Sunday, May 5, 2013

Countdown to A NY's Political Apocalypse

NYP Wants to Ditch All Fusion Party Voting 
What is not discussed is giving the voters more choices -open primary

 Ballot ‘Fixing’(NYP Ed)  When state Sen. Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, was arrested on charges he tried to bribe his way to the Republican mayoral nomination, it focused attention on the dysfunctions of our election rules. In typical Albany fashion, unfortunately, the proposed cure may not treat the real disease. In response, the governor now proposes to scrap the 1947 Wilson-Pakula law, which lays out the formula for candidates who want to run on another party’s ticket. Under Cuomo’s reform, a candidate who wanted to do so would have to get a set number of registered party members to sign a petition, as opposed to just the bosses’ endorsements. 

Bronx GOP boss who took bribe in Malcolm Smith case has long list of corruption
But ditching Wilson-Pakula addresses only part of the problem. It leaves the real problem — fusion voting, or candidates running on more than one ballot line — in place. Even under Cuomo’s plan, minor-party leaders could still anoint candidates (though their decisions could be challenged in primaries via petitions). That would still let these small party bosses hang on to political power far in excess of their support among voters.In other words, while fusion voting may have once served a purpose, today it allows narrowly focused factions with special interests to push the major parties in extreme directions. No wonder 42 states outlaw the practice. New York’s voters would be better served by a state Legislature that did the same.

Former Albany Senate Sampson Expected to Be Arrested This Week
Charges expected against Brooklyn state Sen. John Sampson: sources Sen. John Sampson (NYDN) (D-Brooklyn) is identified in court papers as asking ex-Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Queens) to wield her influence on behalf of a businessman who held a Kennedy Airport lease in March 2012. The FBI is also examining a $100,000 ‘loan’ Sampson took from a legal client. It was revealed Friday that Huntley had been wearing a wire in a corruption probe to catch fellow politicians. Sampson was expected in federal court later this week as the latest big catch in a political corruption probe.

His attorney, Zachary Carter, declined comment on the case Saturday. According to the sources, the FBI is examining a $100,000 “loan” to Sampson from one of his legal clients, Queens businessman Edul Ahmad, who is charged with mortgage fraud in an unrelated case. Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn), once among Albany’s most powerful politicians, is the senator identified in court papers as asking ex-Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Queens) to wield her influence on behalf of a businessman holding a Kennedy Airport lease in March 2012.* Report: Brooklyn State Senator Allegedly Under Scrutiny In Corruption Probe (NY1)

 
Can Johnny's cash contributions be trusted?(Queens Crap)
From the Daily News: Cash is king for Controller John Liu’s mayoral campaign. While most campaign contributors write checks to their chosen candidates, records show that Liu has received 895 donations in cash — far more than other candidates. The donations, totaling $65,000, are worth $121,240 with the city’s generous matching funds program — and the haul is raising red flags for watchdogs. * Liu leads the small-donor race for NYC mayor, maximizing matching funds. (NY World)

With Giuliani strategy in mind, Joe Lhota focuses on Staten Island in mayoral campaign(SI Advance)






He's in: GOP Councilman Oddo officially announces bid for Staten Island borough president (SI Advanc)

Team Quinn Backers Taking Shots At Weiner While He Waits
Seif says Weiner "appears days away from announcing his entry into the Democratic race for mayor" 

Buzz: What is Causing the Weiner Stall?
As Weiner Stay Strangely Quiet After Turning On the Big Mo 2 Weeks Ago the NYP Takes A Hit On Him For Something He Did 22 Years Ago
Blast from the past(NYP) Weiner was a jerk 20 years ago, too: foe.  No matter what Anthony Weiner does to rehabilitate himself, he won’t be getting the vote of former Assemblywoman Adele Cohen.Cohen tried to launch her political career in a 1991 Brooklyn City Council race against Weiner, then a novice, and political veteran Mike Garson. The outcome was in doubt until the very end, when Weiner sent out a mailer to some 10,000 households trashing Garson as a political hack and labeling Cohen the candidate of the “David Dinkins/Jesse Jackson Coalition.” It was just a month after the infamous Crown Heights riots, and Jewish voters were wary of anyone linked to Dinkins or Jackson. Weiner ended up winning by 195 votes over Cohen and 125 over Garson. At 27, he became the then-youngest council member in history.

Weiner Regrets the Cohen Mailer
Just like today, when he’s asking voters for that same opportunity. In a statement to The Post, Weiner expressed further regret for the 1991 incident. “I respect Ms. Cohen and honor her for her service,” he said. None of that has changed Cohen’s steadfast view since 1991. “I don’t think a person of his character should be mayor,” she said, flatly.

Anthony Weiner partnered with playwright to plot out policy for potential mayoral run (NYDN) Weiner, who has yet to declare if he is running for mayor, met Jessica Provenz in a secret meeting arranged by a mutual friend. The two developed the ideas that make up his 21-page policy book, ‘Keys to the City,’ which provides a look into the issues and policies Weiner may campaign on in a possible 2013 mayoral bid. *
MSNBC Host's Brutal Takedown Of Anthony Weiner's Early Political Career Up's Steve Kornacki unloaded a Sunday morning op-ed against Anthony Weiner's comeback sans the former congressman's Twitter scandal.

More on those Dinkins/Jackson mailers Weiner disputed the Salon piece on

Quinn and de Blasio Views On NYPD Muslim Surveillance Post Sandy
Azi Paybarah what do @Quinn4NY & @DeBlasioNYC think of the NYPD surveillance program? Here:

Mayoral Debate
. also defending opposition to Brooklyn college hate forum, spars with who defends right. * . booed for saying Brooklyn College should not have sponsored controversial BDS forum. Says students sponsoring was OK.. and did not take position on Muslim surveillance in their responses. Both have defended program in the past.. calls Bloomberg's speech "fear mongering." focuses on . not addressing surveillance. * morally bankrupt"-- re: surveillance of residents. * Thompson says NYPD spying is disgraceful, but not unconstitutional. * Candidates sparring at over NYPD "Muslim surveillance." Only : it's unconstitutional. : it's wrong. * only & Salgado say the surveillance of Muslims is unconstitutional. cc: * . criticizes dept of education when asked about bullying against Muslims.* .: "downright scurrilous...just dirty and desperate" for prosecutor to say he knew about straw donor scheme without evidence. . - trying to appeal to Muslims at - says he's concerned school lunches don't serve Halal. * All the candidates would add 2 Muslim holidays to the school calendar. Liu throws in that schools should serve halal food, too. * says many candidates, including Republicans, were invited and did not come.”
Mayoral Candidates Spar Over NYPD's Surveillance Of Muslims(NYDN)


 Is Yassky Running for Something in the Whole of Brooklyn?
Trading Handshakes for Home Cooking(NYT)

David S. Yassky, commissioner of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, spends Sundays with his wife and daughter, walking the dog, going to spin class, cooking and watching classic television.

Gambling at Rick's Place Aqueduct
Playing games with the law (NYDN Ed)

A full-fledged casino sponsored by the state is operating at Aqueduct in Queens






Postal workers too scared to deliver in crime-ridden Brownsville, BrooklynSnow, rain and gloom of night might not slow Brownsville mailmen down — but gangbangers sure will. 








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Tammany Hall Game

Tammany Hall: the Game Where You Play as a New York City Ward Boss(Daily Beast)
Imagine a game where opponents identify immigrant groups, earn political favors from them by helping them to settle in their new county, and then translate that political capital into votes on election day. A description of modern day immigration reform? Nope. This is the premise of the board game Tammany Hall (recently re-published by Pandasaurus Games.)


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Spitzer's Whore Cost More Than Albany Pigs

Ashley Dupre $5000  Huntley $1000
The Last Refuge From Scandal? Professorships(NYT)
While colleges have always courted accomplished public figures, a leap to the front of the class has now become a natural move for those who have suffered career flameouts.
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Albany's Tape Rats
Feds Huntley is A Lying Rat
Feds hot-wired crooked pol (NYP) Crooked former state Sen. Shirley Huntley wore a wire for the FBI while she was in office, collecting evidence of corruption against a fellow senator and two other lawmakers that placed them under federal investigation, prosecutors revealed. Huntley’s turning rat is the latest move in an expanding Brooklyn US attorney corruption probe into Queens and Brooklyn pols that has led to investigations into Congressman Gregory Meeks and state Sen. John Sampson. Huntley’s cooperation with the feds was short-lived. She kept lying to authorities about her involvement in taking $87,000 in taxpayer funds from the Parents Information Network charity.

 Agrees to Tap Pols to Reduce the Time She Spend in Jail and Lies to the Feds

Taping cut short because Huntley was lying to the feds
Just call it 'The Wire,' Albany edition (NYDN) Disgraced ex-state Sen. Shirley Huntley is second legislator to wear a wire to snare fellow corrupt pols * Second Albany Legislator Secretly Taped Colleagues(NYT) * Former Senator Huntley Wore Wire While in Office (WSJ)*Feds: Former State Senator Huntley Wore Wire During Meetings With Legislators(NY1)
NY lawmaker facing more charges(Fox5)

8m
If Sen. Huntley hadn't proved inveterate liar, wud feds have let her complete re-elex run. Indictment permitted voters to act w/ info.
Huntley's and Feds Major Tap Pol Sampson
Breaking: State senator tied in court papers to bribery plot identified as John Sampson of Brooklyn 
2nd Legislator in Albany Secretly Taped Colleagues(NYT)
The senator was not identified in the court documents, but a person with knowledge of the matter said the senator was John L. Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat and former Senate leader who has long been under investigation. 


From the Federal Indictment
Between June 2012 and August 2012, the defendant, while acting at the direction of the government, made numerous recordings of meetings with nine different people, including seven elected officials and two individuals who had previously been employed as a staff member or a consultant by elected officials. Recordings of four of the elected officials, as well as the two non-elected individuals, did not yield any evidence of criminal activity. However, recordings of meetings the defendant held separately with State Senator #1 and two other elected officials did yield evidence useful to law enforcement authorities, and the details of those recordings are discussed in a separate sealed letter to be filed next week


 Where is JCOPE on Cook?
In the charity scam, Huntley worked with Queens Assemblywoman Vivian Cook, who sources said funneled thousands of dollars in earmarks to the nonprofit. Huntley rewarded Cook with lavish shopping trips, The Post first reported. Cook yesterday said she hasn’t been charged with wrongdoing and hasn’t been contacted by the feds. “I don’t have any reason to take anybody else’s money. I have money. I can go shopping whenever I want,” Cook said.* Vivian Cook: "I don’t have any reason to take anybody else’s money. I have money. I can go shopping whenever I want."




Another Huntley pal, City Councilman Ruben Wills, last year was subpoenaed by the state attorney general concerning a $33,000 grant Huntley sponsored for a nonprofit he ran.
He refused to answer questions. State Sen. Shirley Huntley, for whom Wills served as chief of staff, secured the funds for a group called New York 4 Life, which lists Wills as chairman. It was supposed to be spent on such things as a breakfast for single mothers, a luncheon for single fathers, a campaign against obesity in children and a program to “adopt” a commercial strip.

 Ruben Wills Pleads the 5th in Response to Schneiderman (June 18, 2012) * City Councilman Ruben Wills is a New York Knucklehead (NYDN)

On June 12, 2012 A Daily News Editorial Said: Quinn, thanks to Wills, she faces question about the Council’s so-called member item spending — aka, the slush fund — from which Wills was awarded $584,000 in 2012. Quinn referred Wills’ actions to the ethics committee and stripped him of both a say over the budget and member-item allocations.* The A.G., the councilman and the case of the missing member item (2012)


Boyland Again Indicted
William Boyland Jr. Indicted Yet Again(NYO)
Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. just can’t catch a break.
Mr. Boyland, who was previously charged with soliciting bribes to pay his legal bills in an unrelated corruption trial, was indicted again last March for wire fraud charges stemming from alleged abuse of per diem requests. And he was just charged yet again today. “Boyland engaged in a scheme to defraud New York State by steering public funds to a Brooklyn based non-profit organization (‘Non-Profit A’) and then directing that a portion of those public funds be used to pay for community events promoting Boyland and on goods such as t-shirts imprinted with the slogan ‘Team Boyland’ which were distributed at those events,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office this evening declared.* Assemblyman Boyland charged with felony fraud in superseding indictment(TU) * New Charges Filed Against New York State Assemblyman(WSJ) * Former chief of staff for embattled Assemblyman Boyland to plead guilty to corruption charges Embattled state Assemblyman William Boyland’s ex-chief of staff is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to political corruption charges connected to her legislative work. Ry-Ann Hermon was charged with bribery and conspiracy in December 2011 and is...

The Carnival Bribe Still Awaits Boyland
Kellman,Carr's attrny,said the prosecution was misguided & should've been directed at politicians who accepted bribes (NYT) From 2011Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland Jr.'s arrest shines light on corruption in carnival (NYDN)

20m
And where can I get a Team Boyland tee shirt? I'll pay top dollar, either in no sequential bills or campaign contributions. Your preference.
More on Boyland(True News)

Albany Has Done Nothing to Stop the Corruption
These latest charges are the latest in a long string of corruption charges against New York officials. Recently, State Sen. Malcolm Smith, Councilman Dan Halloran and Assemblyman Eric Stevenson were charged in various bribery schemes, for example. And in the past couple years, a wide range of legislators have been convicted of corruption, including Councilman Larry Seabrook, State Sen. Shirley Huntley and State Sen. Carl Kruger.


“This legislation,” the governor declared, “will help end an era of corruption in Albany.” (2011)
The Times’ Michael Powell examines the ethics reforms that the Cuomo administration passed in 2011 in the wake of the Malcolm Smith corruption scandal. “This legislation,” the governor declared, “will help end an era of corruption in Albany.” Mention ethics reform, and Dean G. Skelos, the Republican leader in the State Senate, and Sheldon Silver, the Democratic Assembly leader, pace about like suspicious cats with wrinkled noses. And the governor sounds a bit plaintive of late.”(April 21st 2013)



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de Blasio's Hail Marry

 Kelly Flack Accuses de Blasio Who Has Been Flat in the Polls As A Race Baiting
 “Regrettably, race baiting hasn’t lost its appeal for a pol behind in the polls,” Paul Browne, Kelly’s chief spokesman, said in the most blistering assessment to date of a major mayoral contender by such a senior city official.
Ray takes a hit from de Blastio (NYP) The mayor’s race took a startling turn yesterday when Public Advocate Bill de Blasio inserted a TV clip of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in an attack ad about stop-and-frisk. Fuming at his unsolicited role, Kelly’s camp fired back with verbal guns..De Blasio’s ad, which is posted on his campaign Web site and promoted from his Twitter account, features Quinn at a National Action Network forum saying the next mayor “would be lucky if Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stayed.”* WATCH: De Blasio Goes After Quinn For Support Of Ray Kelly(Huff Post)

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Bloomberg NYT Making NYC Unsafe

Last Tuesday Bloomberg rips NY Times over stop and frisk coverage
Mayor Bloomberg rips NY Times over stop and frisk coverage(NYP)
Mayor Bloomberg today unleashed an attack



Today the NYT Blasts Stop and Frisks and Bloomberg
The Mayor on Stop-and-Frisk(NYT Ed)
Mayor Michael Bloomberg fails to persuade in his defense of a troubled police program.
Former Manhattan DA Blasts Proposed NYPD Oversight(NY1)

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Liu Tough or Disillusion?

Liu Melting Down . . .  Dares the FBI to Tap Him 
Says Not A Single Supporter Has Tool Him He No Longer Has His Support
 Liu dares feds to tap him(NYP)
What convictions? A defiant Comptroller John Liu vowed to continue in the mayoral race yesterday — and even challenged investigators to wiretap him further — despite two key supporters being found guilty of campaign fraud * Questions Linger for Liu After Ex-Associates’ Trial(NYT) * Liu Defends Campaign(WSJ)
* Liu Returns To Campaign Trail After Guilty Verdicts For Former Campaign Associates(NY1)


Yesterday's True News:
Liu The Buck Does Not Stop With Me
John Liu Reaction Delusional
Hours after the verdict, Liu said he’s “proud” of his campaign and vowed to carry on with his bid to become the city’s next mayor.


Today's NYT
When John C. Liu hastily announced late Thursday that he would hold a news conference that night to discuss the convictions of two former associates in an illegal campaign-finance scheme, speculation began to build: Would he criticize the guilty parties and vow not to tolerate similar conduct? Would he be rattled, or even abandon the race for mayor?  Enlarge This Image.  None of the above. Instead, Mr. Liu, the New York City comptroller, almost treated the event in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, like a routine rally, shaking hands with residents and commenting on the weather. And he said, confidently, that, yes, he was still running for mayor. John Liu's mayoral campaign raises $65,000, red flags(NYDN)

NYT Says de Blasio and Thompson Gain on Convictions
Mr. Liu’s former campaign treasurer, and Xing Wu Pan convictions may give unions and other potential supporters reason to hold back, political analysts say, and will probably benefit William C. Thompson Jr., a former comptroller who has been competing with Mr. Liu for minority votes, or perhaps Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, who is ideologically similar.

Liu's Matching Funds Seem DOA
“It’s hard to imagine more severe violations of the campaign finance act, especially given that there have been two criminal convictions in connection to their campaign,” said Tara Malloy, a former Campaign Finance Board lawyer who is now senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group in Washington.

John Liu: 'I still say put up or shut up'(Video)







Lee's Court Testimony And Liu Reaction Tells Us

Drinking the Kool Aide for Liu
Dramatic ‘timeout’ (NYP) Day 5 at the John Liu campaign-finance trial ended in a cliffhanger yesterday after prosecutors called a key aide to the embattled city comptroller to the witness stand. Former Liu spokeswoman Sharon Lee — was about to reveal whom she asked to contribute to his political war chest when time ran out for the day’s proceedings. After excusing the jury, Judge Richard Sullivan warned Lee about the potential consequences of whatever she next told the jury.“Any testimony you give could result in exposure to prosecution.Most bosses would fire a dishonest employee, but not Liu. The proud boss told The Wall Street Journal: “I have full confidence in her ability.” Well, her ability isn’t in doubt. Her honesty is what’s in question — and according to her testimony, it’s up for sale.

 Traffic agent defamed by Dan Halloran wins $20,000 in (NYDN)

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Mayoral Campaign

Broke and Losing Lawsuit is McDonald Campaign Checkmated?
NYP: Quinn's Day Care Plans Going to Cost
All Quinn’s children(NYP Ed) Recently Quinn announced she would push a plan to give city families an annual tax credit for each child enrolled in day care. The NYP is saying all all this bill would do is take money from some New Yorkers and redistribute it to others. As The Post reported, in this case that adds up to $32 million in lost public revenue that has to be made up somewhere. And what would we get for that money? The benefit is limited to parents who put their children in formal day-care centers, not to the working mom who leaves her children with Grandma. For a middle-class family whose household income is $80,000 a year, the credit works out to about $500.

Joe Lhota
Joe on last night's on

Not One Pols Has Explained How They Will Pay For the Increase Police They Promise the Voters
New York pays more police in retirement than to patrol our streets — yet pols do nothing to address our skyrocketing pension costs
 
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Piecemeal Election Reform Politics

Compromised  Election Reform

 Without the Pressure of the Reform Movement the Self Interests of the Albany Pols Will Determine Any Changes to the Election Law . . .  Even In An Environment of Abuse and Corruption

NYT and Silver Agree Shocking
Early Voting Means Easier Voting(NYT Ed)
New York State has one of the worst voter turnout records in the country. One fix would be to allow early voting.

Week in Review Reform Flashback
 Editorial: Albany's campaign finance reforms fall flat - Newsday(Sunday April 28th)
New York Reform = Public Financing(NYT Ed) Sunday April 28th

Goo Goos Protect Party Bosses
 
Bloomberg Says They Are Party Bosses are the Causes for NY Corruption

"The only way to stop the spate of crooked pols and fix New York's “broken” political system is a public uprising against greedy party bosses" 
                Mayor Bloomberg  

Bloomberg Spent Millions to Buy the IP and GOP Party Leaders Ballot Lines in 2001, 2005 and 2009
The Times’ Michael Powell writes that Mayor Michael Bloomberg deserves some of the blame for engendering a culture of corruption in New York City: Mr. Powell wrote. “[W]hen he decided that his professed love of term limits was silliness and that he would like the Republican Party nomination, he spread cash the way a farmer spreads manure in spring.”* The TU calls the Senate GOP’s claim that public campaign financing begets corruption “hollow.”


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Goo Goos Defend Corrupt Party Bosses

 NY's Reform Groups are Run By the Permanent Government and Jerks
Leaders of the Reform Groups are Great About Getting in the Media for Self Promotion 
Reform Groups Have Accomplished Nothing in Decades
Ignore the selling of party lines and the recent arrests of Smith and others who tired to buy the GOP Line

Ignore Corrupt Party Bosses Selling Their Ballot Line


In the Daily News, Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center, Miles Rapoport of Demos, and Susan Lerner of Common Cause New York argue against the governor’s proposed repeal of the Wilson-Pakula law:Why New York needs healthy small parties(NYDN)

Reformer Never Ask For Changes in Judicial Elections
*Newsday Showed Bosses Demanding Cash for Jobs, Including Judgeships, Years Ago – Just as Now(Brooklyn Ron)


Reformers and Goo Goos Have No Answer for Smith and Liu's Campaigns Gaming Public Finance
Errol Lewis: You see something like John Liu and your ask a reformer how to fix the problem and the say campaign finance reform
Kate Pastor, the editor of The Riverdale Press: Yes the reformers have been waiting for an opportunity ........ Oh I see what you are saying (the rest of the answer was confused)


Cuomo Dump Wilson-Pakual
Spoil the bosses’ party: gov(NYP)  Cuomo yesterday proposed stripping political party bosses of the power to cross-endorse favored candidates. Cuomo Adds Election Law Office to Anticorruption Proposals(NYT) * The reform pols hate(NYP Ed)Gov. Cuomo is pulling out all the stops to promote his ideas for campaign finance. That includes holding a “telephone town hall” tonight on the issue with the folks from Fair Elections for New York. As first articulated in his State of the State, the governor’s general idea of state campaign finance seems to be to follow the lead of New York City.


Third Party Leaders Like Conservative's Long Oppose Getting Rid of Wilson-Pakula
State Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long opposes eliminating cross-endorsements. “What’s wrong is the crooks who are in office who try to game the system,” he recently told The Post.

Senate GOP Protects IP Party
Independence Party goes along with GOP schemp e to dodge campaign finance laws, insiders allege(NYDN)  * * Senate Republicans Give $90,000 To Independence Party 


NYT Says Give BOE Enforcement Power to AG 
Mr. Cuomo also proposed setting up an independent enforcement unit to oversee state election laws. As useful as this enforcement unit sounds, it would make more sense if he simply granted the attorney general the authority to investigate election law violations, as he recommended doing in his 2010 campaign for governor.




IDC Klein Wants to Limit His Opponents Senate Dems Ability to Raise Money 
“IDC’s campaign reform would aid…IDC.”

The Independent Democratic Conference's recent campaign finance reform plan would greatly enhance the conference's own electoral prospects by eliminating the rival Senate Democrats' ability to give unlimited money to preferred candidates, Crain's Insider reports
* Klein, law partner tag-team to score big on court appointments(The Riverdale Press)

Recall Elections
Push to vote out bad pols (NYP) ALBANY — Assembly Republicans yesterday proposed changing the state Constitution to let the public vote out elected officials caught up in corruption scandals.

State officials spend a 'startling' near-$7 million of campaign cash on legal fees in nine years amid cavalcade of corruption scandals
An analysis done by the Daily News and the New York Public Interest Research Group shows that since 2004, twenty elected officials have spent nearly $7 million in legal fees related to criminal and ethical investigations against them, the New York Daily News reports





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What is Happening At JCOPE?

Last Tuesday JCOPE Pressures Legislative Ethics Commission and DA Donovan to Release Vito Report By the End of the Week the Executive Director Was Leaving
JCOPE threatens to release "Substantial Basis Investigation Report" (presumably on Vito Lopez) if Legislative Ethics Commission doesn't.  JCOPE pressures Sp. Prosecutor Donovan in probe, saying it will release Vito Lopez report 'in its entirety' in May.
* JCOPE To Legislative Ethics: You Release That Lopez Report, Or We Will(YNN)
* JCOPE tries to get Donovan, leg ethics off the dime (TU)

Something Going On At JCOPE
2 Commissioner Leave this Week + Pushing SI DA to Release
Daily News re JCOPE's report: "Publish or perish"
[image]New York State Panel on Ethics Will Lose Its Leader (WSJ)The executive director of the New York state ethics commission plans to resign, making her the second senior official in recent weeks to signal her departure from the panel at a time when the state is struggling to target corruption in the capital.* Director of State Ethics Panel to Step Down(NYT)
 
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Education


The Oprah network(NYP Ed)
Mayor Bloomberg fought for a few months to keep his ill-fated...* City Hall Pushed Noted Women to Sign Letter Supporting Candidate for Chancellor



New York City’s Get-Into-School Card(NYT)
Families employ all kinds of strategies to get their children into good public schools. Above, Kelly Bare and Jonathan Cohen bought in a developing area in Brooklyn.

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Cuomo Promo?

 Ad Effort Selling State as a Business Haven Is Criticized(NYT)
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration says the ads are a valuable tool for recruiting businesses, but critics say they are a backdoor way of elevating the governor’s stature.


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Does NYC Have An Unemployment Crisis?  

Nation Unemployment rate drops to 7.5% NYC 8.9%

None of the Candidates Have Explained How They Will Create Jobs







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$100 Rent Control Apartment
NY rent control freak(NYP)
What does it take to get a rent-controlled apartment in New York City?  For the 62-year-old sister of the mayor of Salt Lake City, it was a death-bed adoption by a senile 85-year-old man in order to claim rights to his Queens apartment and its $100...


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Sandy



NYC Evacuation Zones To Include 640K More People
Adding Evacuation Zones in Response to Hurricane(NYT)
After Sandy, More Could Face Storm Evacuations(WSJ)
New York City's flood evacuation zones could be expanded to include 640,000 more people, city officials announced Friday as they presented the first major review of the city's response to superstorm Sandy.* City Recommends Expanding Storm Evacuation Zones(NY1)

 Construction Work Caused A Fire At the Closed Coney Island Nathan's
Mayor's Fund To Hold Fundraising Sale For Sandy Victims(NY1)
NYC analysis of Sandy response(NBC)
Sale Helps Sandy Victims Replace Destroyed Furniture(NY1)
State Designates $5.9 Million To Restore SI Beaches (NY1)
Six Months After Sandy: Extensive Repair Work On City's Tunnels Continues
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Water

Citywide Water Monitoring System Is Suspended After Agency Cuts Funding(DNAINFO)
The city had bankrolled an expansive monitoring network run by the U.S. Geological Survey.


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Gowanus Canal

E.P.A. Plan to Clean Up Gowanus Canal Meets Local Resistance(NYT)
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Cuomo's Bridge War

.: A bridge dispute between Cuomo & Canadian officials "is escalating into an international incident."
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Boston Bombers


Radical files found on computer belonging to wife of Boston bomber(NYP)
Radical Islamic materials and an al Qaeda magazine were found on the computer of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s widow* Investigators focus on widow of dead Boston suspect after finding radical Islamic material on her computer. (Wash Post)



New York Area Races Increase Security(WSJ)
Bill Maher Slams Hype Over Boston Bombing Case: Don’t Let Terrorist ‘F*ck-Ups’ ‘Scare Us Into Overreacting’
A Suspect’s Dark Side, Carefully Masked(NYT)
Student Arrested in Boston Bombing Seeks Release (NYT)
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Beastie Playground


A Beastie Boy’s Playground, Named in His Memory(NYT)
In Brooklyn, A Park Named for a Beastie Boy(WSJ)
Palmetto Playground, a triangular park adjacent to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Brooklyn Heights, was renamed Friday for Adam Yauch, the late Beastie Boys member and Brooklyn native who spent time there as child. * Brooklyn Playground Named After Beastie Boys Frontman(NY1) * Brooklyn playground renamed after Beastie Boy’s co-foun(WPIX)



Remembering Beastie Boy Adam Yauch with Vintage Video [VIDEO]: This vault video is in memory of Adam “MCA” Yauch,...

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Back to the Beach

Complete East River Blueway Plan Features Brooklyn Bridge Beach(DNAINFO)

NY’s East ‘Riviera’(NYP)

 



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Media


LateNight5.3 Best Late Night Clips Of The Week: Stewart On Cruz, Fallon On Weiner, Colbert On Collins And More

 Glasses SNL Mocks The Perils Of Google Glass, Including Accidentally Watching Porn In Public
 

Summer movie guide 2013(Wash Post)








‘I Screwed Up’: Howard Kurtz Gets Grilled On Controversy Over His Erroneous Jason Collins Story


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Washington



‘James Carville’ Joins SNL To Ridicule GOP And NRA For Defeating Gun Background Check Bill

When Will America Burst D.C.'s Bubble? - Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Trib
Dow 15,000 and the Big Disconnect - Jeff Sommer, New York Times
There Are No "Absolute" Rights - Michael Tomasky, The Daily Beast
Muzzling Free Speech About Taxes - George Will, Washington Post

TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads(Huff Post)
ObamaCare and the Mystery of Medical Science - Jonathan Chait, NY Mag
What Health Insurance Doesn't Do - Ross Douthat, New York Times
America Is Ready for Madam President - Stephanie Schriock, CNN
How the Benghazi Talking Points Were Changed - Stephen Hayes, TWS
What I Discovered When I Got a Gun - Alex Hannaford, The Guardian
From the Choom Gang to Drug Warrior - Nick Gillespie, The Daily Beast
What It Would Take to Bring Democracy to Syria - Tom Friedman, NYT
Syria: The Only Red Line Should Be to Stay Out - Doug Bandow, Forbes
Obama's Gitmo Woes - Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times
Why I Oppose the Internet Tax Bill - Sen. Ted Cruz, RealClearPolitics
Ferguson's Attack on Keynes Is a New Low - Henry Blodget, Business Insider
Did Ferguson Actually Say Anything Shocking? - Jonah Goldberg, NRO
Should We Mirandize Terrorists? - Bevan & Stone, RCP Morning Commute
Virginia Governor (Wash Post): Cuccinelli (R) 51, McAuliffe (D) 41

The House Prefers Chaos to Order - New York Times
Bad News Just Keeps Coming for ObamaCare - Washington Examiner
On Medicaid, GOP Politics Trumps Common Sense - Miami Herald
Kermit Gosnell's Enablers - New Hampshire Union Leader

King: 'If Ted Cruz Had Prevailed, My Constituents Would Be Homeless'

More Israeli strikes claimed: Syrian TV blames huge blast on missile attack (VIDEO)(NYP)
Bomb Kills Five U.S. Soldiers in Southern Afghanistan(NYT)
The Future of Free Speech Online - Jeffrey Rosen, The New Republic
Is College Worth It? - Bill Bennett & David Wilezol, FOX News
Romney's Loss Was Not Due to Hispanic Vote - Byron York, DC Examiner
Where Have All the Jobs Gone? - Jared Bernstein, New York Times
Obama's Economy Continues to Fall Further Behind - Larry Kudlow, IBD
President's Real Problem Is the Republicans - Paul Brandus, The Week
Substitute Teacher in Chief - Ruth Marcus, Washington Post
It's Time to Deregulate the Pill - Jillian Kay Melchior, National Review
The Real Problems With Psychiatry - Hope Reese, The Atlantic
2 Killings and 2 Guns, Unattended - Joe Nocera, New York Times
The Disconnect of Kathleen Sebelius - Scott Atlas, Hoover Institution
Key ObamaCare Assumptions Were Wrong - Megan McArdle, Daily Beast

Ted Cruz '16? Not as Funny as You Think. - Nate Cohn, The New Republic
Voters Don't Like Political Class Bossing Them Around - Scott Rasmussen
Why No One's Winning in Washington - Ron Brownstein, National Journal
Bitcoin vs. Ben Bernanke - James Freeman, Wall Street Journal
What Austerity? Debunking the Liberal Narrative - J.T. Young, RCP
As Senators Head for Exit, Few Step Up to Run for Seats(NYT)
Long-Term Unemployment Is Turning Jobless Into Pariahs - Bloomberg
ObamaCare: Glitches or a Train Wreck? - Chicago Tribune
New ObamaCare Form Is Appealingly Slim - Boston Globe
Shake Up Veterans Affairs So Our Heroes Get Benefits - DC Examiner
5 US service members killed by roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan(NYP)
8 Soldiers Are Killed in Attacks in Afghanistan(NYT)

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Law and Order



2 busted in Bronx teen’s slay(NYP)
Rapists stalk in Qns. park(NYP)

Police Search For Suspect In Brooklyn Woman's Stabbing Death(NY1)

That's amore! Daughter of late mob boss 'The Chin' says he has voiced his approval from beyond the grave of her same-sex marriage to longtime girlfriend

 

Fundraisers shut down after scamming $10 million(NYDN)\
Reward Offered For Suspect In Alleged Queens Sexual Assaults Of Children
ONLY FIVE DAYS OF FREEDOM: Queens man gunned down less than a week after being released from prison
Police Canvass Queens Neighborhood With Child Sexual Predator (WCBS)
Seen At 11: NYPD’s Elite Hostage Negotiating Team Is Often(NYP)
DJ in sex bust(NYP)
Suspect sought in Bronx store robbery(WABC)
86-year-old woman robbed on Staten Island(WABC)
Cops Seek Robber Who Hurt Woman, 86, in S.I. Home(NBC)
* Queens man released from prison earlier this week fatally shot in front of young nieces(NYP)