Good Morning, New York! Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has released his list of NYC’s worst landlords, a State Assemblyman spent the night at Marcy Correctional Facility, and new polling shows Cuomo running away with the race. This is your Tammany Times AM Briefing for Thursday, January 23rd, 2025.

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Front Pages

Hall Monitors

— NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch held a press conference with Eric Adams calling for change in Albany, saying that too many people are being let out of jail on technicalities. She also expressed concerns about the decline in the prosecution rate of criminals. (amNY)

— A new City Council bill (Int 0077) could make it illegal for former Mayoral officials to become lobbyists for two years after they leave. Anyone who reports directly to the mayor would be covered under the plan. The Adams administration says that they are pushing to include City Council officials in the bill, but have not gotten anywhere yet. The committee vote is scheduled for today. (Gothamist)

— Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has released his list of NYC’s word landlords, citing people with multiple serious infractions. Williams shared the list this year in part to support a bill that would require Housing Preservation and Development to respond to violations more quickly. You can read the list, which has 100 members, here. (amNY)

Capitol Gains

— Assemblyman Edward Gibbs (D-Harlem) spent the night at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Tuesday night as he advocated for its closure. Gibbs is the first formerly incarcerated individual to serve in the State Assembly, following five and a half years he spent in prison for manslaughter. (Rochester First)

— Kathy Hochul unveiled her plan to ban cellphones in school starting next fall. The plan aims to promote more social interaction at school, removing distractions and improving mental health. Districts will have flexibility on how they implement the plan, which does not yet have legislative approval. (State of Politics)

— Gov. Hochul is making two small data changes to the Foundation Aid formula in her budget proposal. She will update the Census data to numbers from 2020, and change the way the state calculates low-income students. This has received pushback from advocacy groups, who say that she is not changing enough. (State of Politics)

— An $870,000 purchase will expand the Adirondack Forest Preserve by 965 acres, following the purchase of land near Cranberry Lake in the northwestern Adirondacks in Clifton, NY. (Adirondack Explorer)

Trail Mix

— A new poll shows Andrew Cuomo far in the lead amongst almost every demographic should he choose to run. He is also the runaway favorite overall, with his first choice number standing at 33% to Stringer’s 9% and Adams’ 10%. The poll, conducted by Bold Decision, is not affiliated with a candidate. (Bold Decision)

— Trump met with Mike Lawler yesterday, where he told POLITICO before the meeting that they would discuss lifting the SALT cap. The GOP is keen to hold on to New York swing seats like Lawler’s, meaning at least an increase of the SALT cap may be a political priority for many members. (POLITICO)

— New York Democrats now have their top four candidates in NY-21, which they will narrow down further in the coming weeks. The GOP still has a long list of potential nominees, including familiar names like Joe Pinion, Assemblyman Chris Tague, state Sen. Dan Stec, former Rep. Marc Molinaro, Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, and more. (State of Politics)

— Acting Mayor of Buffalo has launched his campaign to take the job permanently, as has Michael Gainer, president of ReUse Action. They join five other major candidates in the race, which is expected to have a very crowded field. (Spectrum 1)