WE ARE ALL FRIENDS NOW: Gov. Kathy Hochul is pledging to work with a future Andrew Cuomo administration if her former boss’s speculated bid for mayor proves successful.
“My nature is to work with whoever is in office, whether it’s the president of the United States, other governors or mayors,” the governor said when asked if she supports Cuomo’s speculated mayoral bid.
“I will continue down that path,” he added.
Hochul, who was in Long Island to introduce a proposal to provide free lunches for all K-12 students in the state (more on that below), made the comments on the heels of a new POLITICO report that Cuomo continues to align . the pieces of his candidacy for mayor.
Thursday’s report details how Cuomo is expected to hire Charlie King, a partner at the Manhattan-based consulting and lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs.
Hochul has enjoyed a joyful relationship with Mayor Eric Adams, even as he fights federal corruption charges that could become even worse charges. She chose not to remove him – a power she holds – after his accusation in September, in exchange for him expelling his top advisers marked by the scandal.
“My job as governor of this great state is to work with whoever the voters elect to be mayor of New York City,” Hochul said, still responding to Cuomo’s question. “I have proven it. 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 petty disputes with former Mayor Bill DeBlasio have become the stuff of legend, declined to comment for this story. His team continues to avoid confirming that trickles of news about his seemingly embryonic campaign for mayor mean he’s actually running.
(The Jewish expert also reported in November which Cuomo’s team is preparing to lead and is creating an independent spending group).
“This is all still premature, but Andrew Cuomo will always be a Queens boy who loves New York, is deeply concerned about its direction, and will always help in any way he can,” Azzopardi told our colleague Nick Reisman in response to news from Mercury Public Affairs. He also insisted that “nothing has changed and apparently neither has the rumor mill in all its splendor.”
Asked whether he would rank Adams at the polls in June, Hochul demurred: “I’m not a voter in New York City,” he said, avoiding the hypothetical.
The governor’s comments about President-elect Donald Trump, Adams and Cuomo (whom Cuomo has insisted are all the same) come as she continues to signal a non-aggression pact with, well, everyone after quickly abandoning a posture of resistance to Trump.
If you remember, the day after Election Day, Hochul organized a Press conference against Trump with Attorney General Letitia James, where James said the two are “ready to fight back again.”
But immediately afterward, his stance softened, a prerogative that appears to have been solidified by his “long,” “cordial,” and “very productive” phone call with Trump the next day.
Since the couple’s tender talk, the governor has pledged to work with (not obstruct) the Trump administration’s efforts, and even pledged to be “the first to call ICE” to deport immigrants who break the law when was asked about Trump’s mass deportation plan.
While she’s playing nice with the three men under criminal investigation, she has yet to fend off a challenge from Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who are doing everything they can to fuel speculation that they will campaign against her for governor in 2026. .
“The change of heart on Cuomo is the latest change of heart of the most prominent change of opinion in New York politics,” Torres texted Playbook. “Just as 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 also weighed in: “Governor Hochul’s new ‘Kumbaya Kathy’ act is ridiculous,” he said. “People with common sense in both parties know that she doesn’t work or listen to anyone who doesn’t agree with her and her bad ideas. If it 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 will become the ninth state in the nation to offer free lunches and breakfasts to all K-12 school students, regardless of income.
“I’m proposing free school meals for all New York students, giving kids the sustenance they need and putting more money back in parents’ pockets,” the governor said today.
The announcement is the latest in a trifecta of affordability proposals Hochul is unveiling ahead of his State of the State.
Hochul has long focused on affordability from his perch in Albany, but the recent emphasis on “putting money back in their pockets” comes after Trump’s decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris revealed losses in Democratic support of working class voters in most demographic groups.
“It’s just a statement of our values,” Hochul said. “Helping put more money in the pockets of parents and families in countless ways. “This is just one of the other initiatives we will be announcing at my State of the State on Tuesday.”
The governor’s new initiative, known as Universal Free School Meals, would eliminate any income requirements, expanding eligibility to nearly 300,000 additional students.
The investment in the state’s free student meals program, which Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas and state Sen. Michelle Hinchey had fought to expand for the past two years, means about 2.7 million students will be eligible for free meals .
“Reducing stigma is very important,” Rojas said. “We’ve heard from a lot of kids who are made fun of, from families who are embarrassed to do all this work and receive that attention, because they just want their kids to learn and not focus on the challenges they face,” Rojas said. . .
“These arbitrary limits that we have for things, just because you don’t qualify doesn’t mean your family isn’t on the brink and struggling,” Hinchey said.
The initiative is expected to cost $340 million and would take effect in the 2025-26 school year, according to the governor’s office. — Jason Beeferman and Madina Touré
TO BE (THERE) OR NOT TO BE: Adams is set to attend Trump’s inauguration on January 20, but his Albany ally will stay.
Hochul campaign spokeswoman Jen Goodman confirmed today that the governor will not attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony in Washington.
Adams and Hochul are moderate Democrats who have worked well together. But Adams, who is fighting a five-count federal felony indictment, has played lightly in Trump’s world.
Unlike the governor, Adams was not a vocal replacement for President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris when they replaced him at the top of the ticket. Adams also met with Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, and criticized how Biden has handled immigration policy. (Hochul has been virtually aligned with the Biden administration on this issue and has blamed Republicans for a derailed border security bill last year.)
The inauguration will coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and prominent New York officials often gather at the celebration of the civil rights leader organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Action Network in Harlem.
Hochul has not revealed his plans for Jan. 20, but he is also expected to make his state budget presentation in Albany the following day. — Nick Reisman
BITTER TAX FIGHT: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is drawing a line in the sand in the heated battle to lift the cap on the state and local tax deduction, or SALT, as House Republicans meet Saturday with Trump to discuss an increase.
Schumer wants a full repeal, full stop.
Reps. Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, Nicole Malliotakis, Andrew Garbarino and their colleagues from New Jersey and California see a substantial increase in the current $10,000 per household limit as a realistic starting offer in light of the fight to renew the broader package of tax cuts.
But Schumer and other Democrats, including Hochul, are betting on full restoration as their position. The senior senator previewed Democrats’ strategy Friday in remarks to the pro-business Long Island Association.
“President-elect Trump and many members of Congress from the South and Midwest who pushed for the unfair SALT cap in his 2017 tax bill are now reconsidering it, and we need to take advantage of that,” he told the business community in a suburban stretch where SALT is a big problem. “There’s been a lot of talk this week about several potential increases to Trump’s SALT caps, but remember: if we don’t renew them, then Trump’s SALT cap will expire…and this attack on New York taxpayers will end forever. “
As House Republicans from high-tax states make their SALT case, they have also made sure to blame Democratic leaders in those states, including Hochul, for the high taxes that make the deduction so crucial in the first place. place. — Emily Ngo
— GUILTY DECLARATION: Turkish-American construction executive Erden Arkan pleaded guilty Friday to making straw donations to Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign. (POLITICAL)
— TWO LESS TERRIBLE: City parents are starting a campaign to pressure City Hall to fund free universal child care for 2-year-olds. (Daily news)
— DON’T GIVE ME SHELTER: The city is closing 10 migrant shelters as the rate of asylum seeker arrivals continues to hit new lows. (New York Post)
Did you miss this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.