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Good Morning, New York! A town in NY may have been avoiding tax for years, a homeless man has been hurling molotov cocktails at Cybertrucks, and Eric Adams still thinks life is good. This is your Tammany Times AM Briefing for Wednesday, May 21st, 2025.

WHERE’s KATHY: In Albany County, discussing FY26 Budget Investments to Revitalize Albany.

WHERE’s ERIC: No public schedule available.

TIPS? Email me: [email protected]

Front Pages

Hall Monitors

— Talk about a rough Monday morning. A homeless man, Dwain Burr, allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at a Tesla Cybertruck parked in Manhattan's Sutton Place. The vehicle caught fire, but a good Samaritan extinguished the blaze, and police arrested Burr, who faces arson and weapons charges in connection with the incident. This attack comes as Tesla owners have reported a series of crimes after Elon Musk joined the Trump Administration. (NY Post)

— Tenant advocate and Manhattan borough president candidate Brad Hoylman-Sigal is catching heat because his husband has a stake in a Maryland apartment complex with over 1,600 housing violations. While tenants complain of rats, roaches, and mold, Hoylman-Sigal's team claims his husband has little control over the property and that he remains committed to tenant rights, despite profiting up to $110,000 a year from rent. (NY Post)

Capitol Gains

— Pleasant Valley residents may have been paying too much in taxes. A state audit revealed the town board consistently underestimated revenue and overestimated expenses for five years, leading to a $6.4 million surplus. While town officials agreed to correct the budgeting issues, a deputy supervisor noted that under new leadership, the tax rate has dropped, and expenses have returned to 2022 levels. (Times Union)

— Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente is not happy with New York's even-year election law, calling it a 'hostile takeover' by Albany. Picente says it infringes on the county's right to set its own elections as outlined in its charter, a right Republicans have been fighting to defend in court. Despite a previous court win, the battle continues, with the state's highest court set to hear the case in September. (State of Politics)

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Trail Mix

— Eric Adams isn't sweating his dwindling reelection chances. Apparently unbothered by trailing in the polls and running as an independent after dropping out of the Democratic primary, Adams declared, "Damn, life is good," while sipping smoothies at Gracie Mansion. He also griped about the power of money in politics, noting that his campaign has been denied matching taxpayer funds due to his previously dismissed criminal corruption case. (NY Post)

— NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is breaking norms by urging his supporters to donate to rival candidate Adrienne Adams in a bid to defeat frontrunner Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani, who has already hit his fundraising cap, says that Adams needs more funds to effectively challenge Cuomo, claiming he's essentially running for Eric Adams' second term. This move is seen as a strategic play in the ranked-choice voting system, potentially creating an alliance against Cuomo. (Gothamist)

— A new Survey USA poll has been released: Initially, Cuomo takes 43%, well ahead of State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani at 11%, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer at 9%, and current Comptroller Brad Lander at 8%. Cuomo's current major advantage in name recognition may shift over the next few weeks as more ads hit the airwaves and candidate debates take place. While each of the three leading candidates has a positive net favorability score – +29 for Cuomo, +25 for Stringer, +16 for Mamdani – 36% say they haven't heard enough about Mamdani to say, 24% say the same about Stringer, and only 3% say that about Cuomo. (Survey USA)