POLITICO announces newly expanded New York Playbook Team

Announcement from Executive Editor, Platforms and Operations, Joe Schatz, Editorial Director, States, Ryan Hutchins, New York Editor Julia Marsh, and New York Editor Joe Spector:

Team —

It’s been nearly 10 years since POLITICO established its editorial operation in New York, where we now have a robust team chronicling city politics and the scene at the state Capitol in Albany. We’re already the envy of our peers. But as innovators and disrupters, we know we can’t rest on past success. We must work, constantly, to stay fresh and new.

To that end, we’re pleased to announce a series of new hires who will ensure we maintain our strong footing in New York and wow our readers with new things in the years to come. We’re bringing on board three high-impact reporters to author New York Playbook: Emily Ngo, Jeff Coltin and Nick Reisman. We’ve asked them to build the next generation of New York Playbook — to fill this marquee newsletter with daily scoops and original reporting, to narrate the conversation among and for the state’s political class.

We’re expanding our New York Playbook team — traditionally two reporters — because of how important this platform remains to us. Just like our flagship Playbook is to Washington, New York Playbook is a daily must-read for anyone who cares about politics and policy in the state.

Over a decade, we’ve developed a strong connection between our reporters in Albany and in New York City. This is one team working toward the shared goal of owning coverage of these power centers. That’s our competitive edge, and it’s something we’re confident Emily, Jeff and Nick will work to strengthen.

All three of these journalists impressed us with their original ideas, sophisticated understanding of the state’s political scene and their competitive spirits.

Emily Ngo comes to POLITICO from Spectrum News NY1, where she spent nearly four years reporting on city, state and federal politics. She is particularly adept at covering campaigns and elections and has built strong relationships with some of the most powerful people in the New York. Emily was a staple of NY1’s wall-to-wall Election Night programming. She also led live coverage of Donald Trump’s criminal arraignment this year in Manhattan. She previously worked at Newsday, where she covered Trump’s 2016 campaign as a national political reporter and, later, his administration as a White House correspondent. Emily and her family live in Queens. Though her adopted team is the Mets, her hometown team is the Chicago White Sox. She’ll start July 25.

Jeff Coltin was most recently City Hall bureau chief for City & State New York, where he covered everything from city budgets to the crossover of hip-hop and politics, and was named the New York Press Association’s 2022 Writer of the Year. He also led the magazine’s election coverage and created the Campaign Confidential newsletter. Jeff started reporting at WFUV public radio while a student at Fordham University in the Bronx — inspired by his grandfather Wendell, who reported for the Boston Herald, among other papers. Jeff was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He now lives with his fiancée on the Upper West Side, with easy access to Central Park birdwatching. Jeff starts Tuesday.

Nick Reisman has been reporting from Albany on New York state government and politics since 2010. He has spent 12 years at Spectrum News and its flagship public affairs program, "Capital Tonight." Most recently, he contributed to award-winning coverage of the 2022 gubernatorial election and the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, as well as high-impact stories on the state budget. He previously worked at Gannett newspapers, now the USA Today Network. Nick lives in the Albany area and, in his free time, runs marathons and hikes. Nick starts Aug. 1.

Please join us in welcoming Emily, Jeff and Nick to POLITICO.