Politico states editorial director Ryan Hutchins, New York editor Michael Gartland and New York policy editor Paul Demko sent out the following on Friday:

Team –

POLITICO has been on the ground in New York for a dozen years, building the state’s largest Capitol bureau and breaking stories that set the terms of politics from City Hall to Washington. Now we’re taking the next step, reorganizing and reinforcing our coverage to put policy first and meet an extraordinary moment of disruption in state and city politics.

To attack this story head-on, we are appointing Nick Reisman Albany bureau chief, promoting Ry Rivard to cover regional infrastructure and deploying Emily Ngo to cover technology, Mona Zhang to cover energy and Janaki Chadha to own the story of affordability and housing policy.

This group will build on their own strong work and on the exceptional reporting of colleagues, including Marie French, whose energy coverage commands a cult-like following in the state and beyond, and Maya Kaufman, a gifted health care reporter whose investigative work has landed with powerful force this year.

Naming an Albany bureau chief

We want to cover the state Capitol the right way — with the best reporting and the most impactful footprint — even as competitors continue to retreat. To advance this mission every day, we’re naming Nick Reisman to the role of Albany bureau chief. He will anchor coverage of the governor, the legislature and statewide campaigns, sharpen our Pro focus on policymaking and the influence industry, and help coordinate the bureau’s work across beats. And Nick will continue to co-author New York Playbook.

Since arriving at POLITICO, Nick has been a driving force behind much of our reporting on statewide politics in New York. Last year, Nick reported that elected officials, union leaders and political consultants were panicking over polls showing a steady erosion of Joe Biden’s support. Nick also played a central role in our reporting on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s politically driven decision to halt congestion pricing in New York (and later reverse it). His sourcing around former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has elevated our reporting on the New York City mayor’s race.

He’ll work closely with Jason Beeferman, who has transformed New York Playbook PM into appointment reading, and Bill Mahoney, whose analytical mind and knowledge of the Capitol help us deliver insights our readers can’t get anywhere else.

Creating an energy + infrastructure unit

Energy and infrastructure are converging into one of the most consequential storylines in New York and nationwide. We’re building a unit to lead this coverage, adding a second energy reporter, launching a new regional infrastructure role and refocusing our real estate beat on housing and affordability.

Ry Rivard is becoming a senior reporter and will take on a new beat focused on regional infrastructure policy across the New York City region, including transportation policy and economic development. It’s a subject at the heart of how politics and policy intertwine in New York, and we’re confident Ry is the right person to own this coverage. Ry started here four years ago as our energy and transportation reporter in New Jersey, and has expanded his footprint across much of the newsroom in that time. We expect him to do the same in this next chapter.

Energy policy is at the center of one of the most consequential political fights in New York, carrying major regional and national implications for our professional audience. So we’re doing what Marie has been urging for years: adding another reporter to the beat.

Mona Zhang is taking on this assignment, working with Marie to write the daily New York & New Jersey Energy Pro newsletter and covering New Jersey energy policy as a sub-beat. Mona moved to the New York team earlier this year after six years covering cannabis policy.

Housing and affordability are emerging as defining issues of this political moment: They are fundamental to the story of Zohran Mamdani’s rise and the leftward shift of city politics, and they will be unavoidable in the 2026 midterms.

To propel this coverage, Janaki Chadha will refocus her beat on affordability and housing. Her reporting will range from housing development in the city to showdowns in Albany, exploring and scrutinizing how New York’s leaders are responding to an affordability crisis that resonates across the country. In this role, Janaki will bring her sharp sourcing and record of agenda-setting scoops to one of the most pressing challenges of the moment.

Launching tech and AI regulation coverage

New York is the East Coast home to some of the world’s biggest tech companies, and it’s been emerging as a tech policy lab: There have been more AI-focused bills introduced in Albany than in any other state capital since 2019, and covering this space in the states is critical for us after Congress failed to pass a moratorium on state AI laws. Our California tech team has set an impressive model for state-level tech policy reporting; we believe New York is primed for a similar approach.

To take on this challenging assignment, we turned to a veteran reporter: Emily Ngo, who also joined us two years ago as a co-author of New York Playbook. She’ll continue in that role, while shifting much of her daily reporting work to the tech policy space. Emily is well positioned to take on this subject, bringing together her command of state policy debates with her deep political sourcing in both New York and Washington.

Together, these moves deepen our report for New York Pros — the people making and influencing policy every day — and strengthen a national Pro offering built on state-level power. Energy, infrastructure, affordability and tech are animating issues for New York and the country. We intend to lead in covering them.

And we’re going to continue to own New York politics coverage and other statewide policy issues. At City Hall, Joe Anuta and Jeff Coltin — our third Playbook co-author — will make sense of the mayoral election’s aftermath. Madina Touré will remain on the statewide education beat. Katelyn Cordero will continue to partner with Maya on health care.

Please join us in congratulating Nick, Mona, Ry, Janaki and Emily on these new roles.