A Failed Opportunity to Dump the Board of Election

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

For their part, city Board of Elections officials claimed they conducted a successful post-Sandy election

New York City's Board of Elections broke state rules by allowing voters to wait in long lines on Election Day (NYDN) The state election board said voters should wait no more than 30 minutes to cast ballots State Board of Elections Co-Chairman Doug Kellner said that the New York City Board of Elections failed to provide enough staff on Election Day to alleviate the long lines voters were forced to wait on. For their part, city Board of Elections officials claimed they conducted a successful post-Sandy election. The board scrambled to relocate 61 poll sites displaced by the superstorm and accommodate voters allowed to cast affidavit ballots at any site, but voters still faced massive lines, clueless poll workers, and shortages of paper ballots. Kellner said he was “particularly annoyed” by the board’s performance because the agency has closely followed other, arcane regulations that make elections more cumbersome.* Lawmakers Call For Reforms To Voting System(NY1) * Quinn: Problems With NYC Voting Must Be Fixed Immediately(WCBS) * Advocates and publicofficials call for shakeup in recruitment and training of poll workers (New York World)

Coming Soon From True News

Velvet Gloves Board of Election Council Hearing the Bad Guys Won

I Think I Can Become Mayor
The Last Hope for the Business Community
Lhota Boasts in Washington of M.T.A. Success but Is Quiet on Any Political Dreams(NYT) 

Run, Joe, run(NYP Ed) * MTA’s Lhota poised for GOP mayor run(NYP) * Cuomo Takes Stand Against Mayoral Endorsement (WSJ) Political observers expect MTA Chief Joe Lhota to resign his post and run for NYC mayor next fall, even though he hasn’t said anything about making up his mind to do so. * Lhota, a registered Republican, might be the business community’s last best hope for 2013.* On Sept. 18, someone anonymously snatched four domain names — Lhota2013.com, LhotaforNY.com, LhotaforNYC.com, and JoeLhotaSucks.com. * MTA Executives Discuss Future Storm Prep Options(NY1) * Joe Lhota Calls Bill Rudin “an Exemplary Leader”(NYO) * In which case he could probably use another party's support. [David Seifman]* Clyde Haberman warns Lhota against accepting Rudy Giuliani’s endorsement if he seeks the former NYC mayor’s job.
* MTA Chairman To Speak Before Senate Subcommittee In DC(NY1)* Gov. Cuomo: 'I'm going to try and stay out of the politics (NYDN) * Cuomo declined to either encourage or discourage Lhota to run, saying: “I would like to see Mr. Lhota do what Mr. Lhota wants to do.”
 


Mayor Sandy
Storm Writes a New Script in Campaigns for New York Mayor(NYT) The New York City mayoral candidates are faced with a new reality that the 2013 race will be shaped in many ways by the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, as the storm has opened up a fresh set of tensions to navigate
Race for Queens BP complicated by Sandy(NYDN)

 

A Political Hit Welcome to the Defining Your Opponent Mayoral Election
Real Story Is Who Gave the Story to Politicker's Hunter Walker 
The NYP Adds an anonymous consultant says the news “doesn’t help” the Democrat’s 2013 mayoral run  NYP Says De Blasio de man!  Politics really does make for strange bedfellows

Public Advocate's wife was lesbian before she married him in 1994(NYP) * De Blasio's Wife Opens Up About Her Past (WSJ)* Bill de Blasio married to woman who was out and proud in (NYDN) * Flashback: De Blasio's 2009 campaign polled voters on the fact de Blasio and McCray were in an interracial relationship. [Ben Smith] *  McCray released a brief statement about her background and said "I'm reminded every day how lucky I am to have met my soul mate." [Michael Howard Saul] * Some conservatives are using the McCray story to argue that being gay is a choice. [TheOtherMcCain.com]

Campaign 2013 Mulgrew Tells Mayoral Wannabees They Can Use His Name(YNN) * An impressive list of labor and Democratic leaders/donors are headlining a Dec. 17 fundraiser for Bill Thompson’s 2013 NYC mayoral campaign.* UFT President Michael Mulgrew’s name is on the Thompson invite, but the powerful teachers union hasn’t yet backed anyone.




Shapton Play the Race Card “Miscarriage of Justice”

Sharpton Rally Against ‘All white’ Senate chiefs'

Racial divide (NYP) Racial tensions are mounting over the state Senate’s new, virtually all-white ruling coalition. Three black senators — Eric Adams of Brooklyn, Bill Perkins of Harlem, and Ruth Hassell-Thompson of The Bronx — are expected to join the Rev. Al Sharpton.Saturday in a campaign to empower 15 black and Hispanic Democrats with key committee chairmanships and more influence, said a source

.Cuomo Says 'Only Time Will Tell' if Senate Coalition Will Succeed(NYT) * Cuomo laid out a ten-point “litmus test” for the new state Senate coalition to pass in the coming session, from a minimum wage hike to further protection of abortion rights, The Buffalo News reports *The Dean and Jeff show(NYDN Ed) The News writes that the success of the bipartisan leadership in the state Senate will be determined by how well the two parties work together and the legislation they can produce * In the Times-Union, Gov. Andrew Cuomo writes that state Senate Democrats squandered their opportunity to pass meaningful reform legislation the last time they held power *  

Partnership Between Republicans, IDC Leaves State Senate Dems Out In Cold(NY1) * Sharpton says new bipartisan power sharing deal leaves minorities (NYDN) * Fourth-fifths of the Independent Democratic Conference went on Capital Tonight last night to explain further their breakaway caucus’ raison d’etre. * Jimmy Vielkind writes: “Given the close divides in the chamber, Cuomo is essentially dictating terms for the legislative session that will start in January.” * Said Perkins: “I believe that the governor has the wherewithal to help, and I hope that he will and I urge that he does. We’ll see.” *  Sen. Jeff Klein’s hometown paper calls on him to use his newfound power to foster more transparency in the Senate.* The White State Senate Majority | The Barkan Report: * Judge grinding through Amedore-Tkaczyk ballots * The JCOPE Conundrum(YNN) * The legal fight over which ballots should be counted in the 46th Senate District race continues to slowly move along. * The Senate Democrats called the IDC-GOP coalition “bizarre” and an experiment that “isn’t going to work.”  They want Cuomo to “step in.” * Members of the Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club think Sen. Jeff Klein went back on his word to them by forming an alliance with the Republicans.


 
New Bronx Bomber

Meet the Bronx's Most Powerful Boss Since Stanly Freedman Who Nobody Knows

Joseph J. Savino, The boss Who Has No Elected Officials

He the Powerbroker that Put Together the Skelos Klien Deal

He the Guy who Help Pick the GOP Candidate Against the Democtatic Candidate who Wins the Mayoral Primary

Pushing Endorsements Over Issues, Can A Manhattan BP Race About Nothing Win?


Former Community Board 1 Chair Julie Menin is a first-time candidate, but she certainly isn’t running like one. Before even announcing her candidacy for Manhattan Borough President she maxed out on fundraising, and yesterday at City Hall when she did formally declare her intention to succeed Scott Stringer, who is running for comptroller instead of reelection, Menin simultaneously unveiled a list of no less than 216 endorsements. 
The endorsements, which were broken down geographically into “East Side,” “West Side,” “Uptown” and “Lower Manhattan,” include a wide array of community activists, district leaders, state committee members, community board chairs, and prominent New Yorkers, including Tim & Nina Zagat, Geraldine Laybourne, the founder and former chair of Oxygen Media and Patricia Duff, founder and CEO of The Common Good. Though it was not stated in the release, the list was also a tacit jab at Menin’s probable opponents as it included a host of neighborhood leaders from districts represented by Councilmembers Jessica Lappin, Robert Jackson and Gale Brewer, all of whom are also vying for the borough’s top job.


Can anyone slow Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer? He picked up the endorsement of SEIU 32BJ for his comptroller bid and more labor is surely to come. We heard a rumor that the Working Families Party will soon arrive on his doorstep too, and reached for a response, a WFP spokesman said, “We have a process and our leaders haven’t voted yet, but obviously WFP and our allies have a long history with him.”


$50 Billion Far Short of the $80 Billion Needed

Short Changed?
Will the Unpaid Sandy Debt Force NY into A Recession?
Obama plans to ask Congress for between $45 and $55 billion in federal disaster aid for the states affected by Hurricane Sandy, well short of the $82 billion sought by New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut *
The hit to New York if there’s no fiscal cliff deal would be $43 billion, according to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.* RT @CapitalTonight: Cuomo says he spoke with President Obama today by phone on the supplemental aid request.


Did WH Leak $50 Billion to Test Pushback?

Obama’s Storm-Aid Bid to Be About $50 Billion(NYT) The request for hurricane relief could get tangled in the fight between the president and Republicans in Congress over future tax rates. * Cuomo: Reports On Lowered White House Request For Sandy Aid Are "Premature"(NY1) * The Cuomo-appointed Moreland Commission will meet for the first time today to discuss the power failures wrought by Hurricane Sandy and how the utility companies addressed them, the Syracuse Post-Standard writes * Lawmakers Refuse To Comment On Whether 

Feds Will Provide Enough Sandy Aid (NY1) * The News writes that the amount of money being floated for federal disaster aid to the tri-state area by President Obama is not nearly enough *  Chris Christie heads to Washington to push for Sandy ai(WABC) *  New York elected officials condemned reports that the Obama administration will seek $50 billion in disaster aid from Congress – far less than the combined $80 billion the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are seeking.*  HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan insisted the administration does not have a specific disaster relief number yet. * DiNapoli: Going Off The Fiscal Cliff Will Cost $43B In Taxes(YNN) * NJ Gov. Chris Christie heads to Washington to make plea for Sandy aid | * Mayor Bloomberg is pressuring Verizon to restore phone service to many Manhattan office buildings.* Mayor Announces Plans to Protect City From Natural Disasters(NYT) * State Thruway officials are now looking at all alternatives to a 45 percent toll increase on trucks, and they are not ruling out a broader increase that will also hit passenger cars.*Former VP Al Gore was the surprise guest at Bloomberg’s “where do we go post-Sandy” speech this morning.

• 
  

  Courtney Gross At #balcony, @JohnCLiu says city will permanently lose 1 billion -- total loss to economy is 5 billion #nyc #ny1sandy

Storm Grants to Aid Firms in Chinatown(WSJ) Chinatown didn't sustain much visible damage from Sandy, but the storm could nonetheless deal a final blow to some restaurants and shops that were already struggling* Officials Concerned About Air Quality In Rockaway Homes(NY1) * Town Hall Held For Queens Residents Affected By Sandy(NY1) * Residents In Zones B And C Still Dealing With Problems Caused By Sandy(NY1) * Bridge tolls into Rockaway irk volunteers(NYDN) * Frustrated Superstorm Sandy Victims Seek Answers In Belle (WCBS) * Mayor Bloomberg Discusses City's Future Following Sandy(NY1) * Bloomberg Announces Plans to Protect New York From Natural Disasters(NYT)* Building Inspectors Have Second Thoughts About Some Condemned S.I. Homes (NY1)

* Theft Increases Reported In Several City Areas Hit Hard By Sandy * NYC Storm Preparation: Mayor Bloomberg Announces Plans For City's Next Natural Disaster(Huff Post) * Thermostat games (New York World)  As temperatures drop, victims of Sandy are not the only cold New Yorkers * Bloomberg met with small business owners in Lower Manhattan. [Alan Neuhauser]b

Boss Seddio Spends $300,000 on Christmas Lights When Thousands of Sandy Victims Remain Homeless in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Democratic Party Boss Planning $300,000 Christmas Extravaganza(NYO)

 

Citibank to Layoff 1700 in NYC

Citigroup Plans to Lay Off 11,000 Employees in Financial Crisis - PBS * State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in a report that New Yorkers would suffer a $43 billion hit in payroll and income taxes if the federal government is unable to avoid the fiscal cliff, including $609 million in spending cuts, the Times-Union writes:  *Superstorm Sandy Slows Job Growth, ADP Says(WSJ)

Will NYC Go Off the Teacher Evaluation Cliff and Lose $350M 

Schools boss $$ scold(NYT) New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott warned that city schools will face deep cuts if a deal isn’t reached with the union on a new teacher-evaluation system by a December 21^st deadline * Deep cuts loom for schools if teachers nix ratings(NYDN) *Mulgrew vs. the kids(NYDN Ed)

More Education Quotas at Brooklyn elementary school(NYDN) * School choice in Brownsville? Only one A-rated schoo(NYDN)

The pay-to-play state pension fund scandal came to an end when Saul Meyer was sentenced yesterday. He was the eighth and final person to be sentenced under criminal charges brought during the probe started by then-AG Cuomo in 2007. *  End Of Pension Fund Scandal Probe Has Gov. Cuomo Feeling Victorious

Emergency at the emergency room(New York World)Superstorm Sandy left Beth Israel Hospital with the only ER in a three-mile radius of densely populated Manhattan — and so many incoming patients it's stashing them in hallways, detox rooms and anywhere else it can fit them.

Accused subway pusher hit with slay rap, says Ki Suk Han attacked him(NYP) * Murder Charge in Subway Push(WSJ) * Police: Suspect In Fatal Subway Push Charged With Murde (WCBS) * An amazing, almost-forgotten story of subway heroism. [Tom McGeveran]* Remembering the Helping Hands of a Subway Hero(NYT)


Subway wife wants 1 last ‘I love you’

Subway wife wants 1 last ‘I love you’(NYP) * As Victim’s Family Grieves, Suspect Is Charged in Subway Killing(NYT) * Family, Friends Mourn Loss Of Man Pushed To Death In Front Of Subway(NY1) * Relatives and friends remember subway-push victim at Queens funeral(NYP) * Funeral Held For Man Pushed In Front Of Subway Train




New York has dropped in the national ranking of anti-smoking programs. It was once fifth, but is now 21st.

In Changing Harlem, a Mosque Struggles to Pay Rent (NYT) Monthly rent for the Masjid Aqsa was $4,000 a few years ago; now, the imam says, the landlord wants $18,000.

 The state Thruway Authority is slated to select a winner of the three proposed designs for the new Tappan Zee Bridge on December 17th, with the most inexpensive proposal priced at roughly $3.14 billion, the Times-Union writes: http://bit.ly/11Yfchh * NY could break ground on bridge across Tappan Zee as soon (NYDN)  *  The state could break ground on a much-needed replacement for the aging Tappan Zee Bridge as soon as early next year.* A state advisory board favors a $3.14 billion plan, the least costly of three options, to replace the Tappan Zee. A final decision will be made by the state Thruway Authority on Dec. 17.
 
 Poor Wages Vs Cheap Food and Clothes - No Winners

In the Post, Michael Saltsman, a research fellow at the Employment Policies Institute, writes that if fast food workers succeed in doubling their base wage, it would result in higher prices for fast food or fewer employees at restaurants*  After last week's fast food worker's strike gained national attention, low-wage workers from a variety of industries plan to keep the pressure on their employers by rallying this afternoon in Times Square for better wages and working conditions, as well as calling for an end to the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. The workers will be joined by Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio – both prospective mayoral candidates – as well as labor groups and community advocates. "This is a movement that has arisen because workers are tired of working long hours for little pay, no benefits, and no respect," said Camille Rivera, executive director for the advocacy group UnitedNY. "This is also a movement that will continue as long as corporations like McDonald's are allowed to pay their CEO millions while workers must rely on minimum wage, as long as car wash owners can steal workers’ wages, and as long as corporations like Walmart can refuse workers the ability to collectively fight for their rights."

Yes, The Bronx Has An Official Historian(Huff Post)

Pols supportive of MLS dog-and-pony show(Queens Crap)

Major League Soccer presented a plan for a 25,000-seat stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park at a town hall meeting in Queens, with the hope of beginning construction in 2014, the Times reports: http://nyti.ms/VHby81 * Supporters pack soccer stadium meeting(NYDN)






Spring Bank to open Monday in Harlem strives to serve underbanked (NYDN) 

Newspaper Born of a Fire Is Back in Ink After a Storm(NYT) The Wave, the weekly newspaper of the Rockaways, stopped publishing for the first time in its 119-year history because of Hurricane Sandy, but it is slowly recovering.



Washington

Is the NYT Trying to Help Boehiner Against His Tea Party Members? Boehner Gains Strong Backing From House Republicans(NYT) *
A new Q poll finds American voters give President Obama a 53-40 percent job approval rating – his best score in three years – and by a wider 53-36 percent they trust the president and Democrats more than Republicans to avoid the fiscal cliff.* The Republican Anti-Tax Maginot Line(NY Mag)
WH's Refusal to Deal Paving Way for Deal - Jonathan Chait, NY Magazine
A Manufactured Crisis to Grow Government - George Will, Washington Post
Let's Increase the Economy's Speed Limit - Jared Bernstein, New York Times

The Bad Outlook for the Working-Class Man - Jonathan Rauch, Natl Jrnl
Birthrate Is Falling. Will Economy Follow? - Megan McArdle, Daily Beast
Jihadi Forces in Libya Got U.S.-Approved Arms - Risen & Mazzetti, NYT
Tanks Deployed in Egypt After Night of Clashes - Holly Williams, CBS News
Republicans Renew Focus on Poverty - Scott Conroy, RealClearPolitics
The Opening for a Fresh ObamaCare Challenge - Rivkin & Casey, WSJ
Health Care Is Where the Real Action Lies - Kevin Drum, Mother Jones
Neither Party Is Serious About Spending - Michael Tanner, National Review
The Blue Civil War Is Coming - Walter Russell Mead, The American Interest
Inside the Koch Empire - Daniel Fisher, Forbes
Rubio, Republicans Must Stop Denying Science - Beth Reinhard, Natl Jrnl
The Folly of Scientism - Austin Hughes, The New Atlantis
President Obama's Ruinous Course - Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal
Obama Shouldn't Negotiate Over the Debt Ceiling - Noam Scheiber, TNR

Let's Not Make a Deal(NY Mag) Obama's refusal to compromise on the fiscal cliff actually helps him reach a solution.

Now They Tell Us Economy Is Weak? - Investor's Business Daily
Why Warren Buffett Should Pay More Taxes - Bloomberg
Crass Warfare by Teachers' Union - San Francisco Chronicle
Is Obama Preparing to Intervene in Syria? - Christian Science Monitor
Jim DeMint is resigning from the Senate, will lead @Heritage
Obama data director, in the NYT: "I am not Big Brother."(NYT)
DeMint Will Leave Senate to Run the Heritage Foundation(NYT)
Obama’s Tax Plan Would Spare Many Affluent Families(NYT)

Santorum Strikes Again(NYT) * Race to the Bottom(NYT Ed) States should invest in public services and education, not subsidize big business by giving them billions a year in tax breaks.

Clinton to Discuss Syrian Conflict With Russian Counterpart(NYT) * U.S., Russia to Meet on Syria(WSJ)

‘Forgotten in Iraq’ (NYT) Kirk Johnson, a former U.S.A.I.D. employee, struggles to help resettle Iraqis whose lives are in danger because of their loyalty to the United States. Is President Obama to blame?


Bill Clinton insists he doesn’t know if his wife will run for president again in 2016, but adds: “If I did know, I wouldn’t tell you.”  

Stewart Rips GOP: ‘They Hate The United Nations More Than They Like Helping People In Wheelchairs’

 Guns Control
Bill O’Reilly Confronts Bob Costas Over Gun Control Comments: People Own Guns To Feel Safe
Piers Morgan Lambasted On Twitter By Carol Roth Re: Gun Control; She Comes On Show And Battle Ensues

 

 Law and Order

Jewsy Juice(NYP) He’s known as the Juice, but it ain’t because he’s O.J.
The Hasidic man (pictured, yesterday) who legally changed his name to Lemon Juice did it on a whim after he was razzed for his bizarre yellow-blond hair, his friends said yesterday. “Some random kid called him ‘lemon juice,’ he liked it, so it stuck,” said Joel Neuwirth, 22, explaining the acidic moniker of his friend — who’s one of the three Hasidic brutes accused of secretly photographing an alleged sex-abuse victim in court.


Weberman Non Profit Slush Fund
Perv-case hasid blow$ defense(NYP) A Hasdic leader, on trial for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl, took the stand in his own defense yesterday — and ended up admitting that he raided his community nonprofit to pay for everything from his kid’s tuition to frilly lingerie. Leaving himself vulnerable to a barrels-loaded cross-examination by Brooklyn prosecutors, accused child molester Nechemya Weberman denied sexually abusing a Williamsburg girl who had been sent to him for counseling sessions from the age of 12 to 15.* Hasidic Man Denies Abuse of Young Girl He Counseled(NYT) * Defendant Takes Stand in Orthodox Abuse Trial(WSJ)
* Molloy: Weberman courtroom resembles nightclub(NYDN)


Federal prosecutors are worried that former Yonkers Councilwoman Sandy Annabi will skip town before starting her six-year prison sentence and want her grounded. 

Says she'll name exec on Dr. Phil episode(NYP) * Madam set to name NFL big(NYP) * NY madam: black book will interest sports fans(WSJ) * NY madam: Black book will interest sports fans(Fox 5)




Throw ’book at ’em (NYP) Forget social media — these alleged gangsters were big into anti-social media. Members of a violent Bronx drug and gun gang used Facebook to recruit new members, and boasted of their exploits in Instagram posts and YouTube videos

Armed ‘Dead’ fan: Apocalypse POW!(NYP)

Courtlandt Ave. Crew plagued housing projects(NYDN)

West Bronx bodegas held up; cops hunting suspects(NYDN)

Drifter says: Grabby cabbie drove me to it(NYDN)


NYC doctor charged with manslaughter in OD deaths(NYP)



Jurors reach verdict in trial of http://www.blogger.com

Cop-kill bill: $1M (NYP) The bill submitted by the taxpayer-funded legal team trying to keep a convicted double cop killer from being executed is approaching $1 million 

 Tranny model faces off against firefighter ex-boyfriend in sex-assault trial(NYP)

Inspector of Day Care Centers Gets 2½ Years in Bribetaking Case(NYT) * Jail for rogue inspector(NYDN) * Cold-Case Suspect Accused(WSJ) * NYPD: Man threw blunt object at bus in East Harlem(WSJ) * Cops: Man Hurls Objects At MTA Bus In East Harlem Road Rage (WCBS) * Driver Throws Object at MTA Bus Driver in Road Rage: Po(NBC) *Jamaica Bay skeleton find(NYP) *  Mount Vernon monster admits to 3 slays: cops(NYP) * Husband Arraigned in Stabbing Death of NYC Teacher(NBC)
TSA screener caught stealing iPads in JFK sting(WABC)

"Community Guns" Make it Harder to Catch Shooters: Cops(NBC)