Good Morning, New York! The SALT cap may not rise by that much despite some NY Republicans best efforts, the City Council is ready to fight over sanctuary status, and the budget continues to be late as Hochul sends people home. This is your Tammany Times AM Briefing for Friday, April 11th, 2025.

WHERE’S KATHY: In Albany with no publicly scheduled events. (check here for updates)

WHERE’s ERIC: No public schedule available.

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Front Pages

Hall Monitors

— Roosevelt Island officials allegedly spent almost $170K in taxpayer money to blame tourists for tramway problems! A state probe found the Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation (RIOC) orchestrated a smear campaign to shift blame from mismanagement, even planting positive articles about RIOC execs. The firm hired wrote puff pieces about them and organized headshots during work hours, says the report. (NY Post)

— The City Council is gearing up for a fight over NYC's sanctuary city status. The clash stems from Mayor Adams' executive order, which allows ICE back on Rikers Island, sparking outrage from council members. This sets the stage for a potential legal battle. (The City)

— A Queens judge is under fire for allegedly not disclosing that his clerk was dating a lawyer arguing cases in his court. Judge Peter Kelly reportedly ruled in favor of the lawyer, Cheryl Katz, and appointed her to new cases. The situation gets stickier because the clerk's father, a chief administrative judge, appointed both Kelly and Katz to advisory committees. (Tammany Times)

Capitol Gains

— The New York budget is late—now by 11 days—and Gov. Hochul is digging in her heels, refusing to compromise on policy demands. While lawmakers passed a short-term spending extension, they've since left Albany for Passover break, with the governor cutting their vacation short to ensure they return to continue negotiations. The holdup centers on disagreements over changes to criminal discovery laws and involuntary psychiatric care, leading to rising tensions and finger-pointing between Hochul and the state legislature. (NY Post)

— Get ready for a special election in Senate District 22 on May 20th. Gov. Hochul called the election to fill Simcha Felder's seat, as Felder is moving back to the City Council after 12 years in the State Senate. (Tammany Times)

— A New York state judge is hanging up the robe after getting censured. Warren County Judge John S. Hall Jr. agreed to retire following a formal disciplinary review. (MSN)

Trail Mix

— Council Members Selvena Brooks-Powers and Lynn Schulman just got booted from the budget negotiating team, and insiders say it's because they endorsed Andrew Cuomo over Speaker Adrienne Adams for mayor. Now, some are calling foul, while others suggest Speaker Adams could have been even more punitive. (City and State)

— AOC is back to calling for a ban on congressional stock trading after some suspicious market activity linked to Trump's tariff announcements. The timing of a spike in NASDAQ call options just before the tariff pause announcement has raised eyebrows, with AOC hinting that some members may have traded on inside information. Even Trump seemed to nudge folks to buy, posting "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!" on TRUTH Social hours before the news broke. (Tammany Times)

— Don't count on only a $25,000 SALT deduction. One House Republican is hoping the final tax bill will allow homeowners to deduct up to $30,000 in state and local taxes. However, as the bill is still being drafted, nothing is set in stone, and some lawmakers find even the proposed $30,000 limit inadequate. (Bloomberg)

— Five members of the New York House delegation, along with a New Jersey rep., had a scare when their plane bumped into another at Reagan National Airport. While Rep. Grace Meng confirmed everyone's okay, some Democrats are using the incident to highlight aviation safety concerns, blaming previous FAA staffing cuts. The FAA is investigating, and American Airlines has taken both planes out of service for inspection. (Tammany Times)