
Fix the City's next act is Mamdani-esque
'We know this is not about red versus blue, it's about right versus wrong,' Hochul told the lawmakers, according to audio obtained by Playbook. 'You are the leaders in this and history is going to look back on you favorably.'
Hochul hosted Texas Democrats who bolted from the state to delay the vote. They returned Monday, giving the Legislature a quorum.
Hochul is pushing for ways to change New York's redistricting process to build on Democratic advantages; any changes won't happen in time for the 2026 elections. — Nick Reisman
FIXING FIX: The behemoth pro-Andrew Cuomo PAC that spent millions futilely vilifying Zohran Mamdani in the mayoral primary now wants to be more like him — though only when it comes to emulating his organizing prowess.
Fix the City is launching MainStream, a new group that aims to 'protect our city from extremism' by 'building a growing force of volunteers' and plans to host an introductory Zoom call tonight, according to invitations obtained by Playbook.
'Mamdani's primary win was fueled by an army of 40,000 volunteers. Thankfully, there are far more of us — those who reject extremism, socialism, antisemitism and the politics of division — than them,' reads an intake form that lists volunteer opportunities like voter registration drives and 'social media activist.'
The anti-Mamdani effort is ramping up as the democratic socialist victor of the Democratic primary looks to the November general election with a healthy polling lead over Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams — both running as independents — and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Fix the City — funded primarily by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman and DoorDash — spent more than $22 million in its effort to thwart Mamdani in June. Despite failing in that effort, it's still bringing in big money for the general election. Its contributions this month include $100,000 from Walmart scion and philanthropist Alice L. Walton, according to public filings and as reported by Crain's New York.
Its revamped website touts a mission to provide 'voters with the tools they need to make their voices heard — not just in this election cycle, but in the years to come,' noting that the PAC believes the best choice for mayor remains Cuomo.
'This is a wake-up call for what I would characterize as regular Democrats: If you want to have a say in your government, you're going to have to get organized and you're going to have to convince voters to show up at the polls,' Steven M. Cohen, chair of Fix the City, who served as Cuomo's secretary when he was governor, said in an interview with Playbook.
The work of getting out the vote in elections — including door-knocking, pamphleting and voter registration — has been a forte for the political left, including the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party. Fix the City via MainStream seeks to lay the foundation for an organizing operation that could boost more moderate Democrats for other offices and in other election cycles, Cohen said.
'I don't want to lose sight of the November election. But also, I think there are a whole lot of people who belong in Congress, belong in Albany, belong in the statehouse,' Cohen said, 'And I worry if we don't mount an effective response to what was a very well-organized and … a very well-financed operation, we're going to be on the outside looking in.'
Mamdani defeated Cuomo in June by nearly 13 points, but the relative newcomer is still struggling to get his party to coalesce behind him before November. Mamdani has yet to be endorsed by party leaders including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Mamdani has sought to position Cuomo as Trump's choice for president as the rivals duke it out in the coming months. Cuomo recently told prospective donors in the Hamptons that Trump could tell Republicans to back him for mayor if they want Mamdani stopped, POLITICO reported.
Mamdani, a Queens state assemblymember, has a new super PAC in his corner, the Daily News reported, and his anti-billionaire message of the primary is carrying through to the general.
'Andrew Cuomo and his Republican billionaire donors are about to learn that a competitive ground game can't be bought,' Mamdani campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement responding to Fix the City's new campaign to turn out votes. 'Zohran already defeated millions in special interest money in the primary, and he'll do it again — because New Yorkers are ready to fight for a city they can actually afford.' — Emily Ngo
IT'S WEDNESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
WHERE'S KATHY? In Syracuse, making an announcement at the Great New York State Fair and likely visiting the Wizard of Oz-themed butter cow sculpture.
WHERE'S ERIC? Opening a campaign office in Harlem.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'In a choice between NYU and Columbia losing tax exemption and giving Trump a raised middle finger, Mamdani chose the latter.' — Retired Baruch College professor Doug Muzzio on the candidate backing away from his pitch to make the private colleges pay taxes, after Trump started attacking Columbia and other universities, via POLITICO.
ABOVE THE FOLD
'SANCTUARY' DEMS STAND GROUND: Attorney General Pam Bondi targeted more than 30 'sanctuary' jurisdictions with letters last week demanding they drop their policies limiting cooperation between federal immigration agents and local law enforcement.
'This ends now,' Bondi wrote.
Actually, it doesn't, several of the Democratic-led cities, counties and states wrote back Tuesday.
The tenor and approach of the responses obtained by Playbook varied across the country and New York but the underlying message was the same: They denied that their policies 'thwart federal immigration enforcement.'
Hochul responded with a three-page letter to Bondi as Trump implements his deportation agenda and spurns Democrat-led parts of the country for purportedly protecting undocumented immigrants.
'I recognize that you disagree with New York's view of what the constitution requires of states, and the legality of New York State law and policy, and now — contrary to the positions you took as Florida Attorney General — believe states are merely vassals of the federal government,' Hochul wrote. 'These disputes are rightly before the courts for resolution.'
Rochester via its corporation counsel Patrick Beath said that Bondi shouldn't be writing to Mayor Malik Evans at all, since the correspondence 'appears to be a violation of your ethical obligations as an attorney.' That's because the Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against Rochester challenging its 'sanctuary' policies.
'Given this pending litigation, you — as counsel for the government of the United States — should have no direct communication with my clients without my prior permission,' Beath wrote.
New York City's response was the most succinct of those obtained Tuesday by Playbook.
Adams has criticized the 'sanctuary' laws put in place before his time in office but said he would uphold them. He has sought to work with Trump while also standing up to him in some areas.
As part of a two-paragraph letter to Bondi, the city's Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant wrote: 'The city's choices do not 'thwart' such enforcement; rather, they merely reflect choices the City has the legal right to make in our federal system.' — Emily Ngo
CITY HALL: THE LATEST
CUOMO PROPOSITIONS: New York City faces an entrenched prostitution problem, even as the Adams administration has greatly ramped up arrests, Cuomo said after a Monday morning visit to Elmhurst, Queens. But the problem would be even worse if Mamdani decriminalized prostitution as mayor.
'It's not going well,' Cuomo told Playbook. 'There's rampant prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue. … It's gotten worse over the last two years. That's what they all say.'
Cuomo's main focus was to draw a contrast with Mamdani, who co-sponsors a state bill to decriminalize prostitution. But Adams doesn't support decriminalization, and his admin has been cracking down on sex work. Asked what he'd do differently, Cuomo said 'stepped up enforcement' and 'focus on the operation behind them,' not just the sex workers.
City Hall said that's exactly what they're doing, touting that seven major crimes are down 35 percent compared to last year in the special enforcement zone set up around Roosevelt Ave. — totaling 350 fewer incidents than in 2024.
'Anyone dropping by Roosevelt Avenue for a photo-op should do their homework before spreading lies, because working-class New Yorkers in Queens are not political pawns — they're real people who, under our administration, are finally getting the results they deserve,' Adams said in a statement.
Cuomo said prostitution needs to remain a crime, because it would 'proliferate' otherwise, and arrests can be used to drive people to treatment and services. He said decriminalization advocates like Mamdani have 'a romanticized version of prostitution that I think is unrealistic. … I don't think anybody goes home and says to their daughter at night, 'Honey, I hope you grow up to be a good prostitute.' We're better than that.'
Decriminization hasn't been a part of Mamdani's platform, but he hasn't been clear about how he would handle sex work arrests as mayor. — Jeff Coltin
FOR YOUR RADAR: New York City's Commission on Racial Equity says it's suing the Adams administration for never releasing a legally required racial equity plan.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE: Two prominent political donors said that Cuomo and his aides had talked about Trump helping to clear a path for the ex-governor in the general election, The New York Times reported, building off POLITICO's scoop on Cuomo's comments at a closed-door fundraiser in the Hamptons.
More from the city:
— A super PAC backing Adams' reelection is phoning tens of thousands of voters to tell them Cuomo is a 'sore loser.' (New York Post)
— Former interim U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon talks about her career and briefly revisits the Adams saga in her remarks to Yale Law School's incoming class. (The Free Press)
— About 3,000 city families are currently waitlisted for child care vouchers despite a huge funding boost from both the city and state. (Gothamist)
NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY
AFFORDABILITY TALK: The political buzzword of the year — affordability — has crept into the nascent race for state comptroller.
Democratic challenger Drew Warshaw, running an uphill primary against longtime incumbent Tom DiNapoli, believes the cost-of-living issues raised by Mamdani are transcending the New York City mayoral campaign.
'He has put his finger on the affordability crisis,' Warshaw told CNBC on Tuesday. 'People look to the mayor to solve the affordability crisis and people look to the governor. Exactly no one has looked to the comptroller.'
Drafting off Mamdani's successful focus on affordability is a popular tactic. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado — who is running a long-shot primary bid against Hochul — has seized on the 33-year-old democratic socialist's upset primary win as a sign New Yorkers are turning against candidates who represent the status quo.
Warshaw said he would vote for Mamdani in the general election. DiNapoli has not endorsed in the race, a stance that's in keeping with other statewide elected officials like Hochul. The comptroller's campaign did not comment when reached by Playbook.
Warshaw is mounting a spirited bid against DiNapoli, who is the longest serving elected official in state government and has never faced a primary.
The comptroller's job — overseeing the state pension fund and auditing spending — is a low-profile one. But Warshaw believes the cost concerns fit with his push to leverage the pension fund to build more housing and scrutinize state spending.
'The average New Yorker understands that they're paying too much in taxes and their costs keep going up,' he said. — Nick Reisman
DEPLOYMENT DURATION: Hochul won't put an end date to the National Guard's subway deployment, which started in March 2024.
But she insisted a combination of factors — the presence of troops on platforms, placing cameras on subway cars and boosting overtime for cops — have all worked.
'You look at the numbers, it's showing we're making a real difference here,' Hochul told reporters on Tuesday. 'We're going to keep up our efforts to fight crime.'
Hochul previously differentiated between her deployment of the guard — meant to allay the public's concern over crime through coordination with New York City officials — from Trump's use of National Guard troops on Washington's streets, despite opposition from the locally elected government.
She is walking a delicate line politically on the issue. Hochul wants voters to feel safe — especially on mass transit — and can tout statistics proving her point that safety has improved. But it all comes as Republicans signal they'll again make public safety a campaign issue as she runs for reelection. — Nick Reisman
More from Albany:
— DiNapoli says there's a gap in rural health care coverage. (Spectrum News)
— New York lawmakers this week will scrutinize the state's troubled home care program. (New York Focus)
— Trump's 'political weaponization czar' Ed Martin urged Attorney General Letitia James to step down. (Associated Press)
KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION
— House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would be the focus of a congressional investigation if Democrats flip the House in the midterms. (The Guardian)
— Trump budget officials claim sweeping spending power from Congress, records show. (Washington Post)
— A spat between Rep. Elise Stefanik and North Country GOP leaders appears to be cooling. (Times Union)
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
— The feds are threatening to withhold up to 25 percent of federal funding for the New York City Transit Authority over concerns that its safety reviews aren't up to snuff. (POLITICO Pro)
— Acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone was hit with an ethics complaint after taking a newspaper off his media list. (City & State)
— Watch out for that rip current at city beaches. (NY1)
SOCIAL DATA
WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Virginia Boney Moore, senior manager for public policy at Amazon and a Trump White House and NSC alum, and Andrew Moore, chief of staff to Google's Eric Schmidt and a State Dept. alum, on Aug. 5 welcomed Margaret Roberts Moore, who came in at 6 lbs. 13 oz and 19 inches. Pic ... Another pic
MAKING MOVES: Nick Simmons has been named CEO of Pursuit, a workforce training company for getting low-income workers into tech jobs. Simmons, who started his career as a founding teacher and acting school principal of a public charter school in Harlem, most recently ran for the state Senate in Connecticut and is a former senior advisor to the secretary of education in the Biden Administration and deputy chief of staff to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. …
… Gerardo Bonilla Chavez is joining The Century Foundation as director of government affairs. He previously was chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and was a 2024 Pritzker fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. … Patrick Hill has been promoted to director of constituent services for NYC Council Member Keith Powers.
MEDIAWATCH: Kelly Jane Torrance has been promoted to be New York Post's PostScript and books editor. … Katherine Finnerty has been promoted to be head of live journalism at The Wall Street Journal … BronxNet Community TV Cuts 13 Staffers as Cable Cash Dries Up (THE CITY)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: DCJS Commissioner Rossana Rosado … Manuel Belliard of the Manhattan BP's office … Catalyst's Kate Knight … BTN's Manuel Burgos … Oliver Darcy … Al Roker … Tammy Bruce … Larry Kudlow … former USTR Michael Froman … MSNBC PR's Alisha Sahi … Jim Hock of PSP Partners …NYT's Julia Kurzius … Jessica Todtman … Meghan Grant Swiber … (WAS TUESDAY): Marc J. Rowan ... Eric Zinterhofer ... Gabriela Shalev ... Miriam Benkoe ... Dan Aloni
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