Thursday, July 26, 2012

Larry Seabrook Guilty


Breaking 
Larry Seabrook Convicted on 9 Counts(NYO)

It is Now Legal for City Councilman to Pay $177 for Bagel
Convicted, Seabrook’s Council Web Page Gone(YNN) * Sheeeeeeet-off: Larry Seabrook vs. Clay Davis(C&S) * For a sense of why Councilman Larry Seabrook was found guilty today, look at my talk with him following 2011 acquittal






According to CFB the NYT Will Have to Be Listed for An In Kind Contribution to Quinn Campaign for This Article
For Council Speaker, Weekends Mean the Jersey Shore(NYT) Speaker Christine C. Quinn, a likely candidate for New York City mayor in 2013, has embraced a largely anonymous existence in Bradley Beach, N.J.


NYT On A Mission to Elect Quinn
True News: Quinn's Pay to Play Highline: NYT Attempts A Cover Up * True News: Ms. Quinn You Work for the People of New York City * True News: NYT Fixing the Mayors Race By Coverage and Mind ... * True News: NYT Still Silent On Quinn Funding of Corrupt Seabrook

The New York Times Co. Posts a Loss(NYT) * The New York Times Is Now Supported by Readers, Not Advertisers(NY Mag)






Campaign 2012 De Blasio to Sue City for Data on Soaring Fines(NYT) Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is suing Mayor Michael Bloomberg and several commissioners to compel them to release data on the city’s revenue on fines to small businesses * RUBEN DIAZ JR. MULLING PUBLIC ADVOCATE RUN: (City and State)  the wide-open 2013 race for New York City’s second-highest elected office, a potential frontrunner has emerged – Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.: * CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOK: Adorno vs. Miller  (NYDN) * Garodnick Grabs First Endorsements Of Comptroller’s Race | Politicker * A Queens Assembly candidate caught running prostitution ads in his newspaper is vowing revenge against the New York Post.* Andy King Declares His Candidacy to Replace Seabrook in a Special(NYO) * The special election to replace Seabrook, who was instantly removed from office upon conviction, will be held concurrent with the Nov. 6 general election. One candidate has already declared: Andy King, an 1199 SEIU operative who lost to Seabrook in 2009. * By design, NY Council Speaker Chris Quinn, the 2013 mayoral frontrunner, avoids taking positions on controversial issues. * The CFB put together an interactive map of campaign contributions to NYC candidates broken down by zip code.* Dov Hikind is “aghast” at Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed circumcision policy.


80% of New Yorkers Say No Pay Raise to Albany
They Will Do It Anyway After Their Reelection in December
Eighty percent of New York voters oppose a pay raise for state lawmakers, while 66 percent oppose the raise as part of a deal to hike the minimum wage, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll: NY 7/26/12 NY Voters Nix Pay Raise For Lawmakers 5-1, Poll Finds; Voters Back Higher Taxes For Rich

And Insider Trading Also?
Pols are tryin’ to ‘stock’ up (NYDN) * AP: NY lawmakers invest to pad campaign accounts (SF Gate) * Both Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos are playing the stock market with campaign money, including with companies that have business before the state. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver invested $2 million of campaign cash into the stock market.

"Good Day New York" host Rosanna Scotto: "You need to suck up to Shelly Silver when you go to Albany." [Fox via Gothamist]


A Phone Call About Snitching?
Bad call by ex-pol(NYP) In a move that was amazingly foolish and incredibly brazen, a former Queens lawmaker Jimmy Meng now under indictment on federal bribery charges called an FBI informant at the center of his corruption case — only minutes after he was released on $1 million bail — in a possible attempt to obstruct justice, stunned officials said yesterday. * Father knows worst(NYDN) *Thanks for nothing dad (NYDN Ed) * Jimmy Meng called the witness who secretly taped him soliciting bribes, resulting in a scolding from the presiding judge.* Jimmy Meng is charged with fraud Queens Chronicle‎

DN: If you are going to get charged with a clownish shakedown, don’t do it when your kid is running for Congress.
The News calls former Assemblyman Jimmy Meng a “knucklehead” for getting himself arrested by the feds and giving his daughter, who is campaigning for Congress this summer * Will Grace Meng's Father's Arrest Affect Your Vote?(Patch) * Federal Judge Admonishes Former Assemblyman Jimmy Meng(Epoch Times)

"Until more facts emerge and we have a better understanding of the situation, the only thing further I’ll say is that I urge my father to fully cooperate with all authorities.” - Grace Meng  * Grace Meng’s congressional campaign literature once featured her father.



Besides Kelly and Bloomberg Where is the Outrage By the Pols? Shooting Crisis
Gambling at the Hoops?  Where are the 911 Calls to Identify Shooter?
Private Wasn’t Suited for War Zone, Soldiers Testify in Court-Martial on His Suicide(NYP) * 5 shot and injured at Harlem basketball game(WSJ) * Police Investigating After Shooting At Rucker Park(WABC) * 5 shot at Harlem basketball tournament(Fox 5) * Gunfire wounds 5 at Harlem hoops tournamen(WABC)* 3 Shot During B-Ball Tourney at Harlem Park(NBC) *"Gun-toting thugs seem to have been emboldened by the NYPD’s reduction in gun stops." [Michael Benjamin]* Gunfire Wounds Five At Harlem Basketball Game(NY1)



Teen Charged With Murder Of Bronx 4-Year-Old(NY1)  * Two Charged in Fatal Shooting of 4-Year-Old in the Bronx(NYT) * Murder Count in Shooting of 4-Year-Old(WSJ) * A feeling of hopelessness (NYDN) * Suspect in tot's shooting death claims self-defense(NYDN)
More Shootings Two shot on Brooklyn running track(WABC) *Anti-Gun Bloomberg Helps Stuff War Chest For Pro-Gun-Rights Senator(Huff Post) * Mayor Bloomberg is raising money for Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown because of the GOP lawmaker’s “tough stand” on gun control. * Steve Kornacki concludes Bloomberg’s support of Brown is really about Wall Street.* In Subway, Activist Records Stop-and-Frisk He Says Proves Its Dark Side(NYT)



DOE's F for Test Grading
7,000 city students wrongly blocked from attending graduation(NYP) More than 7,000 city primary school students were wrongly barred from attending graduation ceremonies this year because the Department of Education incorrectly thought they failed their state exams * No 8th graders in Bronx District 7 got top score on English(NYDN) * Teachers Tell Parents to See Test Scores as 'Snapshots'(NYT) * City Looking To Reform School Enrollment Programs (NY1)

Everyone Campaigns on Putting Children First
The Journal calls the Bloomberg administration’s failures to close and revamp 24 struggling public schools in the way it sees fit a “modern civil-rights tragedy”





Memo to Council: Parking Tickets Aim Is to Cut Accidents Pay Don't Fix Them
City Council Criticized NYPD Traffic Policies But Did Not Name the 3 Councilman Who Had Their Tickets Fixed

The Daily News revealed Last May that cops fixed tickets for at least three City Council members. (NYDN) * City Council Members criticized the NYPD’s traffic investigation policies. * Fast and furious: Pols outraged at NYPD for not ticketing speeders(Brooklyn Paper) * Council takes on NYPD crash probes  (NYDN) * The City Council called on the NYPD to investigate car crashes where no one dies more thoroughly.  * NYPD Pushed to Investigate Car Accidents, Even When Nobody Dies(NY Mag)





Next month Cuomo will hold a series of policy seminars with some of the leading public policy thinkers in the country
Cash, Policy Summit Fuel 2016 Talk(WSJ) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has studiously avoided talk of a 2016 White House run, but he has amassed the nation's largest gubernatorial war chest and organized a series of August policy summits. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is fueling speculation for a presidential run by holding a series of August policy summits with top Democrats and amassing a $19.3 million war chest. * Thanks to his aggressive fund-raising, Cuomo has more cash on hand (close to $20 million) than 40 fellow governors combined. The governors with the next highest amount are Missouri’s Jay Nixon with $7.6 million and California Gov. Jerry Brown with $5.1 million. *  That, plus a series of August policy summits he organized with Democratic leaders and academics, has fueled 2016 talk.*  Only 40 percent of New Yorkers believe Cuomo would make a good president, according to the Q poll. Sixty-one percent think Hillary Clinton is White House material.* The Cuomo administration will take wide-ranging steps to thwart the potential for fraud and unscrupulous practices in response to President Obama’s decision to allow many illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children to remain here without fear of deportation. * Cuomo has more campaign cash than any other governor in the country, and his spokesman said he's planning a policy forum shortly before the Democratic National Convention which may feature former Clinton White House officials. [Jacob Gershman]



Powering NY's future  Ithaca Journal‎




Other Have Tried and Failed to Fight Con Edison
Gov. Cuomo tells state agency to mediate Con Ed dispute(NYP) The Public Service Commission agreed to organize a meeting between Con Ed and its locked out workers after Cuomo wrote a letter urging the commission to resolve the stalled labor negotiations * Throw another fish(NYP Ed) Labor’s trained seals were out in numbers yesterday, conducting a two-pronged campaign to impose on Consolidated Edison the same ruinous fiscal reality that has had New York teetering on the budgetary abyss for so long. The Post dislikes the aggressiveness of public officials who are making the embattled Con Ed “the bad guy” in dragged out negotiations because of their loyalties to organized labor * After Nudge From Cuomo, Con Ed and Union Will Meet Over Lockout(NYT) * Dire Warning About Con Ed Labor Dispute(WSJ) * State Lawmakers Examine Con Ed Lockout Response(NY1)* Panel jumps in to Con Ed fray (NYDN) *Picture Flashback George Metesky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia * Cuomo has made gains in his energy policy agenda, but most of the biggest challenges facing him – the closure of Indian Point, implementing a decision on fracking – remain off in the future.* Storms Force Temporary Halt To Con Ed Lockout(YNN) * Con Edison And Union Workers Strike Deal Ending Lockout(Huff Post)





M.T.A. Unveils Preliminary 2013 Budget(NYT) * MTA Puts Union on Spot Over Budget(WSJ) * MTA Discusses Fare Hike Plans At Meeting(NY1)* MTA pressures union to accept givebacks(NYDN) * A History Of Deaths On The New York City Subway(Huff Post)






After Sweetheart Deal by Judge & Maybe DA? Brooklyn Perv Faces Federal Charges
Fed rap for ‘wrist slap’ perv(NYP) A Brooklyn child molester who was given a two-year prison sentence by a judge in a shocking sweetheart deal was smacked yesterday with federal charges that could lock him up for life.  Unrepentant perv Andrew Goodman (pictured) — who creepily told his trembling teenage victim, “I love you” at his July 12 sentencing before state Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy — was charged by the feds with having sex with the same boy in a New Jersey hotel room in 2010, then taking him to a Kid Rock concert in Atlantic City. * Convicted molester may face life (NYDN) * Abe George Seeks To Upend Hynes (Forward) Little-Known Prosecutor Hits Veteran DA on Orthodox Abuse * New Challenger Seeks to Unseat Six-Term B’klyn DA Charles Hynes(Jewish Voice)



GoodCreams
Mister Softee Drivers Accused Of Beating, Threatening Competition(WPIX)

 


After NYU Taking Over the Village Where Will It Go Next
N.Y.U.’s Plan to Expand Is Approved by Council(NYT) * NYU's Expansion Gets Nod(WSJ) * City Council Approves NYU Expansion Plan(NY1) * NYU plan for Village approved (NYDN) * nIt was a raucous vote. [Joseph Berger]






Rattner's Banging All Night

Ken Lagone explains why he can’t forgive Spitzer for coming after him and former NYSE Chairman Dick Grasso: “I saw the evil of personal ambition blinding him to his responsibilities.”


A Failure to Communicate About NY Economy

Former Lt. Gov. Says State Needs To Consider Raising Taxes(NY1) * State tax revenues exceeded projections for the most recent quarter. 







Latest Puzzle Piece at Ground Zero: A ‘Podium’(WSJ)










World Trade Center work crew harkens back to iconic Depression-era photo(NYP)


Moving On Up
Fond Memories Uptown, Near George Jefferson's Deluxe Apartment in the Sky(NYT) * After the death of Sherman Hemsley, The Times pays a visit to the “deluxe apartment in the sky” where the Jeffersons lived on 84th and Third.* "If George [Jefferson] were a real person, Obama would be trying to tax him even more than the huge chunk of his income he already pays." [Andrea Tantaros]






Bodega Wine Bar Owners to Open 'Heavy Woods' Restaurant in Bushwick(DNA INFO)

 

On Delay in Bike-Share Program, City Gives Few Details Beyond ‘Software’(NYT)

 

When It Comes To Urban Farming, New York City Rules(Huff Post)







The Officials City Hall Gadfly

Press conference at City Hall? Meet VC Village’s mayor torturer  (Riverdale Press)

 

 

Kaity hits WPIX in ex-colleague's age-bias suit(NYDN)

 

 The Making of A President
Negative Ads Hit at Identity to Shape Race for Presidency(NYT) * Romney seeks foreign clout in London (CBS) * Biden carries message to the base(Politico) * Mike Bloomberg is fundraising for Scott Brown in his race against Elizabeth Warren.* Romney declined to say how his veterans policy would be different from Barack Obama’s. * The Obama camp must keep turnout among African-American voters high.  *  Joe Biden has been tasked with tending to the Democratic base. *  Nate Silver says that after two months, very little has changed in the presidential race.  * Obama Talks Gun Control: ‘AK-47s Belong In The Hands Of Soldiers, Not In The Hands Of Criminals’ * Karl Rove: President Obama’s Recent ‘Off The Prompter’ Remarks Point To His Exhaustion * Bob Beckel Calls Romney A ‘Punk’ On The Five, Apologizes After The Commercial * In Somewhat Meaningless Gesture, Senate Passes Middle Class Tax Cuts(NY Mag) * Romney’s Olympian Horse Isn’t Available for Photos or Interviews(NY Mag) * RT : Letterman: "While Mitt Romney is in these foreign countries, he plans to visit his money."* Mitt Romney says the shooter's guns were "illegal," which would make his position on guns to defend if it were true. [Alex Seitz-Wald] * America's Entrepreneurs Are the Key to Success - Ronald Bailey, Reason * Romney's Distortion--and Why It Matters - Jonathan Cohn, New Republic *  The President vs. the Private Economy - Daniel Henninger, Wall St. Journal * Dem Voting Enthusiasm Down Sharply Since 2008 - Jeffrey Jones, Gallup * Pick a President to Save Us from Greece's Fate - Edward Glaeser, Bloomberg * Cronyism Preventing Corzine Prosecution - Peter Schweizer, Wash Times * Candidate of "Change" Turns to Identity Politics - Joel Kotkin, Daily Beast * Romney's Unpopularity Problem - Steve Benen, MSNBC * What the Olympics Tell Us About Romney - Lisa Roche, Deseret News * The Incurable D.C. Spending Bug - Washington Times * Voter ID Laws Are GOP's Partisan Ploy - San Francisco Chronicle * Jeb Bush Lobbies for Florida Friend Marco Rubio as Mitt’s Veep * Daily Tracking: : 48%, : 44%...* Romney’s Remarks on Olympics Cause a Stir(NYT) * Olympics. Ditto British Prime Minister David Cameron. * A Romney fundraiser in London is proving controversial because of donations to Barclays execs tied to the LIBOR scandal. * The battle over Jewish voters is heating up. * Decision 2012: Long Island To Host Presidential Debate (NY1) * London Mayor Boris Johnson Calls Out ‘a Guy Called Mitt Romney’ in Front of 60,000 Britons(NY Mag) * Obama Has Kept His Promises to Veterans - Beau Biden, Huffington Post * The Gaffe-Tastic Mr. Romney - Joan Walsh, Salon * Does Obama Think Americans Are Stupid? - Jim Treacher, The Daily Calle * How Does Romney's Plan Differ From Bush? - Jonathan Chait, NY Magazine * The Battle for Ballot Integrity in Pa. - John Hinderaker, Power Line * Rahm Emanuel Needs to Back Off - Kevin Drum, Mother Jones * NYC Presidential Fundraisers Help Fund Attack Ads Elsewhere: In some parts of the country, it is hard... (NY1) * Krauthammer Slams Romney Over Olympics Comment: ‘Unbelievable,’ ‘Incomprehensible’



Jon Stewart Rails Against GOP And Fox News For ‘Willful, Out-Of-Context’ Attacks On Obama



Daily News Top Guy Accused of Misleading Parliament
News International executive Tom Crone and former News of the World editor Colin Myler were accused of misleading Parliament * Lying or misleading Parliament should become a criminal offence, say MPs as Government considers using powers last used 150 years ago (Mail Online) * News,' staffers gather hoping to hear Colin Myler's vision for the paper




Movie theater 'killer' put murderous plan in writing and sent package to psychologist: report(NYP)Mailed notebook of doom to shrink * NYC church to ring bell in honor of Colo. victims(WSJ)

 

 

 

 

Accused Bronx killer of 4-year-old tot is hated by neighborsAccused Bronx killer of 4-year-old tot is hated by neighbors(NYP)

  Second B'klyn toddler mugged as thug swipes bracelet off 2-year-oldSecond B'klyn toddler mugged as thug swipes bracelet off 2-year-old(NYP)





NY1 Exclusive: City Correction Department To Battle Rikers Island Violence With Body Scanners