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By ERIN DURKIN, ANNA GRONEWOLD and DEANNA GARCIA 

Presented by Healthcare Education Project

Until now, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ economic message has boiled down to “we’re back.” He envisions a bustling city with workers back in their offices, people packed into restaurants with no need for vaccine checks, and everyone out to "assess" the nightlife like he does. The mayor wants all of you to stop being so boring and get out there and live a little.

That’s still his message, but on Thursday he began to put some meat on those bones. In a major economic development speech in the Bronx, he laid out his vision for how the city will recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic blueprint also reckoned with some of the damage the pandemic has wrought: more than 26,000 businesses permanently closed, and there's a 15 percent unemployment rate among Black New Yorkers.

The comeback, as Adams sees it, relies on new investments in growing industries like life sciences, offshore wind, and digital gaming. And don’t forget legal pot — it’s expected to be a $1.3 billion industry in the city, the mayor’s office said, and City Hall expects to be behind it all the way.

The mayor also pledged to cut red tape for small businesses, including by dropping a 25 percent surcharge on liquor licenses — joining Gov. Kathy Hochul in being a booze-friendly chief executive. He’s planning to lure tourists back through a series of marketing campaigns, and to spruce up the city’s chronically-dirty streets. Oh, and Adams would really like to land the 2026 World Cup for New York City.

While the speech added detail to Adams’ economic agenda, much still has to be filled in, like how the city’s central business districts will survive when nobody wants to go back to the office. Much like his predecessor, Adams is kicking some of the tough questions to task forces to figure out, forming a blue-ribbon panel with the state on reenvisioning the city’s office-centered neighborhoods. Another task force will look at supporting healthy commercial corridors around the city, while yet another will look to streamline approvals for building and development projects.

IT’S FRIDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: [email protected] and [email protected] , or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold

WHERE’S KATHY? Speaking at the New York City Building Trades Winter Conference in Florida. 

WHERE’S ERIC? Making a summer enrichment announcement.

QUOTE OF THE DAY — “Let’s go Mets!” — Adams, a Queens native, reacting to the end of Major League Baseball’s lockout

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

When COVID-19 hit New York, frontline healthcare workers answered the call. But as the system was stretched to the limit and New Yorkers struggled to find care, greedy health insurers pocketed billions. Despite these record profits, insurers are back squeezing hospitals for more. Doctors and caregivers can no longer survive on razor thin margins. Join us and help stop for-profit insurers from getting between doctors and their patients. Learn more.

THE RECAST POWER LIST: Our sister newsletter, POLITICO’s The Recast, has debuted its inaugural The Recast Power List this morning — a slate of 40 remarkable people shaking up power in Washington, the United States and beyond. Several New York players made the list for their undeniable impact on the intersection of race, politics, and policy, including Tish James, Mondaire Jones, Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Carl Heastie. You can see the full list here.

Bonnie Biess/Getty Images for SiriusXM

“Nonprofit workers in NYC rally for higher wages in mayor's budget,” by WNYC’s Gwynne Hogan: “Nneka Millete, 44, helps run a drop-in center for homeless youth in Brownsville, Brooklyn. But in the last few months, she said she’s found it impossible to keep the center staffed. ‘I call people for jobs all the time and we have people who actually laugh at the salary,’ she said. ‘That’s not ok. No one can survive off that. But the work still has to get done.’ Millete was among hundreds of nonprofit workers who staff the city’s shelters, community centers and after-school programs who rallied outside City Hall Thursday afternoon, calling on the city to boost base pay for nonprofit workers to $21 an hour and to earmark cost-of-living wage increases into this year’s budget.”

“Williams and Lander Start Presenting United Progressive Counterweight to Adams,” by Gotham Gazette’s Samar Khurshid: ”All three of New York City’s citywide elected officials – Mayor Eric Adams, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and Comptroller Brad Lander – are Democrats from Brooklyn. But their respective victories in last year’s elections signified different things to their supporters and political analysts. Those who backed Adams saw his win as a rejection of left progressive politics that they believed had gone too far in the city, while Williams and Lander supporters celebrated what they saw as triumphs of progressive politics at the citywide level. Those complicated dynamics are now playing out in the balance of power in the city. … The public advocate and comptroller have begun to gently present a united progressive front to the more moderate mayor on several issues.”

“NYC Council confirms Ifeoma Ike for Conflicts of Interest Board seat despite ethics concerns,” by New York Daily News’ Chris Sommerfeldt: “The City Council confirmed a new member to the Conflicts of Interest Board on Thursday despite concerns that she might’ve breached ethics laws by helping co-found a private company while serving as an aide to then-Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017. Ifeoma Ike, who was picked for the board post by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, earned confirmation in a 42-8 Council vote. The eight Council members who opposed Ike’s nomination — most of whom were Republicans — pointed to her role in Think Rubix, a company that designs corporate training programs focused on diversity and conflict resolution.”

“NYC schools ramping up COVID vaccine campaign for kids 5-11,” by New York Post’s Selim Algar: “The Department of Education is ramping up its vaccination push for kids aged 5 to 11 with new efforts to help educate students and their families, officials announced Thursday. The DOE plans to launch informational town halls on COVID-19 jabs — along with robo-call campaigns and pop-up vaccine sites in neighborhoods with low shot rates.”

— EXIT INTERVIEW: Outgoing Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi tells Gotham Gazette’s Max Politics Podcast that his biggest regret is the low rate of Covid-19 vaccination among Black New Yorkers. He also says that aside from fighting the pandemic, he's most proud of the opening of the country's first overdose prevention centers.

— “Parents, educators push to ditch mask mandate for NYC's youngest,”by Gothamist’s Sophia Chang

“Legislature wants over $3 billion in state budget for universal child care,” by NY1’s Zack Fink: “Members of the state Senate and Assembly are pushing for universal child care in New York State. They are proposing funding in the budget this year that would exceed $3 billion. ‘This is going to be one of the big banner items coming out of the legislative budget proposals,’ Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris said. ‘We have been focused on providing real child care support for people of this state.’ Next week, both houses are expected to pass their one house budget resolutions. While they are non-bonding, it lays out the spending priorities for each house going into final budget negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul. Legislators are aligned on universal child care, arguing it will jump-start the economy.”

“Lawmakers want to suspend gas taxes for drivers by having other taxpayers foot the bill,” by City & State’s Zach Williams: “Gas prices have reached record levels in the Empire state with inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Nearly a half-dozen bills have been introduced before the state Legislature in recent weeks to offer some financial relief to motorists by suspending state gas taxes. The only problem is that the tax funds mass transit, repairing roadways and even servicing current debt held by the state for past projects. There is no single gas tax in New York – but four separate state taxes add up to 33.35 cents per gallon this year. That amounts to one of the largest tax bills in the nation, especially when local taxes that typically amount to about 15 cents per gallon get added. The governor is resisting calls to suspend state gas taxes by arguing that the potential costs outweigh any benefits to New Yorkers affected by inflation.”

“Parole Reform Squabble Has Left Hundreds Sitting in New York Jails,” by New York Focus’s Chris Gelardi: “At the Rikers Island jail complex in New York City, at least 91 people had been waiting for March 1 to roll around. On that date, most aspects of New York state’s new parole reform law went into full effect, and those who had been held on warrants issued by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), which runs the state’s parole system, were expecting a shot at freedom. Among other provisions, the new law, known as the Less Is More Act, makes it significantly more difficult for DOCCS to jail people after they commit certain parole violations, and it mandates a hearing within 24 hours to give people whom the parole agency has ordered jailed a chance to argue for their release.

"But March 1 came and went, and the 91 people — as well as dozens or hundreds more across the state — remain in jail. According to DOCCS, because they were jailed on alleged parole violations before that date, they aren’t grandfathered into Less Is More’s protections, so the department didn’t go about releasing them. The framework of their situation is just one of several points of ongoing disparity between the department’s interpretation of the Less Is More Act and the interpretation of the advocates and elected officials who worked for several years to pass it.”

MAKING MOVES: Today is Jeff Lewis’ last day as Gov. Hochul’s chief of staff. Lewis, who has worked with Hochul since her days as Erie County Clerk, is heading campaign-side for 2022. His new title will be senior adviser, both to the campaign and to the state Democratic Party. According to the governor’s office, where there are already several other top management and advisory roles (such as secretary to the governor), there are no immediate plans in place for Lewis’ successor.

MORE (CHRIS) CUOMO COMMUNICATIONS: “New Emails Show Chris Cuomo Working as Part of Brother’s PR Machine, in Detail,” by Vice’s Tim Marchman

— “Chris Cuomo was offered hard-to-get COVID plasma while brother Andrew was governor, emails reveal,” by New York Post’s Conor Skelding

— An Emerson College/The Hill poll found 63 percent of New York voters think Andrew Cuomo should not reenter public office. If Cuomo were to challenge Hochul in a Democratic primary, a hypothetical ballot test showed him trailing Hochul’s by four points, 37 percent to 33 percent. The latter finding was among 504 registered Democratic voters in New York with a Credibility Interval of +/- 4.3 percentage points.

#UpstateAmerica: “We’ve started the parade with snow plows before and we’re not afraid to do it again.” An intense storm forecast the day of Syracuse’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will not deter its organizers, who have been waiting two years for its return.

THE NEW YORK LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS will announce the first 91 candidates it will be endorsing for Congress and the state Legislature later today. The candidates who will be backed “represent dynamic leaders on both sides of the aisle who are helping our state set the bar for clean energy, clean water, clean transportation, conservation, and much more,” President Julie Tighe said.

The initial slate from the NYCLV, which maintains one of the state’s largest independent expenditure committees, mostly includes Democrats. But a few Long Island Republicans, including state Sen. Phil Boyle, made the list. There are also some Democrats who are expected to face primary battles in June, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney and state Sen. Kevin Parker. View the full list of endorsed candidates here.

“Federal government to extend mask mandate in public transit to April 18,” by amNewYork’s Kevin Duggan: “The federal government will extend its mask mandate on public transportation and air travel for another month until April 18. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will recommend to the Transportation Security Administration to continue its directive for face coverings in transit and inside stations, as it was set to expire on March 18, according to a spokesperson for the CDC … Mass transit remains one of the few public settings where masks are still required in New York, along with healthcare facilities and group homes, prisons and jails, and homeless shelters. … Mask compliance on MTA subways and buses has started to decline, according to agency stats, however the latest data is from mid-February and early March before the city’s other COVID regulations were loosened.”

“Lev Parnas, an Ex-Giuliani Associate, to Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Charge,” by Reuters’ Jonathan Stempel: “Lev Parnas, convicted in October on campaign finance charges, will plead guilty to a conspiracy count concerning his work at a fraud insurance company that former ally Rudy Giuliani also worked for. Ukraine-born Parnas on Thursday asked U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan to schedule a change-of-plea hearing, after pleading not guilty in November 2020 to wire fraud conspiracy. Prosecutors accused Parnas and co-defendant David Correia of conning people into investing more than $2 million in their Florida start-up Fraud Guarantee, but withdrawing much of it for personal use including political donations.”

— Ukrainian New Yorkers are returning to their homeland to fight the Russian invasion.

— The Throggs Neck St. Patrick’s Day parade will include an LGBTQ group for the first time.

— Mayor Eric Adams defended a pair of Bronx cops after a judge said they made false statements about a teen rapper’s gun arrest.

— A 15-minute grocery delivery app backed in part by Russian investors abruptly shut down.

— The trial of an accused Sarah Lawrence cult leader kicked off.

— Six correctional facilities in upstate New York are closing as the inmate population drops.

— The Department of Motor Vehicles released new designs for the New York State’s driver license, permit, and nondriver ID cards.

— Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is part of a group asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to open up more funding to repair relatively small dams.

— Friday Q&A from Alexis Grenell for The Nation: “The Stormy Daniels You Haven’t Heard Before”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rupert Murdoch is 91 … Ben Becker of Precision Strategies … Charles McElwee … Nick Shapiro … MSNBC’s Christina Arvanites and Erin Clifford … NBC’s Miguel Almaguer … Perri Peltz … CNN’s Emily Riley … Sam Donaldson … Abby Rogers … Haley Viccaro … MC Gonzalez Noguera of Popular … Michal Grayevsky

MEDIAWATCH — Luis Ferré-Sadurní is the new Albany bureau chief for The New York Times, after two years covering the beat for the paper. … Per POLITICO Playbook: “Steve Clemons is joining Project Coda, the temporary name for the global news startup founded by former Bloomberg CEO Justin Smith and former NYT media columnist Ben Smith. Clemons will serve as editor-at-large and run its ‘global live journalism operations.’”

— Per Talking Biz News: “MIT Technology Review has hiredCasey Crownhart to cover energy and climate. Crownhart is a freelance science and technology journalist based in New York. … The Los Angeles Times has hired ProPublica reporterTony Briscoe to cover air quality and environmental health.”

MAKING MOVES — Per Morning Money: “Lily Adams has been named the Treasury Department’s new assistant secretary for public affairs. She’ll be taking over for Calvin Mitchell, who is transitioning to a role as counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on strategic communications. Adams has been serving for the past year as Mitchell’s principal deputy, playing a key role in the agency’s communications around the American Rescue Plan and sanctions programs.”

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

Whether it’s increasing out-of-pocket expenses, denying claims, or excluding hospitals and caregivers from their networks, greedy, for-profit insurance companies have been profiting off of hardworking New Yorkers for too long. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, heroic frontline healthcare workers stepped up, saved lives, and kept families healthy. But the pandemic devastated our entire healthcare system and pushed it to the brink. Even as New Yorkers struggled to find care and healthcare workers made gut-wrenching sacrifices to fight the pandemic, insurers put profits ahead of patients - muscling the doctors and hospitals that saved lives during COVID-19. Last year the top 10 health insurers pocketed more than $40 billion. Join our movement to demand NYS lawmakers put patients before profits. Learn more.

“Bronx fire victims left ‘in the wind’ as they await city recovery dollars,” by Gothamist’s Jake Offenhartz: “Mayor Eric Adams’ office has raised $4.4 million for victims of the fire that devastated the Twin Parks North West building in the Bronx, but has distributed less than 10 percent of those funds two months after the blaze, according to updated numbers released Thursday night.”

—“Bronx Fire Survivors Say City Hall’s New Meal Provider Adds Insult to Injury,” by The City’s Katie Honan and Claudia Irizarry Aponte

“New luxury buildings bring Manhattan-sized rents to the Bronx,” by New York Post’s Lois Weiss: “The Bronx isn’t burning but it is on fire with new luxury buildings boasting sky-high Manhattan-like rents — some over $7,000 per month. The borough’s newest building, Third at Bankside, has several two- and three-bedroom market-rate apartments that can set you back over $5,000.”