donald Trump’s name alongside a redesigned train hall. (Gothamist)

— ACROSS THE AISLE: Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Co-op is split over a looming vote to boycott Israeli products from the socially conscious grocery store. (The New York Times)

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

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 35

VORNADO CHIEF SLAMS MAMDANI: Billionaire real estate magnate Steve Roth is standing strong with fellow billionaire Ken Griffin in his spat with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Instead of being singled out and scorned in viral videos, Roth, CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, thinks the ultra-rich should be “praised and thanked,” and said calls to tax them more are akin to some racial slurs.

“I must say that I consider the phrase tax the rich — quote tax the rich — when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs, and even the phrase ‘from the river to the sea,’” Roth said, referring to the controversial rallying cry used by pro-Palestinian activists, during a Tuesday earnings call.

Roth decried Mamdani’s social media video on the proposed pied-à-terre tax — in which the mayor used Griffin’s $238 million second-home as a backdrop — as “irresponsible and dangerous.” Griffin, CEO of the hedge fund Citadel, was offended by the video, and according to The Wall Street Journal, his chief operating officer suggested Citadel may pause its $6 billion plan to develop a Midtown office tower with Vornado and Rudin Management.

“We are all shocked that our young mayor would pull this stunt in front of Ken's home and single him out for ridicule,” said Roth, who brought up the “blunder” unprompted before launching into a six-minute rant about the mayor.

On the planned office redevelopment at 350 Park Avenue, Roth said “it's a good bet that we will go all in.” But he added that “this fence cannot be mended by a short, terse, insincere private apology.”

City Hall did not immediately return a request for comment. Mamdani ran on a pledge to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthiest New Yorkers, but Gov. Kathy Hochul has resisted that push — save for the pied-à-terre tax.

Griffin further blasted Mamdani at a conference Tuesday while voicing fears the video could spark political violence, noting the CEO of United Healthcare was “killed just a few blocks from my house.”

Roth on Tuesday stressed the significant contributions of the city’s wealthiest residents to its tax base and said these members of the so-called one-percent are “not enemies” and are “at the top of the great American economic pyramid for a reason.”

Roth, who donated generously to Mamdani’s opponent — former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — in last year’s election, went on to ponder: “Maybe we can draft Ken to become active and lead an effort to educate New York voters and to elect right-minded candidates.”

For now, he wants the city’s democratic socialist mayor — who, he allowed, is “young, smart and energetic” — to be friendlier to billionaires.

“What I beg my mayor to do is to begin every day being business-welcoming and business-friendly as his first priority,” Roth said. “That's the only way to get the growth and financial wherewithal to accomplish his programs, some of which I must say are interesting and valid.” — Janaki Chadha

From the Capitol

CHECKING IN ON LAWLER LAND: The crowded and competitive Democratic primary to replace Republican Rep. Mike Lawler just got a pulse check — and the out-of-district military vet who’s wooed party insiders with her compelling biography has some ground to make up.

A new poll of likely Democratic primary voters commissioned by left-leaning underdog Effie Phillips-Staley shows Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson leading the pack with 26 percent of the vote, an 11-point lead over Cait Conley, who served in the Army for 16 years and netted 15 percent of the vote. Still, 48 percent of those polled were undecided.

The poll was shared with Playbook and first reported in left-leaning outlet Zeteo. It was conducted by the left-leaning firm Data for Progress from April 17 to 24, about a week after former Briarcliff Manor Mayor Peter Chatzky dropped out of the race. The survey has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 5 percentage points, and respondents were quizzed online and via text.

“This Democratic primary clown car keeps producing surprises, but Conley's flameout might be the biggest yet,” Lawler’s campaign manager Ciro Riccardi said in a statement to Playbook.

But beyond NY-17, the poll also provided some interesting tea leaves for Democrats weighing where to land on one of the most contentious issues ahead of the midterms: the conflict in the Middle East. Even in this suburban, heavily-Jewish congressional district outside New York City, Israel is increasingly unpopular with Democratic voters.

The poll found 44 percent of Democratic voters sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis, with 18 percent favoring the Jewish state. Twenty-three percent of respondents sympathized with both equally and 11 percent sympathized with neither.

And if that wasn’t surprising enough, Mamdani is so far not proving to be the political pain point for swing district Democrats that Republicans had hoped. In the hills of Rockland and Westchester counties, Mamdani has an 80 percent favorability rating with Democratic voters, with just 16 percent of respondents viewing him unfavorably, per the poll.

In the survey’s initial polling question on the primary, Phillips-Staley trailed behind Conley and Davidson at 8 percent. But after respondents were flooded with messaging on her opponents, Phillips-Staley’s support jumped to 31 points, just above .

The poll also tested negative messaging on Phillips-Staley, including the fact that she apparently “owns stocks in casino companies, defense contractors, and other industries that profit off the backs of working Americans,” according to one of the messages tested in the poll. — Jason Beeferman

NOT FONDA THIS IDEA: Actress and activist Jane Fonda is weighing into the politics of the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline.

The Williams Co. project, which was boosted by the Trump administration last month during a ceremonial groundbreaking event, would deliver fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York City and Long Island. Despite rejecting water quality permits for the project in prior years, both New York and New Jersey awarded those permits last November, sparking ire from environmentalists. Advocacy groups sued both states over the about-face.

On Wednesday, the New Jersey Tidelands Resource Council will consider awarding a permit to the pipeline project. It is unclear what the project’s fate will be if the council does not approve the permit.

“You have the opportunity to exercise leadership on this issue that will resonate all over the United States,” Fonda wrote in a letter to Sherrill this week.

“If the pipeline is rejected by the Tidelands Resource Council, that rejection will be a giant victory for New Jersey’s environment and the world’s climate,” the letter later added.

A spokesperson for Sherrill declined to comment on the letter.

While Sherrill, like Hochul, supports an all-of-the-above approach to energy policy, Hochul has cited affordability concerns in her defense of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s decision to issue the water quality certification, arguing that she needs to "govern in reality" amid skyrocketing bills and the Trump administration's antipathy to renewables.

Sherrill, while also focused on affordability, is in a tough spot as the pipeline would not deliver any energy to New Jersey. She has not weighed in on the project since taking office, but she criticized the pipeline while she was governor-elect for doing “nothing to lower electric bills for New Jersey residents.” — Mona Zhang

FROM CITY HALL

IT’S IN THE BAG: Carl Wilson was officially crowned the winner of a high-stakes City Council race today after ranked-choice tabulations put him more than 2,000 votes ahead of Lindsey Boylan, his closest competitor whose defeat is seen as a black eye for Mamdani.

Wilson’s victory was already all but certain after Election Day on April 28, as he trounced Boylan by a wide margin in early ballot returns.

But since no candidate secured a simple majority in the April 28 results, the city Board of Elections needed to run ranked-choice tallies.

Those tabulations, released by the board this afternoon, show Wilson won after three rounds of ranked choice tallying with 7,863 ballots, or 59.4 percent of the vote total.

That put him well ahead of Boylan, who netted 5,373 ballots, or 40.6 percent of the vote total, the ranked-choice tallies show. The other two candidates in the special election for the 3rd Council District, Layla Law-Gisiko and Leslie Boghosian Murphy, were eliminated in the third and second ranked-choice rounds, respectively.

“This victory belongs to all of us,” Wilson said in a statement after the release of the ranked-choice results. “From the start, this was a true grassroots effort powered by neighbors, volunteers, unions and supporters who showed up day after day. We build something real together, and these results reflect that.”

Last week’s special election was called because former Council Member Erik Bottcher, who used to count Wilson as his Council chief of staff, vacated his seat after being elected to the state Senate in February.

After initially being seen as a shoo-in for Wilson, the race was scrambled in mid-April when Mamdani endorsed Boylan, a onetime adviser to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo who became the first woman to accuse him of sexual misconduct in 2020 (Cuomo has denied the accusations). Mamdani’s move made the race the first true test of his endorsement power since his inauguration and created a proxy war between him and more moderate Democrats backing Wilson, including Council Speaker Julie Menin.

Read the story from Chris Sommerfeldt in POLITICO Pro. 

ACCESS DENIED: The city’s Department of Investigation released a report today outlining several ways its oversight of the Administration for Children’s Services is stymied by both state law and a state agency, leaving the municipal watchdog unable to properly probe some of the most sensitive work done in government.

The problem is twofold.

First, a provision in state law prohibits investigators from accessing ACS records of unfounded accusations of child abuse or maltreatment. A second provision ices out the department if a case is put into a deferral program that avoids a full-blown investigation of a caretaker.

Often, that is the very information investigators need to draw a conclusion in instances where children are harmed.

“If there is a history of unfounded investigations by ACS, we’re unable to go back and look and see: Were these investigations conducted properly? Was there some misconduct? Was there a home visit that a caseworker said they did but never actually did?” DOI’s newly installed commissioner, Nadia Shihata, said in an interview. “We can’t look into it because we can’t even access the records.”

The rules can have tragic consequences: In 2025, DOI was prohibited from accessing the full case history in 17 out of 18 child deaths it was notified of. In 2024, it was denied full records in 13 out of 16 child fatalities. And the year before that, the same thing happened in 19 out of 25 cases, according to the department.

The state Office of Child and Family Services at times can present its own roadblocks. State law requires DOI to obtain authorization from that office before receiving nearly any type of record relating to children who have encountered ACS, placing a drag on inquiries. And DOI has found the state office often goes above and beyond what the statutes lay out, excessively delaying or limiting records in a way that limits DOI’s ability to investigate potential shortfalls in city service delivery.

“What we want to look into affects the most vulnerable children in the city,” said Shihata, who noted the department is supporting state legislation that would alter the rules and allow DOI more access. “It’s frustrating.”

The state countered that limitations on data sharing exist to protect the children involved but that it cooperates with DOI to the extent it can. Spokesperson Daniel Marans noted investigators are entitled to full records in criminal cases via law enforcement bodies and can obtain unredacted files with permission from the affected family.

“OCFS is deeply committed to the wellbeing of children and families and takes seriously its obligation under New York State law to protect the identities of children experiencing abuse and maltreatment or institutionalization,” Marans said in a statement. — Joe Anuta

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Progressive organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier is homing in on Spanish-speaking voters as she vies to unseat Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat in next month’s primary.

Avila Chevalier’s campaign is going up with its first broadcast ad of the primary, backed by an initial buy of more than $165,000. The Spanish-language spot leans into an issue that Democrats have been using in primaries across the country to activate their base: Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In the spot, Avila Chevalier touts her work to release people detained by ICE, and vows to abolish the agency in Congress. She also takes a swipe at Espaillat, whom she claims aided President Donald Trump by funding ICE — a reference to votes he took in line with many other Democrats approving DHS funding.

During the latest DHS funding standoff, Espaillat was adamant about not providing funding for immigration enforcement without guardrails.

Hispanic residents make up around half of Espaillat’s district, which covers parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, according to Census data. The five-term incumbent is chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Avila Chevalier, who is backed by the city chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, is running to Espaillat’s left and looking to harness the progressive energy that got Mamdani elected last year. The mayor has not endorsed in this race. — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— ‘NOT MY BOSS’: Brooklyn police captain James Wilson has been transferred following a video capturing him trashing Mamdani at the scene of anti-immigration enforcement protests. (Gothamist)

— JUDGE OF CHARACTER: The opaque, party-controlled and patronage-driven system that selects and assigns New York City judges raises concerns about accountability and persistent abuses. (Hell Gate)

— GETTING SQUEEZED: New York’s budget woes are forcing upstate cities to implement government layoffs and service cuts as officials say state and federal funding are not meeting rising costs. (Syracuse.com)

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