WE’RE ALL FRIENDS NOW: Gov. Kathy Hochul is pledging to work with a future Andrew Cuomo administration — if her former boss’ speculated run for mayor proves profitable.
“My nature is to work with whoever is sitting in office, whether it’s the president of the United States, other governors or mayors,” the governor mentioned when she was requested whether or not she helps Cuomo’s speculated run for mayor.
“I’ll continue on that path,” she added.
Hochul, who was on Lengthy Island to unveil a proposal to offer free lunches for all Okay-12 college students within the state (extra on that beneath), made the feedback on the heels of a new POLITICO report that indicators Cuomo is continuous to line up the items for his run for mayor.
The Thursday report particulars how Cuomo is predicted to rent Charlie King, a accomplice on the Manhattan-based consulting and lobbying agency Mercury Public Affairs.
Hochul has loved a sunny relationship with Mayor Eric Adams, at the same time as he battles federal corruption costs that would flip into even worse costs. She opted to not oust him — an influence she holds — after his September indictment, in change for him pushing out scandal-scarred prime aides.
“My job as governor of this great state is to work with whomever the voters choose to be the Mayor of the City of New York,” Hochul mentioned, nonetheless in response to the Cuomo query. “I’ve demonstrated that. I’ve had a better relationship with the mayor of New York than probably any of my predecessors. It has been collaborative, because I recognize one thing — we both represent the same people.”
Cuomo — whose personal petty feuds with former Mayor Invoice DeBlasio have develop into the stuff of legend — declined to remark for this story. His workforce continues to keep away from confirming the drips of stories about his seemingly embryonic marketing campaign for mayor imply he’s truly working.
(Jewish Insider additionally reported in November that Cuomo’s workforce is getting ready to run, and is organising an unbiased expenditure group.)
“This all remains premature, but Andrew Cuomo will always be a Queens boy who loves New York, is deeply concerned about its direction, and will always help any way he can,” Azzopardi advised our colleague Nick Reisman in response to the Mercury Public Affairs information. He additionally insisted that “nothing has changed and neither apparently has the rumor mill in all its glory.”
When requested if she would rank Adams on the poll field in June, Hochul balked — “I’m not a voter in New York City,” she mentioned, sidestepping the hypothetical.
The governor’s feedback, about President-elect Donald Trump, Adams and Cuomo (who Cuomo has insisted are all the identical) come as she continues to sign a non-aggression pact with, properly, everybody after shortly abandoning a Trump-resistance posture.
When you keep in mind, the day after Election Day, Hochul hosted a Trump-bashing press convention with Lawyer Normal Letitia James, the place James mentioned the 2 are “ready to fight back again.”
However instantly afterward, her stance softened, a prerogative that appears to have been solidified by her “lengthy,” “cordial” and “very productive” telephone name with Trump the following day.
For the reason that pair’s cuddly chat, the governor has pledged to work with — not hinder — the Trump administration’s efforts, even pledging to be “the first to call up ICE” to deport immigrants who break the regulation when requested about Trump’s mass deportation plan.
Whereas she performs good with the three criminally probed males, she nonetheless should chase away a problem from Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who’re each doing their finest to ramp up hypothesis they may marketing campaign in opposition to her for governor in 2026.
“The change of heart about Cuomo is the latest flip-flop from the foremost flip-flopper in New York politics,” Torres texted Playbook. “Just like Kathy Hochul was for congestion pricing before she was against it before she was for it, Hochul was for Cuomo before she was against him before she was for him.”
Lawler additionally chimed in: “Governor Hochul’s new ‘Kumbaya Kathy’ act is laughable,” he mentioned. “Commonsense people in both parties know that she doesn’t work with, or listen to, anyone who disagrees with her and her bad ideas. If she did, we wouldn’t be dealing with congestion pricing, sanctuary cities, or cashless bail.” — Jason Beeferman
YOU GET A LUNCH, AND YOU GET A LUNCH … : New York is about to develop into the ninth state within the nation that gives free lunches and breakfasts to all Okay-12 faculty college students, no matter their earnings.
“I’m proposing free school meals for every student in New York — giving kids the sustenance they need and putting more money back in parents’ pockets,” the governor mentioned immediately.
The announcement is the ultimate in a trifecta of affordability proposals Hochul is unveiling forward of her State of the State.
Hochul has lengthy centered affordability from her perch in Albany, however the latest emphasis on “putting money back in your pockets” comes after Trump’s decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris revealed losses of Democratic assist from working class voters throughout most demographic teams.
“It’s just a statement of our values,” Hochul mentioned. “Helping put more money in the pockets of parents, families in countless ways. This is just one of the other initiatives we’ll be announcing in my State of the State on Tuesday.”
The governor’s new initiative, often called Common Free College Meals, would get rid of any earnings necessities, increasing eligibility to just about 300,000 extra pupils.
The funding into the state’s free scholar meals program, which Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas and state Sen. Michelle Hinchey had fought to increase over the past two years, means round 2.7 million college students shall be entitled to free meals.
“Reducing the stigma is so important,” Rojas mentioned. “We’ve heard about so many children who are teased, families who are embarrassed to do all this work and get that attention, because they just want their kids to learn and not be focused on the challenges they’re facing,” Rojas mentioned.
“These arbitrary cutoffs that we have for things, just because you may not qualify doesn’t mean your family is not right on the brink and struggling,” Hinchey mentioned.
The initiative is predicted to value $340 million and would go into impact within the 2025-26 faculty yr, based on the governor’s workplace. — Jason Beeferman and Madina Touré
TO BE (THERE) OR NOT TO BE: Adams is open to attending Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, however his Albany ally is staying put.
Hochul marketing campaign spokesperson Jen Goodman immediately confirmed the governor is not going to attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony in Washington.
Adams and Hochul are reasonable Democrats who’ve labored properly collectively. However Adams, who’s preventing a five-count federal felony indictment, has trod frivolously in Trump world.
In contrast to the governor, Adams was not a vocal surrogate for President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris when she changed him on the prime of the ticket. Adams additionally met with incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan and has been important of how Biden has dealt with immigration coverage. (Hochul has been in digital alignment with the Biden administration on the problem and has blamed Republicans for a scuttled border safety invoice final yr.)
The inauguration will coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and distinguished New York officers usually unite on the Rev. Al Sharpton’s celebration of the civil rights chief on the Nationwide Motion Community in Harlem.
Hochul has not disclosed her plans for Jan. 20, however she can be anticipated to ship her state finances presentation in Albany the next day. — Nick Reisman
BITTER TAX FIGHT: Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer is drawing a line within the sand within the heated battle to carry the cap on the state and native tax deduction, or SALT, as Home Republicans meet Saturday with Trump to argue for a rise.
Schumer desires a full repeal, full cease.
Reps. Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, Nicole Malliotakis, Andrew Garbarino and their colleagues from New Jersey and California view a considerable hike within the present $10,000-per-household cap as a sensible opening bid within the gentle of the rivalry to come back over renewing the broader tax cuts package deal.
However Schumer and different Democrats, together with Hochul, are staking out whole restoration as their place. The senior senator previewed the Dems’ technique Friday in remarks to the pro-business Lengthy Island Affiliation.
“President-elect Trump and many southern and midwestern Congress members who pushed the unfair SALT cap in their 2017 tax bill are now having second thoughts, and we have to take advantage of that,” he advised the enterprise neighborhood in a suburban stretch the place SALT is a really large deal. “There’s been a lot of chatter this week about various potential increases to Trump’s SALT limits, but remember: If we don’t renew them, then the Trump SALT cap will expire … and this attack on New York taxpayers ends for good.”
As Home Republicans from high-tax states make their SALT case, they’ve additionally made certain guilty the Democratic leaders of these states, together with Hochul, for hefty taxes that make the deduction so essential within the first place. — Emily Ngo
— GUILTY PLEA: Turkish-American building government Erden Arkan pleaded responsible Friday to creating straw donations to Mayor Eric Adams’ marketing campaign. (POLITICO)
— LESS TERRIBLE TWOS: Metropolis dad and mom are beginning a marketing campaign to push Metropolis Corridor to fund free common youngster look after 2-year-olds. (Day by day Information)
— DON’T GIMME SHELTER: Town is shuttering 10 migrant shelters as the speed of arrivals for asylum seekers continues to hit new lows. (New York Submit)
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