Latest news with #Hasidic
Time Business News
6 days ago
- Business
- Time Business News
FRIDAY: How Three Hasidic Founders Revolutionized Payroll
In a tech industry filled with venture-backed giants and bloated software solutions, FRIDAY stands apart. Founded by three Hasidic entrepreneurs without a college education: Pincus Schiff, Hershy Goldstein, and Martin Schwartz , the company is quietly becoming a trusted name in payroll for small businesses across America. The founders are not former Google engineers. They are not riding a wave of Silicon Valley hype. Instead, they built FRIDAY by focusing on something the industry often forgets: real people running real businesses who just want simple, reliable tools that work. Small business owners have long struggled with payroll systems that are expensive, outdated, or far too complex for their needs. The FRIDAY team saw this firsthand. Many business owners were juggling time tracking with manual spreadsheets, or overpaying for enterprise solutions that offered features they would never use. That pain point became their mission. FRIDAY is a payroll and time tracking platform designed specifically for the kinds of businesses that rarely get attention. The team calls it 'payroll for the rest of us.' Think coffee shops, HVAC companies, small retailers, and local restaurants. These businesses make up the backbone of the economy, yet they are often underserved by modern tech. Since launching, FRIDAY has grown to serve over 1,000 small businesses. All of this has been accomplished without a massive fundraising round or flashy marketing campaigns. Instead of buying attention, the team earned trust. They partnered with hundreds of CPAs and bookkeepers who needed a better solution for their clients. They built tools that actually solved problems. They focused on creating something that customers would love and tell their friends about. It worked. FRIDAY now ranks among the top-reviewed payroll platforms on G2 and continues to grow through referrals and word of mouth. That kind of momentum cannot be bought. It has to be earned. What makes FRIDAY different is not just the software itself. It is the philosophy behind it. Everything they build is designed with clarity and care. The platform includes real-time time tracking, simple PTO management, geofenced logins, and a three-click payroll process. More importantly, it feels personal. FRIDAY does not present itself as a faceless tech company. It feels like a partner. Business owners know they can reach out, get support, and actually speak with someone who understands what they are going through. The company is also rolling out an Accountant Portal that allows firms to manage multiple clients in one place. This move reinforces FRIDAY's commitment to being a true ally to both business owners and their advisors. The FRIDAY team is not chasing a billion-dollar valuation. Their goal is to become the most loved payroll brand in America. They want to help 100,000 small businesses simplify their operations so the owners can focus on what really matters. They are not distracted by feature overload or trend-chasing. Their approach is rooted in trust, usability, and consistency. In a space that often favors flash over function, FRIDAY is winning by staying grounded and authentic. As Schiff often says, the best products do not make people think. They just work. In an age of hype cycles and artificial virality, FRIDAY is a refreshing reminder that you can still build a successful tech company by doing the simple things right. Care about your customers. Build a product that solves their problems. Earn trust every step of the way. That formula may not generate headlines overnight, but it is generating something far more valuable: loyalty. FRIDAY is not just software. It is a movement toward more human, more honest, and more useful business tools. And it is only just getting started. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Irish Independent
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Gina Gershon: ‘People like to cast me as a hardcore, motorcycle-riding, lesbian, man-killing demon'
Call it a classic Gina Gershon moment – simultaneously intimidating and ridiculous, and acted with tongue firmly in cheek. This is a skill that she cultivated on the set of Paul Verhoeven's brilliant 1995 mess Showgirls, when she realised that the only way to avoid going down with that particular sinking ship was to recite every line like the drag queens she could sense would eventually embrace it. But Showgirls is just one wild entry in a career full of them: her turn as a hitwoman in Face/Off; as the rich girl who woos Tom Cruise in Cocktail; as the trailer-park depressive terrorised by Matthew McConaughey in the bleak Killer Joe. She played Donatella Versace in a made-for-TV biopic, as well as Larry David's Hasidic dry-cleaner lover on Curb Your Enthusiasm. And looming large above everything else is her breathtaking work in Bound, the cult neo-noir from 1996 in which she and Jennifer Tilly play girlfriends attempting a big, dangerous score. 'I definitely haven't had a typical career,' Gershon says, smiling. 'People don't quite know where to place me, or they tend to see me one way. Like, 'hardcore, motorcycle-riding, lesbian, man-killing demon – let's cast her as that'.' In fairness, she is really good at it. We're speaking over Zoom, Gershon sat in her New York apartment surrounded by art prints and photographs, all of them rammed tightly together across her walls – there's a Jean Cocteau, a Sally Mann, some paintings she's done herself. She's wearing spectacles and a green shawl, her voice as captivatingly smoky as it is in the movies. Banal as it might sound, she just seems cool. There's quite literally every chance she could have been a rock star – she comes from a family of musicians, and tells me there was a period in the 1980s when she had to make a choice between acting and music. (Prince wanted her to star in Purple Rain and become one of his muses – she turned him down.) Acting proved more immediately successful, so she's had to settle for an occasional jazz residency and being friends with Bob Dylan, Joan Jett and Lenny Kravitz. Gershon doesn't tend to mince words, and has historically been reluctant to spend too long on the subject of Showgirls, a film she didn't particularly like making and that nearly derailed her career. But now she admits she's had a change of heart on it. 'I realised I have a lot of PTSD around that movie,' she says. Gershon has been writing scripts in recent years, and it's only now that she feels able to see the film from the perspective of its makers. 'I thought, 'Oh, this is what Paul was trying to do.'' As Cristal Connors, the Machiavellian, dog-food-munching rival to Elizabeth Berkley's inexplicably volatile Vegas dreamgirl Nomi Malone, she made sparkling lemonade out of stupid lemons. She knew she had to come up with a plan B early into production, while being yanked topless up to the rafters above a stage filled with fire bowls and writhing extras. 'I'm there on this rope, thinking, 'I studied the classics',' Gershon says, laughing. ''I wanted to do Chekhov. How did I get here?'.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more I knew it was going to be a disaster Though it's hard to imagine now, there was an assumption in the months before Showgirls' release that it would emulate the stratospheric success of Verhoeven's previous erotic thriller Basic Instinct – but Gershon was panicked. 'They were like, this is going to be huge – but I knew it was going to be a disaster,' she says. 'I was always happy with my work in it, but I knew that it was not going to be what people thought it would be. And I was scared, so I just told my agents, 'Get me another job before Showgirls comes out. I need to show that I really am an actress.'' Gershon's next project was Bound. But even getting Bound was difficult, with her agents insisting that she would ruin her career if she played a lesbian. 'So I had to leave those agents,' she says. 'I do think my career would have been much easier if I'd had agents that really got me. I've had to go through several different ones, because I just don't want to spend time playing characters I'm not invested in. It would have been nice if we were all on the same page, but at the end of the day, it's my book, and it's my story.' It has provided Gershon with one of those undeniably interesting careers, full of massive hits, cult classics and strange detours. That doesn't mean it hasn't been a tricky one to navigate, though. Potentially her greatest performance was in a 2003 film called Prey for Rock & Roll, in which she plays the gay frontwoman of an all-girl punk band – but the film barely came out, and few people have seen it. When I ask Gershon when she felt as if she'd made it as an actor, she says she's 'still waiting' – it's a joke, I think, but part of me believes her. I adore John Travolta, and I was really eager to work with him again High Rollers came about partly because of Gershon's history with Travolta, the film serving as a reunion between them 28 years after Face/Off. 'I didn't realise at first, but High Rollers is a sequel,' she says – to a 2024 movie called Cash Out – 'and someone else [Sex and the City's Kristin Davis] had played my character, but wasn't coming back.' Travolta put her name forward. 'I adore him, and I was really eager to work with him again.' And she makes the most of what was presumably a thin part on paper, wielding knives with aplomb and sassing out any number of thugs who square up to her. 'That's why they pay me the big bucks,' she jokes. As much as she likes a good action thriller, though, she would like to do more comedy in the future, and mourns a film from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone that she was due to shoot right before Covid. She describes it as a deepfake comedy that would have satirised the Trump administration, with Gershon playing first lady Melania, someone she'd already impersonated in a series of comedy skits during the 2016 election and the first months of Donald Trump's presidency. 'But then the pandemic showed up and we had to shut down filming. And by the time we were able to film again, I think everyone was so sick of hearing about Trump that they decided to move on,' she says. The Melania skits have also stopped. 'They just started making me feel nauseous,' she says. 'All of a sudden it wasn't fun, because [the Trumps] weren't going away. Like, it was funny, but it's just not funny any more.'
Gulf Insider
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Netanyahu Survives Coalition Collapse, Strikes Deal With Ultra-Orthodox Partners
Israel's parliament narrowly rejected a preliminary bill to dissolve itself early on 12 June, avoiding the possibility of snap elections and preserving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile governing coalition. The motion, backed by opposition lawmakers, was defeated by a vote of 61 to 53 – just meeting the 61-seat threshold needed for passage in the 120-member failed vote followed a last-minute deal between coalition leaders and ultra-Orthodox parties regarding one of Israel's most divisive issues, which is mandatory military service for the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim. While military service is compulsory for most Jewish Israelis, the ultra-Orthodox community – roughly 13 percent of the population – has long been granted exemptions if men are enrolled in full-time religious study. Ultra-orthodox parties have been pressuring the Netanyahu government to codify the exemptions by passing a new law. In a key development, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein announced that his committee and ultra-Orthodox parties had reached a preliminary understanding to draft new legislation addressing the conscription issue. This agreement persuaded most ultra-Orthodox lawmakers to vote against dissolving the Knesset. However, the arrangement sparked backlash from both opposition leaders and within the coalition itself. Yair Golan, leader of the opposition Democrats party, condemned the agreement, saying, 'Netanyahu entered a room with the heads of the Haredi factions and left with a disgraceful agreement … There is no love for the country here. Only cynicism. Only selfish survival.' Golan accused Netanyahu of betraying both military service members and ultra-Orthodox citizens who wished to contribute to the state. Netanyahu narrowly averts government collapse over ultra-Orthodox conscription dispute——A motion to dissolve Israel's parliament because of friction over the conscription of Haredi men failed to pass on 11 June. The opposition reached a compromise, and only 53 voted in favor of… — The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) June 12, 2025 Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, resigned from Netanyahu's cabinet in protest over the compromise deal. Goldknopf, whose Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction supported the Knesset's dissolution, said the new understandings fell short of promises made in coalition agreements. 'I can no longer take part as a member of this government,' he wrote in his resignation letter to Netanyahu. Goldknopf's resignation follows a previous symbolic resignation in March over the same issue. Despite his departure, UTJ remains part of the ruling coalition, which has been under pressure due to widespread discontent over the military burden placed on young Israelis tasked with executing the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. With the war now lasting more than 18 months, the Israeli army is facing growing manpower shortages, intensifying the debate over draft exemptions. Roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach conscription age each year, but fewer than 10 percent enlist, according to the State Control Committee.
Politico
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Fighting for the Orthodox vote
Presented by With help from Cris Seda Chabrier Some of New York City's most influential Orthodox Jewish leaders are flexing their political might in this month's mayoral primary — while also being courted as general election powerbrokers. Andrew Cuomo was endorsed this week by Hasidic leaders in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, including both sides of the Satmar community. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams was their second pick. Adams was endorsed Monday by more than two dozen Hasidic groups in Borough Park, Brooklyn — with Zellnor Myrie their nod for No. 2 on the June 24 ballot. Adams additionally received Orthodox tenant leaders' support Tuesday. In the primary, the Orthodox vote appears to be largely splitting between Adams and Cuomo, though the latter has a distinct advantage. The former governor was endorsed last week by Bobov sect leaders in Borough Park and Orthodox leaders in Crown Heights, Flatbush and Far Rockaway. But in the general election, Mayor Eric Adams will weigh very, very heavily into the equation, POLITICO reports. The incumbent isn't a primary candidate but plans to run in November on two independent ballot lines — one of which is EndAntiSemitism, meant to emphasize his support for Jews. Eric Adams has already been competing with Cuomo in shaping perceptions over who more fiercely defends Israel and condemns antisemitism. The scope of their clash depends on whether Cuomo wins the Dem nomination — he is also poised to run as an independent — but the mayor and former governor both have long been allies of Orthodox New Yorkers. Take Satmar Rabbi Moishe Indig as an example. He backed Adams in 2021 and works closely with the mayor, appearing publicly with him as recently as late May for a town hall on public safety in Jewish communities. 'In November, you'll see … with God's help,' he said Sunday at an event on antisemitism featuring Adams and TV host Dr. Phil, as the Forward's Jacob Kornbluh noted. 'We will come out and show our great support for our great mayor and brother, Eric Adams.' But after endorsing Cuomo on Tuesday, Indig told Playbook, 'I don't know what's going to happen in November.' The work of trying to steer Hasidic leaders away from Cuomo and toward Adams is well underway both behind the scenes — as the New York Times reported — and from the bully pulpit. The mayor accused Cuomo point-blank Tuesday of over-inflating his support among Orthodox Jews. 'He'll go and identify one or two people in the community and say, 'I have the community,'' Adams told reporters at an unrelated event. 'He has what, three or four people who endorsed him in Crown Heights?' Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi rebutted that characterization: 'Governor Cuomo's relationship with the Jewish community is deep, strong and stretches back decades,' he said. 'We're not surprised the mayor is trying to play games behind the scenes.' — Emily Ngo, Jeff Coltin, Joe Anuta and Cris Seda Chabrier HAPPY WEDNESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE'S KATHY? In Albany and Washington D.C. with no public schedule. WHERE'S ERIC? Public schedule unavailable as of 10 p.m. Tuesday. QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'Great decisions are made on the golf course. … There's an informal connection when you are on the golf course. … A lot of great deals have been made on the golf course.' — Eric Adams, on two top appointees meeting with Trump at his New Jersey golf course — and securing a promise he wouldn't send in the military or National Guard for anti-ICE protests as long as the NYPD keeps demonstrators in line, the New York Post reports. ABOVE THE FOLD DEMS' LA CHALLENGE: New York Democrats are grappling with their responses to the rapidly evolving Los Angeles clashes over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests. Their through-line is clear enough: Condemn President Donald Trump as authoritarian for deploying the National Guard and threatening to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Charge that the president is generating a distraction from his controversial 'big, beautiful bill.' And keep the focus on how his enforcement efforts are netting everyday migrants, not violent criminals. But the Dems' messaging gets more muddled when they're asked if the anti-ICE protests have been peaceful or violent. The party is faced with a more complex juggling act than the Republicans, who have uniformly denounced the demonstrations as anti-law enforcement hooliganism enabled by Democratic officials. Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke said Trump's escalation through the National Guard is illegal and meant to stoke chaos. 'Let's be clear about how this began: with peaceful protests, peaceful protests sparked by the unlawful and inhumane targeting, detention and deportation of our immigrant neighbors,' she said. She was later asked about the statistics on officers injured and property damaged as of Tuesday. 'I don't believe there's an insurrection taking place,' said Clarke, who represents Brooklyn. 'And I'd like to see the statistics around those who are ill and sickly, who are currently being detained.' Reps. Grace Meng and Adriano Espaillat contrasted the Los Angeles conflict to the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters, with Meng noting the president didn't send in the National Guard when that situation spiraled into violence. 'You have heard all of us say and ask protesters to be peaceful,' Meng said of Los Angeles. 'This is not a violent mob chanting 'hang Mike Pence,' 'where's Nancy' in the Capitol,' Espaillat said. 'For the most part, the protesters are peace-abiding people that are concerned about the aggressiveness of ICE.' Meanwhile, Cuomo released a plan Tuesday on how New York City should respond. He called the conflict in California 'manufactured' by Trump — the same word his rival Adrienne Adams used earlier in an MSNBC interview. 'We must not play into Trump's hands,' the former governor said in a statement. 'Peaceful protest is enshrined in the Constitution, but looting and destruction of property is unlawful and cannot be tolerated.' Earlier Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani — running in second place — said at a news conference, 'There is no room for violence. And ultimately, what has troubled me greatly is the cherry-picking of very few incidents to then justify the deployment of National Guard.' — Emily Ngo CITY HALL: THE LATEST FROM A TO Z: Adrienne Adams criticized Mamdani's call to abolish ICE on Tuesday — in a rare show of public disagreement between two members of the Working Families Party slate. 'A lawless president does not mean we abolish entire agencies and our laws,' the council speaker posted on X Tuesday. 'I've taken on Donald Trump and ICE — and won. People elect us as leaders to solve problems, not pledge allegiance to rigid ideologies.' Adams' post included a video clip of Mamdani — when asked Monday on MSNBC if ICE should be abolished — saying 'I believe it should.' In the clip, Mamdani notes that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who backed him with her top endorsement last week — agrees with his stance. So Adams' post doesn't just draw a distinction between herself and Mamdani, but also with AOC, who gave Adams her second-ranked endorsement. 'There was going to come a point and a time when we are going to have to double down on the fact that Adrienne is a moderate, and this WFP shit is going to have to go sideways,' said a consultant familiar with Adams' thinking who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. 'The divorce is coming,' they added. The WFP didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. All the top contenders challenging Cuomo have assiduously avoided criticizing each other and have instead relentlessly attacked the front-runner. But with two weeks until the primary and polling showing Mamdani closing in on Cuomo, Adrienne Adams seems to have decided it was time for a tactical change. Mamdani, however, is sticking with the plan, his spokesperson Andrew Epstein said: 'Zohran has said it over and over again since launching this campaign: he will only criticize disgraced New York executives past and present.' — Jeff Coltin CASINO BATTLE ROYALE: A bid to build a casino in the Bronx became the subject of dueling lobbying efforts Tuesday, hours ahead of Bally's last shot to overcome a key hurdle in the City Council. The proposal for a casino at the former Trump golf course at Ferry Point — now called Bally's Golf Links — needs an added layer of approval from the state Legislature since the site is classified as public parkland. Before Albany lawmakers can take up that measure, the Council must pass a resolution permitting the move. Bally's last shot to secure that so-called home rule message before the end of Albany's legislative session is during the Council meeting Wednesday. Cue the eleventh-hour drama. As the Bronx bidder tried to whip votes in favor of the resolution, and over the objections of the local lawmaker representing the area, the team behind a competing casino bid backed by Mets owner Steve Cohen embarked on a lobbying effort of its own, according to several people familiar with the calls. 'Their large army of lobbyists is going very hard,' said one Council member familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to speak freely. Council Member Kristy Marmorato, who represents the area, presents a major challenge for Bally's: She is resisting its plans for a gaming facility in her district, according to people familiar with her position. That's made the company's effort to win over some of her fellow lawmakers more difficult, as they'd be breaching unwritten protocol by overriding a colleague on a local matter, the people said. Marmorato did not return requests for comment. Karl Rickett, a spokesperson for Metropolitan Park — the name of Cohen's proposed complex at Citi Field, which would include a casino — declined to comment. Meanwhile, other Council members have expressed reservations that if Bally's won a casino license, it would have to pay $115 million to the Trump Organization, per the companies' purchase agreement reported by the New York Times. Bally's is one of eight bidders competing for one of three New York City-area casino licenses. The field has narrowed in recent months as other bidders — including Related Companies, which had planned a gaming facility at Hudson Yards — have scrapped casino plans amid political headwinds. — Janaki Chadha CORRECTING THE RECORD: A mailer from the New York City Campaign Finance Board hit New Yorkers' mailboxes this week, correcting the record about the 11 mayoral candidates appearing on the Democratic primary ballot. The initial voter guide sent to 3.5 million registered voters last month wrongfully included Eric Adams in the Democratic primary, among other errors, POLITICO first reported. — Jeff Coltin ATTACK AD: A new super PAC funded by business executives is tying Mamdani to the man accused of murdering two Israel embassy employees in an antisemitic shooting last month. The 30-second digital ad from Sensible City, first reported by the Daily News, includes a brief clip of Elias Rodriguez getting arrested, among other shots of anti-Israeli graffiti and street protests, while a voiceover says 'it's not safe.' The ad then shows Mamdani and says he wants to defund the police. 'It's disgusting, slanderous and desperate,' Epstein said about the ad. Cuomo has also used recent anti-Israel attacks to take an indirect swipe at Mamdani, POLITICO reported. A spokesperson for Sensible City didn't return a request for comment. — Jeff Coltin EVENING IT OUT: Seven mayoral candidates told a government reform group they support moving city elections to even-numbered years, which would put those races on the ballot alongside state and federal elections. Cuomo, Adrienne Adams and Brad Lander were among those backing the reform in a Citizens Union candidate questionnaire, the organization announced in a press release Tuesday. Mamdani didn't respond. Almost 90 percent of council candidates surveyed also support the proposal. Citizens Union is among the groups pushing a city charter revision commission to consider the change — which would also require a state constitutional amendment. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — A measure banning most broker fees goes into effect today, after a federal judge cleared the way. (Gothamist) — The City Council requested an investigation into the NYPD sharing information with federal authorities amid Trump's immigration crackdown. (The New York Times) — Council support for legislation clearing the way for a casino in the Bronx is still up in the air. (City & State) NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY FILTERING FEARS: Democratic state lawmakers are trying to change New York's forthcoming automatic voter registration system with last-minute adjustments to a bill that's meant to ensure non-citizens are not accidentally added to the rolls. New York's automatic voter registration system — which will take effect this year — allows people to register to vote when applying for Medicaid benefits or a driver's license. There's an opt-out choice for people who do not want to be voters. But as the Trump administration takes a hard-line immigration stance and seeks greater control over state-administered elections, Democrats proposed a 'secure' process to filter out people who are not citizens and cannot legally vote. The bill is being considered in the final days of the legislative session. It was previously approved in the Senate, but is yet to come up for a vote in the Assembly amid concerns it does not include sufficient safeguards for undocumented immigrants as they apply for driver's licenses. Democrats in recent days have moved to change the bill to require a filter that can recognize documents like birth certificates so that ineligible voters — such as undocumented immigrants — would not be able to register to vote when applying for a driver's license. It's not yet clear if the change is enough to assuage the concerns of some Democrats, who fear that automatic voter registration would put undocumented people at greater deportation risk. A coalition of lefty groups — including Make the Road New York and the New York Immigration Coalition — pressed top lawmakers in a letter this week to pass the measure with the amendment. 'In this moment, when immigrant and voter rights are under attack across the country, New York has the responsibility to do everything to protect immigrant New Yorkers from being deported by the Trump administration,' the coalition, New Yorkers for Inclusive Democracy, wrote in the letter. 'Passing the Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration bill is a necessary step to ensure that no immigrant New Yorkers are unjustly deported.' — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Top state Democrats are eager to blame Washington Republicans for federal funding problems. (City & State) — Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado's bid to take on Gov. Kathy Hochul could be hobbled by his lack of name recognition. (Spectrum News) — Hochul and fellow Democratic governors will be grilled by Congressional Republicans over their states' immigration policies. (Times Union) KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION GOING AFTER 'SANCTUARIES': Rep. Nick Langworthy has introduced congressional Republicans' latest effort to target cities that limit cooperation between federal immigration officers and local law enforcement. On Tuesday, the Buffalo-area Republican unveiled the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025, legislation that would block federal funding for 'sanctuary' jurisdictions. It's the House companion to a measure previously introduced by GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. 'The violence we are seeing happen in LA right now is a cautionary tale for New York, another sanctuary state catering to criminal illegal immigrants and left-wing extremists,' Langworthy said in a statement. The bill's cosponsors include North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik, who's mulling a run for governor. It's being introduced as three Democratic governors, including Hochul, prepare to testify Thursday before the House Oversight Committee on their blue states' policies protecting immigrants. Defenders of 'sanctuary' jurisdictions have noted that federal and New York officers work together on violent crimes or in instances where a warrant is proffered, but that local and state resources are not used for civil infractions, freeing them up to focus on more serious offenses. — Emily Ngo More from Congress: — Thirty-eight House Republicans are warning Senate leaders against using 'budget gimmicks' as they revise President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' (POLITICO) — Rep. Yvette Clarke, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Trump should be impeached over the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. (POLITICO) — Rep. Ritchie Torres wants federal contractors to reevaluate and potentially revise degree requirements for their job offerings. (NY1) NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — Jack Ciattarelli will get another shot at becoming the next governor of New Jersey. (POLITICO) — Attorney General Letitia James is investigating a police shooting that killed a sword-wielding man. (Times Union) — A former state assemblymember has opened a cannabis dispensary. (Watertown Daily Times) SOCIAL DATA MAKING MOVES: Ryan Birchmeier, former communications director to Eric Adams, has launched Williams Street Strategies, a communications consultancy named for the address of his first job in government at NYCEDC … Nick E. Smith is now president of Polaris New York, a consulting firm focused on fundraising, government relations and communications. He was previously executive director of Communities Resist and was first deputy public advocate under Jumaane Williams … Alex Gleason is returning to the New York City Central Labor Council as policy and campaigns director, after five years at Mercury Public Affairs. MEDIAWATCH: Mark Guiducci is taking over as top editor of Vanity Fair, per NYT's Katie Robertson. The 36-year-old Guiducci 'takes over a job that is very different from the one held by previous editors of Vanity Fair. He will be the first 'global editorial director' at Vanity Fair — gone is the editor-in-chief title — and will oversee Vanity Fair in the United States as well as editions across the world.' HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson … former NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum … Deandra Khan of 32BJ SEIU … Jonathan Yedin … Lucas Acosta … Reid Pillifant … Greta Van Susteren … Mehmet Oz … Will Rahn … Wendy Teramoto … CNN's Morgan Rimmer … Juliette Medina … Bob Brockmann … (WAS TUESDAY): Dovid Efune Missed Tuesday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuomo, Adams battle for Orthodox Jewish support in mayor's race
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams suggested Tuesday that Orthodox Jewish support flocking to mayoral front-runner Andrew Cuomo is lighter than it seems. He may have a point. Cuomo has been racking up endorsements from influential leaders in a community long considered a potent electoral force as he leads the Democratic mayoral primary field. On Tuesday, he scored the top ranking from a major Hasidic sect in Brooklyn. But one of the former governor's most prominent backers suggested days earlier his brethren would be supporting Adams in the general election — and would do so with a similar fervor to 2024, when they came out en masse for President Donald Trump. 'In November you'll see the same thing with God's help,' Rabbi Moishe Indig, a top leader in Brooklyn's Satmar community, said during an event focused on combating antisemitism. 'We will come out to show our great support for our great mayor and brother, Eric Adams.' Indig was speaking at an event headlined by Adams and conservative television personality Dr. Phil on Sunday, the day before he publicly endorsed Cuomo. In addition to pledging fealty to the incumbent in the November general election, the Brooklyn religious and political fixture estimated 75,000 people in his community voted in the presidential race, mostly breaking for Trump. That number explains the nascent battle between Cuomo and Adams, who are both preparing for a potential general election showdown after Adams dropped out of the primary. 'We are talking about relationships of over 30 years — 30 years,' Adams, a Brooklyn borough president and state senator before becoming mayor, said of his ties to the borough's Orthodox communities during an unrelated press conference. As he spoke, he again excoriated Cuomo and accused him of overstating his support in Jewish and Black communities, both central to Adams' winning 2021 coalition. 'So let the primary run its course,' he said. 'We are going to see what's going to happen in the general.' Adams, a registered Democrat, opted out of the Democratic primary in April, recognizing he was too damaged by a federal indictment, and his related choice to cozy up to President Donald Trump, who pushed for a judge to drop the charges. As The New York Times reported Tuesday, Adams' team has been working behind the scenes to dissuade rabbis from endorsing Cuomo as the mayor publicly pursues policies sought by the community. A mayoral aide, for instance, was successful in persuading 25 Hasidic groups and institutions to endorse City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams over Cuomo in the primary, according to the Times. And another prominent Jewish leader in Brooklyn who endorsed Cuomo later clarified in a social media post that his backing was only for the primary and that he has a close relationship with the mayor. But despite animus between many religious communities and Cuomo over his Covid-era prohibitions on large gatherings, the front-runner has already landed crucial backing from some of the most important Jewish leaders in Brooklyn and Queens. And even Indig walked back his stated support for Eric Adams when asked by POLITICO, noting he hasn't made a general election endorsement yet. 'I don't know what's going to happen in November,' he added. With that in mind, Cuomo's team dismissed the mayor's assertions. 'Governor Cuomo's relationship with the Jewish community is deep, strong and stretches back decades and we're proud to have assembled one of the largest Orthodox coalitions in history in support of our campaign to get New York City back on the right track,' Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in a statement. 'We're not surprised the mayor is trying to play games behind the scenes.' Jeff Colin contributed to this report.
