Subject: POLITICO New York Playbook: CUOMO’s story -- DE BLASIO’s gradual response -- HUDSON YARDS’ $200M sculpture
From: "Azi Paybarah, Jimmy Vielkind and Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 05:57:42 -0600

05/03/2016 07:55 AM EDT

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

CUOMO 'AWARE' OF PERCOCO'S CONSULTING DESIRE - POLITICO New York's Laura Nahmias: Cuomo knew that his former top aide Joe Percoco might be consulting for other firms while he was running Cuomo's re-election campaign in 2014, the governor said Monday. Cuomo's comments are his first public remarks since news broke late last week that Percoco is at the center of a U.S. Attorney investigation into the Buffalo Billion, Cuomo's signature upstate economic development program, focused on whether Percoco may have failed to disclose thousands of dollars in income he received from companies that were doing business with the state. ... Cuomo said Monday, "Joe left state service and went into the
 private sector. He consulted for my campaign. I knew he might be accepting consulting arrangements with other companies. But beyond that, no." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c5b747a6bc409adb8bfc16550fde7491c4b461d758d7b2bef 

-- JCOPE SUBPOENAED, via the NYT's Jesse McKinley and Willie Rashbaum: "The State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, known as Jcope, received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking copies of Mr. Percoco's financial disclosure forms more than a week ago, according to a person familiar with the subpoena. On Tuesday, F.B.I. agents from the Buffalo office executed search warrants at locations around Buffalo, Albany, New York City and Washington, several people briefed on the matter said. Also last week, the governor's office received a grand jury subpoena seeking a broad range of records, including correspondence and other documents, reflecting whether Mr. Percoco may have sought a benefit on
 behalf of any of the companies that paid him and his wife, or anyone else, a person with knowledge of the subpoena said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803ca08121850ae67020540bcdfd55341c5b8f445ef00606e5b1 

-- Despite disclosure forms stating the opposite, COR Development still denies paying Joe Percoco. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c7c0df3bbffceb0115ac80e12b04c42dbdcbcec7bd7e2a08d 

DE BLASIO'S SLOW-MOTION SCRAMBLE - POLITICO New York's Dana Rubinstein: Weeks of headlines about snowballing investigations into Bill de Blasio's administration have apparently prompted the mayor to mount a counterattack. 

A de Blasio aide told POLITICO New York that New Yorkers are going to see even more vigorous pushback in the coming days, one that will entail the mobilization of allies, and more arguments that the law is clear and that de Blasio and his administration acted appropriately and ethically. 

The more aggressive response to the daily "scandal" headlines represents something of a shift for the mayor, who has seemed resolutely unbothered - if not occasionally unaware - since news of the investigations first broke, dismissing it all as politics as usual while conspicuously going about his day-to-day business. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c016531f22e4ccd5ebe97a29ad5710673ae98b967196db0f2

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Really all the people sometimes want to hear is, you get up to the podium, and go at the New York Post and the Daily News and say 'Shut your bitch ass up.'" -- Hot97 Radio Host Ebro Darden to Mayor Bill de Blasio, via POLITICO New York's Laura Nahmais: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c2e234e3da48b4636fb60036b1126c2cd9de5644e5fead94a 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Turbovote founder Seth Flaxman.

CUOMO AFTER DARK: The governor stopped by a downtown bar to fete retiring Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez, who is moving on after 29 years at the tabloid. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c142514f6acc4a96aa17fd763728712c137d470159974f56a 

TABS -- Post: "HOT BOTS: Cyborgs invade fashion's biggest night" -- Daily News: "Say NO to our face: Child sex-abuse vice take fight for justice to Albany; NEWS: Cowardly pols don't have guts to pass bill" -- SEE THEM: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c33c67afba8f4ac8fbb2956c39b0fe98fd3520bdbcc7cdb37 

-- amNY: "HAPPY URBER BIRTHDAY: Rideshare app celebrates 5 years in NYC" -- Metro: "HOPING TO GO VIRAL: Testing results for HIV, STDs can soon be shared with potential partners on dating apps" -- Newsday: "BEELINE WAS WARNED: Before promoting Burke to police chief, county exec received letter detailing disturbing allegations" -- Hamodia: "Republican Rep. Gibson Will Not Run for NY Gov. in 2018"

FRONT PAGES -- NYT, 1-col., above the fold: "TRUMP IS FAVORED IN INDIANA VOTE; CRUZ DRIVES HARD: Clearer Path Forward; Loss Today Could Break Resistance to G.O.P. Front-Runner" -- WSJNY, 4-col., above the fold: "Firms gave to Cuomo run" -- SEE THEM: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c02610bfd30d73a910aaad68948925e70313a32ab9c88255d 

ABOUT LAST NIGHT -- Media and politico types celebrated the publication of Josh King's new book, "OFF SCRIPT: An advance man's guide to White House stagecraft, campaign spectacle and political suicide." Among the guests at King's book party were: Bloomberg alum Stu Loeser, Howard Wolfson, Frank Barry and Mark Botanic, NYT's Maggie Haberman and Ashley Parker, Tom Farley, CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, First Data Corporation's CEO Frank Bisigano and the company's general counsel Adam Rosman, Bloomberg's Mark Halperin and John Heilmann. The party was at the home of Susan Plumeri, which overlooked the Met Gala. Tonight, King will be a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor
 Noah. -- Azi Paybarah

CITY HALL MOVES -- Amy Spitalnick who formerly served as press secretary in the Mayor's Office will now serve as Communications Advisor for the Mayor's Office. 

MET GALA: Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin, page 83: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c12faf6f7ceed71fe9bcb3929b0788e19a7a8f4f2fa11e314 

GIBSON WON'T RUN - POLITICO New York's Scott Waldman: U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson announced on Monday that he will not run for governor in 2018, but instead will take a lecturer position at Williams College. The surprise announcement came after Gibson, a Republican of Kinderhook, had strongly hinted for months that he would run for governor. Gibson had said he was considering seeking a higher office soon after he announced last January that he would not seek re-election to his congressional seat in New York's 19th district. He then traveled across the state to speak at local Republican breakfasts and small gatherings to introduce himself and present a new vision for the party. As recently as
 last November, Gibson said he was "looking very seriously" at a run against Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In February, Gibson was among the potential candidates who spoke at the Conservative Party gathering, an important step since no Republican has been elected to statewide office without also receiving the Conservative Party line. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c112ace8e01a5258adb57761a152dd27082f77e83da10033a 

-- Flashback: Jimmy's 2015 profile of the Congressman, including the time he almost met Frank Serpico. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803cbfabf697be0a8e24c059598ff417b936f4638ed23d46bf98 

CATSIMATIDIS QUESTIONED -- Supermarket mogul donated $50,000 to upstate state Senate campaign -- Wall Street Journal's Josh Dawsey: "A former New York City mayoral candidate was interviewed by authorities as part of an investigation into Mayor Bill de Blasio's fundraising activities, a person familiar with the matter said Monday. John Catsimatidis, a billionaire businessman who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican mayoral nomination in 2013, answered questions from investigators last week, the person said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c1763e1cc0e5fd2ba144ff9015c5ab08478d2b6a7bd36542e

-- Daily News' Jennifer Fermino: "Billionaire grocery mogul John Catsimatidis on Monday denied a report that the feds had reached out to him to discuss the $50,000 that he donated to a Mayor de Blasio-led push for Democratic control of the state Senate. The Wall Street Journal reported that the feds interviewed Catsimatidis, who ran for mayor in 2013 as a Republican, last week. The investigators wanted to know who contacted him and other details about the donation, the paper reported. "It's not true," he said when asked for comment on the story." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c55e5c3a504a3d5c06915ff664c85f19d2dbaab68d2c43df6

-- @GloriaPazmino: "The Cats man will be on the Wise Guys segment of @InsideCityHall tomorrow. Maybe he makes up his mind by then on who he spoke to?"

DONATIONS TO DE BLASIO GROUP MAY HAVE VIOLATED DIRECTIVE FROM CONFLICT OF INTEREST BOARD -- NY1's Courtney Gross: "De Blasio could not solicit donations for [the Committee for One New York] from 'anyone with a matter pending or about to be pending' before the city, [according to a January 8, 2014 letter from the COIB.] The letter went on to say quote: 'It is the Board's conclusion that, as applied to the mayor, the 'agency' referred to is the entire executive branch...' So more than two years later, NY1 examined all of the donations to the Campaign for One New York, which is now the subject of a federal investigation. 

"We found that at least 60 donations came from an entity that had business with the city, or a company that was directly lobbying the city or was a union with a city contract. In some cases, action by the de Blasio administration occurred within days or months of the donation." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c3602d74d0bb3266a2290961ed0c9601296b99095eaecd7f6 

BIRTHDAYS: Jim Gennaro, a former city council member from Queens ... John Robinson, president and CEO of the National Minority Business Council ... actor Ellie Kemper, who plays NYC transplant and title character in the Netflix show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

REAL ESTATE -"JBG in talks to merge with New York REIT - sources," by Reuters' Mike Stone: "The JBG Companies, a privately held U.S real estate investment company, is in negotiations to merge with Manhattan office and retail landlord New York REIT Inc (NYRT.N), people familiar with the matter said on Monday. There is no certainty that JBG's discussions with New York REIT will result in a deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential. New York REIT declined to comment, while JBG did not respond to a request for comment. The people asked not to be named because the talks were private." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803ce8ee0cf2818a9411dcff7415700222f32da342fe130c330a

-"REBNY, construction trades spar over 421-a," by POLITICO New York's Sally Goldenberg: "Nearly four months after real estate and union interests reached a stalemate over the future of a popular development tax break, effectively ending the $1.1 billion program, the dueling parties publicly rehashed their disagreement Monday morning. During a panel hosted by Crain's New York Business, the presidents of the Real Estate Board of New York and the Building and Construction Trades Council debated whether to attach a prevailing wage requirement to residential construction projects that qualify for the 421-a tax exemption, which is set by Albany but administered by the city. It seems as though
 little progress has been made since the two sides parted company when the previous 421-a law sunset on Jan. 15, though both sides acknowledged they reached agreement on a framework of a deal that was not acceptable to Gov. Andrew Cuomo." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c4a5568d0a928917bd252c1f3bd751ad7d5953c3b2eebdd51

-"Hudson Yards sculpture to cost $200M and be like 'Eiffel Tower,'" by POLITICO New York's Dana Rubinstein: "The Thomas Heatherwick sculpture that will grace the public plaza at Hudson Yards will cost $200 million and 'will become to New York what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris,' said Hudson Yards developer Stephen Ross on Monday. Its design has been shrouded in secrecy, and will 'hopefully,' remain so at least until September, Ross said. That's when the developer expects to unveil the design of a sculpture poised to occupy a plaza 'bigger than Trafalgar Square.' 'It will be very iconic," said Ross, the chairman of Related Companies. 'And they're very bold statements, I know that.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803ccec75fe1d1a94846f98de0c158883cdadcdd2f649f2c79e6

THE HOME TEAMS -- POLITICO New York's Howard Megdal: Mets 4, Braves 1: a trio of first-inning home runs by David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes and Lucas Duda backed eight scoreless innings from Bartolo Colon.

-- The day ahead: Game 3 of Islanders-Lightning is in Brooklyn. The Mets host the Braves. The Yankees are in Baltimore.

#UpstateAmerica: Pigeons named Guiseppe and Matilda are living in a Rochester high school. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c4be672e9a845706ccdd596a5194c7f8dfc544a8887962051 

FOR MORE political and policy news from New York, check out Politico New York's home page: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=546e0e6558d2803c7a91591fe0525a161f5248739d514d4250cdda09ae8f5362 

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