City Council Eric Ulrich Got His Revenge on Queens GOP leader Charles Ragusa this week by knocking out Board of Election Commissioner Judith Stupp. Ulrich is mad at Ragusa for putting up a primary opponent Juan Reyes against him and not helping him in the general fix polling places in the storm damaged areas of his district to open. Those areas messed up on election day were the heart of Ulrich district.
Queens GOP Party Not Smart Enough to Save Their No Show Jobs and You Wonder Why the BOE is So Fuck Up
The way the revenge unfolded is another example of just how dumb Team Ragusa is. In short Ragusa, Vinny Tabone and BOE director of purchasing Robert Hornak did not file the reappointment papers for Stupp with the city council. Ulrich filed his own papers for his pick for Queens GOP commissioner Michael Michelle and got it passed right under the nose of Team Ragusa. Michelle was sworn in as BOE commissioner before Team Ragusa could get court papers to stop it. Ragusa appointees at the BOE including Hornak are in a panic that they will get fired. Phil Ragusa a family relative of the GOP leader, Robert Baltronie Jr., Maria Lynch, Gerald Bordello are all part of Team Ragusa whose jobs are in danger if Team Ragusa does not stop Michelle commissioner appointed. * NYC Board of Elections Gives Foreign Aid(Gotham Gazette)
A Mayor Candidate Buys Support With A Lawyer?
The buzz was last night that Mayor candidate John Catsimatidis sent over election lawyer Lawrence Mandelker to help Team Ragusa recapature its GOP commissionership chair. So now we have a candidate looking for GOP party leaders endorsements paying for a lawyer to save that party leaders ass. Team Ulrich which is also trying to dethrone Ragusa from his GOP Party Position is expected to back a candidates other than Catsimatidis in the GOP primary for mayor. Vinny Tabone is on the payroll of Catsimatidis' supermarkets.* John Catsimatidis Is All Over The Mayoral Race Like a Cheap Suit (NY Mag)
Mayoral Hopeful John Catsimatidis Vows to Be a Leader ‘For Harlem and for Wall Street’(NYO) * John Catsimatidis: ‘I’m Not a Mike Bloomberg Billionaire’(NYO) * Catsimatidis Says He Will Enter Race for Mayor(NYT)* Catsimatidis first of NYC GOP mayoral hopefuls to reference "La Cage Aux Folles" in announcement: (NYDN)* John Catsimatidis: "I Am What I Am," And I'm Running For Mayor (NYDN) * kicks off mayoral campaign, pledges to bring back World's Fair * Catsimatidis, Owner of Gristedes, Announces Mayoral Run(NYDN) * Seeing the NYT article on Catsimatdis, one wonders why they needed 3 reporters to cover his announcement. * NY1 Online: Catsimatidis Makes Case For Mayor * John A. Catsimatidis Runs for Mayor * Billionaire Candidate One-Ups Mayor, Says He'll Work for 99 Cents a Year - http://DNAinfo.com New York
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Campaign 2013
John Liu Political Life Goes On Trial
Solicitations by Liu Aide Will Be Focus in Fraud Case(NYT) RT @davidwchen Fed prosecutor says jury in @JohnCLiu campaign $ trial could "infer that their actions were coordinated” .@JohncLiu aide "is expected to testify for the government under an order of immunity...The aide, Sharon Lee, who once served as press secretary for the
comptroller’s office, is expected to testify for the government under an
order of immunity at the trial next week of Mr. Liu’s former campaign
treasurer, Jia Hou, a federal prosecutor said in court.
Quinn Sucks: ‘I Vant to Have Your Vote’
Mayoral Candidates Line Up to Slam Bloomberg Budget(NYO)
Hunter Walker follows NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s marathon first day on the campaign trail as an official mayoral contender.
Rummer has it that Weiner is seriously considering a run against Stringer for Comptroller...* Weiner probing possibility of political run(NYP) * Anthony Weiner Might Be Making His Political Comeback Even More Difficult (NY Mag)* An anonymous pollster is calling voters in New York City listing former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s name among the candidates in a hypothetical five-way primary for mayor, raising speculation of a political comeback for Weiner, the New York Daily News reports: * DN &
Candidate sues six opponents in Council District 31 rac(NYDN)After being re-elected two months ago, GOP Rep. Michael Grimm is now facing two potential Democratic challengers in 2014: Former Rep. Michael McMahon and NYC Councilman Domenic Recchie.
Thrill Bill: Thompson Is Ready to Bust Out of His Boring Brand ‘Bit by Bit’(NYO) by “We can get him to drop some F-bombs if you want,” he said. “If that’s going to make your story better. “It was less about a political background than it was public service. My
mother was a public school teacher,” he said of a youth spent in
Bedford-Stuyvesant in the 1950s and ’60s.(All that is missing from Thompson talk about his family is the de blasio type picture in front of his house with his kid with the Afro) The entire article does not mention one issues that Thompson would push for. It is a pep talk about how he is unenthused and inactive. A lot of inside baseball horse race crap about the 2009 campaign and how he has been able to raise $1million in the last filing. The whole article by Mr. Campbell is more an attempt by Sheinkopf to show Thompson that he was doing a good job rather than attempt to win votes to Thompson showing how he differs on the issues
The “Manhattan Madam,” otherwise known as Kristin Davis, is moving forward with her mayoral campaign. “In some ways I hope my candidacy is like that of William F. Buckley Jr. who ran for Mayor as the Conservative Party candidate in 1965,” she explained. “Buckley knew he wouldn’t win but he used the opportunity to push a set of ideas that would eventually take root under President Ronald Reagan.”
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Sandy Update
3 Months After Congress Passes Sandy $$$
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Bloomberg Asses and Balls
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NYS Government
Pension Opposition
Comptroller Criticizes Cuomo’s Plan to Cut Pension Costs(NYT)In a statement, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office said it had “serious concerns” about Cuomo’s plan to allow municipalities to defer their pension costs, which could scuttle the plan, as it needs DiNapoli’s approval* In the Times-Union, EJ McMahon of the Manhattan Institute outlines the problems with Cuomo’s plan to give counties, municipalities, and school districts the ability to reduce pension contributions: * More opposition to Cuomo’s proposed pension smoothing plan. * EJ McMahon (surprisingly) sides with the state’s largest public employees union against the smoothing plan, which he calls a “threat to pension solvency.”* State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli followed Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner’s lead and publicly took issue with the governor’s pension plan – a move the NYT’s Danny Hakim says could “doom” it.* Cuomo Dings DiNapoli (Updated)(YNN) * The state Teacher’s Retirement System is taking a wait-and-see approach on Cuomo’spension smoothing plan.
Minimum Wage
The Cuomo administration is set to soon release long-awaited housing regulations it says will help slow down the deregulation of apartments.
Gambling
Sen. John Bonacic said he expects groups to spend “heavy money” fighting Cuomo’s plan to expand casino gaming in the state and potentially bring casinos to the Catskills. (Subscription). *Silver: Legislature Needs A Role In Casino Siting(YNN) * The governor’s picks for the Gaming Commission have surfaced, but the agency’s seven-member board of directors will not be in place when its lights are officially turned on Feb. 1.
MEET THE NEW STATE LAWMAKERS: The Assembly this year welcomed 23 new members, 16 of whom are Democrats. Nine new members joined the state Senate, among them six Democrats, two Republicans and one Dem who is caucusing with the GOP(City and State)
Cuomo leaves the left behind
Women's Rights
Skelos Firmly Against ‘Radical’ RHA(YNN) * Stewart-Cousins Hopes For Bipartisan Support On RHA, Women’s Equality(YNN) * State Senate GOP Calls Proposed Abortion Rights Expansion Extreme(WCBS)
Budget
Both houses of the Legislature have issued their analyses of Cuomo’s $142 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year starting in April. Not surprisingly, the Senate’s assessment is more critical.* The Assembly voted to renew a popular NYC property-tax abatement and tax-exemption program that expired in 2011, but changed the law to allow only primary residences to participate. (The Senate already acted, and the measure heads to the governor’s desk).
JCOPE
An apparent technical glitch allowed the first glimpse into JCOPE’s frequent closed-door meetings, revealing a private discussion among commissioners about when and whether they should recuse themselves from cases.* Disembodied voice of JCOPE commissioner: “I think this is a good lesson, if we want to recuse ourselves, we ought to recuse ourselves. If we are not going to recuse ourselves, the less said the better.”
Budget
Both houses of the Legislature have issued their analyses of Cuomo’s $142 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year starting in April. Not surprisingly, the Senate’s assessment is more critical.* The Assembly voted to renew a popular NYC property-tax abatement and tax-exemption program that expired in 2011, but changed the law to allow only primary residences to participate. (The Senate already acted, and the measure heads to the governor’s desk).
JCOPE
An apparent technical glitch allowed the first glimpse into JCOPE’s frequent closed-door meetings, revealing a private discussion among commissioners about when and whether they should recuse themselves from cases.* Disembodied voice of JCOPE commissioner: “I think this is a good lesson, if we want to recuse ourselves, we ought to recuse ourselves. If we are not going to recuse ourselves, the less said the better.”
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Education
Mike bares UFT’s $1B blow to city(NYP) * Bloomberg Asks for Legislature’s Help in Teacher Evaluation Fight(NYT) * Mayor Michael Bloomberg appealed to
the state Legislature to restore the state education funding that was
wiped out by the failure of New York City to reach an agreement with the
teacher’s union over an evaluation system. A testy Bloomberg urged lawmakers not to hold school funding hostage to union “obstructionism” on teacher evaluations.* For Mayor, A+ in Spanish Is Still on the Horizonte(NYT)
The Wall Street Journal writes *Mayor Warns of School Cuts(WSJ) * School Closures Challenged(WSJ) The U.S. Department of Education will investigate a claim that the Bloomberg administration's plan to close 26 low-performing public schools this year discriminates against minority and special-education students.*Mayor Blasts State Lawmakers On Teacher Evaluation Fallout(NY1)
*
"Streamlined enrollment process" for kindergarten stude (NYDN)
School Labor pain
(NYP) He’s in the union. That’s why! It makes sense that teacher Aryeh
Eller collected nearly $1 million for doing almost nothing over 13
years, his brother said. “What do you expect? He’s union,”* Top principal among 100 named in ‘cheat’ probes(NYP)
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MTA
MTA eyes alarm system to prevent track deaths(NYP)* M.T.A. Cites $1 Billion Cost to Install Gates on Subway Platforms(NYT)* Track Deaths Rare One person was struck by a train for every 11.8 million
riders who passed through turnstiles and into the New York City subway
system last year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis*
Alarm bells on platforms?(NYDN)* To Prevent More Deaths, MTA Considers Laser Sensors(Huff Post) * Alleged subway pusher's attorney says she's unstable (NYP)
MTA delays replacement of MetroCard(NYDN)
Rider to the rescue after bus driver passes out on UES * MTA Driver Faints Right Before He Crashes Bus On Upper East Side(NY1) * 25 Hurt In Upper East Side Bus Crash After Driver Passes (WCBS) ____________________________________________________________________________________
NYC Government
Forest City Ratner gets Brooklyn Heights tax break(NYDN)Forest
City Ratner is Brooklyn's tax chop champ - despite dropping an appeal
on its shiny new arena. The Tax Commission shaved off $7.8 million of
the assessed value of a separate Brooklyn Heights office
Final Budget
Bloomberg unveils $70B budget plan for city(NYP) * Bloomberg Seeks Savings, but No Tax Increases(NYT) * Mayor Bloomberg proposed
a $70.1 billion budget for fiscal 2014 – his last in office - that
closes a $1.1 billion deficit without tax hikes or layoffs. (Read the summary here).* Mayor's Final Budget Balanced Despite State Funding Dent(NY1) * New city budget would cut 2,500 teaching jobs(NYDN) * Bloomberg Unveils $70B Budget Plan, Says It Doesn’t Include(WCBS) * NYC fiscal year 2014 budget: No layoffs or new taxes, but (SI Advance) * DOE Has Plan To Cut From Current Budget In Wake Of Failed Evaluation Deal (NY1) * Bloomberg on ed budget cuts: "The suffering that we will go through is more than worth it" for good teacher eval deal * NY1 Online: City Budget Director And
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Health Care
Exclusive: Long Island College Hospital losing money at ‘excessive rate,’ SUNY official Carl McCall says (NYDN) In first interview McCall says SUNY Downstate's purchstate of LICH was not "a sound acquisition."*
Rescuer Appears for New York Downtown Hospital (NYT)(Fox 5)3
Westchester Square community upset at fate of hospital(NYDN)- 9/11 Health Compensation Fund Makes First Payouts(NYT)
Back in hospital, after returning home over the weekend
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Traffic
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No Murders
10 Days Murder Free NYC
The Post writes that New York City’s 10-day stretch without a homicide reflects the great work of the city’s police department, especially given other cities’ difficulties with crime
NYC’s murder freeze
(NYP) Murder took a break last week — New York enjoyed a 10-day stretch. So far this January, Chicago has suffered 41 murders to New York’s 21,
even though the Second City has less than a third of New York’s
population.* In the Times-Union, Steve Cohen, a former secretary to Cuomo, writes that he is proud of the governor’s leadership in passing the SAFE Act expanding New York’s gun control laws:*
Suit: No body heat scanners!(NYDN)More on Guns
Sandy Hook Parents’ Testimony to Legislature Reflects Divide on Guns * For Newtown Police, Reliving a Massacre(NYT) * And in Last Week’s Gun News ...(NYT) * Gun Hearing In Hartford Stirs Debate(WSJ) * Gunmakers Push Back in Connecticut (WSJ) “One look, and your life was absolutely changed,” said one of the first police officers to respond to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Law enforcement officials are still trying to recover from the massacre.* Cuomo Predicts Lower Poll Numbers After New Gun Laws(NYO) * Handguns are still a bigger threat than assault rifles(Daily Beast) * Bloomberg has just retained three Republican lobbyists to press Congress on new gun control measures. (One is also working on the mayor’s immigration reform push).* Why the assault weapons ban is (probably) dead on arrival (Wash Post) * Nerf Gun Prompts Bronx School Evacuation: Police(NBC) * The gun buyback program has netted 2,500 firearms in Brooklyn since the program started in 2008 * NY Rifle And Pistol Association Files Notice Of Claim * Gun Rights Backers, Stung by Cuomo’s Law, Push to Undo It(NYT)
* Congress Takes Up Gun Violence (NYT Ed) There are many good proposals on gun control, which should be debated and voted on in full public view.
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Who Owns Grand Central
Grand Central’s Flesh-and-Blood Landlord(NYT)
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Washington
Is there an precedent for Rubio, a sophomore Senator, playing such a totally central role on a totally key policy issue? * Obama to announce his immigration reform plan, said to be more liberal than Senate effort (Wash Post) * Obama Hails Bipartisan Plan to Overhaul Immigration(NYT) * President Barack Obama largely backed Senate efforts to bring about comprehensive immigration reform, but departed from the framework in some key ways.* Obama praises bipartisan Senate immigration reform plan in campaign style speech(NYP) * McCain offers general praise for Obama's immigration speech(Wash Post)
Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved John Kerry to be next Secretary of State(NYP) * John Kerry Confirmed As Secretary of State Whether the South Likes It or Not(NY Mag) * John Kerry was confirmed as secretary of state in a 94-3 vote. Not even a month after being sworn in, Elizabeth Warren is senior senator from Massachusetts.* Newly confirmed as secretary of state, Kerry to resign from Senate on Friday:(Politico)
The GOP Must Lead (Again) on Civil Rights - Cliff Asness, The AmericanObama, FDR and the Second Bill of Rights - Cass Sunstein, Bloomberg
The Bailouts That Never End - David Harsanyi, Human Events
Marco Rubio's Immigration Reality Show - Dana Milbank, Washington Post
Immigration Bills Take Shape. Can One Pass? - Caitlin Huey-Burns, RCP
The "Second-Term Blues" Have Begun - Gene Healy, Washington Examiner
GOP Lost in Its Own Wilderness - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Conservatives Should Snap Out Of It - James Taranto, Wall Street Journal
Republicans Will Never Attract Minorities - Michael Tomasky, Daily Beast
Obama: Skeet Shooter Among the Pigeons - Wes Pruden, Washington Times
Read My Lips: New Taxes - Leo Gerard, Huffington Post
Tax the Revolving Door - Glenn Harlan Reynolds, USA Today
Collective Action Is Overrated - Charles Lane, Washington Post
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey on Conscious Capitalism - Ira Stoll, Reason
With Weak Case, Hillary Shouts Louder - Thomas Sowell, Investor's Biz Dly
Why Clinton & Biden Won't Run in 2016 - Jill Lawrence, National Journal
60 Minutes, Obama & Softball Journalism - Brit Hume, FOX News
Immigration Plan: Bordering on Consensus - Chicago Tribune
United States Should Lead on Climate Change - Kansas City Star
Illinois's Downgrade Makes It America's Greece - Investor's Business Daily
Treasury Gets a Citibanker - Wall Street Journal
DOD eyes potential drone base in Africa:(Politico)
Hillary Clinton’s answer to the 2016 question has changed over time, evolving from a flat-out denial to evasion.
No Pay? Many Lawmakers Would Feel Little Pain(NYT)
As she exits government – for now – Hillary Clinton tells Andrea Mitchell she’s ‘healthy enough…to do whatever I choose to do’...
Obama's 2nd Term: The Permanent Campaign - Molly Ball, The Atlantic
The GOP Establishment Is Destroying the Republican Party - Mark Levin
The Rising Progressive Tide - Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post
Obama's "Second-Term Blues" Have Begun - Gene Healy, DC Examiner
GOP Won't Win Latinos w/Immigration Reform - Harry Enten, Guardian
Cesar Chavez's Immigration Legacy - Ben Domenech, The Transom
He's Done Something to the Jews! - Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
Raddatz, Kroft: Voluntary Tools of the State - John Nolte, Big Journalism
How to Fix the Debt Without a Grand Bargain - Will Marshall, Politico
Can Cory Booker Keep It Together? - Ruby Cramer, BuzzFeed
Stop the Anti-Gun Bullying, Mayor Emanuel - Senator Ted Cruz
Michael Bloomberg: Joe Biden has ‘set of balls’ -(Politico)
O'Reilly Confronts Colin Powell In Wide-Ranging Interview On Obama And GOP's Racial Politics (VIDEO)
Hillary Clinton Talks Benghazi With Greta Van Susteren In All-Encompassing Foreign Policy Interview (VIDEO)
Senate GOP raises eyebrows at Gang of Eight plan(Politico)
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Wall Street
Charles Gasparino(NYP)The perils of Mary Jo(NYP)
In 'Occupy,’ Well-Educated Professionals Far Outnumbered Jobless, Study Finds(NYT)
U.S. Wants Criminal Charges for RBS(WSJ)
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Media
Furor Over Cartoon After Murdoch Apology(NYT)Rupert Murdoch apologises for a "grotesque, offensive cartoon" by Gerald Scarfe in the Sunday Times, that brought complaints of anti-Semitism.* Murdoch apologizes for Sunday Times' Netanyahu cartoon
NY Times: layoffs not as bad as expected
SHOCK & AWE AT CNN; HEADS ROLL...
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Environment
Officials: Toxic Canal Likely Didn't Kill Dolphin
* With a regulatory deadline for the state’s proposed hydrofracking regulations less than a month away, state Health Commissioner Nirav Shah is staying mum on his agency’s analysis of the potential health impacts.____________________________________________________________________________________
Law and Order
Cop-killer chase: Sobbing partner relives hunt for gunman
(NYP) A tough Brooklyn detective broke down yesterday — his words and tears
silencing a packed courtroom — as he described chasing down a suspected
cop-killer only to return to the crime scene and find his partner dying
from a gunshot wound to the face.
* Policeman Recounts In Court How Alleged Robbers Killed His Partner In 2011 (NY1)* Cop gets weepy testifying vs. partner’s alleged killer(NYDN) * Finding Officer Describes Finding Body In Alleged Cop Killers’(WCBS)
Violent Harlem 'elevator mug' thug busted on NJ bus(NYP) * Man Arrested in East Harlem Attacks on Asians(NYT) * Suspect Arrested in Elevator Robberies(NBC) 
Man found dead in puzzling scene in Harlem(NYDN)* Bound disabled man dead(NYP) *
Police probe NYC man's death as homicide(Fox 5)
NY man admits killing estranged wife's boyfriend(Fox 5)
Oh no? Cabby-bashing socialite vows in vain: 'My picture is NOT going to run in The Post!'(NYP)Stupid thief in ‘slip’-up(NYP) Hey, rules are rules. A Long Island bank teller foiled a would-be robber — when she coolly refused to hand over any cash without a withdrawal slip..
Greenwich Village 'Bomb Dad' pleads not guilty, just a 'pathetic junkie': defense lawyer(NYP)
Departure of one of Rockaway’s NYPD top brass rankles civic (NYDN)Violent parolee sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering Brooklyn liquor-store clerk(NYP)
NYC Man Allegedly Admitted To Preparing Bomb Materials(Huff Post)
B'klyn school janitor convicted of rape & sex assault for attack on eighth-grade girl(NYP)
Ex-Janitor Convicted of Raping Girl in School Basement Repeatedly(NYT)
No suspects after shot is fired at MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn, police report. (Daily Eagle)
'Fake lawyer' arraigned after allegedly representing clients (NYP)
Violent parolee sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering(WCBS)
Woman wakes up at hospital with man groping her(WABC)
Brooklyn janitor convicted of raping 8th grader(Fox 5)
Bound Harlem Man May Have Died from Beating: Sources(NBC)
Images Complicate Jury Selection in Cannibalism Case(NYT)
