FIRST READ

Rep. Lee Zeldin was confronted on stage by an alleged attacker during a speech, and the incident raised questions about the local district attorney in the case.

ZELDIN ASSAULT RESPONSE DRAWS SCRUTINY

Following the arrest of his alleged attacker at a campaign event, Rep. Lee Zeldin began railing against bail reform after a judge released the suspect without bail. But since then, the circumstances around the alleged attacker’s charges have come under scrutiny. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley, the head prosecutor in the county where the incident took place, had been listed as a co-chair of Zeldin’s campaign. Although both she and Zeldin said she hasn’t been involved in the campaign for months due ethical concerns over her involvement, Doorley had appeared on Zeldin’s website until recently. She also spoke at a GOP fundraiser in May where Zeldin was the headliner. The connection raised questions about the charge –

BANNER DAY FOR POLICE CHIEFS

There’s no two ways about it; Gov. Kathy Hochul backs the blue. The governor appeared at the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference to share her office’s avowed support for police, saying, “We support you 100%, and that includes funding.” If the police chiefs are short on funding, might we recommend cutting down on their budget for comically large banners?

“We are in a financial crisis like you can never imagine. … Wall Street is collapsing; we’re in a recession.”

– New York City Mayor Eric Adams, contradicting President Joe Biden, via Hamodia

“Maybe if you spent more time in your office and with your team you’d know what goes on. Just saying it would be nice if you breathed our air.”

– state Sen. Jessica Ramos, accusing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter of not spending enough time in her district attempted assault in the second degree – that Zeldin’s alleged attacker was arraigned on. Prosecutors don’t often use it and many legal observers said that the suspect could have easily been charged with a more serious violent offense, one that would have made him eligible for bail. Federal prosecutors have even brought assault charges against the suspect since he attacked a sitting member of Congress. But Republicans have continued to use the incident as a rallying cry to bring back the old cash bail system, with many calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to convene a special session of the state Legislature to repeal bail reform. New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined those calls as well, although Hochul has made it clear she does not intend to act on the appeals.

NYC SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS HALTED

Adams’ desired public school budget cuts in New York City will remain off the table until at least Aug. 4 after a judge upheld his earlier ruling to temporarily delay the recently approved cuts. The new decision came after one on July 22 originally putting the budget cuts on hold. It also happened in the face of strong opposition from lawyers for the city, who argued that delaying the cuts, which were included as part

of the city’s new budget, would throw a wrench in preparations for the next school year set to begin in September. But education advocates, parents, teachers and even a large number of City Council members who voted to approve the cuts as part of the budget have demanded that Adams reverse the cuts and return that funding to the schools. They celebrated the latest court decision as a victory as they and the Adams administration await a final ruling.

MTA IN DIRE STRAITS

The MTA always seems strapped for cash, with financial ruin consistently just a few skipped fares away. But its fiscal outlook is actually worse than officials had originally thought, even with the large amount of federal funds the transit agency has gotten for pandemic recovery. The MTA will use up that federal cash quicker than originally predicted, and the continued lack of ridership on subways, buses and commuter rail has hindered the agency’s recovery plans. Although officials had said that $15 billion in COVID-19 relief funds would allow the MTA to balance its budget by 2025, that prediction relied on commuting levels returning to near pre-pandemic levels. But ridership has not bounced back nearly as much as officials had hoped.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority got hit by several bouts of bad news last week, with ridership lagging behind projections and a fiscal cliff incoming.

WFP knocks Maloney on ACA votes

The Working Families Party debuted an ad last week attacking Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney for votes against the Affordable Care Act. State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who is backed by the WFP, is running against Maloney in the race for the newly redrawn 17th District.

Maloney’s votes against the ACA weren’t a new revelation, and he had expressed pride in them in the past, as seen in the WFP’s video. “Of course I have voted against the Affordable Care Act repeatedly – 45% of the time, I think, against my own president,” he said in the clip from a debate with former Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth, who ran against him in 2012 and 2014.

In the ad, the Hayworth debate clip was juxtaposed with a video of him denying he voted against the ACA during a recent forum with the Yorktown Democratic Committee. “I repeatedly supported the ACA, and I will not let my opponent mislead you on that,” Maloney said in response to Biaggi stating that he “not only voted with Republicans” on the Affordable Care Act, but “voted repeatedly to water down.”

Biaggi’s campaign pointed to several examples of what it said were anti-ACA votes.

In 2013, Maloney was one of three New York Democrats to vote in favor of Republican bills that would have delayed implementation of parts of the Affordable Care Act, including requirements that employers with 50 or more workers provide insurance and that everyone must buy health insurance or face a penalty. Maloney said at the time, however, that he “strongly” supported the Affordable Care Act. “I strongly support the president’s decision to give employers more time to comply with the law, and I believe that we should give families the same flexibility we’re giving to our small businesses,” he said, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Later that year, Maloney again voted with Republicans to repeal a medical device tax that would have been used to fund Obamacare. He was one of 17 Democrats to vote for it.

Maloney’s campaign called the ad “baseless cherry picking” and said Maloney’s votes were actually an effort to strengthen the ACA, only parts of which he has opposed. Maloney’s campaign also said the WFP ad cuts off the end of his quote in the debate with Hayworth where he explained that he “introduced legislation to improve” the ACA. – Sara Dorn

THE WEEK AHEAD

TUESDAY 8/2

Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney as well as candidate Suraj Patel participate in a 12th Congressional District debate at 7 p.m. on NY1. INSIDE DOPE

The Democratic primary features two longtime incumbents who are battling over West 72nd Street after Maloney’s team opened an office across the street from Nadler’s. WEDNESDAY 8/3

The New York City Council Finance Committee holds a hearing on the interest rate charged to people who are behind on their property taxes. MONDAY 8/8

City & State is cosponsoring a debate in state Senate District 34 with candidates Nathalia Fernandez, Christian Amato, John Perez on BronxNet at 9 p.m.