Subject: POLITICO New York Playbook, presented by REALTORS® Advocacy Committee: DE BLASIO’s ‘agents’ -- STATE DEM COMMITTEE liberals push reform -- BARBARA MORGAN on ‘Weiner’
From: "Azi Paybarah, Jimmy Vielkind and Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 20 May 2016 06:05:47 -0600

05/20/2016 08:02 AM EDT

By Azi Paybarah in Manhattan, Jimmy Vielkind in Albany, and Mike Allen in D.C., with Daniel Lippman

AGENTS OF THE CITY -- Rosen, Baldick, Hyers, Del Cecato and Gaspard advise mayor, City Hall seeks to shield their communications -- POLITICO New York's Laura Nahmias and Dana Rubinstein: On Wednesday, the de Blasio administration said there are maybe a handful of mayoral advisers who don't work for the city, but are nevertheless "agents" of the city and are therefore exempt from laws requiring their communications with the mayor be made public. The de Blasio administration initially only identified Jonathan Rosen, a principal at political consultancy Berlin Rosen, as a city "agent," because he frequently advises the mayor. But late on Thursday afternoon, de Blasio counsel Maya Wiley
 revealed the names of the rest of the outside advisers City Hall has deemed exempt from the Freedom of Information Law, the often ignored statute that requires elected officials to disclose certain communications to reporters and the public.

"The Mayor's counsel has determined that in certain circumstances the five following individuals are considered personal advisors to the Mayor: Jonathan Rosen, Nicholas Baldick, Bill Hyers, John Del Cecato and Patrick Gaspard," said Wiley, in a statement. "As personal advisors to the Mayor, their communications to the Mayor's Office, along with those of their support staff working at the principal's direction on those particular matters, are exempt from disclosure when related solely to City business and not on behalf of any client." ... "The exception that the city is relying on is incorrect," said Bob Freeman, executive director of the NYS Committee on Open Government. Freeman argued it's
 one thing for a municipality to hire a paid consultant and another when City Hall isn't paying the consultant (City Hall said it had paid none of the aforementioned advisers). "If he's not being paid, he's not a consultant," Freeman said. And if he's not a consultant, Freeman argued, then the communications must be disclosed. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4757def9cec9c75573d89bb6e43100b27e9dd364e748607a438f990d9186897 

-- Post's Yoav Gonen and Rich Calder: "...Mayor de Blasio turned Nixonian..." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4757def9cec9c755cf80e8e1e37dd07a7fe792fbb41fd63104573701eff6cdf 

-- WSJ's Josh Dawsey: "A person familiar with the matter said at least some of the five were surprised to learn they had gotten the new designation and didn't want it. ... Some aides to the mayor thought the administration should release Mr. Rosen's emails to NY1, a television station that requested the emails, according to people familiar with the matter. The mayor opposed their release, these people said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4757def9cec9c75ecbaacedfafbd794f86a3a42230e1ddbebfd6c7c457929c8 

-- The $1 solution -- Observer's Jillian Jorgensen: "Freeman said who pays Mr. Rosen gets right to the point of whether he's an agent of the city or not, based on the precedent. If a consultant does not have a contract with the city-even for a dollar-Mr. Freeman said he would not characterize that consultant as having been 'retained' by the city." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4757def9cec9c756a930a0fe423a96c85d2d82464730f24a52be3696ef80e33 

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "[T]he question you are raising is should people be concerned if there is any proximity? Well that's what we have laws for." -- Mayor Bill de Blasio, on the donations from people with business before the city, via transcript of interview with WNYC's "Brian Lehrer": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4757def9cec9c759a41c50c4545d44099705c41b41a6f8976fd13424711c5b2 

CHEERS: The Tavern on the Green in Central Park has re-opened its Beer Garden. Check out kielbasa and drafts from New York and beyond. 

TABS -- Post: "I'M NOT A CROOK: De Blasio's coverup begins" -- Daily News: "SHADOW REPUBLIC: Special Report: As NRA father for its annual gun orgy, we reveal group's plan to buy the U.S. government - one election at a time" -- SEE THEM: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4757def9cec9c756f4ec24818f475343d458f0320f4043c66aa10cce7fad009 

-- amNY: "CITI SPIKE" -- Metro: "NOT SUCH A WEINER ANYMORE: The disgraced political gets yet another chance in a new film" -- SEE THEM: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9f7728fcc93f45a69eec5170ef11bf3e526cf802f4a1202602d72812105181 

-- Newsday: "CRASH OF FLIGHT 804" -- Hamodia: "NY Senate Panel To Hold Hearings On NYC Bag Fee" -- El Diario [translated]: Gangs targeted

FRONT PAGES -- NYT, 1-col., above the fold: "G.O.P. VOTERS SAY TRUMP DESERVES PARTY'S BACKING" -- WSJNY, 2-co., above the fold: "De Blasio Names Special Advisers, Averts Disclosure" -- SEE THEM: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9f7728fcc93f45a245e430e355d3a3fa5dc692cd5f56b2f89e7c7be6c75154 

** A message from REALTORS(R) Advocacy Committee: Help First Time Homebuyers Dare to Dream. New Yorkers trying to buy their first homes face some of the highest closing costs in the country. Contact your State Senator and Assemblymember to let them know that New Yorkers need the NY First Home savings program. Visit NYFirstHome.com to learn more **

NEW HEAD -- De Blasio appoints new Consumer Affairs commissioner -- POLITICO New York's Gloria Pazmino: Mayor Bill de Blasio is appointing Lorelei Salas commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, he will announce Friday. Salas will be replace Julie Menin, who left the agency to lead the mayor's office of media and entertainment in February. De Blasio will also announce the department will create a new division for the recently-formed Office of Labor Policy and Standards which will work on labor issues for workers in the city and help to enforce specific labor laws, such as paid sick leave and commuter benefits. The office was originally proposed by City Council Speaker Melissa
 Mark-Viverito and signed into law by de Blasio in November. "Lorelei Salas is well-equipped for this position, having progressive values and being an advocate for immigration, housing and employment legal services programs," de Blasio said in a statement. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9f7728fcc93f452f0c0713c96ba46ac582d4775a217bc6ae3ac1fdc8c1a143

NINE DEATHS, NO CHARGES RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT OVERSIGHT AGENCY - The AP's Michael Virtanen and Frank Eltman: "Little more than names and incident numbers appear on a Long Island medical examiner's list of nine developmentally disabled people who died in state care since 2013, but this much is known for sure: All the deaths came under a cloud of abuse or neglect allegations, and none resulted in criminal charges. The one-page list titled "Abuse and Neglect with Death Involved" surfaced as part of a Freedom of Information request by an advocate who called it only the latest example of how New York's oversight agency for the disabled in state care, the Justice Center, is not doing enough to
 pursue suspicious cases. Questioned by The Associated Press about the handling of the deaths, all in Long Island's Suffolk County, state and local officials responded with conflicting accounts. The Justice Center says it told county prosecutors about the cases, in accordance with state law, but prosecutors say that's not true. The medical examiner's office says it referred two cases to police for further investigation. After police denied for days that they got them, they acknowledged this week that they did." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9f7728fcc93f45d76916b42eece7d989f03cbab58fadd208459d45fd38b1e7

DEM DEBATE - POLITICO New York's Jimmy Vielkind: Progressives on the Democratic State Committee are again pushing resolutions asking state lawmakers to pass "real" ethics reforms and for members of the Independent Democratic Conference to reunite with other Democrats in the state Senate. The state committee will convene Monday in Saratoga, with the selection of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia as the main order of business. The party is currently without a chair, and may fill that post during the conference. The first resolution declares that "recent scandals have again highlighted the corrupting influence of money in New York politics," and says "the
 pay-to-play culture of New York politics must end." It asks officials to pass "meaningful campaign finance legislation." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9f7728fcc93f457a5087b285a40ce8015ee7953e6f83360f31156fc5864a9e 

SOLARCITY RAMPING UP HIRING IN BUFFALO, DESPITE FEDERAL PROBE - The Buffalo News' Jonathan Epstein: "With its business model facing some economic challenges and its new solar panel manufacturing plant caught up in a federal probe, SolarCity Corp.'s head of human resources for Buffalo on Thursday reiterated the company's commitment to create nearly 1,500 jobs in Buffalo and spend more than $5 billion on capital, operations and supply chain support over the next decade. Speaking to a commercial real estate trade group, Dan Harvey said construction of the 1.2-million-square-foot solar-panel manufacturing plant at Riverbend is on track to be fully operational by the end of next year. He said
 the outside of the facility is about 90 percent complete, and officials hope to start putting in equipment inside the factory this summer." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa0d6023eec80300c20fb95d2744d9fe5c5761d5909042abca1

- Albany Times Union editorial board: "Until answers are provided, New York should delay its next payment to SolarCity. New York state is poised to release a nearly half-billion-dollar grant to fund a major solar panel plant in Buffalo, but new questions about the project and how many jobs will actually be created are ample reasons to hit the pause button. The $458 million is part of the $750 million promised by the state to SolarCity to help build and equip what is being touted as a "gigafactory," the largest solar panel manufacturing facility in the Western Hemisphere. As part of its agreement, the company pledged to create 1,460 jobs in the first two years of operation. The project is a
 key component of Cuomo's much heralded "Buffalo Billion" initiative to revitalize Western New York's suffering economy." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa00838f19c6206417471d91e9eb2dfa65b12130604724d0df1

THE MAYOR'S BROTHER, A JOURNALIST, RETIRES -- POLITICO New York's Laura Nahmias: Mayor Bill de Blasio's brother had a few minutes to talk Thursday night on the eve of his retirement from business journalism, but he was on deadline, so he kept it brief.

Steve Wilhelm, 67, is a Seattle resident, who works for the Puget Sound Business Journal, where he covers business and the aerospace industry. It's a beat he's been on since the mid-1980s. But he's about to retire, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, his younger brother, is making the sojourn to the Pacific Northwest Friday to celebrate with him. Wilhelm said he's not burnt out on journalism, but it's time to move on.

"You know, I'm turning 68 soon. I have other things to do," he said. Like what? "I do Buddhist stuff, I do some teaching," he said. "I'm on a nonprofit board, and I want to do more of those kinds of things." (Wilhelm's LinkedIn page shows he is a former President of the Northwest Dharma Association, as well as the Editor of the Northwest Dharma News, and a board member at the Tibetan Nuns project.) Wilhelm said he and his little brother Bill, who is 13 years his junior, didn't really have much planned for this weekend. "We're just going to hang out," he said. "We're just going to wing it." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa0a09a3d66c14c37c4f6ec837fa61fcd7d5ef2deb2ab22f5fa

EXECUTIVE MOVES: Martha Taylor is the new chairwoman of Community Board 8 in Queens, via Queens Tribune's Lynn Edmonds: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa019dce99ddb6b9a33357e16d1238774bd00f9cc7877fcddcc 

-- Catherine Trapani has been named executive director of Homeless Services United, a 50-member association of non-profit homeless service organizations. The appointment is effective June 20th, 2016. Since 2007 Trapani was the director of the HousingLink program at New Destiny Housing.

OUT AND ABOUT -- Margaret Carlson hosted a party Thursday night at her DuPont Circle home for Jason Kelly, Bloomberg News' New York Bureau Chief, to launch his latest book, "Sweat Equity: Inside the New Economy of Mind and Body." $22.40 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa0dd2c2e57fb4bb7cb26ec96ed0868872aefb98e6788cfdb8c 

SPOTTED: Tom Wheeler, Al Hunt, Megan McArdle, Nick Johnston, Meridith Webster, state visit from the original Stretch, Dick Keil, Christine Brennan, Kevin Cirilli, Bill McQuillen, Jennifer Jacobs, Craig Gordon.

-- Dan Abrams, Contessa Brewer, Chris Hayes, Hendrik Hertzberg, Gay Talese and Alex Witt last night hosted a special NYC screening of the new documentary "Weiner" (out today nationally) at The Roxy Hotel on Avenue of the Americas. Guests later joined the filmmakers upstairs at the Roxy Bar. Trailer  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa088f03e30c35b058d962c5dfa0f558954d11150dabb80e549 SPOTTED: Michael Barbaro, Amy Chozick, John McEnroe. 

--"Website that helped bring down Anthony Weiner is coming back," by Daniel Libit on CNBC.com: "Tweet Congress, the nonprofit website that helped push a number of politicians to join the Twittersphere - and made a few of them deeply regret it - plans to relaunch in the next month ... [A] new version of the politician-tweet-tracking website will be up and running in as soon as the next few weeks, roughly three years years after its original effort went offline. Most infamously, Tweet Congress was instrumental in helping bring down Anthony Weiner" for his tweet. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa0fa71d2abb86ed6bdf4f3de3d68adb8f71a0377a71056479a

BARBARA MORGAN speaks -- In an interview on Bloomberg Politics' podcast "Culture Caucus," former NYC mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner's comms. director Barbara Morgan discusses her experience on the campaign and her reaction to the documentary "Weiner." On whether she asked Weiner if there was additional unreported material related to the first scandal: "If you go back and look, no one asked those questions. Because Anthony talked about it and said (he) suspected there's other information that could come out ... I probably err on the side of being the most annoying communication person ever because NOW I ask the most questions." 

--On if she felt the NYC press corps covering the campaign ever acted irresponsibly: "I spent a lot of my time trying to prove a negative. Having to do that on a regular basis is tiring, (it) takes a lot of energy....That was one of the things I thought was most egregious." ... On the press questioning Weiner's judgment and honesty: "That's something as a professional I will blame myself for on that campaign. That at some point I didn't say, ok stop, we have to answer like this, in this way, because that will be what stops the questions." Audio  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f60362fa6482daa0540c77bd511f6c381ef06b795dbf0303a0853b19eb1ffe2b

BIRTHDAYS -- FRIDAY: Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) ... Former New York Gov. David Paterson is 62 ... Nancy Webster, executive director of Brooklyn Bridge Park ...Henry Goldman, City Hall reporter for Bloomberg ... Joe Stepansky, police reporter for the Daily News ... Tom McGeveran, co-editor of POLITICO States and editor of POLITICO Media ... rapper Busta Rhymes, born in Brooklyn, raised in Uniondale, Long Island, and graduated from "graduated from George Westinghouse High School Downtown Brooklyn, the same high school attended by famous MC's Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z." ... SATURDAY: Nick Spano, former state senator from Westchester ... Paul Newell, Democratic district leader and candidate for
 the 65th Assembly District in Manhattan ... Edgar Santana, director of political and governmental affairs at Laborers Eastern Region Organizing Fund ... Robert Hornak, Republican operative in Queens ... Michael Gartland, City Hall reporter for the New York Post ... Tom Allon, City and State CEO and 2013 candidate for mayor ... Gillian Reagan, managing editor for POLITICO States ... slain rapper Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G., of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, would be 44 ... SUNDAY: Joe Pompeo, media reporter for POLITICO ... slain civil rights leader Harvey Milk of San Francisco.

#UpstateAmerica: A Syracuse mother appears with her daughter, whose foot she accidentally ran over with a lawnmower, in a new video about tractor safety. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cc1583872b760f1ca630eeddbdb2283aa2cac54bf49eb2da7b7fe0ed8015add1

** A message from REALTORS(R) Advocacy Committee: First-Time Homebuyers in New York need help!

Homeownership rates across the country continue to fall and achieving the dream of owning a home is more difficult than ever for many New Yorkers. High taxes and fees create barriers for potential homebuyers in New York who work hard to save for the purchase of their first homes.

State lawmakers are considering the NY First Home proposal, a new tax-free savings account program modeled after the State's 529 education savings program. If adopted, individual New Yorkers could save up to $5,000 annually (couples up to $10,000) to pay for costs associated with purchasing their first homes.

Contact your State Senator and Assemblymember to support the NY First Home proposal and tell them to create an incentive program to help New Yorkers who Dare to Dream.

Visit NYFirstHome.com to learn more **

FOR MORE political and policy news from New York, check out Politico New York's home page: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cc1583872b760f1c4423a24d1625993ee826f1ea7222fbba7a1f5f3c76f4fed5 

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