Scary, very scary(NYDN Ed)
Seven candidates appeared at the third of the mayoral forums sponsored by the Daily News and the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation citizens group. The topic was public safety. All were advised to come prepared to explain how he or she would hold the line on crime or drive it still lower — the central duty of any mayor. All were given the opportunity to present their three most important strategies. Not one of them was convincing or spoke with a semblance of coherence or authority.* The newspaper that co-hosted a mayoral candidate forum on public safety wasn't impressed with any of the candidates' answers. [Daily News]
Michael Powell
NYP: Pinata Quinn 
State Budget
Cuomo's Budget Dance: Business Leaders and Liberals Are Upset
The Senate convened for a rare
afternoon session to consider parts of the state’s $135.1 billion
budget, with several senators grumbling after the Assembly Democrats
postponed their planned Sunday session until Thursday, the Times-Union reports: *Early Budget Seems Unlikely For Albany As State Senate Begins Voting Process(NY1)* The Senate held a fairly short session yesterday – Palm Sunday – and passed three budget bills, but has to wait to take up the rest until they’re negotiated and printed.* Tom Precious writes:
“One has to wonder, given the strangeness of how this process is
playing out during what was to be a vacation week for lawmakers: how
many legislators have non-refundable travel tickets?”* Midnight Budget Voting Planned(YNN)Liberals Dems Upset The liberal wing of the State Legislature has expressed its displeasure with Senate co-leader Jeff Klein for caving on numerous progressive issues in the state budget, namely the DREAM Act
Albany Dems divided as left rips party(NYDN)Business Leaders Budget Anti-Business
Gov faking care of business, execs fume(Dicker, NYP) Key business leaders are privately portraying Gov. Cuomo’s widely panned state budget as a bitter betrayal of two years of promises to reverse New York’s longstanding anti-business reputation. “In a single stroke, Cuomo has reversed all he claimed to be doing during his first two years to make this state at least a little friendly to the private sector,’’ said a leading business official who, like several others, demanded anonymity for fear of the governor’s political retaliation. “He’s handed the state back to [spendthrift Assembly Speaker Sheldon] Silver,’’ the source continued.The word “temporary” is fungible when it comes to enacting tax policy in Albany.* "Temporary" taxes, surcharges and fees in Albany never seem to sunset. [Rick Karlin]* Dicker: Cuomo Boycotting Radio Show(YNN)
Energy Tax
Business leaders are infuriated that Cuomo refused to permit a scheduled drop in a “temporary’’ assessment on energy costs for all consumers to take effect, in effect a tax increase of more than $200 million a year.
No New Speed Cameras
Albany nixes speed cameras(NYP) The state budget will not include money for 40 "speed cameras" that city officials wanted to install near schools. [Erik Kriss]
Texting
The budget deal includes a minimum fine of $50 for drivers caught texting while driving. (There’s currently no minimum, only a maximum fine of $150).
Guns
An anonymous Cuomo administration source blames people connected to Mayor Bloomberg and the Brady Center for the flawed SAFE Act, saying they – not the governor’s staff – drafted most of the law. *Midnight Budget Voting Planned(YNN) * Schneiderman: SAFE Act Was Rushed, But Legal(YNN) * Governor Cuomo Blasts ‘Propaganda’ Lawsuit Against State Gun Law(NYO)
Wealthy Tax
Cuomo also went back on his word to end the “temporary’’ surcharge on wealthy taxpayers — which during his 2010 campaign he said was damaging the state’s ability to hold and attract corporate executives.
While business leaders weren’t surprised that Cuomo won approval for a costly minimum-wage hike — he’d pledged to do so for months — they were shocked he agreed with Silver (D-Manhattan) to hand out tax “rebate’’ checks of $350 or more to a million families when he’s up for re-election next year, at a cost of $370 million. “That’s one of the most blatantly political moves ever. Boss Tweed would have been proud,’’ said another prominent business leader.
Pay to Play Nominations
Cuomo nominated two top political donors for prestigious appointments, investor Henry Silverman for the Javits Center Operating Corp. board of directors, and Laura Aswad for another term on the State Council of the Arts, the Daily News learns
LICH Not Saved
SUNY Downstate Medical Center will not receive a bailout in the state budget, despite losing $8 million per month, closing Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn and requesting an infusion of $150 million to survive through the year, the Daily News writes: * The budget does not include a bailout for SUNY Downstate Medical Center, despite warnings it could close without assistance. SUNY officials are instead directed to come up with a restructuring plan by June.
Dream Act Missing
A number of the Legislature’s Latino members boycotted a Somos reception at the governor’s mansion Friday out of anger that the DREAM Act wasn’t in the budget. They’re not too happy with IDC leader Jeff Klein, either.
Fracking
The very pro-fracking NY Post agrees (!) with Cuomo that the industry must make a better case to the public on how drilling is safe.
Buffalo Bills Free Seats
The Post admonishes the Cuomo administration for purchasing a luxury suite for the Buffalo Bills,
comparing it to former Gov. David Paterson’s infamous acceptance of free
Yankees tickets:
How bad is it that former governor David Paterson accepted free Yankee
tickets if his successor worked out a deal to have luxury suite in the
new Buffalo Bills stadium? [New York Post]''Tonight
The so-called Jimmy Fallon law is included in the budget.
Ex-Bloomberg Albany lobbyist picked up by Schneiderman(NYDN)
________________________________________________________________________________
Campaign 2013
Eduardo Castell is out as CM for
Liu sweats out two campaign-fraud trials that could impact his public matching funds for mayoral race
$3.4M is Liu’s to lose(NYP)Operating largely under the radar, Comptroller John Liu has pulled off an amazing feat in the race for mayor by filing claims that would entitle him to $3.4 million in public matching funds. The $564,400 he has amassed for matching purposes is second only to the $637,038 rounded up by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who leads in the polls and has raised twice as much overall as her less successful rival.* On Up Close With Diana Williams yesterday, Comptroller John Liu sided with Mayor Michael Bloomberg over his inspector general fight with Council Speaker Christine Quinn. “I’m not sure what good that it would do. … I’ve said maybe it doesn’t hurt but I don’t think it achieves its purposes,” he argued. “The fact is, both of these people–whether it be the commissioner or the inspector general–they’re still answering to the mayor! If I were mayor I would just set the tone for the police and guard it vigorously and not have to rely on yet another person to police the police.”
Is the Liberal Party A Player Again?
Consultant Lynch Earning His $$$ With BS
Black Voters Present Test For Candidate(WSJ) The Wall Street Journal looked at Mr. Liu’s efforts to capture part of the black vote, making the case that the one black mayoral candidate, former Comptroller Bill Thompson,
doesn’t have a lock on the community. “The communities we’re trying to
mobilize don’t like that kind of stuff,” said Liu adviser Bill Lynch about the federal investigation into the candidate’s fund-raising. “If it turns out there’s nothing there, we will use that.”
NYC Public Advocate/mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio disciplined a campaign aide for her inappropriate Tweets.* A volunteer coordinator on Bill de Blasio's campaign was "told to suspend her use of social media" after her "foul-mouthed rants" about the NYPD and NAACP came to light. [Sally Goldenberg]
Albanese Stop and Frisk Plan
Former City Councilman Albanese supports the legalization of marijuana(NYP)* Sal Albanese, a former city councilman from Brooklyn and Democratic mayoral hopeful, recommended legalizing pot so people who are found with small amounts of it during stop-and-frisks won’t be arrested. McDonald Who Cannot Raise Money Will Take the City's Money
________________________________________________________________________________
Cuomo Book
________________________________________________________________________________
Marty Markowitz
How Sweet Was It? Marty Markowitz's Boro Hall Legacy(bkbureau.org/)
The borough president famously erected signs declaring "How Sweet It
Is!" to be in Brooklyn. Was there substance—and success—behind the
shtick?
________________________________________________________________________________
NYC Government
Property Tax
City cracks down on property-tax cheats(NYP) The New York City Department of Finance is moving to collect $9.2 million from 72 properties that have long been receiving nonprofit property tax exemptions, requiring the property owners to prove they are entitled to the exemption
Ratting On Out of State Registrations
Neighbors rat out tax scammers(NYP) Residents on Staten Island are calling their state lawmakers’ offices to blow the whistle on neighbors who are illegally registering their cars out of state
Sidewalk Divers Get Away With Hitting People
Drivers who hit people on sidewalks not being prosecuted(NYP)NYCHA Market Rate Housing
Details of NYCHA's plans to allow market rate housing to be built on their property. [Mireya Navarro]
Bus Strike
This sounds like a win for Bloomberg: the bus drivers' union is looking to cut pay and benefits. [Juan Gonzalez]
Education
Catholic schools are getting a funding boost in the budget.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Lack of Subway Cameras
Lack of security cameras at NYC subway stations threatens safety, hinders criminal investigations(NYDN) Only 111 stations of 468 have the crime-fighting technology that might have helped police probing the stabbing of an 18-year-old at the 21st St. and 41st Ave. stop in Queens. The MTA says it lacks the money to equip all stations with the crime deterrents, so it's time for our public officials to step up.
________________________________________________________________________________Sandy
Coney Island’s colorful rides, which were awash in almost five feet of seawater after Hurricane Sandy, reopened Sunday. Above, Polar Bear Club members take a swim.* Coney Island's Rides Reopen(WSJ) * Peaceful Rally At Coney Island Opening Highlights Area's Sandy Concerns(NY1)
Ellis Island museum 'not likely' to re-open in 2013(NYP)![[image]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-CG126_HOWARD_C_20130324174431.jpg)
Aid Shows Storm's Reach (WSJ)It wasn't the community hit hardest by superstorm Sandy, or
the one that received the most attention in its aftermath, but Howard
Beach in Queens has emerged as an unlikely center for government
disaster assistance.* Hotel Program for Sandy Refugees Set to End(WSJ)* Howard Beach is a the center of federal relief aid for hurricane victims. [Heather Haddon and Alison Fox]________________________________________________________________________________
Mental Health
1 in 5 city preteens have mental woes
(NYP) More than 145,000 city children — roughly one in five — between 6 and
12 struggle with mental illness or other emotional woes, a new study has
found.* 1 in 5 NYC preteens struggle with mental illness(WSJ) * 1 in 5 NYC preteens struggle with mental illness(Fox 5) Willowbrook At 50
It's been 50 years since Willowbrook. What have we learned?
________________________________________________________________________________
Developers Giveaway
23 acres of prime real estate for $1!(Queens Crap)
Once
upon a time, there was a billionaire that took control of a city.
Everyone did whatever he wanted and did not challenge him. He used lots
and lots of taxpayer money to buy up land across the street from a
stadium run by his fellow billionaire buddies. Then he sold it to them
for $1. He also gave them $100M in taxpayer-funded city grants to build
a mall. Even though one of his deputy mayors promised that the stadium
owner would pay for the total cost of remediation of the land - that,
if truly contaminated, hurts no one because no one lives there (save for
a man that lived more than 80 years of his life there) - he put a cap
on how much remediation cost the stadium owner would be required to pay
at a fraction of the expected total. Now lots of people work there, so to help his minions in the legislative
body save face, the billionaire made his buddies promise to build
affordable housing. But, the affordable housing has to wait for highway
ramps to be built by the taxpayers more than a decade from now, even
though the stadium owners can build them themselves in a shorter
timeframe. Oh, but the wording of the contract was changed to make sure
they don't really have to build it at all...Then there's the free parkland they're going to build their mall on.To make a long story short, after crying over Madoff, the Wilpons are now laughing all the way to the bank at our expense. How do I know all this? It's in this week's Queens Chronicle. I suggest you read Joe Orovic's excellent expose and then call up your elected officials and ask them if they think the "fool me twice" saying applies here.
________________________________________________________________________________
EMT Hate
________________________________________________________________________________
Closing Night for Bloomberg
Journalist and Mayor Performs for their Masters, Real Estate Developers
Bringing in Help, Mayor Bows Out in Style at Annual Revue(NYT)In his 12th and final
appearance as mayor at the annual Inner Circle dinner, Michael Bloomberg
paid out of pocket and brought in cast members from current Broadway
shows for elaborate song-and-dance sequences* Billionaire Bloomberg paid for not one, but four Broadway casts for his final Inner Circle Show response. An edited version of Bloomberg's performance at the Inner Circle Show. [Youtube] * Watch Mayor Bloomberg pay to humiliate himself and sing horrendously off-key in a hoodie: (NY Mag) * Mayor Bloomberg Goes Full Nerd, Actually Wears a Hoodie in Public(NYO)Three Cheers for the Nanny State(NYT) Give me a 32-ounce soda or give me death! Seriously?* City Health Officials Hope New Smoking Bills Can Curb Number(NY1)
________________________________________________________________________________
Media
Can Matt Lauer save his Today Show?
Like Fox viewers, MSNBC viewers spend *a lot* of their TV time watching MSNBC, seeing the world through that prism https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/316179187771797506 …
NYT: MURDOCH WANTS LATIMES...
Bloomberg Gun Fight
NRA chief blasts Mayor Bloomberg’s TV ad buy pushing gun control(NYP) * A Cuomo administration source is flatly denying the governor’s claim
that his new anti-gun SAFE Act was carefully drafted, saying the
governor himself wasn’t even aware of some provisions when it was
hastily enacted into law.(Dicker, NYP) *With Newtown Aid
Unspent, Tragedies
of Past Offer a Guide(NYT) * Bloomberg Steps Up Gun-Law Campaign(WSJ) * New Ad From Mayor's Gun Control Group Demands Background Checks * Bloomberg takes gun control campaign nationwide(Fox 5) * NRA chief LaPierre: Bloomberg 'can't buy America(The Hill) * Morning Joe Clashes Over 'Anti-Semitism' Directed At 'Big City Jewish Man' Bloomberg Over Gun Control * Five red state Dem Senators who are still too skittish to back background checks: (Wash Post)* Mayor Bloomberg Shoots Back at the NRA(NYO) * Wayne LaPierre: Michael Bloomberg 'Insane' On Guns(Huff Post)________________________________________________________________________________
Washington
Congress Set to Alter Focus(WSJ) Congress is expected to pivot to issues such as immigration
and guns before attempting a broader deal on taxes, spending and debt.
In Leak Case, State Secrecy in Plain Sight(NYT)Chief Justice’s Guest for Gay Marriage Arguments: His Lesbian Cousin(NY Mag)
E.U. Agrees to Cyprus Bailout - Kanter, Alderman & Higgins, New York Times
Cyprus: It Ain't Over Yet - Felix Salmon, Reuters
Beginning of the End of Too Big To Fail? - James Pethokoukis, Natl Review
Fiscal Stalemate Needs Obama's Leadership - Fred Hiatt, Washington Post
Census Shows People Go Where the Money Is - Michael Barone, Examiner
America's Twilight Zone of Lackluster Growth - Robert Samuelson, IBD
Hot Money Blues - Paul Krugman, New York Times
Grand Old Opportunity - Yuval Levin, Weekly Standard
GOP Growth & Opportunity? Not - Steve Rosenthal, Politico
ObamaCare a Disaster for Dems in 2014 - Betsy McCaughey, New York Post
Gay Wedding Bells at the Supreme Court - Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker
Politicized 'Science' of Gay Marriage - Andrew Ferguson, Weekly Standard
Julian Castro Playing the Long Game - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
Rubio Brings GOP Hope w/Hispanics - Alex Leary, Tampa Bay Times
No Go for Joe in 2016 - Joseph Curl, Washington Times
How Phil Griffin Became the Anti-Ailes - Rebecca Dana, The New Republic
Why Liberals Still Resent FOX News - Jonathan Tobin, Commentary
Sunday Show Clips: Senator Paul | Mayor Bloomberg | Karl Rove | More
Obamacare's Good Report Card - New York Times
Lowering Expectations on ObamaCare - Washington Examiner
Unions Undermining Immigration Reform - Wall Street Journal
We're Losing the Peace in Iraq - Washington Post
Kerry Arrives in Afghanistan on Unannounced Visit(NYT)
Supreme Court will hear Michigan affirmative action case(Politico)
________________________________________________________________________________
Law and Order
"[G]rossly deceptive" is how a Manhattan Institute fellow describes a Times front-page story alleging an NYPD official urged a subordinate to use race as a stop-and-frisk criterion. [Heather Mac Donald]*
a
In an Area Plagued by Violence, a ‘God Squad’ Hits the Streets(NYT)
WATCH: Mugger assaults victim at Times Sq. subway station(NYP)
Study Says Halfway Houses Don’t Reduce Recidivism
Witnesses Blame Officers for Bronx Dirt Bike Crash(NBC)
Protesters Rally Again Over Police Shooting of Brooklyn (NBC)
Wrongly convicted man is expected to recover from heart attack(NYP
Cop ‘killer’ suing city
(NYP) The man accused of masterminding a botched robbery that ended with a
police officer’s death has another get-cash-quick scheme up his sleeve:
suing his jailers. Nelson Morales is facing a murder trial for allegedly
plotting to break into an apartment...
HUH?: Thieves stealing used cooking grease to turn into quick cash(NYP)Man Allegedly Beaten By Queens Bouncer Dies (NY1)
________________________________________________________________________________
Terrorism
Somali terror-support suspect pleads guilty in NYC(NYP)
