@c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social
City Hall reporter / New York Playbook co-author @politico.com. From 🇸🇪. Have a tip? DMs are open or reach me at csommerfeldt@politico.com
Update: Despite his own Law Department's legal concerns about the bill, Mamdani remains hopeful the Council will move to enact it this week, per his spokesperson, who says tonight that he "has long supported" the measure and "still does." subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
27.01.2026 02:53 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New: Mamdani's admin is privately raising legal concerns about a Council bill that'd give community groups priority in property sales.
This casts serious doubt over the future of the bill & may come as a surprise, as Mamdani supported it as a candidate. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
New: A doctor disclosed last year that FBI agents had interviewed him about a health care venture connected to an entity co-founded by Frank Carone — an indication of what the feds may be focusing on in their probe into the longtime Eric Adams confidant.
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Some Friday night news: Mayor Zohran Mamdani & Council Speaker Julie Menin announce they're convening a quadrennial commission, the first step in potentially enacting pay raises for NYC elected officials.
The last Council tried to push through raises without a commission study.
New: Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to name progressive operative Stephanie Silkowski as his new City Hall appointments director — and her X account has been taken down ahead of the announcement, per two sources and a review of web archives.
subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
Still no word on whether city government employees who can work remotely are going to be instructed to do so Monday. Mamdani says DCAS will be sending out individual guidance to all agencies before Monday on that.
23.01.2026 15:28 — 👍 9 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Mamdani offers an apology to NYC kids who were hoping for a snow day Monday, saying it'll either be remote or in-person. Parents will be informed by noon Sunday on which it will be, he says.
23.01.2026 15:27 — 👍 22 🔁 0 💬 3 📌 13
Mayor Mamdani is donning NYCEM swag for this morning's snow briefing at the agency's Brooklyn headquarters.
23.01.2026 15:04 — 👍 32 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 3Inbox: Mayor Mamdani's planning a blitz of TV and radio appearances early Friday morning to talk about this weekend's expected wallop of snow. That'll be followed by a snow briefing at Emergency Management headquarters in Brooklyn.
23.01.2026 03:37 — 👍 15 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 2
Nearly a month into his admin, Mayor Mamdani has yet to name a Health Department commissioner, leaving a key agency without a permanent leader for longer than his two City Hall predecessors.
The wait has caused some anxiety at the agency, per a source. www.politico.com/newsletters/...
New: Eric Adams’ team failed to disclose some $130,000 it paid Eugene Noh, his 2025 campaign manager — an omission that compounds fresh concerns about the ex-mayor's sloppy bookkeeping and fundraising practices.
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
In late December, Rep. Dan Goldman dropped about $30K in taxpayer cash on an ad touting his work standing up to ICE — a spot his primary challenger Brad Lander's now seizing on.
The attack line's a bit awkward for Lander, tho.
My first Politico PM top: www.politico.com/newsletters/...
That means a lot, Andy, thank you
21.01.2026 13:43 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Sid Rosenberg, a right-wing talk radio host who has been harshly critical of Mayor Mamdani, had dinner last night with Jessica Tisch, Mamdani's NYPD commissioner.
21.01.2026 13:23 — 👍 20 🔁 3 💬 8 📌 8Some professional news: I left the Daily News last week and have joined @politico.com's New York Playbook team as a City Hall reporter.
Sources + spokespeople, please add me to your press lists & stay in touch (I'll still be at the same cellphone number): csommerfeldt@politico.com
H/T to AP's Jake Offenhartz, who first reported yesterday on Carone's involvement in Adams' NYC Token, which had a chaotic launch this week that prompted crypto experts to accuse the ex-mayor of engaging in a "rug pull." www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/16/a...
16.01.2026 21:13 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New: Frank Carone, Eric Adams' longtime confidant, is among the partners behind the ex-mayor’s crypto token, per sources.
Matt Fraser, Adams' top tech aide, was also involved at one point, per a crypto exec who says Adams' token is a rip-off of his idea.
www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/16/a...
Both Mayor Mamdani and Comptroller Levine say NYC faces a $2.2B shortfall for the current fiscal year and an eye-popping $10.4B gap for the next FY, which starts in July. They blame Mayor Adams' admin.
Mamdani says this underscores the need to increase taxes on millionaires.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin is introducing her leadership team at City Hall.
After this press conference, the Council will confirm new committee assignments for this legislative session. More on that here: www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/14/m...
While Mamdani hasn't officially endorsed in the race, a top adviser on his team said at a closed door DSA meeting in November that the mayor "will support" Romero's opponent, Aber Kawas, "in whatever she pursues." After that comment, DSA endorsed Kawas. www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/15/w...
15.01.2026 15:55 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New: The Working Families Party is endorsing Brian Romero for a hotly-contested State Assembly seat in Queens, putting the progressive group at odds with the Democratic Socialists of America and Mayor Mamdani, who are backing another candidate in the race.
www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/15/w...
One more add: Susan Zhuang, who was arrested in 2024 for allegedly biting a cop at an anti-homeless shelter protest, is expected to be named chair of the Aging Committee (Zhuang's charges were dropped as part of a "restorative justice" deal). www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/14/m...
15.01.2026 12:55 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
They will replace members who backed other candidates for speaker or weren't as vocally supportive of Menin.
By contrast, Menin will also tomorrow make Crystal Hudson, her main speaker's race opponent, the new general welfare chair, per sources. www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/14/m...
New: Council Speaker Julie Menin plans to tap key allies Eric Dinowitz, Oswald Feliz, Shaun Abreu and Shekar Krishnan as chairmen of the Council’s education, public safety, transportation and oversight committees, per sources. www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/14/m...
15.01.2026 02:59 — 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 1All the committee chairs are being assigned tomorrow.
One big unknown that remains ahead of tomorrow: Is Rita Joseoh going to stay chair of the Education Committee? Sources say key Menin ally Eric Dinowitz is a favorite to replace her.
Being told Oswald Feliz is set to become the City Council's next Public Safety Committee chairman, replacing Yusef Salaam.
Feliz is the latest key supporter of Julie Menin's speaker bid to get a prominent committee post.
"We've exchanged a handful of text messages," Mamdani says of his texting with President Trump.
He also says his admin is "preparing for every single eventuality" when it comes to Trump's threats to cut funding for sanctuary jurisdictions like NYC.
Mayor Mamdani is with his DOE chancellor, Kamar Samuels, to encourage NYers to sign their kids up for NYC's 3K & pre-K programs (they have until Feb. 27 to do so). He slams the Adams admin for cutting funding & outreach about the 3K program, saying that had "stark" consequences.
14.01.2026 17:59 — 👍 32 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 0
Mayor Mamdani is expected to later tonight name agency veteran Midori Valdivia as the new commissioner of NYC's Taxi and Limousine Commission, per sources.
w/ @simko-bednarski.bsky.social
www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/13/m...
In addition to being close with Eric Adams, Herbert has ties to Phil Banks and Tim Pearson, two other associates of the ex-mayor ensnared in corruption probes.
Banks used introduce Herbert as "a really good friend," per a source with direct knowledge. www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/13/f...
