Adams travels to Albany to advance NY priorities – but leaders could be in Buffalo

Mayor Eric Adams travels to Albany on Tuesday to lobby key Democratic lawmakers on his end-of-session priorities such as expanding mayoral control over the city’s public schools.

“In terms of number of meetings, the team is still working to ensure we speak to as many of my former and new colleagues as possible,” Adams told reporters Monday afternoon when asked who he would be meeting with.

“Anytime I go to Albany, I like to sit down with Andrea and Carl, and even you know, outside of Albany, so we don’t know the exact number,” Adams said of his desire to align with the state legislature to piece together powerful leaders – Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins ​​(D-Westchester) and House Speaker Carl Heastie (D-The Bronx).

Adams has postponed the trip before – blaming planning difficulties – and it remains unclear if he will meet one of Albany’s top three leaders on Tuesday, as Gov. Kathy Hochul, Stewart cousins ​​and Heastie all plan to join President Biden in to join Buffalo in the wake of last weekend’s horrific, racially motivated mass shooting.

Heastie said he will be heading to Buffalo Tuesday morning to “show solidarity” with the victims of the hateful massacre, but his schedule is yet to be finalized so it’s possible he’ll find time before or after to chat with the Big Apple to meet mayors, according to a spokesman.

A Stewart-Cousins ​​rep confirmed to The Post that she will also be traveling to Buffalo, so she won’t have time to meet with Adams.

Hochul is on track to remain in the Queen City as Biden is due to arrive around 9:45am in the morning according to his public schedule.

Adams’ approach to courting Albany has been criticized as dysfunctional because both he and his administration have relied on lobbying for issues through public press conferences rather than hearing directly from lawmakers at the state Capitol, sources previously told The Post.

Sources said Adam’s agenda for Tuesday’s trip to Albany includes addressing members of the typically left-leaning Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian legislative faction at 10:30 a.m

“The mayor’s accountability is important — I mean, we see the great things that we’re doing, from screening all of our students for dyslexia to investing our college funds to expanding the pipeline with games,” Adams said Monday.

The legislative period ends on June 2nd.

Adams also said he wanted more funding for NYCHA, the city’s embattled housing agency, which is currently run by a federal supervisor due to decades of mismanagement, as well as an extension of the $1.8 billion property-based 421a program in property tax breaks New builds offering rent-stabilized housing that could phase out if not extended by June 2.

“We’d love to get speed cameras,” he added, given the city’s desire to have the power to regulate its speed cameras and red light cameras without having to seek Albany’s approval.

“The committee chairman at the assembly said he hadn’t heard enough from us, which I don’t quite understand,” he added, angered that the chairman of the assembly’s transportation committee, Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse), told him said the proposal was unlikely to happen.

“Speed ​​cameras save lives. You see the rash of accidents where fatalities and lives are lost. We shouldn’t play politics by saving lives. Let’s get this bill down to earth. Let’s vote up or down.”

However, allies have said they would support a simple extension of the current program.

When asked if he would join Buffalo officials, Adams said he was still considering a trip to Erie County.

“We’ll try to see if the schedule allows me to go to Buffalo as well.”

— Additional reporting by Zach Williams