Day: September 9, 2025

By: Jordan Baker

State lawmakers in Albany are turning up the pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration after fresh revelations suggested officials may have quietly steered a lucrative Medicaid contract worth $11 billion to a single company.

According to the New York Post, the controversy centers on the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), which provides home care to vulnerable New Yorkers. Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL), the company selected to run the program, admitted in a recent letter to state senators that its earlier testimony under oath was false.

PPL’s vice president of government relations, Patty Byrnes, had previously denied that the firm had been in contact with the Department of Health before lawmakers rewrote the budget last year to consolidate the program under one fiscal intermediary. But in a stunning reversal, she acknowledged those statements “were not accurate,” writing that communications with DOH staff had indeed taken place.

The New York Post reported that Byrnes admitted the discussions occurred in late March and early April, even before the controversial law was finalized. The company was later awarded the massive contract to oversee payroll and payment services for home health aides across the state.

“Something here stinks,” State Sen. Steven Rhoads (R-Nassau) told the New York Post after the admission. Rhoads argued that families who depend on the program deserve to know the full scope of those conversations: “Who was involved? Did they influence the bid drafting and selection process? And if so, did anyone in the Hochul administration or her donors benefit as a result? We want answers. And so should all New Yorkers.”

Sen. Jim Skoufis (D-Orange), who chairs the Senate Investigations Committee, echoed those concerns. The New York Post reported that Skoufis, along with Health Committee Chair Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx), had already held a public hearing last month. Skoufis said PPL’s amended testimony only raises more red flags: “All these statements, all these amendments to testimony, all of these comments now, since the hearing, only elicit more questions.”

The Hochul administration has not denied that conversations with PPL took place. A spokesperson for the governor previously insisted the shift to a single intermediary “went through a standard procurement process” and that no officials knew the outcome until the process was complete. But the New York Post noted that critics remain unconvinced, especially as patients and workers continue to face problems with delayed paychecks and chaotic transitions since the program was consolidated.

Rivera, the Bronx Democrat, said the ongoing problems are more than political. “There is still harm happening to patients and workers,” he told the New York Post, vowing that PPL would be “taken to task” for its role in the rocky rollout.

The dispute also raises questions about sworn testimony from Health Commissioner James Mc Donald. At last month’s hearing, Mc Donald insisted he was unaware of any prior contact between his agency and PPL. A spokesperson later doubled down, saying Mc Donald “was not aware” of his staff’s communications with the company, despite PPL’s letter confirming otherwise.

For now, PPL has pledged cooperation with the Senate inquiry, though Skoufis has left the door open to subpoenas. Meanwhile, the Hochul administration is facing mounting scrutiny over whether one of the state’s largest Medicaid programs was quietly tailored to favor a single firm.

The post Lawmakers Demand Answers as Hochul Admin Faces Heat Over $11B Medicaid Contract appeared first on The Jewish Voice.

By: J. Gatsby

Fashion designer Reed Krakoff, known for shaping the modern luxury market, has put his newly built Hamptons beach house on the market with a price tag of $49.5 million. The New York Post first reported that the striking contemporary compound sits directly on the ocean in Amagansett, one of the East End’s most coveted enclaves.

The six-bedroom residence spans 7,200 square feet and occupies 2.8 acres with 200 feet of pristine ocean frontage. Located near neighbors such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Paul Mc Cartney, the home offers a rare combination of high design and seclusion.

Built in 2023 by architects Thomas Phifer and Partners, the property consists of three glass-walled pavilions perched above a concrete and steel base. Each pavilion, or “cube,” serves a distinct purpose. According to the New York Post first reported, one cube houses the open chef’s kitchen, living, and dining areas. Another holds the primary suite, complete with a sitting room and spa-style bath. The third is designed as a library. Floor-to-ceiling windows connect each space to the outdoors, opening to terraces that surround a swimming pool with wood decking and glass partitions. Five additional guest bedrooms are located on the ground floor, along with a gym and garage.

The interiors were curated by Reed’s wife, Delphine Krakoff, an Elle Décor A-List interior designer. She told the magazine that the design emphasizes “handmade, artisanal and textural elements,” a counterbalance to the sharp geometry of the architecture. The couple commissioned artist Richard Long to create a mud wall installation with an organic sensibility. Furnishings include a George Nakashima live-edge table and a sculptural Joris Laarman chaise.

Privacy is another selling point. The home sits adjacent to a protected nature reserve, ensuring uninterrupted ocean and dune views. A private path leads directly to the beach. The New York Post first reported that the land itself was assembled from two properties previously owned by photographer Antoine Verglas, famous for his 2000 photo shoot of Melania Trump before her marriage to Donald Trump. Krakoff purchased the combined site for $10.5 million in 2018.

Reed Krakoff rose to prominence by revitalizing Coach and later served as chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. He currently holds the role of creative chair at jewelry house John Hardy. His wife Delphine has built her own reputation for sophisticated interiors. Together, they have a history of buying and selling high-profile real estate.

The couple once owned Lasata, the East Hampton estate where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis spent childhood summers. They sold it in 2018 to film producer David Zander, who later resold it to designer Tom Ford for $52 million. In Manhattan, they offloaded an East 61st Street townhouse to Roger Waters for $15 million and sold another on East 70th Street for $51 million. Beyond the Hamptons, they also maintain a 52-acre estate in New Canaan, Connecticut, once a Cold War retreat of heiress Huguette Clark.

Hedgerow Exclusive Properties holds the Amagansett listing. The New York Post first reported that the home, with its modernist design and prime location, stands out even in the rarefied Hamptons luxury market — and at $49.5 million, it promises to be one of the season’s most talked-about offerings.

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