Tuesday, September 29, 2026 |
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Welcome to the latest issue of City & State’s exclusive newsletter Heard Around Town.
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s edition: The Brooklyn Dems heir apparent’s rants have rubbed some the wrong way. The mayor may or may be getting rid of the SRG. And does Blakeman think Nixon is the one?
All that, plus the latest city, state and federal campaign filings.
Keep an eye out for some of the bold-faced names in today’s newsletter: Nikki Lucas, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Carmella Charrington, Frank Seddio, Zohran Mamdani, Jessica Tisch, Chi Ossé, Shekar Krishnan, Chanel Martinez, Hunter Divinagracia, Andrew Rein, Mark Levine, Richard Nixon, Bruce Blakeman, Kathy Hochul, Mark Felt, Letitia James, George Wellde III, Adrienne Adams, Tom DiNapoli, Katrinna Martin-Bordeaux, David Sterling, Todd Cohen, Pete Oberacker, Elon Musk, Cait Conley, Mike Lawler, Robert Granieri, Mike LiPetri, Janos Marton, Amanda Hall, Micah Lasher, Alex Bores, Karen Ortiz, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Adriano Espaillat and Brad Hoylman-Sigal
And look out for these various super PACs, IEs and assorted political committees: New Yorkers for Putting StudentsFirst, NY Families Together, New York Future, New Grassroots, Great Public Schools NY PAC, Strong and Safe New York, Defend Empire State, Greater Empire State, Leadership for New York, Grow the Majority, Emmer Majority Builders, Oberacker Victory, Lipetri Oberacker Empire State Majority Fund, Scalise Gold Glove Majority, America PAC, CLF and Article One PAC
Do you have a friend or colleague who would like this newsletter? Refer them to Heard Around Town! HAT is sent out every Tuesday and Friday, exclusively to subscribers. It’s just $17 per month. |
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Some Jewish leaders are wary of Assembly Member Nikki Lucas taking over the Brooklyn Dems – remembering her going on a “tirade” against a Jewish judge in a closed-door county meeting some years ago.
Lucas was going “nuts, ranting and raving about Jewish judges, Jewish men” at the meeting ahead of a judicial convention, a member of the party’s executive committee told HAT. Another member recounted the same, saying that Lucas yelling in meetings was a common occurrence.
That’s in contrast with the now-outgoing party leader, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn who worked hard to build up Black-Jewish relations.
“I think one of two people had misinterpreted her fighting for Black judges, or something like that,” Bichotte Hermelyn said in defense of her chosen successor. She then pivoted to whataboutism, telling HAT that a reformer district leader, Carmella Charrington, had made antisemitic comments. “I think we pick and choose our battles. And I absolutely disagree with any concerns (about Lucas).”
Lucas didn’t respond to a request for comment. Former party leader Frank Seddio raised concerns about Lucas’ leadership in a meeting of Bichotte Hermelyn’s allies last night, a source present told HAT. But Bichotte Hermelyn feels confident she has enough votes for Lucas to win anyway … if the courts don’t halt the meeting first. |
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani insisted yesterday that he still plans to eventually fulfill his campaign promise to disband the Strategic Response Group, the NYPD’s controversial anti-protest and anti-terror unit. “It continues to be a conversation I am having with our police commissioner,” he told reporters. “I have made that promise, I will fulfill that promise. The only question is the timeline of it.”
But it’s now nearly 10 months into Mamdani’s term, and the mayor hasn’t made any progress on disbanding the SRG – probably because NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has made no secret of her desire to keep the controversial unit.
But many progressive City Council members aren’t content to wait for Mamdani to try to change Tisch’s mind. They’re backing a Chi Ossé-sponsored bill known as the CURB Act that would limit the NYPD’s response to protests.
The CURB Act currently has 25 cosponsors – one short of a majority. It would have 26 votes if not for Council Member Shekar Krishnan, chair of the powerful Oversight Committee, who backed the bill last year but then quietly pulled his support when it was reintroduced this year.
A group of Krishnan’s constituents met two weeks ago with his chief of staff Chanel Martinez and his legislative and budget director Hunter Divinagracia to discuss the bill. During that meeting, a source told Heard Around Town, Krishnan’s staffers explained that the council member is working with Mamdani on a way to get rid of the controversial unit through negotiation with city agencies, which doesn’t involve backing the CURB Act. “I fully support disbanding the SRG, and I know Mayor Mamdani shares the same goal,” Krishnan told HAT in a statement, “I’m committed to working with the Mayor and supporting his efforts to get this done.” A spokesperson for Mamdani said the mayor has “no position” on the CURB Act. |
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The Citizens Budget Commission was one of the biggest advocates for the creation and safeguarding of New York City’s rainy day fund – but it’s not a fan of the NYC ballot proposal that would set new contribution goals for the dedicated reserve, HAT has learned.
The fiscally conservative think tank led by Andrew Rein will come out in opposition to the proposal tomorrow, arguing that it wouldn’t do enough to bolster the city’s rainy day fund.
The proposal, one of five ballot questions crafted by a Charter Revision Commission convened by Mamdani earlier this year, would set a goal for the city to maintain a minimum balance of at least 12% of the prior fiscal year’s tax revenue in the rainy day fund – or other city reserves. The latter is a point of contention for the CBC, which has previously expressed that it doesn’t think non-rainy day funds should count toward the target.
If approved by voters this fall, the ballot proposal would also codify a state requirement limiting withdrawals to 50% of the fund, unless the mayor certifies “a compelling fiscal reason.” It would also require the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget to come up with a plan in consultation with Comptroller Mark Levine on how deposits should be made when the fund is below target by May 2027. Levine previously recommended a 16% benchmark target.
The city’s rainy day fund, established through a charter amendment in 2020 and officially known as the Revenue Stabilization Fund, currently holds about $2 billion. |
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By the summer of 1973, many Americans were losing confidence in President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. But not Bruce Blakeman.
A story published in the Ithaca Journal on Aug. 17, 1973 – two days after Nixon’s national address denying the Watergate allegations – quotes Blakeman, then a 17-year-old member of the Teen-Age Republicans, as standing behind Nixon despite said allegations. “I think the Senate hearings haven’t gotten all the facts out yet,” he said at the time. “But I think when they do they’ll prove that the President is innocent.”
The story also notes that Blakeman, then the “youngsters’ candidate for ‘governor’” had “proposed a resolution to send a telegram to the White House pledging the GOP youth group’s ‘full support’ to the President.” That resolution passed, the young Blakeman said, after the organization’s members all watched Nixon’s Aug. 15, 1973, address together.
More than 50 years later, does the Republican gubernatorial nominee still stand by his man? He dodged the question in a statement to HAT. “8 years ago, Kathy Hochul supported the NRA and refused to give driver’s licenses to illegal migrants. Now, she wants to give driver’s licenses to illegal migrants and take guns away from legal gun owners,” he said. “If something I said in high school is the best she’s got, bring it on.”
Guess we’re going to need our own Deep Throat to get a real answer on that one. |
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Compiled by Sophie Krichevsky |
Transport Workers Union Local 100 has filed paperwork to set up its independent expenditure committee. (Sept. 22)
New Yorkers for Putting StudentsFirst, a new IE, has filed organizational paperwork. It’s affiliated with the pro-charter school group StudentsFirstNY. (Sept. 22) |
NY Families Together: a new IE registered in support of state Attorney General Letitia James is affiliated with Fallon Park Consulting’s George Wellde III, who also manages the pro-sports betting IE, New York Future. (Sept. 28)
New Grassroots: a new Buffalo-based IE filed in support of Hochul and her running mate Adrienne Adams as well as state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. The IE is affiliated with Katrinna Martin-Bordeaux, a member of the Erie County Democratic Committee and a former candidate for the Erie County Legislature. (Sept. 29) Great Public Schools NY PAC: a new PAC based in South Orange, New Jersey. (Sept. 28)
Strong and Safe New York, a pro-Blakeman IE, spent $150,000 for polling and more than $18,650 for legal consulting. It received $10,000 from David Sterling of Sterling Risk and $5,000 from Todd Cohen. Cohen didn’t list an employer, but a man by that name runs real estate management firm Icon. (Sept. 25; Sept. 14; Sept. 24; Sept. 21) Defend Empire State, another pro-Blakeman IE, got $50,000 from hedge funder Jonathan Heller of Helix Partners Management. (Sept. 23) Greater Empire State, the pro-Hochul IE backed by the Democratic Governors Association, spent $69,000 on a web survey and $98,650 on ad production. It also received numerous donations from the Greater New York Hospital Association and various LLCs totalling more than $2.7 million. More on that to come! (Sept. 25; Sept. 28)
Leadership for New York, the pro-Hochul, anti-Blakeman IE backed by the New York Apartment Association, received $3 million from the New York Apartment Association – that’s right after the IE gave $1 million to Greater Empire State. It also spent more than $1.56 million on an anti-Blakeman TV ad. (Sept. 28; Sept. 24) |
State Sen. Pete Oberacker, who is vying to represent the 19th congressional district, designated several authorized committees to receive and expend funds on his behalf, including Grow the Majority, Emmer Majority Builders, Oberacker Victory, LiPetri Oberacker Empire State Majority Fund and Scalise Gold Glove Majority. (Sept. 28)
America PAC, Elon Musk’s super PAC boosting Republicans, spent $1,133 on texting services opposing Cait Conley, the Democrat challenging Rep. Mike Lawler in the Hudson Valley. (Sept. 25) CLF, the Republican House majority’s hybrid PAC, spent a total of $18,000 on media production opposing Conley. (Sept. 24)
Article One PAC, an anti-Trump group which appears to be funded at least in part by Jane Street Capital quant Robert Granieri, spent $338,408 on a digital media buy opposing Republican Mike LiPetri, who’s challenging Rep. Tom Suozzi. (Sept. 25) |
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Criminal justice reform group Dream.Org has named Janos Marton its new CEO. Marton, who ran unsuccessfully for Manhattan DA in 2021 and helped advise Mamdani during the mayoral transition, was previously the organization’s chief advocacy officer, and he’s got ambitious plans to bring Dream.Org into the bipartisan fight against AI surveillance. He’s being succeeded as chief advocacy officer by Amanda Hall, a formerly incarcerated advocate.
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The New York Progressive Action Network has made an endorsement in NY-12 – and it's not Democratic nominee Micah Lasher, who's all but guaranteed to win the seat. Instead, the progressive group – which supported Alex Bores in the Democratic primary – is now backing independent candidate Karen Ortiz, a former administrative judge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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We’re Hearing Whispers That: |
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… Darializa Avila Chevalier and her vanquished foe, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, stood next to each other at the opening of Manhattan BP Brad Hoylman-Sigal’s immigrant welcome center today … and we’ve heard conflicting stories about whether or not they said a word to each other, or gave the cold shoulder. … It was City Hall’s idea for council members to do a little Twitter play yesterday, with a couple CMs tweeting funding “requests” at the mayor, and the mayor responding “on it” and “consider it handled.” … There’s growing talk in Planet Albany of Mamdani running for governor next – and it’s sounding like a warning to legislators to stay on his good side. |
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