- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a news conference in the Queens borough of New York, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she told President Donald Trump in a private meeting at the White House that congestion pricing tolls in Manhattan are necessary and working.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to convene a meeting at her Manhattan office on Tuesday to discuss the next steps for the Adams administration following the resignation of four deputy mayors in the city on Monday.

This image from video provided by Office of the New York Governor shows New York Gov. Kathy Hochul holding a mock magazine cover during an event about congestion pricing at

NEW YORK MINUTE: Mayor Eric Adams is expected in Manhattan federal court this afternoon after Judge Dale Ho ordered him and federal prosecutors to get together and explain what the hell is going on. HOLDING PATTERN: Gov. Kathy Hochul is not rushing to oust her ally Adams — taking a characteristically deliberative approach as she weighs his political future. Hochul on Tuesday huddled with key political leaders in her Manhattan office as calls for the mayor to step aside mounted. Ignited by allegations made by the former acting U.S. attorney that the Trump Justice Department moved to drop Adams’ corruption case in exchange for his cooperation in carrying out the president’s immigration policies, no end to the crisis is in sight. Both Adams’ attorney and top DOJ officials have denied the quid pro quo claim, and Adams says he’s forging ahead with his reelection. The next major development — a federal judge’s meeting this afternoon — could clarify Adams’ legal picture. Any court action, as Al Sharpton has told reporters, will provide some certainty. “People have been shaken, and there needs to be a resolve,” he said outside Hochul’s office. “But at the same time, we must protect the law and not establish a precedent that could come back to haunt us.” For now, Adams won’t budge and New York Democrats are divided over whether and how to remove him. In the middle stands Hochul, who has collaborated with the mayor on public safety issues. The emerging consensus? The governor is measuring twice before she makes any decisions. “It’s been really well balanced,” said Jay Jacobs, state Democratic chair and a Hochul ally. “Unless the essential services of the city are compromised, unless the safety, health, well-being of the citizens are not being cared for, then it’s really prudent for her to let the process go forward without having her initiate a removal.” Jacobs believes any effort to oust Adams would be drawn out, complex and potentially destabilizing. He pointed to the upcoming June primary and November general election, essentially acknowledging Adams’ fraught situation may have to be resolved by voters. “Remember in a little over 8 months the people will decide who is the next mayor,” Jacobs said. “It’s not like there’s an imperative for her to get involved unless and until she believes the city needs it.” But pressure remains on the governor to act, especially over the perception Adams is doing the bidding of the Trump administration. Prominent Democrats — from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Hochul’s own No. 2, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado — have called for Adams’ resignation. But party powerbrokers have not tried to force the governor into a corner, a potentially ruinous situation for Hochul ahead of her own campaign in 2026. “It’s not an easy thing,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who met with Hochul on Tuesday, said. “This is a Black sitting mayor, second black mayor in history. While I’m not trying to use racial politics, even if she was going to do it she would need support from individuals like myself.” — Nick Reisman with Sally Goldenberg Insurance Hitting Uber Riders in the Wallet. New York State has some of the most onerous and expensive insurance laws for rideshare trips in the country and Uber riders are paying the cost. In December 2024, 25% of rider fares on average went toward government-mandated commercial insurance for Uber rideshare trips. Lawsuit abuse and the litigation environment in New York are driving up costs of everything even more, including insurance premiums. Learn More. WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Also in New York City and will appear in a live interview on News 12. WE’RE WITH (THE OTHER) ADAMS: Underwhelmed with the current crop of mayoral candidates as the incumbent flails, some high-powered political leaders hoping to block a comeback by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo are working to recruit a surprising new challenger: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. The speaker herself is fielding phone calls encouraging her to run, two people close to her told Playbook and Attorney General Letitia James is making calls to gin up support for Adrienne Adams, four people familiar with the outreach said. James declined to comment. The latest Draft Adams campaign picked up at Caucus Weekend in Albany, and the speaker’s spirited speech receiving an award at the gathering of lawmakers of color earned a chant of “Run, Adrienne, Run!” Some in the crowd, including James and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, made a point of being heard, according to audio of the speech and people in attendance. Speaker Adams had just called out the “craziness” on the other side of City Hall and pledged she’ll never have “corruption,” “misrepresentation” and “embarrassment” as the leader of the City Council — a clear shot at the mayor, who she called on to resign Monday night. Hearing the chant, the speaker didn’t close the door to running. “I love you all for that. I love you all for your faith. We’re going to continue to do what it is that God has us to do,” she said. “Whatever that may be. Never say never, brothers and sisters.” As a moderate Democrat, a Black woman from Southeast Queens and a friend of labor unions, the speaker could compete for the same votes Cuomo is counting on. At this point, a run seems unlikely. Unlike previous speakers, Adams has never flirted with a citywide campaign, so she’s got a low profile among Democratic primary voters. She has only about $211,000 in a city fundraising account and petitioning to get on the ballot starts in a week. “It feels nice to fantasize, but it’s not grounded in reality,” said a person familiar with her thinking. — Jeff Coltin With a new administration in place, how will governors work with the federal government and continue to lead the way on issues like AI, health care, economic development, education, energy and climate? Hear from Gov. Jared Polis, Gov. Brian Kemp and more at POLITICO’s Governors Summit on February 20. RSVP today. INSIDE A CUOMO NOD: Cuomo has received the endorsement of The Village Reform Democratic Club — a small, moderate-ish organization — as he weighs a likely run for mayor. Ray Cline, the club’s president, told Playbook Cuomo received 55 percent of the vote to secure the club’s endorsement. (The organization has about 48 to 52 members.) He acknowledged there was dissent: Some club members blanched at Cuomo’s Covid-19 record as well as the sexual harassment claims that ultimately led to his resignation in 2021. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing. But as Adams’ administration teeters, a crowded Democratic field didn’t impress most of the club’s members, Cline said. Part of Cuomo’s appeal? He’ll be able to stand up to Trump, he said. “They’re both tough guys,” Cline said. “Donald Trump is an asshole and you need someone who is just as tough as he is.” Cuomo has racked up a series of preendorsements in recent days, including a nod from a rival-turned-ally, former Comptroller Carl McCall. Cline said neither Cuomo nor his allies contacted the club about an endorsement. McCall, meanwhile, has remained largely quiet about his support for the man who disastrously ran against him in a 2002 gubernatorial primary. Cuomo and McCall have mended their relationship. As governor, Cuomo appointed McCall to the top post at the State University of New York system. “I really want to stand with the statement,” McCall told Playbook in a brief interview on Tuesday. “I haven’t talked to any reporters. I stick by it.” McCall added his endorsement of Cuomo was unsolicited. “I did talk to them when I decided to do it and I wanted to have all the information that was necessary,” he added. — Nick Reisman MESSAGE TO THE HATERS: Under political fire, Adams seemed to compare himself to a flickering match at a speech to Black police officers Tuesday night. “There are people in our midst that could have a major impact on our history. And they are flickering. They are about to prematurely extinguish because of something in their lives, some hardship, some pain,” Adams said at the Guardians Association Black History Month event. He encouraged the cops to “stop and cover people, and don’t let the winds of adversity blow out the fat flame. Because the flame you lose may be the flame you need.” But Adams grew to a defiant tone, saying that being a police officer prepared him to be the mayor of the greatest city on the globe. “Everybody should want to take it,” he said of his challengers. “And they’re gonna have to take it. Because I’m going nowhere. I’m going to be the mayor.” — Jeff Coltin PRISON WOES: The brewing crisis in the state prison system was widely condemned by state lawmakers Tuesday as unauthorized strikes by corrections officers led Hochul to consider deploying the National Guard. At least 12 facilities are believed to have been affected by the wildcat labor action, which stemmed from corrections officers’ safety concerns. The dispute also follows the death of Robert Brooks, an inmate who died after he was severely beaten at Marcy Correctional Facility by guards. His death has been ruled a homicide. Hochul’s threat to deploy the National Guard, in part, to provide protection for the remaining prison employees who are working and provide safety for the surrounding communities, her office said. But the step is an extraordinary one and critics of the prison system signaled their frustration with the spiraling situation. “It’s embarrassing that outside agencies, including the National Guard, will be deployed to maintain order and ensure public safety, highlighting the union’s inability to effectively negotiate on behalf of its members,” Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs said. “Attempts to unilaterally stop laws duly enacted by the people’s elected representatives under threat to the safety and security of our correction officers still in the facilities or incarcerated individuals under their care will not be received kindly.” The union that represents corrections officers, meanwhile, disavowed the strikes. New York State Correctional Officers PBA spokesperson Jimmy Miller said the actions by the officers “was not in any way sanctioned by” the labor group. “NYSCOPBA will continue to monitor both situations and all inquiries on current staffing levels at both facilities should be directed to DOCCS,” he said. — Nick Reisman HEALTH CUTS: Members of New York’s congressional delegation urged the Trump administration to reverse staffing cuts to the CDC’s World Trade Center Health Program, which covers medical care for more than 130,000 people who developed diseases linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Roughly 20 percent of the program’s staff was slashed as part of a wave of terminations of probationary and temporary employees under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to congressional representatives and program advocates. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, in a letter Monday to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., slammed the staffing cuts as “reckless,” “rash” and “counterproductive,” saying that Kennedy had pledged prior to his confirmation that he would work with Congress to ensure 9/11 first responders and survivors continue to get the care they need. “It is extremely worrisome that the Trump administration’s proposal to indiscriminately cut federal employees will have a direct impact on the quality and accessibility of care provided to those who answered the call on 9/11 and are now sick with respiratory ailments, cancer and other conditions,” they wrote. Among the affected staffers was public affairs specialist Anthony Gardner, whose brother died on 9/11. He has built a career dedicated to honoring his brother’s memory, with prior stints at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. “It’s more than a job for me — it’s a mission, it’s a calling,” he told POLITICO in an interview. “I was honored to be serving my country in that way.” Gardner received written notice Friday that he was being terminated because “your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the Agency” — despite a history of glowing reviews. New York residents already shoulder some of the nation’s highest auto insurance costs, paying an average of $3,840 a year for full coverage. Similarly, the mandatory cost of rideshare insurance per trip in New York is among the highest in the country. One reason behind this is the $1.25 million in liability coverage when a passenger is in the vehicle, which is 25 times the liability requirement for personal vehicles. Insurance premiums continue to rise in part because of the litigation environment in New York. Lawsuit fraud and abuse drives up costs for everything, including insurance rates. Uber is pushing for commonsense legislative changes that keep all trips covered while bringing down the cost of trips. MAKING MOVES – Annabel Lassally is now comms director for Mark Levine’s comptroller race. She most recently was special assistant to Hochul, and previously worked on state Sen. Brian Kavanagh’s campaign.

Some parishoners defended the mayor after he spoke at a prayer service in Queens, while protesters in Manhattan called for Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove him from office. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Wednesday pushed back against President Trump after the White House rescinded approval of Manhattan’s congestion pricing plan. “Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month,

Gov. Kathy Hochul held a high-stakes conclave with various Democratic leaders over Mayor Eric Adams’ fate Tuesday — producing tantalizing smoke signals but no firm answers on where she stands. Hochul convened a parade of Democratic muckety-mucks to march into her Manhattan office for advice as concerns about Adams’ ability to govern the nation’s largest city reached a fever pitch.

Kathy Hochul held a meeting in Manhattan amid growing calls for embattled NYC Mayor Eric Adams to resign after four of his senior deputies stepped down. This is the latest fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end his corruption case.