The billionaire, the vigilante and the mayor
CATS' CAMPAIGN: An eccentric billionaire grocery store magnate, a red beret-wearing vigilante who fosters cats and a nightclub-hopping Democratic mayor are at the heart of a battle over the GOP ballot line for New York City mayor.
GOP megadonor John Catsimatidis wants his fellow billionaires to line up behind Mayor Eric Adams' longshot reelection bid to block the ascent of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, according to several people familiar with internal discussions and granted anonymity to speak freely.
But the actual Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, said he won't be cowed from leaving the race.
Catsimatidis relayed his support for Adams in a brief interview with POLITICO while staying diplomatic about Sliwa.
'The only people who are going to help Eric Adams is Washington, whether it's (border czar) Tom Homan, whether it's Donald Trump,' Catsimatidis said. 'And Tom and Donald Trump want a safe New York.'
Finance executives and aligned Republicans have been huddling since Mamdani's primary night upset on how to derail the election of a democratic socialist targeting the wealthy. And boosting the Trump-friendly independent candidate Adams at the expense of Sliwa has emerged as consensus — even as the mayor faces campaign finance hurdles and dismal approval ratings.
Sliwa is insistent he will actively campaign and said pressuring him to drop out is futile.
'I'm not getting out of this race unless they figure out a way to put me in a pine box and bury me six feet under,' the Guardian Angels founder told POLITICO.
Catsimatidis, Sliwa's boss at WABC radio, did not deny he's pulling for Adams but stressed that Sliwa is a longtime friend.
'Right now, Curtis has to make up his own mind,' Catsimatidis said.
Billionaire Bill Ackman separately has promised to bankroll a viable business-friendly candidate against Mamdani, a state lawmaker whose ascendant campaign shocked the establishment. But the ballot lines for November are set.
Sliwa, known as much for his decades of patrolling the subways as he is for his heavy-handed antics, said he'll run on the GOP and independent 'protect animals' ballot lines.
So far, the New York GOP has his back. Former Gov. George Pataki and state party chair Ed Cox fundraised Thursday with Sliwa among Asian Americans.
The party is preparing for a general election with Mamdani as the presumptive Democratic nominee, and the tenacious Adams, business leader Jim Walden and primary loser Andrew Cuomo as independents. Whether Cuomo runs an active campaign remains unclear.
Sliwa said that even a Trump intervention, direct request or offer to join his administration would not succeed in removing him from the race for mayor.
'If the president were to call,' Sliwa said, 'I, very respectfully, would say, 'President Trump. I'm interested in only one job: being mayor of the city of New York.''
Read more from POLITICO's Emily Ngo.
From the Capitol
TODAY IS THE DAY: Eight bidders are finally submitting their applications to nab a license to operate what could be some of the most lucrative casinos in the world.
Today is the deadline for casino bidders in the New York City area to turn in thousands and thousands of pages of applications — so enormous in scale that some are being delivered by the truckload — to the state's gaming commission as they vie for three state licenses to operate a casino.
The bidders include: A Times Square casino backed by Jay-Z, a Citi Field casino from Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen, a Bronx casino on the site of the former Trump Links golf course, a Coney Island casino steps from the boardwalk, a 'Freedom Plaza' casino right near the United Nations building and a casino on Manhattan's West Side overlooking the Hudson.
Two other bidders — Queens' Resorts World NYC and Yonkers' Empire City — are also vying for the licenses. The two sites already operate 'racinos' where people bet on horse racing through digital machines, and many involved in the process acknowledge that this gives them a steep advantage over the other bids. The state's 'Gaming Facility Location Board' will assess the proposals through a detailed rubric that evaluates community support and 'speed to market' as some of the important factors.
With the deadline today, many of the bidders are blasting out press releases celebrating their proposals. Resorts World is touting a video with the rapper Nas and a plan to generate over $1 billion for the MTA in the first five years. Cohen is releasing video renderings of what Citi Field could look like with a massive gaming and entertainment complex next door. And Empire City is expecting its gross gaming revenue to surpass $960 million per year.
'We've spent years engaging with the community so that we could put together a bid that combines the needs of the neighborhood with the stated goals of New York State,' said Dan Boren, secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, which is behind the Coney Island bid. 'We are excited and proud to submit this proposal and look forward to the next steps of this process.' — Jason Beeferman
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
MAMDANI'S LABOR NODS: Two major labor unions that backed Cuomo's failed Democratic mayoral bid endorsed upstart democratic socialist Mamdani.
The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and 32BJ SEIU, which represents building service workers in New York City, will back the Democratic nominee as Cuomo ponders whether to actively campaign as an independent.
'This is a campaign for the working people of this city who deserve dignity on the job and neighborhoods they can afford,' Mamdani said in a statement. 'That's exactly who HTC and 32BJ fights and delivers for every single day, and I am honored to have their support as the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York. Together, we will win a new day for the New Yorkers who keep this city running every single day.'
The endorsements are an indication Mamdani is pulling together institutional support after his upset bid over the moderate Democratic ex-governor. Mamdani is set to meet next month with influential business leaders who are skeptical of his tax and spending proposals, according to NY1.
Read more from POLITICO's Nick Reisman and Sally Goldenberg.
GTFO: All four Muslim Democratic House members are denouncing 'racist smears' against Mamdani from lawmakers in both parties since his primary win, POLITICO first reported.
'The vile, anti-Muslim and racist smears from our colleagues on both sides of the aisle attacking Zohran Mamdani cannot be met with silence. These hateful, Islamophobic, and racist tropes have become so entrenched and normalized in our politics,' said Reps. Andre Carson of Indiana, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Lateefah Simon of California in a statement.
Mamdani, who would become New York's first Muslim mayor, has faced attacks from GOP lawmakers after his primary win this week. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) tied him to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) called for him to be deported, among others. The left was also concerned about since-clarified comments from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about Mamdani's rhetoric about Israel.
Brooklyn Democratic Party leader Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn also forcefully defended Mamdani on Friday, calling the attacks 'baseless and unconstitutional' in a statement. Bichotte Hermelyn endorsed Cuomo in the primary, but threw support to Mamdani for the general election.— Jeff Coltin
IN OTHER NEWS
— CUOMO ON THE BALLOT: We don't know for sure whether Cuomo will run in the general election, but he will be on New Yorkers' ballots. (New York Post)
— FROM MOM AND DAD: Mamdani's parents talk to the Times' and say Mamdani's views are his, not his parents. (The New York Times)
— SHE'S BACK: Ingrid Lewis-Martin, former top aide to Adams until she was indicted on bribery charges, is working on his reelection bid. (Daily News)
Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
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