With help from Rich Mendez

A status hearing today on whether control of Rikers Island should be stripped from the Adams administration and given to a federal receiver also serves as a status check of the notoriously dysfunctional jail complex.

“The most basic elements of care and custody, including rudimentary practices necessary to minimize the risk of harm in the system, remain elusive,” federal monitor Steve Martin wrote in his most recent report, released June 27, repeating, “The jails remain dangerous and unsafe.”

None of the parties in court expect Judge Laura Taylor Swain to deliver a decision this afternoon, even as they brace for one.

But those advocating for a federal takeover have seized every opportunity to keep the still-deplorable conditions of city jails in the spotlight, doing so today by rallying community groups and elected officials ahead of the hearing.

“Our members have loved ones that are currently there that talk about how filthy the jail cells are, how unsanitary the conditions are, how they don’t have access to proper medical care,” Melanie Dominguez of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice told Playbook. “People are dying out of sheer negligence.”

Mayor Eric Adams remains steadfastly opposed to an independent receiver, which would be an indictment of his management of a broken system he inherited. It would further stain a record already marred by federal probes into his 2021 campaign as he gears up for reelection next year.

Three people have died in custody so far this year, nine last year and 19 in 2022, according to the Department of Correction data dashboard maintained by City Comptroller Brad Landers’ office.

And the jail population has risen to more than 6,300.

Dominguez and others blame the mayor for not driving down the number of people behind bars in preparation for Rikers’ legally mandated closure, even as it becomes increasingly clear the city will blow the 2027 deadline to shutter the facility.

“Since we’ve come into office, serious violence and injuries to people in custody and staff are down in double digits,” Adams spokesperson Amaris Cockfield said, “and while there is still more work to be done, Commissioner Maginley-Liddie and her team continues to show their commitment to improving our city’s jails for our correction officers and all those in our care.”

Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, the corrections commissioner sworn in last December, sought to offer some hope.

“We’re all human beings, and we deserve respect,” she told the Queens Eagle.

The wait to learn whether the city’s jails will be run by an outside authority has dragged on.

In November 2022, attorneys representing detainees filed a letter of their intent to request a court-appointed receiver. Last November, Southern District prosecutors and the Legal Aid Society formally filed for it. — Emily Ngo

HAPPY TUESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.

WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City with no public schedule.

WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at a flag-raising ceremony for France, then hosting a press conference at City Hall. After that, he'll be participating in PFNYC’s business leaders' town hall.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in an X post that CNN noted references a Book of Joshua passage that comes after Moses dies of old age and a younger leader takes over. The post wasn’t meant to imply anything about President Joe Biden, those in the know had said.

ABOVE THE FOLD

ELECTION DOMINOS: If city Comptroller Brad Lander runs for mayor, then Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine would run for comptroller, and City Council Member Keith Powers would run for BP.

The political world has been playing electoral parlor games after Playbook reported last month on Lander’s plans to take on Adams, which could set up a busy 2025.

“As a born-and-raised Manhattanite,” Powers told Playbook, “any opportunity to continue to deliver results for Manhattan families and seniors, lower costs, and to address the crisis in affordable housing would be an exciting opportunity.”

Powers is term-limited out next year, and the eastsider would be a chief contender, a top labor operative told Playbook.

“I think he’d make an exciting candidate for borough president,” Council Member Erik Bottcher said about Powers. “And he’d be very formidable.”

But the field is already looking crowded.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who ran in 2021, didn’t rule out another run, saying, “We’ll see how the dominos fall.” Neither did Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal who quipped “Never say never.” And Assemblymember Grace Lee is “open to possibilities.”

Meanwhile, fellow term-limited Council Member Carlina Rivera said she has “no current plans” to run, and Council Member Gale Brewer said she wasn’t interested in being BP again after her eight-year stint.

Similar gamesmanship is happening in Brooklyn, where Borough President Antonio Reynoso is interested in running for comptroller, and Council Member Justin Brannan may run for BP, The New York Times first reported Monday.

Other names in the BP mix are Council Member Chi Ossé and Assemblymember Bobby Carroll.

This all depends on lots of maybes. Two insiders noted that Levine and Reynoso are both close to Rep. Adriano Espaillat, so only one of them may run. If Reynoso decides against it, Brannan would look at the comptroller himself. But that’s only if it’s an open seat, and other power players aren’t convinced Lander is 100 percent in for mayor.

“He’s waiting to see how much Zellnor (Myrie) and Scott (Stringer) put up (in fundraising), then he’ll do what he does,” a person familiar with Lander’s thinking said. — Jeff Coltin

CITY HALL: THE LATEST

ADAMS VETOES HIS VETO: Adams has declined to veto a bill to expand the City Council’s power over his appointments — an unexpected move rendered moot by a recent power play, POLITICO reports.

The news surprised the council, which was planning to vote this month to override an expected veto on the so-called advice and consent bill that grants lawmakers say over mayoral appointees to lead top city agencies. Adams has vocally opposed the measure.

His office is presenting the move as an effort to reset his relationship with the council amid a period of heightened tension. But even without vetoing it, the mayor will likely succeed in greatly delaying the measure from going before voters — since his Charter Revision Commission preempts its space on the ballot.

“They could think they’re gaining a point by not vetoing, but if the Charter Revision Commission is still in play, that’s all moot,” said one Democratic Council Member. — Jeff Coltin

More from the city:

— Migrant arrivals to New York City have drastically slowed, but the shelter population has remained steady at around 65,000, despite Adams’ time limits on stays. (New York Post)

— The city's Buildings Department is turning to the business group the Partnership for New York City for help providing tech solutions to its problems. (Crain’s New York)

— The Third Avenue Bridge, which connects Manhattan to the Bronx was temporarily stuck in an open position because it was too hot. (Gothamist)

NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY

IN THE SLOW LANE: Talks among elected officials over a potential compromise that would either reinstate congestion pricing or create an alternative revenue source to help raise $15 billion in municipal bonds for mass transit infrastructure improvements have stalled.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has insisted she wants to find ways of paying for planned improvements for the region’s mass transit system the toll program was supposed to help fund.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat who supported the toll plan, said in an interview the energy has been squarely with the advocates in recent days.

“I and my colleagues have been speaking with advocacy organizations about the best approach forward to save congestion pricing from being ended all together,” he said.

And don’t expect a lawsuit challenging Hochul’s decision to place congestion pricing on an indefinite pause anytime soon, according to the advocates involved in the discussions.

“Those are very involved and it’s going to take a while for the public to see the papers and who the plaintiffs are,” John Kaehny, the executive director of the watchdog organization Reinvent Albany, told Playbook. “It’s going to be months not weeks.”

As first reported by POLITICO last month, a coalition of activist groups organized by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a potential mayoral candidate, are weighing a lawsuit over the delay to the toll program, which had been set to begin on June 30.

Hochul pulled her support for congestion pricing last month and cited the cost-of-living issues facing New Yorkers. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s governing board sustained the decision. — Nick Reisman

CUOMO WATCH: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pro-Israel non-profit wants to teach young people about antisemitism — an issue dear to Jewish voters he’d certainly covet if were to run for office again.

Cuomo unveiled plans this weekend at an influential Hamptons synagogue to offer an online symposium on Israel and deploy prominent speakers to address the issue — a move that’s meant to counter the campus demonstrations that convulsed colleges and universities across the country this spring.

“We’re going to have a whole education campaign, especially for young people who know no history about Israel,” he said. “They don’t understand the Zionist movement, they don’t know 1947, they don’t know 1967, they don’t know the Oslo Accords, they don’t know Camp Davids. If it’s not on Twitter or TikTok, it didn’t happen in their world.”

(Among those attending the service was longtime public relations guru Ken Sunshine, who received a shoutout from Cuomo).

Cuomo has focused on combatting antisemitism as he ponders a comeback bid for elected office since his resignation in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, which he has denied.

The former governor is working to win back the support of Orthodox Jews who were angered by his pandemic-era restrictions and are a coveted voting bloc in any city or statewide election.

His group, Never Again, Now!, will also air a TV ad blasting Hamas. — Nick Reisman

More from Albany:

— Hochul is being looked to as a key Biden ally as the president struggles to keep his campaign alive. (Crain’s New York)

— Judges are modestly using the additional discretion that was provided to them in the bail laws that were adjusted over the past two years by Hochul and lawmakers. (Times Union)

— Cannabis equity supporters worry that the shakeups to the Office of Cannabis Management 'will get money out of the hands of poor Black and brown communities.’ (Hell Gate)

KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION

WITH BIDEN, ACTUALLY: Rep. Jerry Nadler was among a handful of House Democratic leaders who urged during a private call Sunday that President Joe Biden relinquish his spot at the top of the party’s ticket.

But the Manhattan stalwart isn’t abandoning the president.

“I’m not going to comment on private conversations, but I truly believe that President Joe Biden has been a transformational president whose first-term accomplishments are nothing short of historic,” Nadler said in a statement Monday in lieu of an interview requested by Playbook.

“President Biden stated this morning that he will continue to be our nominee for president and I strongly support him,” said Nadler, the House Judiciary ranking member who at 77 is just a tad younger than Biden.

He then pivoted to partisan attack mode: “Moreover, if we’re going to defeat Donald Trump in November, we must move past the distractions and put the focus of this election squarely where it belongs: on Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.” — Emily Ngo

More from Congress:

— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito was accused of seizing a white gold chain during an arrest and never returning it, back when he was an NYPD detective in 2011. (Daily News)

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

— Single-use toiletries are being phased out in large hotels in New York. (Times Union)

— Progressives and socialist organizations had a mixed bag on primary night, and they had no plans to shake up their electoral strategy. (City & State)

SOCIAL DATA

Edited by Daniel Lippman

MAKING MOVES: Steve Ammerman, the former director of communications at the New York Farm Bureau, is now the director of social media for Comptroller Tom DiNapoli … 32BJ state political coordinator Deandra Khan has been promoted to senior adviser to 32BJ President Manny Pastreich.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: New York City Council Member Amanda Farías … NY Birth Control Access Project’s Rochelle Rodney … Meredith Tannor of the Freelancers Union … David Wertime … AP’s Tom Beaumont … Floyd Abrams … ABC’s Luke Barr … Patrick Steel … ACLU’s Anthony Romero … NBC’s Amanda Terkel … Matt Samuels

Missed Monday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.