Tuesday Update: After One Hour Jury Says Halloran Guilty
NYT: On Monday, Cuomo made a preposterous claim that the commission’s work was
“a phenomenal success” when, in fact, the commission was shut down
halfway through its term and had not concluded its investigations.
Gov. Cuomo’s Latest Excuses(NYT Ed) The governor of New York finally responded to a
report in The Times about his interference with ethics investigators
with more unconvincing spin. Cuomo finally took public questions on Monday about a scorching report in The Times last week that revealed how his aides had interfered with ethics investigators in Albany. The governor’s delayed press briefing was a defiant attempt to defend himself against politically damaging evidence of his conduct. Once again, Mr. Cuomo has changed his story about the way he created, handled and then suddenly disbanded the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. When Mr. Cuomo appointed the commission last year, he promised commissioners they would be “totally independent.” They could investigate anybody in state government, even him, he said. Then, as The Times reported, his top aide tried to head off investigations that touched on the governor’s own interests. The aide, Lawrence Schwartz, told some investigators that the governor was off-limits and their job was to go after legislators.Mr. Cuomo abruptly shut down the commission in March, and in April argued that because he had created it, “it is mine. It is controlled by me.” Now, he’s trying to sell New Yorkers another unconvincing spin. At a press briefing in Buffalo on Monday, he said that his administration had merely offered “advice” to commissioners and investigators. “Independence doesn’t mean you get holed up in an ivory tower and you don’t talk to anyone,” he said. The investigators who had to respond to the governor’s pressure almost certainly did not view the directives of his aides as optional. Preet Bharara, United States attorney in Manhattan, has taken over the commission’s inquiries. Any truly independent investigation of corrupt practices in Albany will now depend on Mr. Bharara’s work. What is truly disturbing is that Mr. Cuomo now wants to deny interfering with the commission while claiming that its job was done.
Breaking: Ex-Councilman Halloran Guilty On All Five Counts
A jury today found ex-Queens Councilman Dan Halloran guilty on all five counts of the corruption charges he faced stemming in part from his role in a bribery scheme to sell the GOP line in the 2013 NYC mayoral primary. US Attorney Preet Bharara issued the following statement: A Dig At Cuomo? “With today’s verdict of guilty reached by an impartial and independent jury, the clean-up of corruption in New York continues in courtrooms.
As the jury unanimously found, Daniel Halloran played a key role in two distinct political corruption schemes: first, for $20,000, Halloran was willing and able to serve as a go-between to deliver bribes to political party officials, and second he also took nearly $25,000 in cash and illegal campaign contributions to steer $80,000 in City Council money to other bribe payers.”
“Dan Halloran was the lone defendant in the trial that just ended in his conviction, but he is unfortunately not alone in a crowded field of New York officials who are willing to sell out their offices for self-enrichment.”
“This Office will continue the vigorous prosecution of political corruption to secure for the people of New York – regardless of party affiliation – what they deserve: the honest labors of their elected representatives. And we will continue to partner with the FBI, whose outstanding investigative work in this case
de Blasio Blamed Bloomberg But As Councilman Voted for the Poor Door
When the lengthy text of a zoning resolution was amended by the City Council in July 2009, then-Councilman Bill de Blasio — who arrived late to the meeting — was among the majority who voted “aye.”
One provision said developers of market-rate condos could include affordable units on site, instead of off-site, while allowing for the separation of a number of services that included the entrances. But de Blasio’s vote didn’t stop City Hall officials last week from putting the blame for the controversial Extell Development project at 40 Riverside Blvd. — which will have separate entrance for subsidized tenants — solely on former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s team. De Blasio voted for luxury building ‘poor door’ as councilman(NYP)
Mayor de Blasio and other officials denouncing “poor door” entrances for subsidized tenants in luxury buildings actually voted in favor of a measure that made such separation possible, a Post review found.Among the other elected officials who voted in favor of the 2009 zoning changes are current Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Public Advocate Letitia James. The two were among those who took part in a press conference on the steps of City Hall this past Friday condemning the prior administration for signing off on the project.
Last Week True News Went After the Progressives For Allowing A Poor Door, Today A Pol Woke Up and the NYP Says Free Market Forces Will End the Poor Door
Government ‘poor door’(NYP) The idea that the residents of these latter units will have a separate
entrance has set off comparisons to Downton Abbey, where Lord Grantham
and his brood live upstairs in sumptuous conditions, while the servants
live down below. It’s precisely their insistence on defining where poor people live that
is responsible for poor doors, not to mention the tax breaks for
developers and relief from some zoning restrictions.So why the poor door? As The Post’s Steve Cuozzo reported
more than a year ago, separate doors are required for this kind of the
building. In part to make it easier down the road for the units to be
managed separately by a non-profit. How much better and simpler it would be if the city did two things.
First, just make it easier to build housing of any type. Second, give
those who need subsidies vouchers they can use anywhere rather than
assign them to a particular unit. Even if builders build just luxury units, when supply is expanded, people move up. That means an apartment that was once luxury becomes middle class,
and a middle-class apartment becomes working class, and down the line.
If it weren’t put into government-designated buildings and units, we’d
have much more mixing.
True News Last Week When Giuliani Was Mayor There Was No Building With A Poor Door
Despite having attended 15 of the sessions and received days-worth of orientation sessions, the newbies are scheduled for a first-of-its-kind group lesson on the workings of government during a “mock” Council session on Wednesday afternoon. “At the request of several freshmen Council Members, [we] will be holding a mock stated meeting along with a brief history of the council to more clearly explain the order and procedures which are followed at the stated meetings pursuant to law and council rule,” reads an email sent by the body’s senior director of community engagement, Karina Claudio Betancourt.Fellow freshman Laurie Cumbo (D-Brooklyn) said as a former director of a non-profit, she’d attended her fair share of stated meetings even before being elected.But Cumbo said the training is likely to benefit even the most experienced of the new members. “The same course can be taught by 10 different people and each time you would learn something new,” she said. Novice City Council members still don’t know what they’re doing (NYP)* New York City Approves 'Poor Door' for Luxury Apartment(Newsday)* BdB's rep on City Planning Commission to approve Extell's"poor door" development(NYP)* Manhattan Borough Presidents Gale Brewer at a press conference called for an end to “poor doors” in mixed-income housing developments—separate entrances for the affordable units and for the market-rate units, the Observer reports:
de Blasio Defends His Dark Money Lobbying Group That He Used To Mislead New Yorkers About Closing LICH Hospital
De Blasio defends lobbying group's contributions from firms that do business with the city(NYDN)
Mayor de Blasio defended a lobbying group formed to push his agenda for accepting donations from firms that do business with the city, a practice that is strictly limited for individual candidates. The group, Campaign For One New York, dedicated to pushing de Blasio’s pre-K plan and his other priorities, has brought in $1.7 million in private donations. A number of the donors have contracts or bids before the city. That includes real estate developers Donald Capoccia, who gave $10,000, and Jon Halpern, who gave $5000, and Queens contracting company Ashnu International, which kicked in $5000.People who do business with the city can give no more than $400 to a mayoral campaign, and candidates can’t get public matching funds for those donations like they can for others. Those limits don’t apply to lobbying groups like the Campaign For One New York, which also raked in big bucks from unions and others. “They’re different realities,” de Blasio said when asked about the issue Monday.
A Slush Fund Different Reality
Alarm Raised About ‘Dark Money’ Behind de Blasio’s LICH - Fortis Letter
The backlash continues against a letter sent out by a de Blasio lobbying group supporting the sale of Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital (LICH) to a developer. The government watchdog group Common Cause raised alarms on Tuesday about “dark money” funding the mass mailing, and the Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA) has added its voice to those debunking the letter's claims. The controversial June 26 letter touts the “stand-alone ER” that will be replacing the historic hospital. Although it was signed by Carroll Gardens’ resident Gary Reilly, the letter was mailed from the headquarters of de Blasio lobbyists operating under the name “The Campaign for One New York.” In the letter, Reilly says, “I was asked by Mayor de Blasio to share my views on what [the sale of LICH] means for families in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn and Red Hook.” The outcome, Reilly writes, “. . . is a lot better than we had reason to think one year ago.” With SUNY selling the hospital complex to developer Fortis Property Group, “We will have a freestanding, high quality emergency room, with up to 20 observational beds.” The letter has evoked a storm of criticism from residents of these neighborhoods who fought for more than a year to save the hospital, and who supported de Blasio in his campaign for mayor largely based on his promise to save LICH. That promise was seemingly forgotten after the election, however.* Big city unions bankroll $1.7M to Mayor de Blasio's lobbying arm(NYDN)* * An advocacy group set up by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign aides raised nearly $1.8 million during his first six months in office to promote his policy agenda, The Wall Street Journal reports: * Apartment sharing website Airbnb,
which is under fire for flouting New York City law, has hired Mayor Bill
de Blasio’s former campaign manager Bill Hyers as a consultant, the Daily News reports
NY's Media Gives More Coverage to Spiderman Than Corruption and Other Issues That Effect the Lives of Real New Yorkers
No Coverage of Halloran's Trial Smitherman spokesman Nathan Smith alleged.The threat to New York City’s public spaces(NYP) * Man dressed as Spider-Man punches NYPD cop in Times S(NYDN) * Man Dressed as Spider-Man Is Arrested After Scuffle With Police in Times Square (NYT) * Spider-Man Caught on Camera Punching Times Square Cop(Time) * Cops: 'Spider-Man' Slugged Officer in Times Square(ABC) *Spider-Man Faces Trouble in Case of Assault on Officer(WSJ) * Man dressed as Spider-Man accused of harassing woman and punching cop in ...(WABC) * Yet Another Times Square Spider-Man Arrested (NY Mag)
NYP Prints Opponents Press Release Attacking Indicted Sampson for Repeating His Crime
Sampson's Groundhog Day
New shady claims about Sampson emerge(NYP) Embattled Brooklyn state Sen. John Sampson is up to his old funny-money tricks, critics charge. Sampson was indicted by the feds last year for allegedly stealing $440,000 from housing escrow accounts and using part of the proceeds to help fund a failed bid to become Brooklyn district attorney. Sampson has yet to stand trial and is seeking re-election to his Senate seat. But he is now being accused by a chief rival and election lawyers of using questionable, if not illegal, practices to finance his re-election campaign. Sampson has reported that his campaign treasury has a deficit of $28,746 — a red flag that raises questions on how or where he’s getting the money to finance his re-election bid. Dell Smitherman, a leading candidate seeking to oust Sampson in the Democratic primary, claims the former Democratic leader is allegedly breaking the law again. “John Sampson has been arrested for funneling embezzled money into his previous campaign, and is now illegally spending funds on this race without reporting where his shady money is coming from.* 12 Donors on John Sampson Filing Raise New Red Flags(NYO)
I called Sampson's DO
inquiring about fling error, hung up on. Called back, asked for campaign
info, aide threatened to "kick my white ass." Cuomo Best Strategy Knock Off Opponent to Cut Off Public Ability to Make A Statement Against Him The Cuomo campaign won't challenge the number of @zephyrteachout's nominating signatures, just her residency
Tuesday Update of Closing Moreland: CuomoSpeak
Gov. Andrew Cuomo defended his administration’s treatment of the now-defunct anti-corruption Moreland Commission, saying his aides offered advice to investigators but that it operated with “total independence.” He called the commission a “phenomenal success.” “Of course I talked to people,” Cuomo said. “It would be unintelligent not to talk to people. The best evidence of independence is when someone from the second floor says ‘Why don’t you do this?’ And then the chairman says ‘I disagree, I don’t want to do that.’ That’s not a sign of interference. This is demonstrable proof of independence.”
YOU DID IT TO YOURSELF! Gov. Cuomo's anti-corruption panel is under fire after he failed on his promise to clean up Albany(NYDN) Cuomo
is accused of corrupting his own anti-corruption commission by
interfering in its probes of the Legislature and then disbanding it in
exchange for a watered-down ethics reform package from lawmakers.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has opened an inquiry into the
Moreland Commission while the governor’s office appears to be trying to
distract from the issue.*"Like a wounded bear, Governor Cuomo finally emerged..." READ MORE: NY1 ItCH: A Cuomo Pep Rally - with No Apologies http://shar.es/L7Ys8
Democratic Party Spins Against the NYT's Cuomo Story
The state Democratic party launched a pro-Andrew Cuomo ad blitz as the governor's office braced for an embarrassing Times story about the governor's handling of the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption, Capital New York writes:Spinning Italian Dems Also * Italian-American Democrats and one prominent Italian-American group are pouncing on Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino's comparison of Governor Andrew Cuomo to a mafia boss, Capital New York writes: Daily News N.Y.’s spinning governor Say this for Gov. (NYDN) Cuomo: When the going gets tough, he sticks to his guns. The chasm between his promise of an independent anti-corruption commission and his actions both in meddling in the panel’s business and, finally, in shutting it down have drawn the most withering scrutiny of Cuomo’s tenure.When he was AG, Cuomo complained about the office’s lack of power to investigate public corruption, but as governor, he has failed to provide that power to his successor, AG Eric Schneiderman.
CUOMO’S MORELAND RESPONSE -- Jimmy’s Take: Speaking to reporters in the Queen City at what the Buffalo News called “the most important press conference of his career,” Cuomo said the commission was an “overwhelming success.” For over 20 minutes he explained that his aides offered advice and had conversations with commissioners, but certainly never crossed the line into “interference,” in either a legal or political context. Cuomo leaned on an earlier statement from former Moreland co-chair Bill Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney, that underscored how he was satisfied with his independence and happy with the legislation it achieved. The governor testily answered a Times reporter’s questions about one of Fitzpatrick’s earlier emails by saying it was but a mere “snippet” out of context. “If you had watched the movie to the end, the name of the movie would have been ‘Independence,’ ” Cuomo said. “You named it ‘Interference.’
This is arguably Cuomo’s fourth position on the commission. (To recap: (1) It’s totally independent, (2) I never blocked their subpoenas, (3) I am the commission (3a) and it was never independent and if you thought so, joke’s on you and now (4) it’s a little independent, and my contact is okay so long as it wasn’t determinative.) What’s unclear is whether the governor’s strong statement will settle the matter, or fuel more skepticism. Already, John Stewart last week called the governor’s changing stories “f---- ridiculous” and the Albany Times-Union, calling for an explanation on Sunday, wrote, “You don't have to be a middle schooler to hear this and want to roll your eyes and say, "Wow." On Monday, Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough called it “deeply troubling.” Cuomo will now hope he’s done talking about this. But like so much else at the moment, it isn’t really his call.
QUOTE OF DAY: “I never said it couldn’t investigate me.” -- Cuomo, in response to a question about the Moreland Commission, his office’s role in guiding their activity http://goo.gl/I2rMWJ
Former Gov. Mario Cuomo defended his gubernatorial son, saying his is “as honest a politician as we have seen in New York,” adding: “I wish I were as good a man.”
GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino sparked a backlash when he compared the Italian-American Cuomo’s handling of the commission to “a mafia boss coming forward and saying that he wants to make a suggestion, an offer you can’t refuse…That clearly is intimidation.” State Democrats: Astorino Failed To Capitalize On Moreland Mess(YNN)
@NYGovCuomo sez there wa no interference with #MorelandCommission, only communication.
Cuomo taking questions in Buffalo. He says his office only gave advice to the Moreland Commission.
Can't believe NY Dems still
running "can't trust Rob Astorino" ad. Reminding NYers of corruption
doesn't exactly help Cuomo's cause.*
Cuomo: "The Moreland Commission was a phenomenal success" and says it spurred ethics reform.*
Cuomo: "No one ever said they shouldn't be talking to people or get advice and consultation from people."
Cuomo distinguishing between interference = action by Moreland
Commission versus "suggestion" from 2nd floor being rejected by
commission .
Cuomo: "It was an overwhelming success and the commissions have not gotten the credit they deserve."
Cuomo pitches Moreland as a
go-between in negotiation of ethics package. If so, this was a part of
its mandate that was never announced.*
Cuomo on why he ended Moreland Commission if it was succeeding: "I don't
believe this state needs another expensive prosecutor's office."
.@NYGovCuomodefended his handling of the#MorelandCommission today at an event in Buffalo
Gov. Cuomo: Moreland independence not impeded by his staff's 'advice.' (NYDN)
Cahill: "Where was the attorney general during the ongoings of the Moreland Commission?"
Despite demise of Moreland Commission, Cahill says Cuomo's order still gives Schneiderman the authority to root out corruption
Anti UFT Teacher Tenure Group Makes Its Move the Times Union reports: * As tenure protections for teachers come under scrutiny nationwide, a look at recent disciplinary cases shows termination attempts often ended with fines, The Wall Street Journal reports: ** An obvious way to encourage more talented educators is to compensate teachers for excellence, rather than solely for seniority and advanced degrees, Chris Fazio, a Queens high school teacher, writes in the Daily News: ** An obvious way to encourage more talented educators is to compensate teachers for excellence, rather than solely for seniority and advanced degrees, Chris Fazio, a Queens high school teacher, writes in the Daily News:*The Department of Education is phasing out unhealthy lunch and breakfast items containing high levels of sodium and fat—which it promised to ban from school menus over a year ago, the Post writes: * NYC fired 40 teachers over past 2 years, but hundreds more paid fines or still face hearings …(WSJ) Tuesday Update Early School Parents Mad Parents in uproar as over 450 city schools make start time earlier to comply with new teachers union contract (NYDN)* The state should rethink tenure as a way to reward teachers so that public schools become enterprises of learning, not a jobs program for bad teachers, the Post writes: Seven families brought together by a new advocacy group created by ex-CNN anchor Campbell Brown filed their long-anticipated suit against New York yesterday, saying that tenure and seniority protections for teachers violate students’ rights to a sound basic education. Brown, who got teary announcing the lawsuit, played down her role in it, saying she’s “just proud to be holding the coats” of the plaintiffs. The much-hyped Campbell Brown-backed lawsuit challenging the state’s teacher tenure law will be filed in Albany on Monday,* New York Educators Fight Back on Attacks to Tenure(NYT)
The United Federation of Teachers sent out a memo defending tenure laws
after two parents groups in New York filed lawsuits to challenge it.
Council Progressives Look The Other Way When Their Members Get Paid for Nothing
Money for nothing(NYDN) Council members rake in thousands of bucks for nothing at
all. Here’s an existential puzzle: If a committee has only one member, is it always in session? The question must be asked because four City Council panels have one member each, with each member serving as chairman and with each pulling down an $8,000 stipend for holding the title. Most absurdly, Brooklyn Councilman Chaim Deutsch has failed to gavel himself into order as chairman of the Subcommittee on Non-Public Schools since he was named to the newly created panel in January. Then, there’s Councilman Ruben Wills, who was removed as chairman of the Subcommittee on Drug Abuse after he was indicted for allegedly stealing state funds — leaving the subcommittee without any members. All told, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito doles out $472,000 in annual stipends, called lulus, enabling her to boost incomes above the Council’s lawful $112,500 salary. The extra money went to 47 of 51 members, supposedly for extra work. Right.
Bratton 2.0: After Chokehold and White Flag
Tuesday Update
MAYOR, BRATTON HINT AT “BROKEN WINDOWS” CHANGES -- Azi’s Take: Police commissioner Bill Bratton, without mentioning “Broken Windows” by name, said the NYPD “is continuing our quality-of-life enforcement, where and when needed” and reassessing “how that should be applied.” At a press conference, the mayor said: “What we want to teach is the notion that” officers have discretion in how to handle quality-of-life matters -- “maximizing dialogue, attempting to resolve situations as effectively as possible, that doesn’t always require arrests.” De Blasio was asked about the use of body cameras for police officers. The mayor said that’s “not something that’s been perfected yet and it’s something that has to be worked on quite a bit to be used on the scale we’re talking about here.’”
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says NYPD will learn from mistakes amid Staten Island chokehold probe, Brooklyn Bridge white flags (NYDN) In
light of Eric Garner’s death and the planting of white flags atop the
Brooklyn Bridge, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton put together a
stee ring committee that will focus on changes in police training.
Security in New York City’s bridges has alsobeen strengthened. Bratton
says the NYPD will learn from its mistakes, but it will take an
indefinite amount of time and money.“He suggested we take a look at lateral vascular neck restraints,” says
Bratton, referring to a type of hold that doesn’t compress the airway. Bratton then referred to the late Jack Maple, his previous first deputy
commissioner, saying he wants cops to learn ways of not having to use
force.“We will prioritize our 18,000 patrol officers,” he said. “There is going to be a significant cost. “Over the next 60 days, we will have gathered up the latest
state-of-the-art practices,” Bratton said. “The steering committee will
then determine how long the new training will take. Is it a day? Two
days? “Unfortunately, there’s a fundamental misunderstanding that stop,
question and frisk has ended,” Bratton said, blaming the false
impression for a dramatic increase in the number of suspects resisting
arrests. “It has not ended. It’s still a basic tool of policing in our
democracy. But the concern that Mayor de Blasio campaigned on, and what I
expressed, was that there was too much of it. And in many instances it
might not have been done appropriately because of lack of training and
lack of supervision. So we still do stop, question and frisk but a lot
less of it. “Similarly, enforcing of low-level quality of life crimes,
broken-window policing, added another tool to American big city
policing. It is not going away. It cannot go away. If it did, this city
would quickly revert to what it was in the late-1980s. My motto is ‘If a
cop sees something, do something.’”How quickly can change be realized? “This is not something that can be fixed overnight *Bratton to Send 6#NYPD Officers to train with #LAPD(NY1) * Bratton Expects Feds to Probe Chockehold Death (NYP) * Bratton to Send 6 NYPD Officers to train with LAPD: Police Commissioner William Bratton is sending six officers...(NYDN)
.@CommissBratton: "I would not be surprised if the U.S. attorney decides to open a civil rights violation investigation." #EricGarner "levels of resistance to arrests is up astronomically”—@commissBratton. #NYPD
A Siena Research Institute poll shows Gov. Andrew Cuomo leads Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino by 37 points, and 59 percent say Cuomo has made the state better: Push Polls Charge * Cuomo’s campaign operatives are being accused of dirty tricks for allegedly sponsoring a biased “push poll’’ to convince voters that Astorino holds politically unacceptable views, the New York Post’s Fred Dicker reports:* Liz Benjamin, host of Capital Tonight, writing in Capital New York, explores Cuomo’s plan to create a new party to focus solely on women’s issues and critics’ argument that it is just a political maneuver * With state Senate Democrats and the Independent Democratic Conference set to reunite as a new coalition, it is still unclear if they will share their campaign fundraising efforts, the Times Union reports:
Do Lobbyists Have Anything to Do With the City Not Cleaning Up Its Corrupt Commputer Contract System? YOU BET
'Weaknesses' remain in city’s handling of computer contracts, nearly four years after explosive CityTime scandal: investigators(NYDN) The report found that CityTime contractors hired sub-contractors who in
turn hired their own sub-contractors, some of whom were unknown to the
city. Peterson says all sub-contractors should undergo exhaustive
review. The city paid an outside consultant, Mark Mazer, to oversee CityTime,
but he wound up masterminding the $500 million fraud. He was sentenced
to 20 years in prison. DOI says the city must assign a qualified city
employee to that role for all future projects. The upgrade started in 2004 and was supposed to take three years and
cost $1.3 billion. By 2012 it had grown to $2 billion — and wasn’t
complete. Mayor de Blasio halted it in May after dispatchers complained
of glitches that regularly delayed emergency response times. And
Controller Scott Stringer held up a $6 million settlement with the
project’s contractor, Hewlett Packard, due to an earlier audit that
found $160 million in possible overbilling. DOI is now trying to
determine what went wrong and whether fraud occurred. Peters’
recommendations will likely apply to the ongoing effort to upgrade the
911 system. CityTime Scandal Time Line
The Lobbyist Who Made Money on the Broken 911 System
Both Mercury and George Artz have been lobbyists for Hewlett-Packard which was the main contractor of the city's 911 emergency system that crashes a lot. The city 911 system is now being sued by the parents of 4-year-old Ariel Russo who claim she died because an ambulance to take the little girl to the hospital was delayed by a 911 crash. Among the lobbyists to get paid by the city’s broken 911 system contractors was George Arzt, Mercury Public Affairs, LLC, Jennifer Carlson, Peter Barden, Jonathan Greenspun, Michael McKeon, Kasirer Consulting LLC. More on Corrupt Lobbyists More on Dark Pool Corrupt Lobbyists SHOCKING The City's Largest Lobbying Firm Kasirrer Was Deep Into the Corrupt of the Citytime Scandal The city’s top lobbyist has been retained to restore the battered reputation of a national company at the center of the CityTime scandal,
one of the biggest rip-offs in municipal history. Records show that Suri Kasirer, who consistently reports earning
more than any lobbyist working in city government, was hired Feb. 15 to
work on behalf of Spherion Atlantic Enterprises. The company hired the two computer consultants whom prosecutors
charged with pulling off one of the biggest heists ever by embezzling
$80 million of the $722 million in spending to build a new timekeeping
system. Kasirer Consulting, the firm founded by Suri Kasirer. Her firm raked in about $6 million—about a tenth of all of the city lobbying dollars spent in 2012. The firm also earned nearly twice as much as its nearest competitor. Lobbyists Lined Up To Help Host Million-Dollar Bill de...(NYDN)Oct 22, 2013 - The host committee of Bill de Blasio's million-dollar Monday-night ... Hospital, and A-list lobbyist Suri Kasirer, who has met with de Blasio on ...
Holtzman Should Give the City Her Lobbying Fees From From the Corrupt Citytime Project
Ms. Holtzman's lobbying firm was paid $120,000 in 2009, $90,000 in 2010, and $200,000 in 2011 by SAIC, the maker of CityTime, to lobby New York City politicians in order to keep NYC.gov paying CityTime's huge cost overruns. Eventually, it was estimated that SAIC over-billed New York City by $600 million, and Ms. Holtzman was one of the principal lobbyist being paid to keep that gravy train rolling. Her lobbying firm was paid $410,000 to keep the CityTime gravy train rolling into Ms. Holtzman's station. Holzman lobbied Borough President - Queens, NYC Council Members. Comptroller's Office, Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of The Mayor (OTM), Office of the Contract Services
A Lot of New Yorkers Agree With Janet Gamble and Have Stop Voting Over the the Last Decade
New York's Falling Voter Participation Rate is A Canary in the Coal Mine Warning for Our Failing City and Democracy
2013 Was the Lowest Turnout Since Women Given Right to Vote . .
200,000 Votes Less Than 2009
de Blasio Was Elected Public Advocate in 2009 With Just 4.4% of the Democrat Vote or Less than 1.7% of the City's Residences
In the primary runoff Comptroller John Liu received 127,173 or just 4% of the registered Democrats in the city (3,177,740) in the runoff. De Blasio did a little better with 138, 736, he got 4.4% of the city's democratic voters. John Liu was elected with just 2.7% of all the city's registered voters casting their vote for him.
A Little Over 1 Million NYC Voters Show Up At the Polls Yesterday Lowest turnout since women won the right to vote in 1918
Only 1.7% of all the registered voters voted in the city voted for Bloomberg in 2009. The mayor received 585,000 out of the 4,657,516 New Yorkers Registered. 1.2 Million Voted.
The Smaller the Vote the More Elected Officials, Corrupt Party Leaders and Special Interests Win
The City's Falling Turnout The City's election results from a half-century ago look like misprints. 3.46 million out of the City's 3.53 million registered voters, a staggering 98%, cast ballots in the 1952 Presidential election. One year later, 93% of registered New Yorkers voted in the Mayoral election. Today, the bottom has fallen out for the City's electorate. Only 27% of the City's registered voters cast their ballots in the last mayoral election in 2005. 39% of registered voters took part in the Mayoral election of 1997. Voter turnout was less than 20% for City Council elections in 1999. NY's Falling Voter Participation New York's Sinking Vote 1. 337,110 more New Yorkers voted in 2004 than 2008. 2. New York Ranked 42 of 50 in Voting Age Turnout 50.7% 2008.The City's Falling Turnout The City's election results from a half-century ago look like misprints. 3.46 million out of the City's 3.53 million registered voters, a staggering 98%, cast ballots in the 1952 Presidential election. One year later, 93% of registered New Yorkers voted in the Mayoral election. Today, the bottom has fallen out for the City's electorate. Only 27% of the City's registered voters cast their ballots in the last mayoral election in 2005. 39% of registered voters took part in the Mayoral election of 1997. Voter turnout was less than 20% for City Council elections in 1999. NY's Falling Voter Participation New York's Sinking Vote 1. 337,110 more New Yorkers voted in 2004 than 2008. 2. New York Ranked 42 of 50 in Voting Age Turnout 50.7% 2008. 3. In 1944 NY had 6,291,885 votes for president and 47 Electoral votes. 4. In 1944 Florida had 482,592 votes for president and 8 Electoral votes. 5. In 2008 Florida had 1,204,479 more votes for president than NY. 6. In 1944 New York had 3,423,467 more votes than California. 7. In 2008 California had 6,291,885 more votes than NY. 8. In 1944 New York cast 13.1% of the Nation's vote. 9. In 2008 New York cast 5.5% of the Nation's vote. Mayor O’Dwyer election in 1941, which took place one month before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor received 1,100,649 more votes than Bloomberg 68 years before mayor won his third term. The 1940 census reported the population of New York City to be 7,454,995. The most recent estimate from the City Planning Commission, as of July 1, 2009, gives the population of New York City as 8,363,710. Two decades before that Mayor John FrancisHylan(1921) Jimmy Walker(1925) both received 200,000 thousand more votes than Bloomberg
The Pols and Election System Breaking the Spirit of Long Time New Yorkers
OPINION: Why I will no longer vote in NYC
By Janet Gamble For Brooklyn Daily Eagle
I have been voting in New York City for nearly 30 years, and now I feel no need to vote here ever again. As a voter, you put your hope and trust in the person you cast
your ballot for and want so badly ... so very badly, that they will try
to come through for you. But now I see how stupid and naive I was. Now I see it is not
the voters that some New York politicians are working for — its
rich, real estate interests. They are the official owners of New York
politics. It's not hard to see the damage these people have caused the
average New Yorker. Affordable housing is almost non-existent in every
borough. Once-beautiful historic blocks of brownstone housing are now
dotted with newly constructed houses that resemble ugly cereal
boxes. The well-off New Yorker has their pick of luxury housing, which
brings me to the reason I will no longer vote.
Long Island College Hospital (LICH) has just been sold to a
developer who donated money to Gov. Cuomo. Several other companies were
supposed to bid on running this hospital, but trumped up excuses were
made against the first two bidders and they were passed over in favor of
a company that donated the most money to the governor. This should be a
scandal and fodder for whoever is running against the governor this
year...but it won't be. Who is going to investigate this? No one... not
when you've pretty much hired everyone who could investigate you. Our current mayor got himself arrested last year, protesting
the closing of this hospital, but I knew it was just a stunt to gain
attention ... and it worked. I voted for him with the silly hope that he
would at least try to save the hospital, and when he negotiated a deal
for different companies to bid for running the hospital, I had hope
again...silly, silly hope. When the bidders were rejected under odd circumstances, I knew
where this ship was heading and that Gov. Cuomo was at the helm. While I
am not sure if the mayor knew how crooked this deal was, his silence
was loud enough. In the old days of Hollywood movies, the good guys and
bad guys were always clearly seen and most of the time, there was a
happy ending. But in this movie, the people (politicians) who we thought
were the good guys, turned out to be the bad guys... and there is no
happy ending.
The Central Park Horses Are Treated Better Than the Voters In This City
There are good politicians, on both sides, who do want to fight
for us. But the rich control the rest, and they will not let anything
good happen. There is this mix of emotion that I feel about this: anger,
frustration, sadness and hopelessness. When you see thousands of good
people losing their jobs and a community losing its hospital — knowing
that the people you voted for are the cause of this ... knowing that
they betrayed you, just because you were stupid enough to trust them —
there is this gnawing ache … an ache of inferiority. Because I, and the
average, non-rich, New Yorker, mean nothing to these people ...
nothing. I know there are those who will say that if I don't vote then I
should not complain when nothing changes. Well I did vote...and I voted
for term limits in New York City. I signed the petition to make it a
law and voted for term limits, twice. Then I watched our former, rich
mayor strong-arm the city council into overturning that law. No, no
more. I will never put my faith in any of these people ever again. Some people will also say, “Just find another hospital.”
Why? My luck in picking hospitals is not that great! Nearly every
hospital that was affiliated with the doctor I chose has closed. St.
Mary's in Brooklyn, St. John’s in Queens and now, LICH. So, I think I'll
be doing you hospitals a favor by not going to you at all! I know now that I am invisible ... a nobody ... worthless...
left to vent my anger in a letter that hardly anyone will see. LICH was
nearly 160 years old. The Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and
even the skyline of Manhattan did not exist when this hospital saw its
first patient. How ironic to see it fall just because of the view that
grew up before it. It was one of the first hospitals to use anesthesia.
One of the first hospitals to use a dedicated ambulance corps. Every
woman in this country should be angry because, the very first hospital
that felt women need special care, too, gave us the first doctor of
gynecology. Soon, this will be gone, replaced with luxury condos that only
the richest among us can afford. And when that first bulldozer comes to
tear down this historic place, I will bury my voter's registration card
in its rubble. Thank you, governor ... thank you, mayor ... for
nothing. Signed, Janet Gamble, AKA Nobody Kingston Avenue, Brooklyn Janet Gamble, a Crown Heights resident, was born in East New York and raised in Bed-Stuy. She has had two surgeries at LICH.
A Lot of Tenants in Janet Gamble's Neighborhood Crown Heights are Being Pushed Out of Their Homes
NYT Reports About the Young Whites Moving Into Crown Heights But Not the Black Tenants Being Harassed Out of Their Homes to Make Room for the Young Whites Moving In How Albany's Manhattan Real Estate Tax Breaks Are Pushing Blacks and the Poor Out of Brooklyn
Buyouts have long been part of New York City’s real estate lore, but as offers have become more common, buyouts have become instruments of illegal harassment and a growing threat to the stock of affordable housing, The New York Times writesTenant groups cite illegal harassment and a growing threat to affordable housing, while landlords say buying out longtime tenants in low-rent apartments is lawful.* SWEATING IT OUT: Brownsville tenants live without hot water and electricity (NYDN)
NYT Reports onGentrification In Crown Heights It Does No Report Why It is Happening So Fast?
Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Gets Its Turn(NYT) The neighborhood has finally overcome a reputation for intolerance and violence that had plagued it since the 1991 riots between blacks and Hasidic Jews. In fact, residents credit the successful post-riot reconciliation between the two communities with being one of the drivers of Crown Heights’ rapid transformation — or gentrification, depending on one’s perspective.
Along Franklin Avenue, signs saying “Moving to Flatbush” have appeared on many businesses in the last couple of years, and while longtime residents don’t tack up signs, there are indications they have also been leaving in large numbers as new arrivals replace them in this community of about 140,000 people.
* Nuns raise rents at immigrant home to boot longtime residents(NYDN) They’re kicking them like a bad habit. The nuns running St. Joseph’s Immigrant Home in Hell’s Kitchen are boosting the rent on young female residents and trying to boot women.. The Selling of Bed StuyCo-ops, Rentals and Institutions in Bedford Park(WSJ) Bedford Park, in the northwest Bronx, is home to some of the
borough's premier cultural and educational institutions, a draw not lost
on residents, who also value its relatively affordable housing stock.* Rent soars across Brooklyn, pricing longtime middle-class residents out (NYDN) Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick get the worst of it as rents skyrocket as much as 15%.*
Are you coming to @CityAndStateNY's #StateofBrooklyn cocktail reception? Thanks to @AirbnbNYC for Co-Hosting! Gentrification of East New York* New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to restore and build 200,000 affordable housing units in 10 years in East New York in Brooklyn will be a template for building affordable housing elsewhere, Newsday writes: * Sunset Park Is Hefty Bet for Investors(WSJ)
Cuomo Campaign Puppet Protesters Against Teachout
Why Is A Mysterious Group Of Protesters Chasing A Longshot Candidate Around New York? (Business Insider) Our attempt to discover the origins of the anti-Teachout movement
ended with one of the protesters screaming, cursing, and threatening us. Teachout's mysterious opponents first drew notice at a press
conference she held on Tuesday in Manhattan in conjunction with
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino where they joined
together to criticize Cuomo's ethics. The protesters carried hand drawn
signs encouraging Teachout to "moveout" to Vermont, where she was raised
and urging Astorino to "come clean." They declined to speak with reporters about why they showed up to protest. A report from Capital New York also
noted the protesters "tried to cover their faces with their signs when
cameras were pointed at them" and declined to answer questions about
their identities. "I'm by myself," one said.* Fredric U. Dicker @fud31 Unbelieveable video of Cuomo Administration"transparency.''TV crew threatened with arrest at Mount McGregor* Here’s a ragtag group of college kids — with anger issues, apparently — who just happen to be organically concerned with Zephyr Teachout’s residency issues.*We Did ItCuomo campaign admits they were the ones hounding@zephyrteachout at her press conferences
Saturday Trial Update Juror cut loose from Halloran’s trial thought he was guilty(NYP) A juror cut loose Friday from the corruption trial of ex-Councilman Dan Halloran said he would have found the accused pol guilty of brokering bribes to get Sen. Malcolm Smith...“I believe he was guilty of taking bribes in exchange for setting up the meetings with the county chairs,” said the juror, a 26-year-old man from Duchess County who was dismissed because he could no longer serve on the lengthy trial. “It’s very convenient that [Halloran] had an excuse for absolutely everything . . . In my mind he really didn’t own up to anything.”Meanwhile, Halloran took the stand Friday to desperately claim that he knew an undercover federal agent was asking him to break the law but that he went along with the conversation in order to snag campaign cash.“They’re trying to get me to say, ‘I’ll do this in exchange for the money.’ Now, I’m not going to do that because I know the rules,” Halloran said.“I’m trying to tell somebody, ‘No,’ in a nice way . . . You can’t piss off donors.“I’m not being completely honest with them, but [I need to] not have them walk away from the table when I needed them for my congressional campaign.* Voters Are Not Surprised When Albany Pols Get Indicted, Siena Poll Says(NYDN)
”Sunday UpdateExcuses for sale(NYDN Ed) For the love of money You’re former City Councilman Dan Halloran, on trial for corruption. The jury has heard a recording of a developer asking you to find someone a job, you agreeing, him handing you an envelope stuffed with cash, and you saying, “Money is what greases the wheels — good, bad or indifferent.”How do you explain that away on the witness stand? By swearing that the money you accepted was in no way a bribe, but merely a “loan.” Maybe you should have stuck with the insanity defense.*New revelations of questionable uses of campaign funds underscore the need for continued investigation, and for stronger reform of the laws on and monitoring of political contributions and spending, the Times Union writes: More on Dan Halloran Trial
Jon Steward Slams Cuomo on Moreland
JON STEWART SLAMS THE GOV: “Basically, Cuomo formed a
commission promising, ‘You can even look at me.’ And then when they
looked at him, he basically said: ‘You looking at me? You looking at me?
I don't see any other governors here. You looking at me?' … Turns out,
Governor Cuomo may be like the boss who says, ‘Yeah we'll play hoops at
lunch. You can go hard.” And then when Jimmy from accounting blocks his
shot while he drives the lane, he goes: ‘Hey, the other team isn't
allowed to touch the ball because I started the game.’” Video* Jon Stewart skewers Cuomo on ethics scandal(NYP)
Gov. Cuomo’s Broken Promises(NYT Ed) The governor of New York created an independent
commission to root out corruption in Albany, but he blocked
investigations of his own office behind the scenes. Gov.
Andrew Cuomo ran for office four years ago promising first and foremost
to clean up Albany. Not only has he not done that, but now he is
looking as bad as the forces he likes to attack. Last
year, Mr. Cuomo created an independent commission that he promised
could go anywhere — even his own office — to root out corruption. But a
report in The Times
on Wednesday showed that he never intended to keep that promise. The
commission was not independent, and Mr. Cuomo’s aides blocked it
whenever it tried to investigate the governor’s office or his biggest
supporters. Mr.
Cuomo now says the commission, which he abruptly disbanded to make a
deal with the Legislature on an inadequate set of partial reforms, was
never supposed to look at his office and that because he created it, he
got to call the shots. That
is hardly what Mr. Cuomo led New Yorkers to believe when he formed the
Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption and said it would
be “totally independent.” “Anything
they want to look at, they can look at — me, the lieutenant governor,
the attorney general, the comptroller, any senator, any assemblyman,” he
said.
But
The Times report showed that, behind the scenes, Mr. Cuomo’s office
quickly began working to stop the commission from digging into any
operations that might affect the governor or taint his image. In
one case, commissioners issued a subpoena to a media-buying firm called
Buying Time. The commission was investigating whether unlimited
donations to political parties for “housekeeping” were really a backdoor
way to support candidates. Commissioners were not aware, apparently,
that Mr. Cuomo was a longtime client of Buying Time. When the governor’s
office found out, Mr. Cuomo’s closest aide, Lawrence Schwartz, called a
commission co-chairman and demanded that he “pull it back.”
Unfortunately, the commission rescinded the subpoena and only reissued
it weeks later.
It is up
to the voters to decide whether to go on endorsing business as usual and
as the indictments and embarrassments continue, New Yorkers will have
to decide if their representatives are politicians they can
trust—including Cuomo
Then,
despite Mr. Cuomo’s earlier promises, Mr. Schwartz argued that the
commission could investigate only legislators, not the governor. And he
shut down a subpoena to the powerful Real Estate Board of New York,
which includes many of the governor’s biggest supporters. The
commissioners wanted to investigate whether donations from wealthy
developers affected tax breaks or other legislation. The real estate
board eventually complied voluntarily with the commission’s request. When
the commission managed to hammer out recommendations for slowing or
ending the Albany scandals, the governor’s office tried to skew the
final report with deletions and other changes that suited Mr. Cuomo’s
political interests. For example, one mention of the Committee to Save
New York, which was organized to support Mr. Cuomo’s agenda and spent
more than $16 million from undisclosed donors, was missing from the
final report. The group was the biggest lobbying spender in 2011 and
2012 before disbanding when a new state law required disclosure of
donations.* Rockland DA, a Moreland member, said panel got subpoenas fordocuments, but he hasn't received one to appear(LoHud)* Mahoney: There Were ‘Personality’ Clashes On Moreland(YNN) * Democratic gubernatorial hopeful
Zephyr Teachout said Cuomo’s meddling in the Moreland Commission is a
bigger violation of voter trust than ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s
solicitation of prostitutes, Gannett Albamy reports: * Astorino called on state Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman to appoint a special prosecutor to work in
parallel with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to investigate Cuomo’s
involvement with the Moreland Commission, State of Politics reports:* Republican attorney general candidate
John Cahill criticized Schneiderman for his role in the Moreland
Commission “fiasco,” saying Schneiderman—who personally deputized the
commissioners, giving them broad power to investigate corruption—has
done little to clean up Albany, Gannett Albany reports:* Despite the Moreland Commission’s
disbandment in April, five staffers remain on the state payroll,
including its former executive director, at a salary of $175,000 a year,
according to records from the comptroller’s office, Gannett Albany reports:* Gannett Albany has compiled a timeline detailing the life and death of the Moreland Commission, from
the first public mentions by Cuomo in the spring of 2013 to the
governor’s response to the recent Times report detailing his
interference with the commission:* Legal experts are split over whether any laws were broken by Cuomo’s office.Republicans, meanwhile, prodded Cuomo to come out and explain his actions.* Is Astorino’s campaign becoming a proxy war for 2016?* Zephyr Teachout: Gov. Cuomo Should Resign If He Was Aware Of Moreland Commission Meddling(WCBS) * Cuomo Held the Strings in Graft Hunt (NYT)* Teachout calls on Cuomo to answer Moreland questions(Capital)* Candidates for Governor React to NY Times Report on Moreland Commission(NY1) Friday PM* NY Mag’s Chris Smith
notes Gov. Cuomo could have saved himself a big headache if he’d just
admitted all along the Moreland Commission was about leverage.* Astorino Campaign Prods Cuomo Into Commenting On Moreland* State of Politics looks at three
reasons why the recent revelations about Cuomo’s interference with the
Moreland Commission might not be the “game changer” Astorino hopes it
will be, and three reasons why it might: * Christie, Cuomo, and the Attempted Astorino takedown(YNN)
Moreland Shut Down Breaking the Spirit of A Citizen Trying to Clean Up the Independence Party
Charges Against Cuomo: Shut Down Moreland Get the Independence Line FridayPolitical dissident says Cuomo got endorsement after Moreland disbanded(NYP)But a political dissident who asked Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption
panel to look into a top Independence Party official thinks the way
things turned out just stinks.Two months after Tom Reddy’s last interview with an investigator, the
commission closed for business — and soon after Cuomo won the
Independence Party ballot line. “They were looking into it. The next thing you know, the Moreland
Commission was disbanded and Cuomo gets the Independence Party
endorsement,” said Reddy, a former Westchester detective.In a letter to the panel and Cuomo last August, Reddy pleaded for an
investigation of Westchester Independence Party leader Giulio Cavallo. In a letter to the panel and Cuomo last August, Reddy pleaded for an
investigation of Westchester Independence Party leader Giulio Cavallo. “Mr. Cavallo has been boasting for years about his ability to squeeze
elected officials for patronage jobs in exchange for the IP party
line,” Reddy wrote. He also claimed Cavallo personally benefited by holding down a number of government jobs “for which he has done no work.” Initially, Reddy said the Moreland Commission panel took his charges seriously. He said he was contacted by chief investigator Robert Addolorado in December 2013 and again in January 2014.
The NYT is Counting On an Un-elected Prosecutor to Clean Up Albany
It’s not just Mr. Bharara’s job to clean up Albany. It is up to the
voters to decide whether to go on endorsing business as usual. As the
indictments and embarrassments continue (26 at latest count since 1999),
New Yorkers will have to decide if their representatives are
politicians they can trust, including Mr. Cuomo. * U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara appeared
on PBS’ “Charlie Rose” and said his office will succeed in cleaning up
corruption in Albany where the Moreland Commission failed “because if
other people aren’t going to do it, then we’re going to do it,” Gannett Albany reports
* Bharara: “We are the people who do our jobs" (LoHud)
Feds Would Have Used Rapfogel to Take Down Others . . . AG Politics = Containment
Before There Was the NYT City and State Cracked the Moreland Staff in April
* Exclusive from April 15: Moreland
Commission sources say an assistant counsel to the governor, who professed himself to be the author of the SAFE Act, was selected as the
lead writer of the panel’s December 2013 report after several
independent candidates for the position were nixed:
* Exclusive from May 11: Internal
Moreland Commission documents obtained by City & State reveal the
Commission investigated the questionable campaign spending of around two
dozen state lawmakers, including state Sens. George Maziarz, John
Bonacic, Patrick Gallivan and Greg Ball:
NYP Cuomo's Betrayal to Clean Up Culture of Corruption
Scandal exposes Cuomo as liar and phony(NYP)The devastating New York Times story on Gov. Cuomo’s political interference with his Moreland Commission panel’s investigation of public corruption
pulled the veil from one of the biggest open secrets at the state
Capitol: The governor is a liar and almost anything he promises will
turn out to be false. Cuomo’s betrayal of major pledges is well known: the promise to cut
taxes in a meaningful way, encourage job creation without government
handouts, reduce local mandates, conduct public work transparently and
have science — not politics — determine if fracking can be done safely. “Cuomo did this with Moreland as he’s done it with so many things: He
creates a narrative, ‘crack down on corruption, we’ll get to the bottom
of this,’ but it’s totally cynical, manufactured and never real or
sincere from the start,’’ said a former public official who has counted
the governor as a friend.* ‘MAJOR ISSUE’ -- Following the New York Times’ publication of that 6,400-word piece laying out a damning timeline detailing the Cuomo administration’s interference with the Moreland Commission, Buffalo News veteran Bob McCarthy writes: “Alleged
political interference by Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration into the
Moreland Commission … is now emerging as a major issue in a suddenly
intensified statewide campaign.
A governor's "aversion to have his conduct examined
will prompt people to think his conduct guilty."--New York Weekly Journal,
1733 John Peter Zenger
… The governor’s press office,
meanwhile, followed a business-as-usual routine – issuing no fewer than
seven releases throughout the day, hailing everything from state
influence in retaining Stephen Colbert’s television show for New York
City to announcing an effort to strengthen data collection for lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender New Yorkers. http://bit.ly/1nim3i8--“Andrew Cuomo has a reform to sell you,” by Capital’s Josh Benson: “[W]hat
the Times has done, in a potentially governorship-defining piece of
work, … is lay out in highly entertaining detail how the
administration's cynical manipulation of this hand-picked group of
untouchables actually worked. Investigative red lines, explicitly
political reprimands, an administration mole—it's memorable stuff. … And
there may be another shoe: The investigation by U.S. Attorney Preet
Bharara into the Moreland wreckage, which as my colleague Blake Zeff
pointed out on this site, could cause the governor far more serious
trouble than anything to date.” http://bit.ly/1z6GYbS--Times’ lead editorial is “Gov. Cuomo’s Broken Promises”: “Cuomo
ran for office four years ago promising first and foremost to clean up
Albany. Not only has he not done that, but now he is looking as bad as
the forces he likes to attack. Last year, Mr. Cuomo created an
independent commission that he promised could go anywhere — even his own
office — to root out corruption. But a report in The Times on Wednesday
showed that he never intended to keep that promise. The commission was
not independent.” http://nyti.ms/1kWYWW3* Cuomo takes heat from challengers on Moreland Commission subpoenas(NYDN)* Cuomo Opponents Pounce On Moreland(YNN) * Good government activists called on Cuomo
to address the NYT bombshell on his administration’s interference with
his now-defunct corruption-busting Moreland Commission, but he declined
to say anything beyond the 13-page response he provided to the paper.* The story threatens to turn
what was a “sleepy” re-election campaign for Cuomo into an effort
dominated by the touchy subject of corruption – which Cuomo himself said
he was targeting by creating the commission in the first place. * “While the governor has the legal right to involve himself in the workings of a Moreland panel, do he or his staffers face steeper legal peril because this panel was also empowered as deputy attorneys general?”* The governor made no public appearances yesterday and released no
statements in response to the Moreland Commission story, but he did sign a bill into law that cracks down on pet theft and mistreatment. * Phil Reisman, in a “Spaceballs” reference: “The Schwartz is definitely with Cuomo.”
Here Comes the $3.50 Fare Right After the Election
Queens Boss Crowley Blows Up Trader Van Bramer's Queens Library Political Machine
In a letter to Queens Library trustees, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz demands that they rein in library President Thomas Galante and cut the $2 million payout he’d receive if he is dismissed, the Daily News’s Juan Gonzalez writes: * Flashback: City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer explodes at colleagues(NYDN) Van Bramer's colleagues questioned whether Van Bramer's ties to the Queens Library would compromise his ability to hold a hearing on the library's finances
Tablet Magazine* CITY HALL MANAGES A CRISIS -- Insiders discuss their strategy: While
Bill de Blasio vacations in Italy, top City Hall officials gave the
Times and Eyewitness News a tick-tock, behind the scene look at how they
handled the aftermath of Eric Garner’s death. The administration allied
itself with Garner’s family, expressing sympathy for their loss,
removing the gun and the badge from the main officer involved, and
signaling deeper change is coming to the NYPD. In the long run, the
administration will be judged by what tangible changes come to the NYPD
in the wake of Garner’s death. * BLOOMBERG SPARS WITH STATE DEPARTMENT, WOLF BLITZER -- Capital’s Sally Goldenberg:
Former mayor Michael Bloomberg said he "couldn't disagree more" with
the U.S State Department's travel warning for Israel during a
contentious televised interview on Wednesday afternoon. "Everybody seems
comfortable," Bloomberg said, standing beside Jerusalem mayor Nir
Barkat during an interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer. Bloomberg grew
testy when Blitzer followed up by asking if the department's decision
was "political." "Don't be ridiculous. Why would you think that?"
Bloomberg began, calling the question "an outrage."* WARM WELCOME: Former Mayor Bloomberg gets presidential treatment on supportive visit to Israel(NYDN)* Mayor's Absence During Garner Ordeal Draws Ire(WSJ)
If You Needed Proof That the Council are Jerks and Puppets Controlled By the Mayor and Lobbyists . . .
It took six months in office for members of the City Council
freshman class to admit they really don’t know what they’re doing. An e-mail obtained by The Post shows that some of the 21 novice
legislators expressed befuddlement over the rules governing the
so-called “stated” meetings — which have been held at least twice a
month since January.* Only one new City Council member
attended a “mock” Council session designed for new members and staff,
after details of the meeting were leaked to the press, City & State reports:
Council is Really A Prop for Lobbyists to Rob the City's 72 Billion Budget
The Daily News writes that in continuing to deal with Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has brought pay-to-play to the Council, and she must cut ties with the firm or its clients: http://goo.gl/u9Rtmg Council speaker puts connected lobbyist on payroll(CrainsNY) Melissa Mark-Viverito quietly handed a $130,000-a-year staff position to a lobbyist from the firm that helped propel her to the City Council speakership, payroll records show. In late March, Carlos Beato, who was a lobbyist at the firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, joined the City Council payroll as a deputy general counsel. The move came not long after the lobbying shop—which has long served as Ms. Mark-Viverito’s campaign compliance consultant—quarterbacked her council speaker bid. * COUNCIL WATCH: FRIENDLY FIRE: Since
the progressive movement took hold of both wings of City Hall Council
members have had to concoct controversy to pull off their typical
grandstanding, Seth Barron writes in City & State:* New York City Council Speaker Melissa
Mark-Viverito, other council members and advocates will announce on
Wednesday the expansion of participatory budgeting to at least 20
council districts, Gotham Gazette reports:
As Brooklyn Boss Supports Indicted Sampson Reformers Close Their Eyes
SEDDIO BACKING SAMPSON: State
Sen. John Sampson’s political future has looked bleak ever since he was
indicted on multiple federal corruption charges, but a powerful segment
of the Brooklyn Democratic establishment is doing all it can to keep
him in office, City & State reports:
Frank Seddio resigned a judgeship while under investigation by the state's judicial watchdog agency
Daily News asked Seddio to Release documents of his Investigation to Them in the Name of His New Push for transparencySeddio - Many other people involved who Privacy should be kept. Never a decision made We are not going to release the documents. Would Seddio ask the panel to open the files? And, just as important, would Seddio open the documents before the regulars voted on whether to make him party chairman? This did seem in keeping with Seddio’s vow to bring transparency to party operations.First, the PR man said Seddio would release the file only after the vote for a new boss. Then, the PR man said Seddio had entirely ruled out going public because the documents refer to other people whose privacy could be infringed. Then, the PR man said Seddio would allow the Daily News to look at portions of the files with names blanked out, but no copying would be permitted. And he’d make the arrangements sometime after the vote.
Why Did the Daily News Leave Out the Name of Brooklyn Boss Seddio's PR Man?
First, the PR man said Seddio would release the file only after the vote for a new boss. Then, the PR man said Seddio had entirely ruled out going public because the documents refer to other people whose privacy could be infringed. Then, the PR man said Seddio would allow the Daily News to look at portions of the files with names blanked out, but no copying would be permitted. And he’d make the arrangements sometime after the vote. We’re not holding our breath. As the song goes, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.Frank Seddio picks up George Arzt for his push ... - * Capital New YorkOne of George Arzt's clients is Extell, and Extell is the sponsor of the exclusive, luxury condo called One57 that is the target of an investigation for possible corruption. Extell has funneled approximately $75,000 in campaign contributions to Christine Quinn. According to this report, generated moments ago from the New York City Campaign Finance Board Web site, Mr. Arzt has contributed $90,500 in political donations to municipal candidates Judy Menin Manhattan BP race run by Belin Rosen and George Arzt can you find out who told her to hire Melvin Lowe Melvin Lowe Under Investigation Hired by Menin truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com *Menin’s spokesman George Arzt confirmed that Lowe was hired by the campaign to assist with petitioning, and said campaign ended its relationship with Lowe “after a very brief period” just as the news of Huntley’s wiretap list broke. Arzt Gave almost $100,000 in campaign contributions to NY state candidates spread out over many years.* 2013-10-29 George Arzt - NYS Board of Elections Contributions - Disclosure.pdf George Arzt represents Excell One57 and dozens of other developers * George Arzt - NYC Lobbyist Search Result * More George Arzt is A Bad Guy * Extell George Arzt Moreland Commission * George Arzt Communications, Inc. - NYC Lobbyist Search Result
It's About What the Reformers Don't Know or Want to Know
New Brooklyn Boss Frank Seddio visited a reform club last week and told the members that there is no corruption in the Kings County courts, told them patronage is not a bad thing and promised more transparency, as he served them cannolis he brought for them. A couple of days before his visit the Daily News called his word worthless because he went back on his promised to release documents related to a state Commission on Judicial Conduct investigation of his conduct while running for Surrogate judge. The problem the reformers have with Seddio is that except for the Daily News warning the press has done very little to inform them who is the real Frank Seddio. There is a lot to be learned by investigating how Seddio used the machine and government to make $$$ and remain * Brad Lander @bradlanderI think Frank Seddio may be the first Brooklyn Democratic County Leader ever to attend#CBIDannual dinner!* * THE HIGH COST OF LOW LIFES: The
taxpayer money being spent to defend disgraced politicians like Vito
Lopez could have been saved if Speaker Sheldon Silver had prioritized
employee safety over the Assembly’s reputation, Alexis Grenell writes in City & State: * True News: Seddio: Leave the Gun Take the Cannolis
As the U.S. Attorney Investigates Moreland Sabotage Local TV Give Us Happy News Laughing All the Way to the Bank
Friday Update
* Some legal experts say the fact that
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman deputize
the panel’s members could call into question the governor’s argument
that he was free to do with the panel as he saw fit, the Daily News writes:
The Cuomo administration last year
ordered the Moreland Commission to withdraw a subpoena to a media-buying
firm that had placed millions of dollars’ worth of advertisements for
the state Democratic Party and for Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he ran for
governor in 2010, The New York Times writes:
When Cuomo and lawmakers passed the
law creating the Joint Commission on Public Ethics the legislation also
called for the creation of an eight-member review panel to study the
activities and performance of the commission, but the review panel has
still not been created, the Times Union reports:6,500-WORD HIT -- Times 2-col. lead (New York Edition; moves to
second story in National Edition): “Governor’s Office Hobbled Corruption
Investigations Promised Free Rein, Panel Found Panel Found Groups
Linked to Cuomo Were Off Limits,” by Susanne Craig, William K. Rashbaum
and Thomas Kaplan, with research by Jack Begg:
“The commission
developed a list of promising targets, including a lawmaker suspected of
using campaign funds to support a girlfriend in another state and pay
tanning-salon bills. The panel also highlighted activities that it saw
as politically odious but perfectly legal, like exploiting a loophole to
bundle enormous campaign contributions. But a three-month examination
by The New York Times found that the governor’s office deeply
compromised the panel’s work, objecting whenever the commission focused
on groups with ties to Mr. Cuomo or on issues that might reflect poorly
on him. … “[F]ederal prosecutors are investigating the roles of Mr.
Cuomo and his aides in the panel’s shutdown and are pursuing its
unfinished business. … Things got so bad that investigators believed a
Cuomo appointee was monitoring their communications without their
knowledge. … In a 13-page statement responding to The Times’s questions,
Mr. Cuomo’s office defended its handling of the commission. It said the
commission was created by and reported to the governor, and therefore
he could not be accused of interfering with it…. Yet, The Times found
that the governor’s office interfered with the commission when it was
looking into groups that were politically close to him. In fact, the
commission never tried to investigate his administration. “Beyond that, Mr. Cuomo’s office said, the commission needed
the governor’s guiding hand because it was, simply, a mess: Its staff
was plagued by ‘relationship issues’ and was ‘mired in discord.’ The
commissioners, whom he earlier called some of New York’s sharpest
governmental and legal minds, ‘did not understand the budget or
legislative process or how state government worked,’ the statement said.
Their subpoenas often had ‘no logic or basis,’ and those that touched
on the governor’s supporters were more for show than for legitimate
investigative purposes, the statement said.” h ttp://nyti.ms/1nADaNo* Zephyr Teachout: If Gov. Cuomo knew about Moreland Commission meddling, he should resign(NYDN)* Bill Hammond @NYDNHammond "One state senator appeared to be supporting a
girlfriend in Connecticut and paying tanning-salon bills." Hmm.* The odd couple and the defunct commission: A NY moment(Newsday)* 2,200-word response to NYT inquiries about Committee to SaveNY * NYT: Cuomo's officescuttled investigations into his political allies(TPM) * Stewart-Cousins Defends Cuomo Interference in the Moreland Commission(NYO)* While today’s New York Times story on
the Cuomo administration’s extensive meddling in the now-defunct
Moreland Commission is exhaustive, it does not address what laws may
have been broken or by whom, State of Politics reports: http://goo.gl/DwkAmG INSIDE MORELAND: CITY & STATE COVERAGE FLASHBACK:
* Exclusive from April 15: Moreland Commission sources say an assistant counsel to the governor, who
professed himself to be the author of the SAFE Act, was selected as the
lead writer of the panel’s December 2013 report after several
independent candidates for the position were nixed:
* Exclusive from May 11: Internal Moreland Commission documents obtained by City & State reveal the
Commission investigated the questionable campaign spending of around two
dozen state lawmakers, including state Sens. George Maziarz, John
Bonacic, Patrick Gallivan and Greg Ball:
* Democratic gubernatorial hopeful
Zephyr Teachout, responding to The New York Times report on the Cuomo
administration’s extensive meddling in the now-defunct Moreland
Commission, said that if the governor knew of efforts by top aide Larry
Schwartz to obstruct the commission’s work, then he should “immediately
resign,” State of Politics reports:* State of Politics adds that good government groups also called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to explain himself* Westchester state Sen. Andrea
Stewart-Cousins—the Democratic minority leader in the state
Legislature—defended Cuomo’s interference in the Moreland Commission on
the Capitol Pressroom radio show, echoing the governor’s arguments that
because he staffed the pane and was free to intervene, the Observer reports* #Cuomo Silent After NY Times Report Details Restraining ofAnti-Corruption Commission*More Moreland meddling, a Cuomo insider ultimately pegged towrite commission's interim report.(City and State) WINNERS AND LOSERS: Questions
about interference into the Moreland Commission once again swirled
around the governor and his administration this week, upending a sleepy
election season, but, don’t worry, the winners and losers voting process
is completely transparent and independent, so you can feel at ease
casting your ballot here: Cuomo Moreland Ad
Cuomo’s interference in
an ethics panel was "terrible" and "shocking," good-gov't
groups say regarding recent report
Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion
If you were watching WCBSTV local news this weekend you would have seen a commercials paid for by The Committee to Save New York (business interests supporting Cuomo) called "Turn the Tide" which told the views that Governor Cuomo did a wonderful job at fixing pensions and the states economy. Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues (TU) Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending. *CBS donated $45,000 to @nygovcuomo
Dumb Down Local News Makes Millions on PAC and Other Special Interests Spending
Keeping the Public Uninformed While Racking In the Millions
Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending. Cuomo and his supporters spent over $10 million last year to gain public support to push through his agenda. Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations. All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down. It is not a secret that TV and radio stations rely on the local newspaper for most of their hard news. So those "rip and read" broadcasters have offered their views much less hard news as newspaper staffs shrivel amid the draconian layoffs caused by the internet and the recession? Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill) * Local News Dumb Down Journalism (True News)
Local TV News Makes Millions Keeping the Public Dumb Against the Teachings of Our Founding Fathers
"God forbid we
should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all,
and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in
proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive.If they remain quiet under such
misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty.
... And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned
from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them
take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify
them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty
must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It
is its natural manure."
Local TV News Has Become Wires and Lights in A Box and Tits and Distraction
This instrument (television) can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference.”Edward R. Murrow 1958 speech * Good Night, and Good Luck: Edward Murrow Speech
Before Anything Will Change in This City, State and City the Public Has to Heed This Advice On the Video
Even With the media Feeding us Thorazine 24/7 and None Politician David Perdue Beat Georgia's Congressman Jack Kingston
Dark Money For A Dark Money Fund The Creation of A Secret Govt to Rule NYC
School bus firms try to hide $40K in donations to mayoral nonprofit(NYP) School bus operators who need Mayor de Blasio’s help to retain
lucrative city contracts contributed nearly $40,000 to a mayoral
nonprofit — but took steps to hide the donations from public view, a
Post review found. The school bus owners were among a number of special-interest groups
that helped de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York raise $1.7 million in
the first six months of 2014. But, unlike the yellow-cab firms and the
teachers union, the bus owners tried to mask their involvement. Careful Bus Co. — which has $90 million in contracts set to expire in
2015 — gave nearly $10,000 through a number of LLC’s, including 88th
Street Self Storage Inc. and First Investors Equipment Leasing Corp. Another donation is listed solely as coming from Richard Caparella,
who is the brother-in-law of Careful Bus co-owner Marty Hoffman. School bus operators who need New York
City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s help to retain lucrative city contracts
contributed nearly $40,000 to a mayoral nonprofit—but took steps to hide
the donations from public view
“He asked me to donate” Caparella told The Post. L&M Bus, which has some $110 million in contracts set to expire
next year, gave $15,000 via Stable Realty LLC which shares its Brooklyn
address. And brothers Chris and Joseph Termini gave $10,000 without listing the firms they own — Dak and Hoyt Transportation. The brothers had also tried to donate $4,500 each to de Blasio’s
mayoral transition fund in December, but the campaign returned both
donations. BerlinRosen, which ran de Blasio’s mayoral campaign and is managing
the Campaign for One New York, didn’t say why the money was refunded in
one case and not the other. The Termini brothers declined to discuss their donations. Current school bus operators are at de Blasio’s mercy because they
have contracts that require them to employ the most senior union
staffers — which dramatically boosts operating expenses.Asked about the yellow-bus company donations, the mayor’s office referred questions to BerlinRosen. “The Campaign for One New York is supported by individuals,
foundations and organizations committed to expanding early education and
to the mayor’s broad progressive agenda,” said co-founder Jonathan
Rosen.* Mayor de Blasio’s secret cash gifts(NYP) For a guy who whines about money in politics — and is always calling for
more transparency — Mayor de Blasio sure gets his cash in a sneaky way. There’s a pattern here. In April, the same mayor’s group received
$350,000 from the American Federation of Teachers just before the AFT’s
local affiliate reached a big fat contract that included raises and
retroactive pay the union had been demanding. All together, the Campaign for One New York amassed $1.7 million in
the six months Mayor Bill has been in office. Question is, how much of
this has been snuck in by special interests trying to get on the mayor’s
good side? The usual response is that these contributions show we need public
financing of campaigns. But wait a minute. New York City already has
public financing of campaigns. So how is that a solution?
Give Us A Gambling Franchise and A Take Break
And You Thought the Purpose of Allowing Casinos in NY Was to Raise Money for the State
Four people vying to become the
newest Board of Elections commissioner—Lenore Kramer, Louise Dankberg,
Leonard Kohen and Alan Schulkin—will line up to be grilled by the City
Council in a series of private interviews tomorrow, the Daily News
reports: http://goo.gl/geqDih
Teachout Petitions Challenged By Cuomo
Friday GOP Bigs Attacks Astorino Rob Astorino gets snubbed by GOP bigs at governors' association meeting(NYDN)* Democratic gubernatorial hopeful
Zephyr Teachout is facing a Cuomo-backed legal challenge claiming she
has not been a continuous resident in New York for the last five years,
which, if true, would disqualify her as a candidate for governor, Gannett Albany reports:* Business Insider’s attempts to
discover the origin of a group of anti-Teachout protestors that has been
dogging the candidate at her events and questioning her New York
citizenship ended in screams, curses and threats: Thursday
General Objections Filed Against Teachout’s Petitions(YNN)Two general objections were filed at the state Board of Elections
challenging Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout’s effort to challenge
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Democratic primary. Teachout’s campaign this month filed about 45,000 petition signatures to gain ballot access, triple the amount needed.The general objections — due today with the state Board of Elections —
came from Harris Weiss and Austin Sternlicht. Neither challengers have
made political donations in the last decade, a search of campaign
finance contributions showed.
The contact person for the objections is former Senate Minority Leader Marty Connor, who questioned in May whether Teachout was eligible to run for governor in New York based on her previous out-of-state residency.At the time, Teachout was challenging Cuomo for the Working Families Party ballot line, which ultimately failed. It turned out Teachout was indeed eligible to run for governor and had no residency issues. Teachout’s campaign had been anticipating a challenge to its petitions and earlier this month circulated a fundraising appeal so the campaign could hire lawyers.* Cuomo challenges Teachout’s petitions to knock her off ballot(NYP) Gov. Cuomo’s campaign moved Monday to boot Democratic rival Zephyr Teachout from September’s primary ballot.“We are challenging [her] petitions,” said Cuomo campaign spokesman Peter Kauffmann. Acting on Cuomo’s behalf, Democratic activists Harry Weiss of New
City and Austin Stemlicht of Rye filed “general objections” to the
petitions before the deadline Monday. Election lawyer Martin Connor — one of the city’s top election
lawyers who ties to Cuomo and the Demoratic Party — is listed as the
lawyer for the objectors. * Two people have filed legal
objections to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Democratic challenger Zephyr
Teachout’s ballot petitions and must lay out any specific errors with
Teachout’s approximately 45,000 petitions in six days, Gannett Albany reports:
Queens Boss Lives in Virginia, Former Bronx GOP Boss Lives in Westchester, Why Not A County Leader from South Africa?
Michael
Blake’s run for a corruption-plagued South Bronx seat in the state
Assembly may be turning out to be “historic” for the wrong reasons,
former state Assemblyman Michael Benjamin writes in the Post A state assembly candidate’s ‘ragged’ efforts for ‘hope and change’(NYP) Michael Blake’s run for a corruption-plagued South Bronx seat in the
state Assembly may be turning out to be “historic” for the wrong
reasons.A former top operative for Barack Obama going back to the 2008
Democratic primaries, Blake is running for the seat that Eric Stevenson
vacated after being convicted of bribery in January.
But his own efforts
to stand for “hope and change” — and for the people of the district —
are looking a little ragged. Blake recently bragged on Facebook about the “record-setting and
historic” $160,000 he’d raised. But he’s rumored to be getting help some
odd places. Is Johannesburg, not Jersey City, the sixth borough? Why Johannesburg? Well, that’s where US Ambassador Patrick Gaspard calls home.
And
Blake is a protégé of Gaspard, who once headed the Democratic National
Committee and the political-action arm of powerhouse union 1199 SEIU. Some Bronx Democrats are accusing Gaspard of calling his pals at 1199
SEIU urging their support of Blake — and, indeed, the union endorsed
him Friday.
Jenkins Who Started His Lobbying Career at the Firm Kasirer Consulting is the Bronx Bosses Enforcer?
Correction: Jenkins Left Kasirer in 2008 and is Off On His Own Lobbying Now
Bronx Democratic bosses learned that he had assembled a slate of
community leaders to challenge their district leaders and state
committee members. He quickly got a disapproving call from party adviser Patrick
Jenkins. Blake says Jenkins told him that running for the Assembly was
one thing, but running an opposing slate was a declaration of war. Blake said he was shocked at the audacity of the Jenkins upbraiding. But
shock soon turned into compliance, as the Blake campaign severed ties
with his reform slate and filed nominating petitions for his candidacy
alone. Jenkins Lobbying ClientsFamilies for Excellent Schools - Advocacy, Inc., Bank Street College of Education, EZ Festivals, LLC, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Inc., Midtown Trackage Ventures LLC,
Kasirer Consulting is the Highest Paid City Lobbyists
Not surprisingly, meanwhile, this year's highest-paid firm was
Kasirer Consulting, the firm founded by Suri Kasirer. Her firm raked in
about $6 million—about a tenth of all of the city lobbying dollars spent
in 2012. The firm also earned nearly twice as much as its nearest
competitor.
The top ten lobbyists by compensation were: Kasirer
Consulting ($6,059,486), James F. Capalino & Associates
($3,317,406), Constantinople & Vallone Consulting ($2,507,500),
Bolton-St. Johns ($ 2,390,266), Greenberg Traurig ($2,334,294), Manatt,
Phelps & Phillips ($2,067,481) Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver &
Jacobson ($1,971,509), Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel ($1,889,915),
Parkside Group ($1,729,036), and Davidoff Hutcher & Citron
($1,629,390).
Forest City's 2013 Spending, by Lobbying Firm
Kasirer Consulting LLC $160,000 lobby target: Office of the Mayor
Geto & de Milly Inc. $46,000 lobby target: Community Boards
Park Strategies, $40,000 lobby target: City Council
LoCicero & Tan, $32,000 lobby target: "Attaches of the Council"
Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP $9,000 lobby target: City Council
Lobbyist Kasirer Consulting Made Money on the Broken 911 System
Both Mercury and George Artz have been lobbyists for Hewlett-Packard which was the main contractor of the city's 911 emergency system that crashes a lot. The city 911 system is now being sued by the parents of 4-year-old Ariel Russo who claim she died because an ambulance to take the little girl to the hospital was delayed by a 911 crash. Among the lobbyists to get paid by the city’s broken 911 system contractors was George Arzt, Mercury Public Affairs, LLC, Jennifer Carlson, Peter Barden, Jonathan Greenspun, Michael McKeon, Kasirer Consulting LLC. More on Corrupt Lobbyists More on Russo's Death and Dark Pool Corrupt Lobbyists The Kasirer Reps Rapfogel's Met Council Forest City Ratner Nexus
Rapfogel nwas ForestCity's partner on ncil Seward Park bid, charity show,etc * Former Forest City Ratner lobbyist Melvin Lowe, Sampson crony, charged with corruption; charges do not involve developer(Atlantic Yards) The Forest City angles 1) Given that Forest City Ratner joinedwith the Met Council on a bid to redevelop the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, the departure of Rapfogel--surely highlighted as a key executive in the bid package--casts a major shadow on that bid. 2) The Barclays Center chose to give the Met Council--and a music camp--profits from a 2/28/13 cantorial concert. Shouldn't investigators look into any ulterior motives, like buffing the developer's relationship with Silver as a prelude to that Seward Park bid? 3) The position of Rapfogel's son Michael, a Forest City VP of External Affairs who's the developer's chief legislative liaison, has to become a little uncomfortable, though he is of course not responsible for his father's actions. His mother Judy is still Silver's top aide, and that has to be the key legislative relationship. But the name Rapfogel is now associated with an emerging scandal.I've written at length about the ties between Forest City, Silver, and the Rapfogels.
Berlin Rosen is Working for Michael Blake Campaign
It New Yorkers Face Cheney Like Fake Reality (Brainwashing) and Tammany Hall Corruption
de Blasio Primary: Hospital Not Condos Mayor's Flack: Condos No Full Hospital
De Blasio-allied group defends LICH deal to brownstone Brooklyn(Capital) The outside group that advocated for Mayor Bill de Blasio's pre-K plan is sending out a mailer praising a deal that resulted in a dramatic downsizing of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill. The Campaign for One New York is the new iteration of UPKNYC, the advocacy group run by the mayor's former campaign aides that spent more than $1 million promoting the mayor's universal pre-K plan. When its name change was announced in May, the group's spokesman, former de Blasio campaign aide Jonathan Rosen, told the Wall Street Journalthat it would "build on the grassroots energy of UPKNYC and last fall's campaign to support the mayor's bold, progressive agenda as it continues to move forward — building the affordable housing we need, fighting inequality, and ensuring that every child receives a great education." The mayor got arrested during his mayoral campaign protesting the prospect of the hospital's closure. *BerlinRosen's current and recent clients include Two Trees Management Negotiations between Mr. de Blasio’s team and Mr. Walentas’s firm took place over the last few days. The two men share a mutual adviser: Jonathan Rosen, one of the mayor’s top political hands and the chief executive of a public affairs firm, Berlin Rosen, that counts Mr. Walentas’s company as a client. A Lobbyists Who Grew Out of the WFP's Data and Field Swamp is Not Telling New Yorkers How to Think?
LICH had been losing millions of dollars a month. In February, when the mayor announced a "truly historic" agreement with those community groups, health care unions, and the State University of New York that he hoped would save the hospital, he gave a shout-out to Reilly. Following a messy few months, the state has gone back to negotiating with the partner that it had been talking to in the first place: Fortis Property Group. The deal will not include a full service hospital.The campaign would not disclose how much it spent on the mailer, who its donors are, or how many homes the mailer was sent to. The group's spokesman Dan Levitan said it would disclose its donors in its July 15 filing with the state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics. “The Campaign for One New York and many of the activists involved in preserving healthcare at LICH believe it is important that people in the community understand the many critical services that will be still be provided there, including an emergency room, cancer center, HIV/AIDS clinic, as well as urgent, primary, and preventative outpatient services in more than a dozen specialties," he said, in a statement. The mayor's office had no immediate comment. de Blasio Doublespeak Rent freeze or rent hike? Sources say de Blasioadministration wanted both (Capital) Several members of the board said that a top aide from the de Blasio administration urged them to vote for the increases. (CrainsNY)
The Real Build New York Campaign
Construction projects prelude donations for Cuomo(NYP)State government contracts are paving the way for political donations to Gov. Cuomo, a Post analysis of records reveals.A $3.8 million project to repair a portion of the Saw Mill River
Parkway in Pleasantville served as a prelude to $15,000 in contributions
to Cuomo’s re-election, including from the contractor who won the bid. According to Board of Elections records, William Schultz, owner of
W.M. Schultz Construction in Saratoga County, donated $5,000 to Cuomo
six months after repaving a stretch of the Saw Mill to reduce flooding. “The project had nothing to do with the contribution,” Schultz told The Post. Within a year after the project was complete, Cuomo received $10,000
more in contributions from four businesses near the construction site.Two were first-time donors to Cuomo — ECCO III Enterprises, which
dropped $5,000 into the governor’s campaign account, and Hughes
Contracting Industries, which contributed $3,000. The companies — all located on Saw Mill River Road just off the parkway that was paved — did not return calls for comment.
Justice Department Wants Grimm Trial Before the Election
NYP Left Out that Assembly Wright As NY County Leaders Gets Judges Their Jobs
Assemblyman Keith Wright pushed a
court to reinstate his top aide’s driver’s license after she was busted
for a 4 a.m. DWI in Harlem last month, where she dropped his name and
threatened cops, the Post reports:
NYP Left Out that Cumbo Campaign Was Fined By the CFB Because Her Consultant the Advance Group Mixed Citizen United $$$ With Her Campaign Contributions More Member Items Abuse
Once again our City Council is proving — with your tax dollars — that
even a good cause can start to lookugly when it looks to political
connections for funding. The latest example is Brooklyn Councilmember Laurie Cumbo’s $1.4
million taxpayer-financed gift to the Museum of Contemporary Arts. Her
donations will be matched by another $1.4 million in the mayor’s
executive budget, for a grand total of $2.8 million for this museum. That’s a nice chunk of change. One other relevant point: Cumbo is the founder of this museum.
We don’t suggest that any of this is illegal. But that’s the smelly
part, at least with regard to council member items. This is money that
the council’s politicians take from taxpayers and ladle out to their pet
projects and causes without even a vote. The worthiness of the cause being supported is irrelevant. In fact,
we think by participating in a process so open to abuse, non-profits
risk their good names. Remember, member items were part of William
Rapfogel’s scam at the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. So we’re with Mayor de Blasio on this. End member items. And let
these worthy causes raise money the old-fashioned way — either by
persuading private benefactors to contribute, or, when taxpayer dollars
are involved, by holding an up or down legislative vote.
The CFB Finds the Advance Coordinated PAC NYCLASS $$$ and Campaign $$$
The Investigation Of the Advance Group NYCLASS Corruption Continues With Fines Against Two CN Cumbo and Levenson City council members fined over money from anti-horse carriage group(NYP)Two
city council members were slapped with hefty fines for accepting
prohibited campaign contributions from a group at the center of the
Central Park horse carriage brouhaha. Freshman member Laurie Cumbo
(D-Brooklyn) was fined $7,868, and newbie Mark Levine (D-Manhattan) was
fined $8,686 by the city’s Campaign Finance Board for accepting
over-the-limit funding from a “prohibited source.” The board found that
the funding source for both campaigns – New Yorkers for Clean, Livable
and Safe Street (NYCLASS) – was too intertwined with the candidates’
consultant, The Advance Group (TAG).Campaigns are prohibited from
coordinating with third-party groups that make “independent”
expenditures. Yet TAG president and lobbyist Scott Levenson was
political director for NYCLASS, and both groups shared the same office
space.* Two NYC campaigns fined over cash from animal rights group(Newsday)
But NYCLASS and The Advance Group were intertwined -- NYCLASS'
political director doubled as The Advance Group's president, for example
-- and spending by NYCLASS "could not be and" was "not independent" of
the campaigns, the finance board said. The contributions were over the
$2,750 limit as nonindependent spending and weren't reported by the
campaigns, the board said. Cumbo and Levine responded with a joint
statement, saying their campaigns are opposed to outside spending in
elections.* 2 City Council members fined thousands for accepting improper campaign funds from anti-carriage horse group NYCLASS(NYDN)
Tale of Two One Building: How Developer's Campaign Contribution Led to the Poor Door
City OKs UWS development with ‘poor door’ for residents(NYP)
The city approved a developer’s controversial plans for a “poor
door” on the Upper West Side, The Post has learned.Extell came under fire last year when it introduced plans for a
33-story luxury condo with a separate entrance for affordable-housing
tenants.A spokesman for the Department of Housing Preservation and
Development confirmed that the agency had approved Extell’s application
for the Inclusionary Housing Program. Under the program, developers may build larger properties in exchange for providing on- or off-site low-income housing. The development will have 219 units overlooking the waterfront and 55
affordable units in a “building segment” facing the street.
This is rich! The poor will use a separate door under plans for a new Upper West Side luxury tower — where affordable housing will be segregated from ritzy waterfront condos despite being in the.
As the Millions in Tax Breaks to Excell Has Shown Real Estate Developers Already Own Albany and the Governor
In an interview, Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group, indicated that the multimillion-dollar effort was a significant shift in city politics and might alter the nature of campaigning on the local level. “The entire point of a City Council race is to reflect the needs of the neighborhoods in a district,” Ms. Lerner said. “This undercuts the neighborhood-based nature of a district and replaces neighborhood concerns with industry concerns.
How Real Estate $$$ Run Politics in NYC
Cuomo $300,000 from Extell
On Real Estate Contributors Subpoenas
Cuomo said he has no problem with the anti-corruption Moreland Commission he convened sending subpoenas to real estate companies that have contributed to his campaign, including Extell Development, the Times Union writes:
True News Exclusive: Will Moreland Look At City Officials/ Candidates Who Got Matching Funds From Extell's One57?
Gaming the System
It was not only Vito Lopez, Marty Golden, Keith Wright, Cuomo the Albany Assembly and Senate PACs of both parties that got money from Extell Development, sponsor of One57 for tax breaks. At least 6 citywide candidates got the loot from the buildings developers. Extell contributions to city officials were designed to take advantage of the public matching fund program. Most were $175 with many of the same contributors giving to more than one candidate. The Moreland Commission is looking into the state contributions and tax reductions connections, there is no indication if the commission will look into with the city pols for their cash. They should. George Arzt a flack for Extell works for at least two of the candidates who got money from the developer. If you wonder why the middle class keep getting pushed out of NYC, It has to do with the same candidates who promise to save the middle class feeding off the tit of the luxury developers.
As the Daily News revealed last Tuesday, One57 is among five residential projects that were shoehorned into a real estate tax abatement program under language mysteriously written into legislation passed in Albany. The companies that will benefit, their lobbyists and PACs have donated $1.5 million to Albany campaign accounts over the past five years. The bill’s sponsors — Sen. Marty Golden and Assemblyman Keith Wright — professed ignorance.* How the Rich Get a Big Real Estate Tax Break - NYTimes.com* Assemblyman Keith Wright Sent Letter Acknowledging Developer Tax Breaks In Bill(NYDN)
Wright Tries to Blame Vito Lopez Wright is furious at Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for dragging him into a controversy over tax breaks awarded to five city developers, the Daily News’s Ken Lovett writes: http://nydn.us/15ZsRDH Wright inherited the bill after Silver replaced former Assembly Housing Committee Vito Lopez, who was removed because of his sexual harassment scandal. The bill is the subject of an investigation, in which high-level politicians allegedly received money from real estate developers
Albany's Tax Breaks Turn Into Foreign Aide for the Rich
New York’s improving economy coupled
with high demand from global investors have driven Manhattan
office-building values back to where they were before the crash, The Wall Street Journal writes:
How Does the Media Let George Arzt Get Away With Flacking for Luxury Highrise Tax Breaks, While Running Major Campaigns?
Extell Corrupt Lobbyist Arzt Flacks for Brooklyn Boss Seddio
EXTELL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY. Media Contact: George Arzt at 212-608-0333 Can we expect the candidates like Katz that Arzt is trying to elect this year will help him get more tax breaks for luxury highrises. Subpoenas have gone to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development, sponsor of One57 *Extell Lobbyist Money is Also Flying At the Hudson Yards
True News Wags the NYT to Report On the Assult on the AffordableHousing Tenants
How Albany's Manhattan Real Estate Tax Breaks Are Pushing Blacks and the Poor Out of Brooklyn
Buyouts have long been part of New York City’s real estate lore, but as offers have become more common, buyouts have become instruments of illegal harassment and a growing threat to the stock of affordable housing, The New York Times writesTenant groups cite illegal harassment and a growing threat to affordable housing, while landlords say buying out longtime tenants in low-rent apartments is lawful.* SWEATING IT OUT: Brownsville tenants live without hot water and electricity (NYDN)
NYT Reports onGentrification In Crown Heights It Does No Report Why It is Happening So Fast?
Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Gets Its Turn(NYT) The neighborhood has finally overcome a reputation for intolerance and violence that had plagued it since the 1991 riots between blacks and Hasidic Jews. In fact, residents credit the successful post-riot reconciliation between the two communities with being one of the drivers of Crown Heights’ rapid transformation — or gentrification, depending on one’s perspective.
Along Franklin Avenue, signs saying “Moving to Flatbush” have appeared on many businesses in the last couple of years, and while longtime residents don’t tack up signs, there are indications they have also been leaving in large numbers as new arrivals replace them in this community of about 140,000 people. * Nuns raise rents at immigrant home to boot longtime residents(NYDN) They’re
kicking them like a bad habit. The nuns running St. Joseph’s Immigrant
Home in Hell’s Kitchen are boosting the rent on young female residents
and trying to boot women..
Real Estate Market Forces: International Money, Gentrificatrion and Airbnb Are Making Affordable Housing Program into A Band-Aid on A Cancer
.
Is Anyone Studing the Effect of Foreign $$$ Puring Into the City
NY's Real Estate Has Become the New Swiss Hidden Banks Accounts to Hide Illegal Money
GILDED CITY – New York mag cover, “Stash Pad: The New York real-estate market is now the premier destination for wealthy foreigners with rubles, yuan, and dollars to hide,” by Andrew Rice:“Every year, the British real-estate brokerage Knight Frank publishes a document called ‘The Wealth Report.’ The latest edition produces the curiously precise estimate that there are 167,669 individuals in the world who are ‘ultrahigh net worth,’ with assets exceeding $30 million … forecasting that over the next decade, the ranks of the ultrarich will increase by 30 percent, with much of the growth coming in Asia and Africa. … New York is forecast to add more ultrahigh-net-worth individuals than any city outside Asia over the next decade.”“[S]ince 2008, roughly 30 percent of condo sales in large-scale Manhattan developments have been to purchasers who either listed an overseas address or bought through an entity like a limited-liability corporation, a tactic rarely employed by local homebuyers but favored by foreign investors. … Corcoran Sunshine, which markets luxury buildings, estimates that 35 percent of its sales since 2013 have been to international buyers, half from Asia, with the remainder roughly evenly split among Latin America, Europe, and the rest of the world. ‘The global elite,’ says developer Michael Stern, ‘is basically looking for a safe-deposit box.’ …* A study showed Manhattan’s apartment inventory is up after a two-year shortage, but the average price for a Manhattan apartment rose 20 percent to more than $1.6 million, the Times writes: * Hidden in Plain Sight: New York Just Another Island Haven()ICIJ) Lax U.S. rules and real estate industry’s no-questions-asked approach make it easy for dodgy characters to funnel wealth through high-end Manhattan apartments.
Ex-NYC housing honcho: I raked in $2.5M in bribes(NYP)A former city housing honcho said Monday he raked in $2.5 million in bribes from developers and contractors looking to access affordable housing contracts. The stunning admission from former Housing Preservation and Development Department assistant commissioner Wendell Walters came as he testified in the Brooklyn federal court bribery trial of developer Steve Dunn and his lawyer partners Lee Hymowitz and Michael Freeman.* Ex-Housing Official Tells of Bribes(WSJ)
We Know About CM Ferreras Corruption With (LIBRE) for Years SO How is This an Exclusive?
The
head of the City Council’s powerful Finance Committee once ran a
taxpayer-funded, not-for-profit that routinely issued checks to her and
her parents, a Daily News investigation has found. EXCLUSIVE:
While Julissa Ferreras (D-Queens) and her mother ran the publicly funded Latino
Initiative for Better Resources and Empowerment, 16 checks totaling
just over $8,000 were issued to family members and a baseball league ran
by Ferreras's father, according to documents obtained by The News.The mother wrote several LIBRE checks to her daughter, and the daughter
wrote checks to herself, her father, and a baseball league her father
ran, according to internal LIBRE documents obtained by The News. The state attorney general’s Charities Bureau says nonprofits must
assign more than one authorizer to sign off on checks, but Julissa and
her mother often signed checks by themselves. Formed in 2003, LIBRE was supposed to provide an array of services in
Queens, from citizenship classes to job training and education programs.From 2004 through 2008, Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) funneled $420,000 in city funds to the group.The LIBRE checks to Ferreras and her family surfaced in a federal
investigation of Monserrate’s misuse of LIBRE. He later pleaded guilty
to using LIBRE to help fund his 2005 reelection and a failed 2006 run
for state Senate.
During that time, Julissa Ferreras served alternatively as his chief of
staff and as chairwoman of LIBRE’s board. She won his former Council
seat in 2009. On June 12, 2007, Julissa by herself signed off on a $3,150 check to a
baseball league her father ran, Dominicana USA Academy. On the same day,
she and a LIBRE employee signed a $1,000 check to a sporting goods
store, R&M, for a “Queens Dominican Baseball Tournament.” The
contact listed was Julio Ferreras.LIBRE closed down in late 2008, as Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet
Bharara began looking at Monserrate, who by that time had become a state
senator.
Monserrate was indicted in 2010 on charges of looting LIBRE to fund his
political ambitions. He pleaded guilty in 2012 to conspiracy and fraud
and is serving a two-year prison term. Bharara’s office had possession of the checks to Ferreras and her parents, but Ferreras was not charged with a crime.
Has Flashback to What True News And Other Media Reported About LIBRE Years Ago
Teflon CM Ferreras AG, Feds and the Queens DA look the Other Way at Ferreras' LIBRE's Corruption
Corruption
In the None Profit Group Libre Sent Monserrate to Jail, The Executive
Director of Libre, Ferreras Was Never Touch By the Investigators
Former councilman Monserrate is in jail because he used his member item money to help his campaign. The none profit group which Monserrate used was Libre, which was overseen by his chief of staff Julissa Ferreras, received
hundreds of thousands of dollars in discretionary funds from the
councilman. The group Ferreras ran Libre never produce time sheets, expense receipts, canceled
checks or board meeting minutes to document its expenses for the two
fiscal years, 2006 and 2007, examined in the audits. Monserrate admitted to carrying out a fraudulent scheme in which
$109,000 in government funds was used to benefit his unsuccessful run
for the state Senate in 2006.While
he was a member of the City Council, Monserrate had directed the money
to a group in his Queens district, the Latino Initiative for Better
Resources and Empowerment, or LIBRE. Mr. Monserrate, who in 2008 was
running for State Senate,
referred at that time questions about the accounting to his chief of
staff, Julissa
Ferreras, who was Libre’s chairwoman during the period examined by the
audits. “She’s the person to have the conversation with,” he
said. “I wasn’t the director. I don’t know what paperwork was there,
what books were there.” Ms. Ferreras, who is running in 2008 to fill
the seat Mr. Monserrate will be
vacating on the City Council, said at that time in a brief telephone
interview with the NYT that the records should be in Libre’s offices. “I
personally
don’t keep the records,” she said.
NYC weathers six months of a progressive City Council(NYP)
1. ID for undocumented aliens, transgender people or anyone else who for
whatever reason doesn’t possess legal proof of identity, the municipal
ID card has been presented as a means of integrating a shadowed
community of New Yorkers into society. Council member Danny Dromm, the lead sponsor of the muni ID bill, has
repeatedly said that the card will become the “must-have accessory” for
all “real” New Yorkers. Councilmember Mark Weprin echoed this sentiment,
saying during the vote on the bill that “we live in the coolest city in
the world, right? And now we’re going to have a membership card, and
people will want to be part of that club.”
2. Leave it to the City Council to throw a couple ridiculous crusades into
the mix. Council member Peter Koo, who was born in China, wants all
textbook references to the Sea of Japan also to call it the “East Sea.”
Indicted council member Ruben Wills has introduced a law to establish a
nine-member Cricket Task Force to promote the sport in the city. Neither
has passed (yet).
3. The new budget may not raise taxes, but that doesn’t mean the City
Council isn’t trying to nickle and dime in other ways. Council member
Brad Lander wants the city’s stores to start levying a 10-cent fee
(which the stores will keep) for every bag they give customers to carry
their stuff out of the store. Handleless bags for use inside the store,
such as for produce, are exempt, as are bags for pharmacy prescriptions.
It hasn’t come to a vote yet.
4. Perhaps the biggest piece of legislation was overriding Michael
Bloomberg’s veto of the paid-sick-leave bill and passing an expanded
version of the bill. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal writes dozens of animal rights bills — winning favor of animal activists(NYDN)
Council Cannot Find Extra $$$ for Vets In Spite of the VA Hospital Scandal in the City Budget for Vets
Although the New York City Council asked for an additional $400,000 in funding for the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs to develop programs to assist veterans and an additional $1 million for mental health, employment and legal assistance services for veterans, those funds are not in the budget agreement, Gotham Gazette reports:
D-Day Punk CM Dromm Want to Kick the Military of Schools Out of NYC Schools
New York City Council Education Committee Chair Daniel Dromm wants to shut down the New York City school system’s Junior ROTC program, saying he has a philosophical problem with the program, the Post reports:
* The head of the NYC Council’s Education Committee, Queens Democrat Daniel Dromm, wants to shoot down the school system’s Junior ROTC programs — charging they’re training high-school students for a “war machine.”
NYT Who Endorsed Rangel's Opponent Never Forgets
Charlie Rangel's Charitable Giving Shrinks Along With Fund-Raising Clout(NYT) When Charlie Rangel was riding high as Chairman of the House Ways and
Means Committee, one way Mr. Rangel, a Harlem Democrat, helped his
profile was by giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to charitable
organizations. Those days are long gone.
Labor Commissioner Hires His Ex Company
Labor commissioner gives no-bid contract to firm he founded(NYP) The city’s top labor negotiator turned to some familiar faces to help
hammer out dozens of municipal contracts, by bringing on the consulting
firm he founded.Three months after Robert Linn was appointed labor commissioner, the
city inked a $99,500 no-bid contract with Linn & Logan Consulting,
Inc., founded by Linn in 1995.He served as executive director until January’s appointment. Linn got clearance from the Conflicts of Interest Board. Mayor de
Blasio spokesman Phil Walzak said the urgency of contract talks
precluded soliciting bids.
It Was Cuomo's Best of Days and Worst of Days
U.S. Issues Subpoena in Inquiry on Cuomo’s Closing of Moreland Commission(NYT) Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the assistant to the panel’s former executive director to testify, suggesting that the criminal inquiry has moved to a new stage. Federal agents served the subpoena on the assistant, Heather Green, on
Wednesday morning, appearing at her doorstep before 7 a.m., the people
said. Ms. Green, who is not believed to be a target of the inquiry,
worked as an executive assistant to the anticorruption panel’s former
executive director, Regina Calcaterra, until Mr. Cuomo announced he was
disbanding the panel, known as the Moreland Commission, on March 29.
The
subpoena, according to two people who have seen it or been briefed on
its contents, asked for documents and correspondence, including any
communications with Mr. Cuomo and his senior aides. It also directed Ms.
Green to appear July 28 to testify before a grand jury in Manhattan,
the people said. Separately,
Mylan L. Denerstein, counsel to the governor, has agreed to be
interviewed in early August by federal prosecutors about her involvement
with the panel, one of the people said. The U.S. Attorney Preet.Bharara appeared on a radio show days later and, in an unusual
move, sharply criticized Mr. Cuomo’s decision, saying his actions made
it appear as though the governor had bargained away corruption cases as
part of a political deal. Mr.
Bharara also referred to allegations that Mr. Cuomo and his aides had
interfered with the commission’s investigations, steering them away from
the governor and his allies.The
direction of Mr. Bharara’s criminal inquiry remains unclear, but it
appears to be focused on whether shuttering the panel, or any actions
before it, interfered with any prospective federal investigations. It
was not immediately clear how Ms. Green’s testimony fit into the
criminal inquiry. While news reports have disclosed that several
subpoenas had already been served in connection with the investigation,
all of those were for documents and other materials, not for testimony.
How Cuomo got his picture-perfect LIRR moment(Capital) “[T]he deal looks like a significant win, allowing him to collect
credit for averting a … costly transit mess, and avoiding a
confrontation with a union fresh off tamping down a near-revolt on his
left at the recent Working Families Party convention. … [T]he governor's
late appearance in the drama … comes straight out of the Cuomo
playbook. (He did a similar thing in April as the M.T.A. and its
Transport Workers Union Local 100 reached a tentative contract for about
34,000 bus and subway workers.) So Cuomo only became involved in the
LIRR talks—publicly at least—in the day leading up to the accord. “He had previously suggested that it was an issue for
Congress, not the governor (even though he effectively controls the
M.T.A.). Then his staff got involved with negotiations behind the scenes
… Experts on labor negotiations say that it was always unlikely for
Cuomo to become involved in the railroad talks unless he a knew there
was a deal to be made, particularly in an election year. And … the union
negotiators were unlikely to agree to terms until a few days before the
strike was set to occur. If they came back three weeks ago with a
tentative deal, their membership may have rejected it believing more
could be done
NYP is Demanding the Mayor's PAC One NY Give Back the UFT $$$
Give the money back, Mayor de Blasio(NYP) Maybe Mayor de Blasio’s spokesman is right: There’s “zero” connection between the sweetheart deal the teachers union won from the city and $350,000 its parent union donated to Mayor Bill’s Super PAC. Maybe it’s also just a coincidence, as Crain’s reported, that the donation from the American Federation of Teachers to the Campaign for One New York came less than a month before the mayor agreed to a nine-year-contract with its New York local whose health “savings” are vague but whose retroactive pay is all too real. StudentsFirstNY has called for an investigation. In a letter to the chairman of the New York City Conflicts of Interest
Board, the organization says “New Yorkers deserve to know whether it is a
conflict of interest for Mayor de Blasio to take large Super PAC
contributions from a union with whom he is negotiating a new contract.”
NYPD Getting Good Press On Its Efforts to Stop the Increase in Shootings
For Six Months True News Has Been Reporting That the Council Speaker Paid A Lobbyists Who Was Lobbying Her . . . Today the Daily News Reports the Same Info As Exclusive
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito paid $28G to lobbying firm for consulting, while they lobbied her on behalf of clients(NYDN) During the period that she was paying Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, the firm lobbied her office and members of the City Council on behalf of at least a half-dozen clients, according to lobbying reports filed with the city clerk’s office. Simultaneously paying and being lobbied by the same firm is legal, but the practice has been criticized by good-government groups worried that such a cozy relationship can give lobbyists special access to a politician. The Daily News between Dec. 1 and July 11, her campaign, Viverito NY, wrote six checks
ranging from $722 to $6,630 to the firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno &
Giblin, the campaign finance statements show.On 11/27/2013 the Daily News wrote a story that forced the speakers hand.
Daily News Dumb Crook Reporters?
The Daily News Does Not Even Understand That It Was Them Who Forced the Speaker to Pay Lobbyists Pitta Bishop Del Giorno When They Wrote A Story Attacking the Advance Groups Free Help to Mark-Viverito to Make Her Council Speaker. A Violation of the City Ethics Rules for Lobbyists. EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013)
If the Daily News Wants to Keep the Horses They Should Work On Exposing the Advance Groups Corruption Before Their Friends Cover It Up A kick in the teeth (NYDN Ed) The Daily News delivers nearly 40,000 carriage horse petitions to City Hall, but Mayor de Blasio has blinders on
As Reported in True News for Months
Lobbyists Are the New Party Bosses
Melissa Mark-Viverito spent big bucks on speaker's race, campaign filings show
Mark-Viverito spent significant amounts on campaign consultants - paying $22,352 to consultants Pitta Bishop Del Giorno Giblin. She also owes that firm another $6250.She paid $8295 to Amelia Adams from New York Communities for Change, now a top staffer on her city payroll, $10,000 to H Strategies, where her now-communications director Eric Koch then worked, and $10,000 to Jon Paul Lupo, who worked on her speaker campaign and is now a top aide to Mayor de Blasio. She also donated $8500 to the Working Families Party. Mark-Viverito collected donations from unions 1199 SEIU, CWA Local 1180, and 32BJ. An opponent of the proposed big soda ban, she also got $1000 from Coca Cola’s PAC.* Mark-Viverito spent $106K on bid to become speaker(Capital)
Flashback Why Did the Daily News Keep Out Its Own Story About the Advance Group Illegally Working for Speaker Mark-Viverito?
To the Winner Lobbyists Goes the Spoils (City Council) Since the 2013 elections Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin has picked up of 70 clients to lobby for. 51 clients to lobby the city council, 17 to lobby the office of the mayor
Another big winner of 2013 made a similar argument. Jon Del Giorno, sitting in his firm's 28th-floor conference room a few blocks from City Hall, downplayed the notion that his closeness with Ms. Mark-Viverito will help his firm, Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, which has hovered near the bottom of, or just out of, the top-10 list. Pitta Bishop has done Ms. Mark-Viverito's election-law compliance since 2005, and last year Mr. Del Giorno quarterbacked her uphill speaker bid. In a clever and unprecedented move, the firm set up a 2017 campaign account for an unspecified office with the state Board of Elections, which allowed Ms. Mark-Viverito to raise $100,000 and hire a full staff for her run, despite needing just 26 votes from council colleagues to win. More than $21,000 of the money reportedly came from Pitta Bishop's long roster of business and labor clients, and gave Ms. Mark-Viverito an edge over her rivals. Common Cause New York said the new speaker was "exploiting" the state's lax campaign-finance system.
Mayor Bill de Blasio named a commissioner to the Department of
Buildings, which is responsible for making sure that the nearly one
million buildings in New York City are safe.* Mayor Appoints Buildings Commissioner, Seeks Changes (WSJ)
Host of de Blasio's One NY Slush Fund Fund Raiser is A Lobbyists for A Queens Developer Whose Project Will Destroy de Blasio Afforable Housing Goals Davidoff and Malito Represents 2030 Astoria Developers Who Want to Build Astoria Cove Waterfront Development Which Will Raise Rents In Queens
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
affordable housing ambitions are being tested by the Astoria Cove
project, a 2.2-million-square-foot development on the Queens waterfront
that is raising fears of skyrocketing rents, The Wall Street Journal writes:
Monday the NYT Was Wrong When They Said Lobbyists Davidoff Was Adopt de Blasio's Agenda
From the NYT Lobbying Group Adopts de Blasio’s Agenda(NYT)
The One New York event was hosted by the lobbying firm of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. Sid Davidoff, one of the firm’s partners — who was married at City Hall earlier this year in a ceremony officiated by the mayor* The One New York event was hosted by the lobbying firm of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. Sid Davidoff, one of the firm’s partners — who was married at City Hall earlier this year in a ceremony officiated by the mayor
de Blasio's One New York Lobbyist Works to Bring Brooklyn Gentrification and Rising Rents to Queens
Davidoff Cashing in Again 5-building complex OK'd for Queens waterfront (CrainsNY) The City Planning Department has given a preliminary thumbs-up to a proposed residential project set to include three towers, each with as many as 32 stories, plus a pair of six-floor buildings farther inland, with a total of 1,698 apartments. "This project will take what is presently an isolated and desolate, underutilized area and transform it into a vibrant mixed-use community," said Howard Weiss, chair of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron's land-use group, who is representing the developer. Astoria Cove, south of Astoria Park on a gritty waterfront peninsula, is being developed by 2030 Astoria Developers Group, which includes Queens-based Alma Realty. The property will include 295 units of affordable housing, a public school and a supermarket, plus a waterfront park that will be open to the public.
Lobbying Group Adopts de Blasio’s Agenda(NYT) Campaign for One New York began advocating universal prekindergarten, but it has moved on to other issues dear to Mayor Bill de Blasio. de Blasio has had his hands full in his first six months in office, with labor contracts, budgets and day-to-day crises to negotiate. But he made time last month to headline a fund-raiser for a new lobbying group: one seeking to promote his political agenda.
Mr. de Blasio, who has called himself a strong proponent of transparency, did not disclose the event on his schedule, and has not mentioned it since. But one New York City vendor subsequently posted a picture of himself on his company’s website talking with the mayor at the chummy event, which was sponsored by one of the city’s biggest lobbying firms and held at the Friars Club in Manhattan Asked about the photo, the vendor declined to discuss it with a reporter; it was taken off the website. But the mayor’s appearance at the June 10 fund-raiser provides a rare glimpse at Mr. de Blasio’s political operation as it continues to take shape outside the confines of City Hall. Created by his campaign strategists to promote his plans for universal prekindergarten, the lobbying entity, initially called UPKNYC but renamed the Campaign for One New York, has begun branching out to advocate other aspects of the mayor’s agenda. Campaign for One New York, a lobbying group that can accept contributions of unlimited size and has to disclose only large ones, has taken up de Blasio’s political agenda
Who is Funding One New York Wendy Neu Who Funded NYCLASS Also Funding One NY
The group, which is called Campaign for One New York, was previously known as UPKNYC. It raised nearly $1.8 million, much of it from labor unions, including the American Federation of Teachers; 1199 S.E.I.U., the health care workers’ union; and Unite Here, the hotel workers’ union formerly headed by a cousin of Mr. de Blasio. The Rockefeller Family Fund, which publicly supported Mr. de Blasio’s prekindergarten plan, contributed $250,000. Among them were several real estate developers, including JSR Capital ($50,000), the Toll Brothers ($25,000), Argent Ventures ($10,000) and Donald Capoccia (10,000). Several taxi companies; a lawyer and former taxi commissioner, Matthew Daus; and Frias Transportation Infrastructure, a company that has developed technology to record taxis’ trips, also contributed. Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, gave $50,000; Alexander Levin, a real estate developer, contributed $20,000; and Wendy Neu, the chief executive of an electronics recycling firm who last year supported a political action committee devoted to defeating Christine C. Quinn in the mayoral race, contributed $25,000.* Mayor de Blasio's pre-k lobbying group took in $800K fromunions including #AFT, $1.76m total(WNYC)* Unions raised $1.7M for mayoral non-profit group(NYP)* An total $625,000 was donated by three union groups: SEIU Local 1199, the giant healthcare union that was first to back de Blasio’s 2013 campaign; Unite Here, formerly headed by de Blasio’s cousin John Wilhem; and New York Progress PAC, which spent $1 million fighting Joe Lhota in last year’s general election. “To have a newly elected mayor start a nonprofit organization to support his big initiative — and then go calling for dollars from those who are involved in the city’s business — is unseemly,” said Dick Dadey, director of the good government group Citizens Union.* De Blasio’s union rally at public school broke rules, critics say(NYP)* Before @UFT contract, teachers gave to Mayor @BilldeBlasiocharity(CrainsNY)* * The same day in April that a
nonprofit lobbying group closely tied to de Blasio received a $350,000
donation from the American Federation of Teachers, the nonprofit group
spent exactly $350,000 to continue running campaign-style television ads
touting the mayor's accomplishments, Crain’s reports:
The NYT Left Out Two Other Attempts to Game the CFB NYCLASS and Data and Field
“It makes it seem as if public policy and the people’s business is up for sale to the largest bidder,” Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group. “This is getting around New York City’s campaign finance system in an unseemly way,” she added.
Notice What the NYT Left Out
1. Jonathan Rosen Who Runs UPKNYC is Not A Registered Lobbyists
2. Johnathan Rosen was Representing the Developer in the Dominos Sugar Deal With the City
3. Johnathan Rosen in 2009 Worked for All the Candidates That Got Help from Data & Field
On Tuesday, the Campaign for One New York will file a list of contributors with the state. Lobbyists are required to disclose only donations exceeding $5,000, but a spokesman for the group, Jonathan Rosen, said in a statement that it would disclose “all of our fund-raising and spending, beyond what the law requires.” Mr. Parikh said in the post on his company’s website that the event was hosted by the lobbying firm of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. Sid Davidoff, one of the firm’s partners — who was married at City Hall earlier this year in a ceremony officiated by the mayor — referred questions about the event to Dan Levitan, who works for Mr. Rosen.
Tale of Two de Blasio's: Transparent BS and Secret
The transparent and secret sides of Bill de Blasio(NYP) Transparent Bill parades his family in front of the cameras, turning
his children, warts and all, into celebrities and political surrogates.
He smooches First Lady Chirlane McCray in public, and she bares details
of her lesbian past and problems in child-rearing. They get ready to
move to Gracie Mansion by stacking their stuff in front of their
Brooklyn house so passers-by can take it, or maybe just gawk at its
ordinariness. The mayor takes offense when his public airing of private laundry is
portrayed as something other than absolutely wonderful, but he’s
inadvertently proving that most pols are wise to keep their private
lives private. Once you open the door, you can’t reasonably expect to
control how others see you or complain about an invasion of privacy.
de Blasio Slush Fund 1NY Update . . . Where the $$ Comes From . . . BHA Debunks Letter About Saving the Hospital and NYT Spins More Crap to Protect Mayor
Does the NYT Think Than An Emergency Room That Does Not Even Treat Heart Attacks is A de Blasio Achievement?
Installation cost the city plenty, but there’s no monitoring
When residents of several public housing complexes learned three
years ago that new closed circuit cameras would be installed in their
lobbies and elevators, they were optimistic that safety in their
buildings would greatly improve.
Three years later, however, residents of one complex say that the New
York City Housing Authority has so badly mismanaged the project that
they feel no safer now than they did before the cameras were installed.
Moore Houses on East 149th St. near St. Mary’s Park was one of five local complexes that received the cameras, electronic keys and mechanical door locks as
part of an initiative to take a bite out of crime, thanks to a $3.2
million allocation from City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo in
2011.
But residents contend that NYCHA has never assigned anyone to watch
a bank of monitors that the cameras’ images are transmitted to, on the
ground floor of one of Moore’s four residential buildings. When they
have complained to housing officials that the expensive cameras
are going to waste, they say the agency has told them it lacks the
manpower to oversee the project.
Residents have urged NYCHA to allow tenants themselves to oversee the monitors, but housing officials have declined.
- See more at: http://www.motthavenherald.com/2014/07/08/safety-cameras-bust-say-nycha-tenants/#sthash.5zfURTPW.dpuf
Safety cameras are a bust, say NYCHA tenants
"To judge from its expenditures, One New York’s purpose seems to be less to
push for Mr. de Blasio’s proposals than to make sure that he gets credit
for his
The backlash continues against a letter sent out by a de Blasio lobbying group supporting the sale of Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital (LICH) to a developer. The government watchdog group Common Cause raised alarms on Tuesday about “dark money” funding the mass mailing, and the Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA) has added its voice to those debunking the letter's claims. The controversial June 26 letter touts the “stand-alone ER” that will be replacing the historic hospital. Although it was signed by Carroll Gardens’ resident Gary Reilly, the letter was mailed from the headquarters of de Blasio lobbyists operating under the name “The Campaign for One New York.” In the letter, Reilly says, “I was asked by Mayor de Blasio to share my views on what [the sale of LICH] means for families in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn and Red Hook.” The outcome, Reilly writes, “. . . is a lot better than we had reason to think one year ago.” With SUNY selling the hospital complex to developer Fortis Property Group, “We will have a freestanding, high quality emergency room, with up to 20 observational beds.” The letter has evoked a storm of criticism from residents of these neighborhoods who fought for more than a year to save the hospital, and who supported de Blasio in his campaign for mayor largely based on his promise to save LICH. That promise was seemingly forgotten after the election, however.* Big city unions bankroll $1.7M to Mayor de Blasio's lobbying arm(NYDN)* * An advocacy group set up by New York
City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign aides raised nearly $1.8 million
during his first six months in office to promote his policy agenda, The Wall Street Journal reports:
Sal Albanese @SalAlbaneseNYC
@HammerDaily hopefully we are not returning to the days of
@BarrettNation & Jack Newfield's book "City For Sale"
Safety cameras are a bust, say NYCHA tenants
NYT Says de Blasio's Lobbyists is Advocating True News Calls It Brainwashing and Misleadin
Who Will Investigate Berlin Rosen Who Worked for Brooklyn DA Thompson, AG Schniderman, de Blasio and the Council Speaker?
Both the Advance Group and Berlin Rosen worked for Comptroller Stringer and CM Mark Levine and Laurie Cumbo were fined for his connection to Advance. Berlin Rosen also worked for NYS AG Schniderman. Mayor de Blasio and Comptroller Stringer. Brandford worked with Berlin for the AG and for Comptroller Stringer along with the Advance Group.
The NYT Left Out The Fact That A Major Promise of the Mayor's Campaign Was to Keep LICH A Full Service Hospital, He Even Got Arrested Protesting the Proposed Closing
Since the city received state funding for prekindergarten, the group has turned to other issues. Recently, it sent a letter
to residents of Brooklyn, defending the outcome of the long legal
battle over the closing of Long Island College Hospital, as well as Mr.
de Blasio’s role in it. Some have criticized
the mayor for declaring in February that he had “saved” the hospital,
after which it effectively closed. It is being sold to a developer to be
turned into condominiums; there will be some health care services,
including a free-standing emergency room, on the site. The
letter, signed by Gary Reilly of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood
Association, said that, thanks in part to Mr. de Blasio, the outcome was
“a lot better than what we had reason to think one year ago.”
True News Wags the NYT Wrote About the UPKNYC Hospital Mailing Last Week
It New Yorkers Face Cheney Like Fake Reality (Brainwashing) and Tammany Hall Corruption
de Blasio Primary: Hospital Not Condos Mayor's Flack: Condos No Full Hospital
De Blasio-allied group defends LICH deal to brownstone Brooklyn(Capital) The outside group that advocated for Mayor Bill de Blasio's pre-K plan is sending out a mailer praising a deal that resulted in a dramatic downsizing of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill. The Campaign for One New York is the new iteration of UPKNYC, the advocacy group run by the mayor's former campaign aides that spent more than $1 million promoting the mayor's universal pre-K plan. When its name change was announced in May, the group's spokesman, former de Blasio campaign aide Jonathan Rosen, told the Wall Street Journalthat it would "build on the grassroots energy of UPKNYC and last fall's campaign to support the mayor's bold, progressive agenda as it continues to move forward — building the affordable housing we need, fighting inequality, and ensuring that every child receives a great education." The mayor got arrested during his mayoral campaign protesting the prospect of the hospital's closure. *BerlinRosen's current and recent clients include Two Trees Management Negotiations between Mr. de Blasio’s team and Mr. Walentas’s firm took place over the last few days. The two men share a mutual adviser: Jonathan Rosen, one of the mayor’s top political hands and the chief executive of a public affairs firm, Berlin Rosen, that counts Mr. Walentas’s company as a client. A Lobbyists Who Grew Out of the WFP's Data and Field Swamp is Not Telling New Yorkers How to Think?
LICH had been losing millions of dollars a month. In February, when the mayor announced a "truly historic" agreement with those community groups, health care unions, and the State University of New York that he hoped would save the hospital, he gave a shout-out to Reilly. Following a messy few months, the state has gone back to negotiating with the partner that it had been talking to in the first place: Fortis Property Group. The deal will not include a full service hospital.The campaign would not disclose how much it spent on the mailer, who its donors are, or how many homes the mailer was sent to. The group's spokesman Dan Levitan said it would disclose its donors in its July 15 filing with the state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics. “The Campaign for One New York and many of the activists involved in preserving healthcare at LICH believe it is important that people in the community understand the many critical services that will be still be provided there, including an emergency room, cancer center, HIV/AIDS clinic, as well as urgent, primary, and preventative outpatient services in more than a dozen specialties," he said, in a statement. The mayor's office had no immediate comment. de Blasio Doublespeak Rent freeze or rent hike? Sources say de Blasioadministration wanted both (Capital) Several members of the board said that a top aide from the de Blasio administration urged them to vote for the increases. (CrainsNY)
Davidoff Cashing in Again 5-building complex OK'd for Queens waterfront (CrainsNY) The City Planning Department has given a preliminary thumbs-up to a proposed residential project set to include three towers, each with as many as 32 stories, plus a pair of six-floor buildings farther inland, with a total of 1,698 apartments. "This project will take what is presently an isolated and desolate, underutilized area and transform it into a vibrant mixed-use community," said Howard Weiss, chair of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron's land-use group, who is representing the developer. Astoria Cove, south of Astoria Park on a gritty waterfront peninsula, is being developed by 2030 Astoria Developers Group, which includes Queens-based Alma Realty. The property will include 295 units of affordable housing, a public school and a supermarket, plus a waterfront park that will be open to the public.
Why Does it Take A Murder of A Child to OK NYCHA Cameras to Be Installed?
Nearly a year after NYCHA got $500,000 in taxpayer dollars to install
security cameras in all the lobbies at the Boulevard Houses, the city
approved the plan — a day after the tragic stabbing attack on two children in a Boulevard elevator.
Witnesses say the attacker fled via the lobby after the brutal assault.
Why the cameras had not yet been installed remained unclear.* DE BLASIO’S SAFETY PLAN: “Everything we have”: Responding to a
surge in violence in the city's public housing projects, and a
particularly violent weekend in which 13 people were wounded by gunfire
and a 6-year-old was murdered, the Mayor said last night that the city
will use “everything we have” to curb violence at public housing
developments: “We are going to see a much more visible presence of the
NYPD in some of the housing developments that have the worst troubles.”*Homeless Families to Public Housing NYCHA to Allocate Approximately 750 Units a Year to Homeless Families Dozens of Suspected Gang Members Arrested in Raid of 2 Harlem Housing Projects: The police raid was aimed at...
The Media Held A Black Mayor Accountable to Increase In Shootings?
Dave Do Something
During
the Dinkins administration a front-page headline in the New York Post
had screamed: “Dave do something!”— a direct call to then mayor David
Dinkins to get crime down fast. Today shooting in the city are up after
years of going down. Not only is the press not digging into the
reasons for the increase, but they are not holding the mayor’s feet to
the fire while New Yorkers are shot. With the press of the press and
the resulting public press Dinkins' with the help of Albany and the
council speaker dramatically increase the size of the NYPD. Today we
have a press that allows mayor and his flacks to chose the issues that
are covered in the media. Nobody in the media wants to talk about the
growing shooting problem and the reason for it. The press will not
hold today's incumbents feet to the filed like that did former Mayor
Dinkins.
The district attorney served justice and common sense in saying he wouldn’t prosecute low-level pot cases.
de Blasio Goes to Bat for His Political Union Machine
In an extraordinary use of his office to help union allies, Mayor de
Blasio Monday night put the squeeze on Cablevision, telling its
disaffected workers involved in a private labor dispute, “I am with you
every step of the way.” The mayor’s intercession on behalf of the Communication Workers of
America — one of the first unions to endorse him for City Hall — came at
a union rally, from which the public was barred even though it was held
at PS 66 in Canarsie, Brooklyn. “De Blasio said, ‘I am with you every step of the way,’ ” recalled Eric Ocasio, 34, a Cablevision worker for seven years.
More on the Campaign to Control the State Senate And $$$ Reports
The abrupt retirement of Sen. George Maziarz gives
the Senate GOP another seat to defend, which means less resources for
other challengers and incumbents facing tough re-election campaigns. When the Republicans were redesigning district seats to help protect vulnerable members a couple of years ago, they figured
Maziarz was so politically strong that he could take on a bunch of
Democratic voters from Buffalo Sen. Mark Grisanti and absorb them into
his district without fear of losing. That move may come back to bite
them. “The landscape keeps changing and the map keeps getting more difficult for Republicans,” said Queens Sen. Michael Gianaris, head of the Democrats’ campaign committee.* * State Senate Republicans will have
nearly $5 million in the bank as of the latest campaign finance filing,
the caucus reports, including $3.7 million raised in the last six
months, the Daily News reports: * But no member of the conference
has contributed so far to Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob
Astorino’s campaign, Gannett Albany writes: http://goo.gl/hqfvlc* John Liu has raised more than half
a million dollars and has $440,000 in cash on hand in his bid against
Sen. Tony Avella, who has raised only $132,000 this period, with $88,000
on hand, State of Politics reports: http://goo.gl/iu7xlZ* GOP Attorney General candidate
John Cahill has raised $1.67 million, while his Democratic opponent,
incumbent Eric Schneiderman, reported having $6 million on hand back in
January, the Daily News writes: http://goo.gl/9PCuGf* Rep. Michael Grimm raised just
$23,430 last month, according to campaign finance reports, with nearly
all of it coming from 18 mostly local donors, the Observer reports: http://goo.gl/BGQqGY* Cuomo’s Campaign Holds a Wide Lead in Fund-Raising(NYT)*S.J. Jung and Toby Stavisky Neck and Neck in Cash War(NYO) * Skelos And Klein Lead In Senate Fundraising(YNN)* Klein Campaign Knocks Koppell For Delayed Disclosure(YNN)*Klein Mob $$$ IDC Leader Jeff Klein took a $10,000 campaign donation from a mafia-linked realty company – the same firm he rents his district office space from.* Senate Republicans warn of ‘leftist’ de Blasio takeover(Capital) Republicans claim Dems are in pocket of de Blasio and W.F.P.
Arroyo Gambling Ways Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo
not only won reelection last year despite nearly getting kicked off the
ballot for signature fraud, she also reported $5,000 to $44,000 in
gambling winnings in 2013
Silver ‘consents’ to separate trial from former ally Lopez(NYP)Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has a message for disgraced ex-Assemblyman Vito Lopez: I don’t want you bringing me down, either! Silver’s lawyer Bettina Plevan wrote Manhattan federal Judge Analisa Torres... * Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s lawyer wrote a letter to the judge consenting to former Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s request of separate trials in a pending sexual harassment lawsuit against them
Not Only is Cuomo Killing Astorino in Fundraising He Getting Help From the State Government
Astorino trails Cuomo in fundraising by great margin(NYP) Republican Rob Astorino’s struggling campaign for governor raised a mere
$2.4 million during the first six months of the year — just 7 percent
of the $33 million Gov. Cuomo had in the bank in January. * After having virtually no money in
January State Senate Democrats will report having more than $1 million
in their campaign account, following the retiring of the remainder of a
longstanding multi-million dollar debt, the Daily News’ Ken Lovett report
Update Comptroller Investigates NY Business Promo Campaign . . . Yea Sure
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said
his office is undertaking an audit of the state’s $200 million ad
campaign that promotes New York’s business climate and tourism, Gannett Albany Bureau writes:
Cuomo is Getting Million in Campaign Help From His State Budget
N.Y.'s 'Open to Business' ads are closed to scrutiny(poughkeepsiejournal) The state's ads touting New York's economy, tourism and business friendliness have been ubiquitous around the country for over a year. How much tax money is spent on the ads isn't as apparent. For the past year, Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, has delayed a Freedom of Information request by Gannett's Albany bureau that seeks details about the spending on New York's "Open for Business" marketing campaign. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration and state legislators allocated $150 million over three years through the agency to market the state's business climate and tourism industry. The program was extended in the current fiscal year with another $50 million from the state Power Authority.In May, Cuomo said New York increased its ad budget to promote the state's tourism industry by 50 percent, up to $45 million in the current fiscal year. The money is in a pot separate from the "Open for Business" fund, but it still falls under Empire State Development's control. The funding boost included seven ads narrated by celebrities to draw visitors to upstate, including ones by actors Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Steve Buscemi. Cuomo told
the Democrat & Chronicle’s editorial board he was unaware that
Empire State Development hasn’t made details public about the “Open for
Business” ad campaign to promote the state and will “look into it.”* CUOMO’S OPEN-FOR-BUSINESS ADS—Capital’s Jimmy Vielkind: New
York has spent $161 million on ads promoting tourism and its business
climate since Cuomo took office in 2011, records released to Capital
late Thursday show. The largest block amount of money was devoted to
airing ads related to the Start UP NY program, which exempts new or
expanding businesses from property, payroll and state income taxes if
they locate in designated areas on or near university campuses. A state
tabulation shows $28 million was spent to air this campaign, which began
last December. The spending has become an issue in this year's election
campaign with Republicans, including Rob Astorino, saying they are
little more than a taxpayer-funded political boost for Cuomo, a Democrat
who is campaigning in part on his work to revive the state economy,
particularly upstate. The manner in which the information was disclosed
has provided another example Cuomo's opaque governing style. Capital
requested records related to the ads in January under the state's
Freedom of Information Law and had to pester a spokesman for the Empire
State Development Corp. more than three dozen times before initial information was released in March. http://bit.ly/1lackFP* It took the Cuomo administration a long time to fill FOIL requests for its ad spending information. Gannett waited a year.* One of the START-UP NY ads features footage of workers as businesses unlikely to qualify for START-UP NY.* The “I Love New York” program, which promotes New York businesses and tourism, is expanding into China.* Republican gubernatorial candidate
Rob Astorino sought to depict the state’s $161 million ad campaign
touting New York’s business climate and tourism industry as a tool for
Cuomo’s own political gain, State of Politics reports:
Reporters Spin Political Outcomes . . . Mayor Quinn
Heading off Cuomo’s Tim Wu problem(Capital) Growing up running his father’s races and helping him govern has made
Andrew Cuomo a political operator of exceedingly rare skill. Having
seen the old man’s mistakes and misfortunes first-hand, Cuomo has
reacted with determination and force at the merest possibility of
anything similar befalling him. Hence the spectacle of the
governor’s newly reconfirmed ally, the Working Families Party, taking a
shot at a little-known lieutenant governor candidate, Tim Wu, on
Thursday. The cause of the broadside, like its target, was relatively
obscure. (Wu, a Columbia Law professor and leading advocate of net
neutrality, had told a radio host he’d like to relieve small businesses
of “red tape,” a comment that caused W.F.P. to “strongly disagree”
with his “slippery slope” position on the Scaffold Law.) Cuomo,
as has been widely discussed, has picked former Western New York
congresswoman Kathy Hochul to be his lieutenant governor. In the general
election, she may help him do better in the region than he did last
time, when he ran against area bu
Lobbyist Now Even Work for Local Governments and Interests Doing Business With Those Local Governments
Report: Taxpayer money used to pay lobbyists(poughkeepsiejournal) Voters elect state officials to represent them and their communities at the state Capitol.But to many local governments and advocacy groups, that's simply not enough. They
shelled out $8 million last year, mainly taxpayer money, to hire some
of the top lobbyists in Albany to represent their interests, a review by
the New York Public Interest Research Group at the request of the
Journal's Albany Bureau found. Even state colleges and public
authorities — which are creations of state government — felt the need to
hire lobbyists to essentially lobby other state agencies and the state
Legislature. In some cases, the lobbyists represent the municipalities
and companies that lobby the same governments.Critics contended it's another example of the pay-to-play system in
state politics. They said campaign-finance reforms could improve the
system. New York has one of the most porous campaign-finance laws in the
nation and one of the robust lobbying industries: Compensation for
lobbyists reached a record high in 2013, a whopping $191 million. "It
speaks volumes about the culture in Albany," said Bill Mahoney, NYPIRG
research director. "Government can't even talk to itself with out hiring
private lobbyists to help grease the wheels." The RGRTA spent nearly $100,000 a piece last year on two lobbyists:
Patricia Lynch Associates, run by a former top aide to Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver, and Robert Scott Gaddy, a close confidante of
Assemblyman David Gantt, D-Rochester. Darren Dopp, a spokesman for Patricia Lynch Associates, said the firm
increasingly provides help to local governments dealing with complex
state policies and legislation. For example, Patricia Lynch Associates got paid about $76,000 last year
to be the lobbyist for the city of Yonkers. Yet the same firm was hired
by Yonkers Raceway for about $83,000 last year to lobby the city and the
state. There's a similar scenario in Monroe County. The county uses Park
Strategies as its lobbyist, paying nearly $64,000 to the firm run by
former Sen. Al D'Amato. Yet Park Strategies represents at least three
firms, including Clark Patterson, an engineering firm, that list Monroe
County as one of its lobbying targets. Often, lobbying firms are the bigger campaign contributions to state
lawmakers' campaigns. That gives them outsized influence at the Capitol
and makes them more valuable to municipalities, authorities and colleges
that need help, Mahoney contended.
Local governments, public authorities, colleges and
special-interest groups spent $8 million in 2013 on lobbyists. That
figure includes in-house lobbyists and the hiring of private firms.
In some cases, the same lobbyist represent local governments and companies that lobby the same municipalities.
Lawmakers
and municipalities say hiring a lobbyist is simply the cost of doing
business at the Capitol. Some colleges use private foundation money to
fund their lobbying work.
Dead Moreland Still Bags A Senator
That moaning and whimpering you hear tonight is the sound of Dean Skelos
as he realizes what his chances of winning anything close to a majority
are
* Sen. George Maziarz’s announcement
that he will not seek re-election could not come at a worse time for
the Senate GOP, which now must win battles for four open seats currently
or previously held by Republicans, defeat two of three Democratic
marginals and defend two of their own marginals who are targets of the
Democrats, if they are to retake the majority, State of Politics reports:
* FLASHBACK: In May City & State revealed that internal documents from the Moreland Commission targeted
questionable campaign spending by Maziarz, State Sen. Patrick Gallivan,
State Sen. Greg Ball, and a number of other members of the Legislature
from both parties: More About Killing the Moreland Commission
Charges of Voter Fraud in the Espaillat Case
Letter From to the U.S. Attorney to Investigate Espaillat Petition Fraud
Anti-Espaillat candidate alleges ‘warehousing’ of voters(Capital) The mysterious and unconventional campaign of Yolanda Garcia—a 13th
Congressional District candidate who seems intent on undermining State
Senator Adriano Espaillat’s campaign, rather than winning any votes for
herself—has filed a complaint with the city’s Board of Elections accusing Espaillat supporters of “warehousing voters” at their home addresses. A
copy of the June 19 letter Garcia’s campaign manager, Richard Soto,
sent to the B.O.E. was forwarded to Capital by another lawyer. In
the letter, Soto says he wants “an investigation into the bizarre
submission of Adriano Espaillat’s designating petitions,” which he says
have “an astonishingly abundant [number] of registered voters in the
same address.” Soto’s letter was forwarded to the offices of the
Manhattan district attorney, the state attorney general and the city
Department of Investigation, which is standard practice for allegations
like this, said Michael Ryan, the executive director of the city Board
of Elections.
Take Airbnb, an online service that connects people who want a place
to stay with people who have space to rent — and is diverting revenues
from hotels. Or look at Uber, the app that allows riders to call and pay for a cab via their smartphones. Uber is upsetting yellow cabs. But it gets crazier. Now Uber and the yellow cabs are both
complaining about Lyft, a ride-sharing app that has car owners driving
passengers for a “suggested donation” rather than a fare. Lyft postponed
its debut in New York — complete with the bushy pink mustaches its
drivers affix to their cars — because of a legal back and forth with
city and state officials.On behalf of ordinary residents benefitting from the greater choice,
better service and lower prices these apps are bringing, we say: Let the
disruption continue!* Lyft Company Officials Due In Court To Discuss TLCCompliance * Car-hailing app Lyft won't launch in NYC yet as company, regulators fight in court(NYDN)Tuesday Update * A Manhattan judge gave lawyers for the ride-sharing app Lyft and
regulators who oppose the organization until Friday to work out a deal
for the car-hailing company to operate legally, the Daily News reports:
Uber Looks to Lobby Up UBER SEEKS P.R. HEAD - Re/Code’s Kara Swisher: “[Uber CEO
Travis Kalanick has taken the lead in talking to a series of
high-profile political operatives over the last months to take over
perhaps the most important position [public relations/communications
head] at the company right now … [The list] includes … well-known
Democratic strategist Howard Wolfson, who sources said has been perhaps
the candidate who has gotten furthest along in the job search. … [T]he
talks between Wolfson and Kalanick … are over, in part due to Wolfson’s
need to stay in New York, where his wife holds a major new job at the
Clinton Foundation. Kalanick is still looking, having talked to other political
players such as former Obama White House press secretary Jay Carney
(whose name is also being bandied about for the other big job opening in
tech PR, at Apple).”
.
. AG Who Gets Campaign Contributions From Taxi Industry, Tried to Stop UBER
Schneiderman And Lawsky Seek Halt To Lyft(YNN)Uber cuts New York City prices to compete with yellow cabsUBER vs. yellows: "The price cut is definitely a shot at taxi," said Josh Mohrer, general manager for Uber NYC. "We can't be dominant if we're not both better service and better price." Put another way, Mohrer sees the temporary discount as a promotional device to hook more riders on Uber, increasing demand for Uber drivers, and thereby luring more taxi drivers away from the medallion rental business
Over 100 Years Ago Tammany Hall Went After the Subway Developers to Protect the Horse Carriage Taxi Industry
UBER CHEAPER -- Capital’s Dana Rubinstein reports that Uber, the ambitious San Francisco-based taxi app company, is temporarily making rates for its UberX service in New York City lower than yellow taxi fares: "We just dropped uberX fares by 20%, making it cheaper than a New York City taxi," said a notice on its website. "From Brooklyn to the Bronx, and everywhere in between, uberX is now the most affordable ride in the city."* Attention Uber: "Car hailing app Lyft is aiming tolaunch in New York without permission from city regulators" (NYDN)
NYT Does Not Understand that Casinos in NY Are All About Campaign Contributions and Money for Lobbyists
It is Not About Fixing the State's Fiscal Problems Gambling on Casinos in New York(NYT Ed) The state is ramping up its gambling business, but that may not be an easy answer to financial problems.
As Albany Looks the Other Way, Feds Go After Espada Pension
Feds go after convicted former NY Sen. Pedro Espada's full pension(NYDN)Disgraced former state Sen. Pedro Espada has now lost his entire pension.A judge in June ordered that 25% of Espada’s $612 monthly pension be
garnished to help collect the $118,981 Espada owes the Internal Revenue
Service. And last week, state Controller Thomas DiNapoli’s office last week
received another federal court order to withhold the remaining 75% to
help satisfy a $368,088 criminal forfeiture judgement against the crook
convicted crook. Espada, 60, was sentenced in 2013 to five years for plundering funds from his Bronx health clinic and tax evasion.
Weakness of Elected Prosecutors In Political Corruption Cases
Wills charges Schneiderman tried race-baiting in 2010 primary(NYP) State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman tried to play the race card
in his 2010 primary battle against Nassau DA Kathleen Rice, drafting a
fellow Dem to do his dirty work, new court papers charge. Schneiderman asked state Sen. Shirley Huntley, who is black and was
supporting him, to call Rice, the white prosecutor running against him
in the Democratic primary for state attorney general, a racist,
according to the filing. “Schneiderman asked for Huntley’s support as her district was
significantly African-American and was thought to be the tipping point
for the race,” according to court papers filed last week by embattled
City Councilman Ruben Wills, Huntley’s former top aide. Schneiderman, who was then a state senator, wanted Huntley to say Rice
used her position to “unfairly and disproportionately prosecute
African-Americans,” court papers say. “He encouraged Huntley to gather crowds in predominately minority
neighborhoods and then publicly and falsely accuse Kathleen Rice of
racism,” according to the filing. Huntley, who represented southeast Queens, refused Schneiderman’s request, sparking bad blood between the two, court papers say. Wills — who was indicted by the Attorney General’s Office in May on
charges of stealing more than $30,000 in taxpayer money from a charity
he founded and using some of the cash for shopping sprees — may just be
trying to save himself with the race-baiting allegations. The allegations came in a legal filing in which Wills is seeking to
remove Schneiderman from his case and have a special prosecutor
appointed. Huntley was recently released from federal prison. She pleaded guilty
in 2013 to taking $87,000 from a nonprofit she started. Schneiderman
began investigating charities linked to her shortly after he took office
in 2011. Huntley declined to comment but said of Schneiderman in a 2013
videotaped interview posted to YouTube that “There were things that he
asked me to do that were not kosher.”* Indicted pol seeks Schneiderman's removal from case
Wills Opponents Attacked in His 2010 Campaign for the Mission Profit Money Shirley Huntley Explains How Everyone Was Totally Out to Get Her(NYO, 6/22/13) A month from serving a year-long prison sentence, Ms. Huntley
claimed, for example, that she was singled out for an investigation
because she didn’t tell her constituents that the current attorney
general’s electoral opponent was “a racist and only locks up black
people” during the campaign.“He was upset with me about certain things that he wanted me to do,”
Ms. Huntley said of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a former
colleague in the State Senate before he ran for higher office in 2010.
Mr. Schneiderman faced a crowded field in the Democratic primary,
including Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, whom Ms.
Huntley alleged she was asked to malign.“I was not a fan of Kathleen Rice
because I don’t know her but I was not going to do anything that was
going to damage her reputation,” Ms. Huntley explained. “I wasn’t going
to do that. I was not going to go to black folks and tell them they need
to jump up and down and say, ‘Kathleen Rice is a racist and only locks
up black people.’”* A month from serving a year-long prison sentence, Ms. Huntley
claimed, for example, that she was singled out for an investigation
because she didn’t tell her constituents that the current attorney
general’s electoral opponent was “a racist and only locks up black
people” during the campaign. “He was upset with me about certain things thaat he wanted me to do,”
Ms. Huntley said of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a former
colleague in the State Senate before he ran for higher office in 2010.
Mr. Schneiderman faced a crowded field in the Democratic primary,
including Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, whom Ms.
Huntley alleged she was asked to malign. “I was not a fan of Kathleen Rice
because I don’t know her but I was not going to do anything that was
going to damage her reputation,” Ms. Huntley explained. “I wasn’t going
to do that. I was not going to go to black folks and tell them they need
to jump up and down and say, ‘Kathleen Rice is a racist and only locks
up black people.’”* Queens Councilman Ruben Wills arrested by AG (May 7, 2014)
Daily News Say Schneiderman would show great courage by backing out on principle by Not Defending A Lawsuit to Do Away With Teacher Tenure
Think of the kids, Eric(NYDN Ed) Cast into defending New York’s education-deadening teacher tenure laws,
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman faces the prospect of arguing
against the interests of children and for those of teachers unions. As a “progressive” in a Democratic Party in tune with labor (see Mayor
de Blasio’s defense of tenure), Schneiderman may be quite comfortable
battling a tenure challenge. His office says he has not formulated a position on the merits of two
lawsuits — one filed, one soon to be filed — challenging New York’s
lifetime job protections for teachers, no matter how poorly they do
their jobs . Whatever the case, the litigation will test his mettle in
an election year.
Blame the Elected Officials Who Fail to Treat the Mentally Ill for the Jail Horror
Breaking Gov. Cuomo expected to announce deal to avert LIRR strike
Six days before a possible Long
Island Rail Road strike, negotiations appeared to collapse, as the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority acknowledged “a gulf” with its
unions, and labor leaders said they would proceed with plans for a
walkout, The New York Times reports:
* Mayor Bill de Blasio is not sure if
he will cut his Italian holiday short if Long Island Rail Road workers
make good on their threat to strike, and is “confident” in the
contingency plan for dealing with the strike, the Daily News reports:Unions negotiating with the MTA say talks aimed at avoiding a walkout at the nation’s largest commuter railroad have collapsed, and a strike is now likely this weekend. If there is a strike, getting from Long Island into Manhattan by car will be nearly impossible. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio wouldn’t say if a strike would delay his Italy trip, which is scheduled to start Monday.
* LIRR, MTA negotiations collapse(NYP)* Labor’s LIRR strike miscalculation(NYP Ed) * Discussions With L.I.R.R. Appear to Have Collapsed (NYT) Tuesday UpdateMayor de Blasio to head to Italy for vacation despite looming Long Island Rail Road strike(NYDN)* NO PLANS TO CUT ITALY SHORT -- Capital’s Sally Goldenberg:
“Mayor de Blasio would not commit to cutting short his Italian vacation
and returning to New York City if Long Island Rail Road workers strike
while he is overseas. ‘In the event there is a strike, the contingency
plans are very, very strong,’ he told reporters following an education
announcement Monday afternoon, four days before he is set to leave on a
nine-day excursion with his wife, two children and three staffers to
explore his Italian heritage. The potential LIRR strike would begin on
July 20 if the union and Metropolitan Transportation Authority do not
reach an agreement. De Blasio plans to leave New York City on July 18
and return on July 27.”-- Don’t worry, because it’s summer: "We benefit from the fact
that it's July," de Blasio said, adding that people will likely work
from home if the LIRR workers strike. "I imagine if that event comes to
pass a lot of people will work from home who live in Long Island." * Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the
looming Long Island Rail Road strike could be “a real pain … but not a
disaster,” and would not reveal yet if he’s planning to intervene, the Daily News reports: * Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted
Mayor Bill de Blasio over the airwaves for keeping his plans to visit
Italy with his family despite the Long Island Rail Road strike being
just days away, the Observer reports:* Giuliani: De Blasio should postpone vacation in event of LIRR strike(NYP)Wednesday Update De Blasio Takes a Vacation, and a Calculated Risk(NYT) Mayor Bill de Blasio is gambling that residents will be sympathetic to
his need for time off and that no major crisis will occur during his
absence.ThursdayDe Blasio ribbed by Colbert over looming LIRR strike(NYP)* The Long Island Rail Road strike
would boost business for hotels and restaurants in New York City, but
the lack of foot traffic would hurt businesses in Penn Station, the Journal reports:
Atlantic Yards Review: NYT Goes After the Tarantula Hoax . . . But Whiffs On Atlantic Yards Lawsuit
For many Brooklynites, the first element of the Atlantic Yards holy
trinity—“jobs, housing, and hoops,” as announced in December 2003—ranked
first. A well-paying construction job would be a ticket to the
middle-class and a secure future.
For
years, the prospect of such jobs, helping build an arena and 16 towers,
animated the constant, bumptious presence of unionized construction
workers at rallies and public hearings.
That prospect also drew more than 8,000 people—many of them
underemployed or unemployed black men—to the offices and meetings of Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development
(BUILD), a group Assemblyman Roger Green helped organize in late 2003
to provide job training at Atlantic Yards and offer "community"
validation for a project that would bypass local oversight. After years of demolition and utility work, the Barclays Center began
construction in March 2010. Local workers were hired, but there was no
role yet for many who put huge hopes in the project, backing BUILD at
rallies and hearings. Such hopes drew more than 1,200 people, some lining up at 3 am, to an
August 2010 information meeting for a long-promised pre-apprentice
training program (PATP). The program would enroll 36 construction
trainees for 15 increasingly fractious weeks. It was the first and only cohort in a program once aimed to “address the
problem of long-term disproportionately high unemployment in the
Community,” according to the Community Benefits Agreement
(CBA) that Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner signed with
BUILD and seven other groups, trumpeted as a new paradigm for community
engagement. That PATP, which graduated the trainees in December 2010 but sent none
to union apprenticeships, is now the subject of a bitter lawsuit filed
by 20 former trainees, who charge Forest City and BUILD with “avarice,
duplicity and hubris” and seek compensation for the careers they say
were promised and the unpaid training that went awry. The lawsuit faces a crucial hearing in federal court in Brooklyn tomorrow at noon. (Update: here's coverage of the hearing, where a judge raised questions about attempts to tie BUILD and Forest City.)
From the Queens Chronicle:
Queens Republicans have a new chairman.
After the death of Phil Ragusa last month, the county party’s executive
vice chairman, Robert Beltrani of Jackson Heights, was automatically
elevated to chairman.
Beltrani, a judge with the New York State Division of Parole, will serve
as chairman for the remainder of Ragusa’s term, which will expire in
September 2015. Ragusa was re-elected chairman last September, according
to Queens GOP spokesman Robert Hornak.
A loyalist of the late chairman, Beltrani ran for state Senate in the
special election to replace Hiram Monserrate after the senator was
expelled from the Legislature following his conviction for assaulting
his former girlfriend. Beltrani entered the race after an unsuccessful
attempt by Queens Republicans to lure former Democratic Councilwoman
Helen Sears, who had just been ousted a few months earlier, onto their
ballot line. Beltrani lost the race to then-Assemblyman Jose Peralta. He
has also ran several times for state Supreme Court, most recently in
2012.
Campaign Consutants Lobbyists Who Run the Council Take Over the BOE - Ballot Knock Offs of Candidates Who Don't Hire Them?
Back Continuing The Tammany Hall Future
Board of Elections President Greg Soumas quits ahead of possible ouster in City Council power play(NYDN) Ahead of his possible ouster by the City Council, Board of Elections President Gregory Soumas quit in a terse Friday note."By this letter, I resign my position as commissioner of the Board of
Elections of the city of New York effective immediately," the Manhattan
Democrat wrote to Board Secretary Michael Michel.Soumas, an attorney and former district leader, was first appointed to the 10-member bipartisan Board in 2005. As first reported in the Daily News Monday,
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito was poised to potentially ignore
Manhattan Democratic Chairman Keith Wright's hopes of keeping Soumas on. But because Wright missed a legal deadline to tell the Council he
wanted to reappoint Soumas, the Council seized control of the
appointment process. By replacing Soumas with a candidate of her own, Mark-Viverito could intensify her influence over the Board and its host of patronage jobs.
But Soumas's resignation could potentially throw the speaker's plan off track. As news of his bow-out spread Friday, there were conflicting arguments
about whether the appointment power still rested with Mark-Viverito and
the Council, or whether it would reset the clock for Wright to make
another pick.Frederic Umane, the Manhattan Republican commissioner, said the Council
would pick a replacement for Soumas -- but said the timing of his
departure, right during petition season, was tough and that it would be
hard to find a new commissioner "as talented and knowlegeabe as
Commissioner Soumas.* Councilwoman funds expansion of museum she founded via
@capitalnewyork
He led the fight to build Barclays Center — and now Brooklyn’s
biggest booster has been tapped to convince the Democratic National
Committee to bring the 2016 presidential convention to the new home of
the NBA’s Nets.At Mayor de Blasio’s request, former Borough President Marty
Markowitz is expected to meet with DNC honchos in Brooklyn Saturday to
lead a PowerPoint presentation aimed at trying to convince them that the
18,000-seat arena is the perfect venue to host the convention, a de
Blasio operative told The Post. “The mayor’s bringing in the big guns,” said the source. “Who can sell Brooklyn better than Marty?”
SHOCKING Campaign Promises of Less Tickets Untrue
NYC has given out a lot of tickets this year(NYP) City enforcement agents set a ticket-blitz record this year by handing
out 57,166 tickets in April, the most of any month in three years —
despite Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to cut back on the summons avalanche. In the previous five months of 2013, agents gave out just 197,278 tickets, or 40,363 fewer. “The thing that we’re focused on immediately is ending the arbitrary
ticket blitzes that were revenue-based,” the mayor said in February, two
months after taking office. He even cut projected fines revenue from $859 million to $789 million. In March, the City Council with the mayor’s support made changes in
regulations that officials estimated would reduce fine revenues by 25
percent. But the number of restaurant summonses given out in May was 2,239, down only slightly from 2,336 in May 2013. The Sanitation Department, which accounts for more than 60 percent of
all ECB summonses, wrote 40,517 tickets in April, also a three-year
record. The FDNY also had a big month this March, the second-highest month on recent record blazing ahead with 5,411 violations.The ECB collected more than $67 million between January and June,
compared to about $66 million in the same time period last year,
officials said.
Shocking AG Protecting Politically Connected Taxi Owners
The governor should be ready to step in and end the union-M.T.A. fight before riders face a shutdown.
,
Harroran Pay to Play Congressional Seat
Halloran allegedly tried to give away a congressional seat for $15K(NYP) For $15,000, you can own your own congressional seat!That’s what ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran allegedly gloated in 2012 while offering the unique opportunity to a crooked Rockland County developer. Mark “Moses” Stern — a developer who wore a wire and cooperated with the FBI in the sweeping corruption probe that scored indictments against state Sen. Malcolm Smith, ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran and others — testified Thursday about how Halloran made him an offer he believed wouldn’t be refused. Halloran then told Stern he could be “co-owning [his] own congressional seat, and I need $15,000,” Stern recalled on the stand. Stern – who cooperated with the feds to avoid prison after being indicted on fraud charges in 2010 and quietly pleading guilty – was asked by Halloran’s lawyer Vinoo Varghese if he tried to “dig dirt on as much people as he could” for the FBI. Stern responded, “Not dig dirt — but cooperate and give knowledge that I know.” Smith, the feds say, turned to Stern and an undercover agent for money and help pulling off a botched $200,000 bribery scheme to get the Democratic Queens senator the GOP line in the 2013. The senator, in turn, promised them $500,000 in transportation funds for a project in Spring Valley, NY. Halloran faces up to 45 years behind bars if convicted. Smith heads to trial in January.
Manhattan GOP Boss Isaacs When to John Catsimatidis After He Was Offered A Bribe to Go to the FBI?
Manhattan GOP leader ‘freaked out’ after being offered bribe(NYP) he head of Manhattan’s Republican Party said Wednesday he “freaked out”
after being offered a $25,000 bribe to help Democratic state Sen.
Malcolm Smith secure the Republican line in last year’s mayoral race. His solution: Call the richest person he knows. Testifying in the White Plains federal corruption trial of the plot’s
alleged mastermind, ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran, Manhattan GOP
Chairman Daniel Isaacs said he called then-Republican mayoral candidate
and Gristedes tycoon John Catsimatidis about the illicit offer made
outside Spark’s Steakhouse in Manhattan on Valentine’s Day 2013. Unknown
to Isaacs and Halloran – who brokered the meeting – the offer was made
by a wire-wearing federal agent pretending to a powerful developer. Isaacs said he later met with Catsimatidis that night and told him
about the offer — and that Halloran, then-Bronx Republican Chairman
Joseph “Jay” Savino and then-Queens GOP Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone
were also at Sparks.
“I asked him to contact the appropriate law-enforcement authorities
for me, and he agreed to do so,” said Isaacs, recalling how he became a
government witness.
Maybe it was the cash-stuffed envelope that tipped GOP Boss Isaacs off That He Was Being Offered A Bribe
The agent, according to transcripts, told Isaac during the shady
session in back of a parked car, “All I am saying is five minutes of
work. You send me a bill for whatever you need.” Isaacs said he could see the agent’s breast pocket “had a large
envelope.” Isaacs, a lawyer, also said he realized he wasn’t being
offered legal consulting work as initially suggested — but rather a
“bribe.” So Isaacs said he “freaked out” and left. * Manhattan Republican Party Chairman
Daniel Isaacs, during former City Councilman Dan Halloran’s corruption
trial, said he nearly took a bribe, thinking it was a legitimate payment
for his legal and political expertise, but balked when he realized he
was about to break the law* Manhattan GOP chairman testifies in Daniel Halloran corruption trial, says he almost took bribe(NYDN) “I’m generally not used to clients paying with large envelopes,” Isaacs said.
Teachout 3X Amount of Petitions . . . Here Comes the Lawyer and the
Buzz: Larry Mandelker is Teachout's election attorney WTF? WFP? . . . There is Something Going On Here . . . The Biggest Winner of Next Week Will Be the Lawyer Cuomo Hires to Knock Teachout Off the Ballot
Teachout collects 3 times more signatures needed to take on Cuomo(NYP)
Gov. Cuomo has his work cut out for him if he intends to boot
Democratic rival Zephyr Teachout from the primary ballot. The lefty
Fordham university professor’s campaign said Wednesday... Teachout has collected about 46,000
signatures on nominating petitions—more than triple the 15,000 required
to run against Cuomo in the September pr D Ghost Club
In Its Heyday the Village Independent Democrats Had 500 Members Vote At A Club Meeting Zephyr Teachout, challenger to Gov. Cuomo, gets nod from Village Independent Democrats Club (NYDN) The
Fordham University Law professor got 14 votes to Cuomo’s six, according
to Capital New York. She lost the backing of the Working Families Party
earlier this year when the group decided to support Cuomo Other Campaign News
EXTRA EARNINGS: Rob Astorino, Cuomo's GOP opponent, has $30G consulting gig(NYDN)Cuomo’s administration is weighing a
travel schedule that would send the governor to locations including
Israel and Puerto Rico, which would mark the first time he has left the
country since he took office, The Wall Street Journal reports* A new poll found New York Republicans
are more energized heading into the November midterm elections than
Democrats, underscoring challenges for Democrats as they try to wrest
control of the House of Representatives, the Journal writes: * The new independent enforcement
counsel at the state Board of Elections, who was approved by the state
Assembly and state Senate last month, won’t be able to officially start
work until Sept. 1, one week before the legislative and local primaries, the Times Union reports:* The millions of
dollars being spent by casino interests on lobbying and political
donations highlight the need for a transparent and scrupulous review,
and for campaign finance reform, the Times Union writes:* UpdatedOne-Stop @KathyHochul Tracker (TM)* Republican gubernatorial candidate
Rob Astorino challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to eight regional debates in a
video in which he also said Cuomo had a responsibility to do them, Gannett Albany reports * Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone
blasts Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as “Captain Ahab” for his
decision to continue pursuing criminal charges against former AIG
chairman Hank Greenberg, in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: * Hochul: Theories Over Access ‘Laughable’ And ‘Absurd’(YNN)* Republican gubernatorial candidate
Rob Astorino said the news that he receives a $30,000-a-year fee as a
consultant for media conglomerate Townsquare Media was “the biggest
non-story” of the campaign, State of Politics reports* Kathy Hochul, the Democratic
candidate for lieutenant governor, called claims about her invisibility
“absurd,” even though her recent campaign trail stops and meetings with
elected officials have not been advertised to the press in advance,
State of Politics reports: http://goo.gl/DVE6rm* Hochul also said that while she
supports the Common Core education standards, she backs a slower
implementation in line with the approach approved by the state
Legislature this year, State of Politics reports: http://goo.gl/3qGDFj* Klein, Stewart-Cousins pull support for Senate challengers(Capital)* Albany: Primary challenge could free Cuomo to spend more (Newday)* John Liu received endorsement from
three members of Congress—Reps. Joe Crowley, Grace Meng and Gregory
Meeks—as he seeks to unseat Independent Democratic Conference Sen. Tony
Avella, State of Politics reports:* State Sen. Tony Avella netted the
backing of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in his bid
for re-election against Liu, the Observer reports: Book Delayed Until After the Possible Unexpected Governor Primary?* Harper Collins has pushed back the
release date of Cuomo’s memoir, “All Things Possible,” and has set an
initial printing of 200,000 copies, the Wall Street Journal reports* A New York Public Interest Research
Group analysis shows Cuomo divided his time over the past year between
New York City (152 days), Albany, and the metropolitan area around the
five boroughs (103 occasions), the last of which often implies his
Westchester County home or trips to Long Island, State of Politics repor
Pols Give Tax Breaks to Lux Housing, Developers Give Money to the Pols
How New York Taxpayers and Help Luxury Developers and International Money Laundering Schemes
Big developers flood politicians with cash Both major candidates for mayor, Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota, agree that an inadequate supply of affordable housing is a serious problem, and both have plans to create more. But what has not been discussed nearly enough is one of the major causes of the shortage: the way the real estate industry uses its massive campaign contributions to limit our affordable housing stock. This year, after receiving tons of money from well-placed donors, the governor and members of the state Legislature quietly gave away millions of your tax dollars to developers of luxury towers. The deal was so bad that it is being looked at by the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. The report found that four of the five developers used high contribution limits and loopholes to give more than $1.5 million to state elected officials, political parties and real estate PACs between 2008 and 2012, including at least $440,962 in 2012 alone. And Cuomo, who had to sign the legislation, was the biggest single recipient, pulling in $150,000 from the four developers in 2012.Probe these giveaways (NYDN)* * The deal to fast track the Atlantic Yards affordable housing site will end more than 11 years of hostilities over how downtown Brooklyn will change, am New York writes:
In Exchange of Campaign Contributions NY Pols Set Up A Vehicle to Hide Money, Possibly Illegally Gotten
Extell Sponsor of One57 Also Paid City Officials and Candidates Moreland Tried to Look At City Candidates Who Got Matching Funds From Extell's One57?
Gaming the System It was not only Vito Lopez, Marty Golden, Keith Wright, Cuomo the Albany Assembly and Senate PACs of both parties that got money from Extell Development, sponsor of One57 for tax breaks.At least 6 citywide candidates got the loot from the buildings developers.Extell contributions to city officials were designed to take advantage of the public matching fund program. Most were $175 with many of the same contributors giving to more than one candidate. The Moreland Commission is looking into the state contributions and tax reductions connections, there is no indication if the commission will look into with the city pols for their cash. They should. George Arzt a flack for Extell works for at least two of the candidates who got money from the developer. If you wonder why the middle class keep getting pushed out of NYC, It has to do with the same candidates who promise to save the middle class feeding off the tit of the luxury developers.* Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) * A towering insult - NY Daily NewsAs the Daily News revealed last Tuesday, One57 is among five residential projects that were shoehorned into a real estate tax abatement program under language mysteriously written into legislation passed in Albany. The companies that will benefit, their lobbyists and PACs have donated $1.5 million to Albany campaign accounts over the past five years. The bill’s sponsors — Sen. Marty Golden and Assemblyman Keith Wright — professed ignorance. How Does the Media Let George Arzt Get Away With Flacking for Luxury Highrise Tax Breaks, While Running Major Campaigns? EXTELL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY. Media Contact: George Arzt at 212-608-0333
Can we expect the candidates like Katz that Arzt is trying to elect this year will help him get more tax breaks for luxury highrises. Subpoenas have gone to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development, sponsor of One57
Pols and Lobbyist Killing the Fabric and Soul of NYC Fueling RE Market Pushing Stores Out All Over the City
Airbnb Buys News Organization and Starts It Media Blitz to Brainwash New Yorkers That They Are Not Wearhousing Apartments
Only the Hotel Industry Can Push Back, the Public Which is Being Gentrified Out of Their Communities Does Not Have A Voice With Elected Officials or the Media
Airbnb to be a sponsor of the NYC Marathon(NYDN) Airbnb announced Thursday that it will be a sponsor of the New York City Marathon — angering the city’s hotel industry, which sees the home-rental website as a threat. Airbnb is snatching customers from the hotel market. The company said Thursday that 10,000 visitors stayed with its hosts during last year’s Marathon. Airbnb seems intent on increasing its presence in the city, despite an ongoing investigation by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman into whether some hosts are violating state law by renting their apartments. The company recently launched an aggressive ad campaign in the subways featuring New Yorkers who rent out their flats by the night. Both the City and State and Capital News Blogs depend on adv revenue from Airbnb More About Airbnb Airbnb Which Advertises in Capital Gets A Puff Piece Today In Capital AIRBNB TO BE A SPONSOR OF NYC MARATHON—Capital’s Dana Rubinstein: The event, the largest marathon in the world, draws 50,000 runners, many of them from out of town and with families in tow. A few years ago, an economic impact study conducted by the club found the event generated $65 million in revenue for the hospitality industry. "They're going to be our official community hospitality partner for the marathon and New York Road Runners," said Chris Weiller, the club's spokesman, in response to an inquiry from Capital. “They'll be working with us year-round. They're committed to giving access to New York City's neighborhoods throughout the boroughs." New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating the company to see whether some of its users are violating state law. . From the Borough of Churchs to the Borough of Condos Developers Closing Down Black and Hispanic Churches and Nobody Notices
Albany is Fueling Gentrification with Tax Breaks to Developers
Media Covers Pols Promises As Mission Accomplished
Gonzalez: Mayor de Blasio calls overcrowded public schools 'unacceptable'(NYDN)
He
spoke a day after a new audit by city Controller Scott Stringer found a
shocking one-third of nearly 1,500 school buildings were overcrowded in
2012.
Another Clue of the Strange Value System Of Those That Lable Themselves Progressives
Progressives, Including de Blasio Campaigned On Ending NYCHA's NYPD Vertical Patrols But Restartthe Program When the Reality Of High Crime Appears
The Press Never Asks the Mayor if Ending Verticle Patrols Last Years Caused the Need for More Cops This Year
As the City Adds More Cops Why is There No Public Discussion of Judge Scheindlin Ruling and 2013 Candidates Promising to Stop Vertical Patrols in Public Housing
Remember those awful “vertical patrols”? This was the policing of public housing projects that local pols and activists called “intentionally discriminatory” in a lawsuit against the NYPD cops still pending..Remember those awful “vertical patrols”? This was the policing of public housing projects that local pols and activists called “intentionally discriminatory” in a lawsuit against the NYPD cops still pending before federal judge Shira Scheindlin.The idea is that police patrols of housing projects are bad for residents because they are racist and unconstitutional.We think about Judge Scheindlin — and the city politicians who egged her on in her fight against the police — in the wake of the latest criminal horror, a stabbing of two children who live in New York City Housing Authority buildings.
Why Does It Take the Murder Of A Child to Get Pols to Act?
Bragging of Safety While Many Live in Fear(Powell, NYT) New York City asserts confidently that crime has plummeted, but bloody corners remain. Walk the Brooklyn canyons of the Howard, Linden, the Tilden and Van Dykes Houses, or the Webster Houses in the Bronx, and watch young men watch you. The Daily News recently reported that crime had edged up stubbornly in the public houses in the past five years.
Running Against Bloomberg's Education Policy is Not Policy
Top administrators fleeing de Blasio’s Dept. of Education(NYP) The de Blasio administration’s warmer, fuzzier approach toward teachers apparently hasn’t reached senior staffers at the Department of Education — they’re quitting in droves, sources told The Post. As many as 100 top-level
administrators have left the state Department of Education since January
amid low morale due to mismanagement
Daily News Farina Education PlanIneffective But Feel-Good Methodology
Fariña Took Credit For Education Improvements in Park Slope Which Was Really Caused By Gentrification
Reading Fariña(NYDN Ed) Chancellor should not revive failed curriculum, The sooner Fariña spells out her plans for what’s known as “balanced literacy,” the better. The pressing issue is how extensively she expects to meld the approach with more rigorous means of teaching reading. The balanced literacy way of coaching children to read has been shown to be an ineffective but feel-good methodology that often fails low-income kids. Rather than sticking their noses in challenging books and absorbing real knowledge, kids would choose their own reading material — frequently works of fiction — and write a great deal about their own lives. Rather than having lessons led by teachers, kids would in many cases guide their own instruction. The well-intended idea: to spark a love of reading and writing. The on-the-ground effect: Students, especially from low-income families, failed to master the basics, and therefore failed to make achievement gains. Turns out, students — especially students who aren’t exposed to many books at home — need structure. Turns out, they need real knowledge. Which is one reason educators shifted to the Common Core, which encourages a different way of teaching reading. * New York City Council members are pushing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to overhaul the discipline code for city public schools and cut down on suspensions, the Daily News reports:
* An effort is underway to create a statewide anti-Common Core ballot line for the November elections, which, if the 15,000 necessary signatures are gathered, would give voters the opportunity to vote for candidates who have expressed opposition to the new test standards, State of Politics reports:
* City Schools to Try Bending Some Rules This Fall (WSJ)* The New York public school system serves adults at the expense of kids and the recent lawsuit challenging teacher tenure is proof folks are becoming fed up with the way the school system protects bad teachers, the Post writes:* As New York City Expands Pre-K, Private Programs Fear Teacher Drain(NYT)* * Vergara v. California,
the teacher tenure lawsuit in California, provides a legal road map to
better public schools for the rest of the states, Joshua Lipshutz, one
of the attorneys in Vergara v. California, writes in the Wall Street Journal:* Ignorance vs. the Common Core (NYDN) * A new labor contract which included
an incentive that allowed those who retired before July 1 to collect
retroactive raises in a lump sum has led to more retirements of New York
City teachers, the Journal reports:* As their political clout fades, teachers unions have been wielding another kind of power: the financial strength of the billions of dollars in their members’ pension funds.* The New York parents
who are challenging the state in court have one goal in mind: ensuring
that all of our public school children have good teachers, Campbell
Brown, founder of the Partnership for Educational Justice, writes in the Daily News:
How Does A City Get Rid of Temporary Classroom When School Buildings Are the Most Overcrowded in Years?
Far from the educating crowd(NYP) Here’s a riddle: When school enrollment is flat and you’re adding seats, how do you end up with overcrowding? Answer: Have the city’s Department of Education run the joint.This is no joke. A report released last week by the city’s
Independent Budget Office shows a spike in the number of students stuck
in “overcrowded” buildings — from 403,403 in 2007-2008 to 446,751 last
year. That’s a jump of almost 11 percent. In other words, New York is fast approaching the point where half our students will be stuck in overcrowded buildings. *At pre-K event, Silver reminds de Blasio: Don’t forget classroom trailers
Schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña,
has vowed to rid the schools of trailers within five years, though, at
the same time, she is also trying to find space for thousands more
students expected to enter the system as Mayor Bill de Blasio expands prekindergarten. And the state budget deal reached last week is quite likely to make the task even harder, since it compels the city to find room in public school buildings for new charter schools, or help pay for their space costs.* * A new audit by New York City
Comptroller Scott Stinger found one-third of the city’s public school
buildings were overcrowded during 2012, yet school officials produced no
clear plan to deal with the problem, Daily News’ Juan Gonzalez reports:
.
Sex, Bribery and Taped Corruption
Savino Show Halloran Some Kinky Love Then Rats Him Out
Former Bronx GOP Chairman Joseph “Jay” Savino on Monday fingered ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran for jurors as the “quarterback” of a failed $200,000 bribery scheme to get Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith the Republican line in last year’s mayoral race. “Have you ever accepted a bribe?” federal prosecutor Justin Anderson
asked Savino, who pleaded guilty in November to pocketing $15,000 as
part of the scheme. “Yes,” he answered, and when asked who arranged the bribe, Savino said, “Dan Halloran.”
Anderson later showed the jury transcripts of text messages between
Halloran and Savino on Valentine’s Day 2013, shortly after Savino
allegedly secured his cash bribe during a meeting outside Spark’s
Steakhouse in Manhattan. Halloran tells Savino in a text, “Tell me u love me.” Savino, a former power-broker lawyer, also confided to jurors about how
far he’s fallen hard since being busted by the feds, saying he now works
at a restaurant cleaning bathrooms and filling ice trays.He said the feds as part of his plea agreement opted not to prosecute
him for lying about his address for years so he could vote in the Bronx
— a move that also allowed him keep his Bronx Republican chairmanship. The feds also haven’t prosecuted Savino over other alleged crimes,
including charges that he used party funds for personal expenses, Savino
said.* Daniel Halloran accused of arranging $15G bribe for ex-Bronx GOP chairman(NYDN) Joseph (Jay) Savino
said he pocketed a $15,000 cash bribe arranged by Halloran on
Valentine's Day in 2013. Halloran, a former City Councilman, then wrote
him a text message that read, 'Tell me you love me,' Savino said.
Savino, the ex-Bronx County Republican Party chairman, testified Tuesday
in Halloran's corruption trial. The men didn’t use the word “bribe,” Savino admitted Tuesday when grilled by a defense lawyer. “At the time, I took it to mean retained,” Savino testified. “But it was a bribe.” “He was the quarterback,” Savino said, pointing at Halloran.* The restaurant where ex-Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino is cleaning bathrooms belongs to his mother-in-law.
The Manhattan GOP Boss Was Offered A Bribe and Did Not Go to the DA? Is It Legal for A Lawyer Not to Report A Bribe?
Manhattan GOP Chairman Daniel Isaacs also testified Tuesday, telling
jurors he turned down a bribe on Feb. 14, 2013 similar to the payment
Savino accepted. * The latest state
Legislature indictment of Sen. Thomas Libous emphasizes the desperate
need to clean up Albany’s culture of corruption, the Buffalo News writes:
Cuomo Way Ahead in Poll . . . If Teachout Makes the Ballot Does That Change?
SHOCK the GOP is So Dead In NY
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo holds a
commanding 35-point lead over his Republican challenger in this fall’s
general election, according to a new poll, The Wall Street Journal reports: Cuomo holds a commanding 35-point lead over his Republican challenger,
Rob Astorino, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC 4 New
York/Marist poll—the first since the conclusion of the legislative
session and the start of campaign season. Mr. Cuomo … wins 59% of the
vote among registered New Yorkers statewide, the poll found, with Mr.
Astorino taking 24%—virtually the same as his total in March—and
third-party candidate Howie Hawkins winning 6%. “Perhaps most troubling for Mr. Astorino, the governor leads
the GOP candidate by significant margins even among voters who are
theoretically part of Mr. Astorino's base: those who believe the state
needs major changes or is irreparably broken and those who cite taxes or
economic development as the state's top priority.”* Despite recent efforts to win back
progressives, Cuomo continues to have troubles as New York City-based
LGBTQ political clubs debate whether to endorse Cuomo or Democratic
challenger Zephyr Teachout, Gotham Gazette reports:
* Last week, Republican attorney
general candidate John Cahill voiced his support of Common Core academic
standards, but on Tuesday his campaign indicated he would run on the
ballot line “Stop Common Core,” Capital New York writes
The AG Who Sat On the Wills' Investigation for Years is Prejudice Against Him?
Queens Councilman Ruben Wills, who is
facing fraud and larceny charges, wants Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman removed from the case, arguing Schneiderman is prejudiced
against him, Crain’s New York writes:
Shocking Campaign Manager Mayor Opens 2017 Re-Election Campaign Account
DE BLASIO ALLIES IN POT RIFT -- Mayor agrees with both -- Capital’s Azi Paybarah:Two
of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s allies appear to disagree over how to deal
with first-time offenders charged with possession of small amounts of
marijuana. Brooklyn D.A. Ken Thompson announced
Tuesday that his office will no longer prosecute most first-time
offenders for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Police
commissioner Bill Bratton said the news “will not result in any changes”
at the NYPD and that officers will continue to arrest people for that
offense. Later, a de Blasio spokeswoman said the mayor agreed with both
Thompson and Bratton.
What CrainsNY Should Look At Who Gets Chin's Member Item Dollars? Not Seniors?
COUNCILWOMAN CHIN: CRAIN’S ARTICLES ARE “ILL-INFORMED AND POORLY-REASONED”: In
an opinion piece in the Observer, Councilwoman Margaret Chin took
Crain’s Thornton McEnery to task for two news articles on bus stop
clocks. McEnery wrote that “City Council members are throwing millions
of dollars at a problem that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
has, to a large extent, already solved.” In her reply, Chin said his
“tone and one-sided perspective” are “clear.” She also called his
“reasoning … false, disappointing and, based on the facts of the matter, also somewhat confusing.”
Liu's $525,000 Fine Goes Unpaid, WFP Back Away From Liu and
Ross Barkan @RossBarkan One point from the @BilldeBlasio IDC endorsement today: at
least in #SD11, backing wont do a ton for @TonyAvella: Bdb not very popular
there
Vito and Kellner Live On As District Leaders?
Vito Lopez and Micah Kellner Still Seeking Political Posts(NYO) Vito Lopez, the former assemblyman and Brooklyn Democratic boss who was
forced from office after being accused of sexually harassing his
staffers, filed petitions to run again for his position as a district
leader and state committeeman, according to Board of Elections
documents. And Assemblyman Micah Kellner, the Upper East Side pol who
chose not to seek re-election after his own sexual harassment scandal,
also moved forward with his state committee bid after the Observerfirst reported his intentions in May.
...... It Does Not Take Sherlock Homes to Figure Out Why Moreland Was Murdered
Getting to the bottom of how Silver and other legislators earn outside income had been Job One for Gov. Cuomo’s anticorruption commission.But Silver joined Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos and Senate Independent Democratic chief Jeff Klein in stonewalling the panel. The three had common cause in battling for secrecy. Skelos reported making from $150,000 to $250,000 while serving of counsel to the politically connected Long Island law firm Ruskin, Moscou and Faltischek. Like Silver, he gives every appearance of working full-time on Albany duties. Klein reported income of $75,000 to $100,000 as a partner in the Bronx law firm Klein Calderoni and Santucci. In the middle of resisting the commission’s subpoenas in court, Silver, Skelos, Klein and other lawmakers prevailed on Cuomo to halt the probe nine months early as part of a half-a-loaf deal on ethics reform. The shutdown drew justified criticism by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who took control of commission files.The Democrat and Chronicle praises US Attorney Preet Bharara for cracking down on Albany corruption while Cuomo’s JCOPE “essentially twiddled its thumbs.” More About Killing Moreland
True News Yesterday Wags Today's Daily News Editorial About Silver and Killing Moreland
No Wonder Why They Closed Down the Moreland Commission Which Was Just About to Investigate Legislators Outside Income
Advance Group Breaks Another Law Not Sign of Prosecutors
Sources: Advance Group Refunded Robert Jackson for Use of Voter Database Information(Capital) The Advance Group has said it did not use information from other campaigns for its Anybody But Quinn push–but the consulting firm has now reimbursed 2013 Manhattan borough president candidate Robert Jackson’s campaign for using his database, sources told theObserver. The leading campaigning and lobbying group voluntarily sent a check to Mr. Jackson’s unsuccessful borough president operation, two sources said, shortly after theObserverreported last month that the group had drawn information from his Voter Activation Network–a repository of voter addresses, ages, and registrations–and used it for the anti-Christine Quinn effort. A whistleblower from ABQ furnished the Observer with documents last month
indicating that the ABQ campaign’s canvassers went door-to-door with
VAN “turf packets” that had Mr. Jackson’s name — along with the names
of Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo’s and candidate Robert Waterman — clearly
printed on them. “They illegally and unethically used the VAN we paid for and gave it to other clients,” the source close to the campaign said. The Advance Group–already under fire for failing to disentangle other NYCLASS-financed expenditures from the City Council campaigns it ran last year–claimed to the Observer
in June that it had only shared publicly available databases, and not
proprietary information. The firm stood by the statement when questioned
again, and refused to issue further comment. But the refund to Mr. Jackson’s campaign, which the source close to
Mr. Jackson said could only be for the use of the VAN, would appear to
fly in the face of that assertion.
Like Date and Field
The source close to Mr. Jackson’s operation said that the Advance Group
also low-balled the reimbursement, writing a check for less than $400
while the campaign had shelled out $13,250 for the VAN system. But the
insider said he knew of no plan to pursue the Advance Group legally for
further restitution.
Forget the Patronage Gain, Will The Council Speaker Become the New Political Boss?
Melissa Mark-Viverito A Gatekeeper Deciding Who Will Run in New York
Tuesday Update
Speaker Says in the Council Hands - Wait She Control the Council
Melissa Mark-Viverito on elections board prez's future: "It's in the Council's hands."(NYDN( City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito personally
acknowledged Monday that lawmakers might ignore the recommendation of
Manhattan's Democratic Party boss and appoint a new Board of Elections
commissioner of their own choosing. In discussing the possibility -- raised by
the News -- Mark-Viverito did not tip her hand as to whether Board President
Gregory Soumas would be replaced. By taking over the commissioner selection
process, Mark-Viverito stands to gain influence over patronage hiring and
firing at the Board.
Elected Officials Take Over the Political Machine
What is next if you try to run against an incumbent councilman you get knock off the ballot?
EXCLUSIVE: Melissa Mark-Viverito may replace Board of Elections head with her own pick(NYDN) City
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito may dump election president
Gregory Soumas for a pick of her own, giving her power and control of a
host of patronage jobs. One of the perks of being a county boss is
having the power to appoint elections commissioners.—expanding her power and control of a host of patronage
jobs
Michael Benjamin @SquarePegDem
Council Speaker Mark-Viverito should focus on city policy,
rather than political revenge scenarios for her pal,...
Elected officials have for the most part taken over the role of district leaders. Is anyone looking at the centralization of power into the hands of elected officials?
de Blasio Raise Funds for A Democratic State Senate . . . Where is the Trust
IDC Said They Would Join Democrats?
Mayor de Blasio helped Democrats raise a half-million dollars last week toward reclaiming control of the state Senate. De Blasio headlined a Wednesday night fund-raiser that drew more than 200 people at up to $25,000 a head. “It’s a tremendous start to the campaign season, and we very much
appreciate the mayor’s support,” said Queens Sen. Michael Gianaris, head
of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.
The Senate Dems in January reported having virtually no money in their coffers after retiring a multimillion-dollar debt. Besides the mayor, Wednesday’s event drew state Controller Thomas
DiNapoli, city Controller Scott Stringer and powerful union heads who
helped create a coalition with de Blasio aimed at winning the Senate for
the Dems. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio de Blasio helped Democrats
raise a half-million dollars last week toward reclaiming control of the
state Senate, headlining fund-raiser that drew more than 200 people at
up to $25,000 a head. Neither Cuomo nor IDC Leader Jeff Klein attended.* Queens BP Melinda Katz broke from the Democratic pack and endorsed her former rival, NYC Comptroller John Liu, in his primary challenge to Sen. Tony Avella.* Klein Files 9,000 Petition Signatures(YNN)* Queens Borough President Melinda Katz
backed former rival John Liu in his bid to unseat State Sen. Tony
Avella, who is a member of the breakaway Independent Democratic
Conference, the Daily News reports:
NYT A Year Laters Discovers That Albany's Redistricing Reform is Bull Shit
New York’s Mapmaking Scandal(NYT) A constitutional amendment would only make it easier
for legislators to continue to draw district maps that help no one but
the incumbents. In
his 2010 campaign for governor, Andrew Cuomo promised to end “partisan
gerrymandering,” in which lawmakers draw their own districts. He failed
to do that, and instead, as governor, signed onto a set of legislative
maps in 2012 that were carefully designed to keep legislators safely in
their jobs.Then,
he and lawmakers came up with a counterfeit reform, a constitutional
amendment on November’s ballot that would only make matters worse and
make it harder to clean up the whole inbred process for years to come. The
flawed maps created in 2012 will be in use until 2022. The
constitutional amendment would put a new, virtually permanent system in
place for the next round of mapmaking that starts after the 2020 census.
The amendment sets up a bipartisan commission, a majority of whose
members are appointed by legislative leaders. The possibilities for
partisan gridlock are endless, and it will take another constitutional
amendment to make any corrections of what is destined to be a flawed
system. In a recent report,
Common Cause/NY, New York Public Interest Research Group and Effective
NY warned that the amendment would only make it easier for New York
legislators to continue to draw district maps that help no one but the
incumbents. Amendment
supporters say the maps would be drawn by a bipartisan, independent
commission, with co-executive directors, one Democrat and one
Republican. That sounds reasonable, except that it is much the same as
the state’s Board of Elections, one of the least effective public
operations in New York. That board is also bipartisan, which often means
stalemate, not compromise. Under
this new system, if the Legislature does not like the commission’s
maps, they can vote them down and send them back for amendments. If the
maps return and the lawmakers still don’t approve, they can vote them
down and then draw their own, much as they do now. This amendment is not
a reform. It is another way to maintain the status quo, and does not
deserve voters’ support.
Statewide Fireproof Door Co. in Carroll Gardens, which has
been in business for 49 years, will soon close its doors after seeing its
workman comp insurance rates increase 380% for six workers. President Darrel
Caneiro appealed to a number of pols to fix the problem, but says, ultimately,
'bureaucracy killed us.'* Nine important jobs(NYDN) How sky-high workers comp kills jobs
Staten Island Congressional Race
Staten Island’s Tough-Guy Congressman Faces Somebody His Own Size(NYT) The New York Times examines the 11th
Congressional District race between Domenic Recchia and U.S. Rep.
Michael Grimm, who despite a 20-count federal indictment, still has
public support and name recognition
Gentrification and the 11th Congressional District? “Democrats also point to Mr. Recchia’s better relationship
with unions than others who have challenged Mr. Grimm, the influx to Bay
Ridge of liberals priced out of Park Slope and the expectation that his
Brooklyn roots will help him run up the score there.”
Why is There No Journalism School Looking At the Quality of Reporting How the City Council Going To Name A Street After Thomas Paine if They Don't Even Know Who He Is?
An effort is under way to change the name of tony Barrow Street in the West Village to honor Thomas Paine, the 18th century writer who helped inspire the American Revolution. “Thomas Paine is like the Founding Fathers’ founding father. He’s the one who made the convincing case for independence,” writes Dylan DePice in an online petition to the City Council calling for the switch. “The guy who did as much as anyone to spark the creation of a country founded on religious liberty deserves to be honored for it.”Barrow, which runs from Washington Place to the West Side Highway, was once called Reason Street, in honor of Paine’s 1795 “The Age of Reason.” The street became city property in 1809 and was renamed Barrow to honor rich landowner Thomas Barrow, a vestryman at nearby Trinity Church. * Freedom of the press came of age in NYC (NYDN) When a newspaper publisher was accused of seditious libel.
.
The Burial Site of 11,500 New Yorkers, Many Who Gave Their Lives Fighting For America Again Goes Unnoticed on the Nations Birthday
A Challenge From A Left Activists Against Cuomo? Is the WFP Behind It, Or is This Don Quixote?
Teachout: I have petition signatures to run against Cuomo(NYP) Leftist Fordham law prof Zephyr Teachout says she has rounded up more
than enough signatures to run against Gov. Cuomo in the September
Democratic primary.A minimum of 15,000 valid signatures is required. Teachout says she
already has 27,000 and is looking to reach 45,000 by Thursday’s
deadline. But Cuomo’s office refuses to say if he intends to challenge those
signatures — a sign that he’s seriously considering that option. If nothing else, a legal challenge by the governor’s campaign would
tie up the novice challenger in expensive legal proceedings and force
her to devote resources to lawyers instead of voters.Signatures can be challenged on numerous grounds, starting with whether the signer is actually a registered Democratic voter. When activists in the Working Families Party attempted to run
Teachout as their candidate on the WFP ballot line this coming November,
Cuomo cut a deal to push the party’s agenda and get the line himself.
zephyrteachout @zephyrteachout
"Cuomo’s office refuses to say if he
intends to challenge those signatures." We are ready for court and the
primary!
Did political operatives for Gov. Cuomo bully The New York Times into changing its headline ?
Daily News Bangs Rangel for Opposing Downsizing Subsidies Apartments Pandering in a crisis (NYDN Ed) The fix to a housing problem is staring us in the face. Because Congress has disastrously cut housing programs, the city’s
Department of Housing Preservation and Development has no choice but to
push such downsizing. Many of the tenants live in buildings that used to be part of New
York’s middle-income Mitchell-Lama program. As that expired, the
buildings became market-rate luxury properties, Single occupants like the one in Tribeca are being shifted to studio
apartments. Their rent will stay constant, but the city’s subsidy will
fall and the savings will be diverted to others. Regardless, at a City Hall rally on Wednesday, politicians, including Reps. Charlie Rangel and Carolyn Maloney, decried the de Blasio administration’s actions.
Our Dumb Down Speaker Put Foot In Her Mouth With A Tweet That SaidEast Jerusalem as part of “Palestine”
Saddened by the escalating violence in Palestine. We mourn the loss of life and call for an end to this cycle of viol
Viverito under fire for ‘Palestine’ tweet(NYP)
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito stepped into a Middle
East minefield by referring to East Jerusalem as part of “Palestine” —
drawing condemnation from supporters of Israel. Mark-Viverito, in a..“It’s not surprising that the speaker would talk in the language of
the Pro-Palestinian far left that is led by fellow Democrats, President
Obama and Secretary [of State John] Kerry,” said Bruce Blakeman, vice
president of the American Jewish Congress and a GOP House candidate from
Long Island. Mark-Viverito’s camp defended her remark.“Her only intention was to lament the violence that recently claimed
the lives of a young Palestinian in Jerusalem earlier this week and
three Israeli boys last month,” said spokesman Eric Koch..
NYT Says Only Hope to Clean Up Corruption In Albany is U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
Why Does the NYT Ignore Bharara Plea to Help Him Clean Up Corruption?
Media Ignores U.S. Attorney Plea to Investigate Corruption to Improve Govt
Bharara: No Investigative Reporting Equals More Corruption
Bharara to Journalist
Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases
"Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other
offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara
Another Indictment in Albany(NYT Ed)What happened to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s promise to clean up the capital? It
is often said that New York’s state legislators leave office only when
they die, retire or get indicted — which comes pretty close to the
truth. Since 1999, according to Citizens Union,
26 state legislators have left office either because they have been
charged with a crime or they have been shamed into resigning for ethical
lapses. The
latest to face indictment is State Senator Thomas Libous of Binghamton.
Mr. Libous is a top Republican who is also a close associate of Gov.
Andrew Cuomo. He was charged
this week with lying to federal agents about a plot to get his son a
job at a law firm in return for steering business to the firm. Mr.
Libous called the charges “very disappointing” and vowed to fight them.This
indictment adds another stain to Albany’s sullied reputation. And it
stands as a reminder that Mr. Cuomo has failed to make good on his
promise to clean up Albany when he was elected nearly four years ago. In fact, he set back attempts to clean up the legislative swamp this spring when he shut down
the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. He closed the
commission that appeared to be investigating legislators’ conflicts of
interest, among other problems, in return for a feeble “reform” that
tinkered with bribery laws and set up a pilot project for public
financing of campaigns.Since
then, Preet Bharara, the United States attorney who charged Mr. Libous,
has taken possession of the commission’s files. His office may offer
the best hope for cleaning up Albany since other ethics commissions
established in recent years by state lawmakers are toothless. In a statement
released with Tuesday’s indictment of Mr. Libous, Mr. Bharara said that
“public servants should serve the public first, not themselves and
their families.” That would seem like a pretty basic code of ethics, but
it is still too rarely followed in New York.
zephyrteachout @zephyrteachout
The New York Times editorial joins @NYDNHammond's commentary
last week, blaming Gov. Cuomo for his failures in addressing corruption.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams cleared to raise money for his One Brooklyn Fund(NYDN) Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams thinks Brooklyn doesn’t get
enough charitable dollars –and the fund he’s creating to remedy that is
now a step closer to reality. The city’s ethics board in June cleared Adams to fundraise on behalf of the One Brooklyn Fund as a city-affiliated non-profit.A spokesman for the Borough President's office denied previously
published reports that Adams solicited checks for the non-profit before
the fund even existed.* Nonprofit run out of Adams’ office hit up donors before city OK(NYP)
The NY Teacher Tenure Lawsuit Has Started
Fed up students file lawsuit to overthrow NY tenure laws(NYP) A group of fed-up students and parents on Thursday declared their
independence from incompetent New York City teachers shielded by the
state’s tenure and seniority laws.In the wake of a landmark anti-tenure ruling in California, the
coalition of 11 students filed a class-action lawsuit in Staten Island
state Supreme Court, seeking to eliminate protections afforded to bad
teachers. “This lawsuit has to do with students’ rights and parents’ rights. We
have to do away with the ‘students last’ policies. No one is talking
about the children who are failing every day,” said Staten Island dad
Sam Pirozzolo, a co-leader of the New York City Parents Union.* Lawsuit Challenges New York’s Teacher Tenure Laws(NYT) In the wake of a landmark court decision in California, an education
advocacy group says the laws violate the State Constitution’s guarantee
of a “sound basic education.”*More Teacher Retire After Contract Approved * In the wake of a new contract that
incentivizes teachers to retire, more New York City educators applied to
leave last month than in the same period in recent years, Capital New York reports: * In an audit, New York City
Comptroller Scott Stringer found that the school system could not prove
it sought competitive bids for an $88.1 million custodial supply
contract and then failed to monitor overpayments, the Post writes: * In the Times’ “Room for Debate,” a number of experts weigh in on the student-led approach to
reading and writing known as “balanced literacy” that is making a
comeback in New York City: * The lawsuit in
California that struck down the state’s teacher tenure and
seniority-order layoff laws will not succeed in New York, Michael
Rebell, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University writes in the Daily News SundayParents, education advocates plan to defend teacher tenure against lawsuit filed by parents' reform group(NYDN)
de Blasio At A Secret Meeting with Muslim Leaders
Discusses Shutdown of NYPD Demographics Unit Mayor de Blasio discusses shutdown of NYPD Demographics Unit at Ramadan dinner(NYDN) “Muslim New Yorkers are still fighting for basic human rights,” de
Blasio said at the Gracie Mansion dinner, according to prepared remarks
distributed by his office. “We recently shut down the Demographics Unit
at NYPD, which conducted surveillance on Muslim New Yorkers. Because
it’s unfair to single out people on the sole basis of their religion.” De Blasio’s Iftar dinner was initially listed on
his schedule as open to the press, but aides later updated the schedule
to say the press would not be allowed in. His office distributed a copy
of his prepared remarks.
de Port Authority buried Bad News With A Holiday Dump
PortAuthority report "punting several thorny issues" on a Thursday beforea holiday. (WNYC) The Port Authority has drawn scorn, derision, and multiple
federal and state investigations in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal, which
has exposed the Authority as dysfunctional — and possibly criminal in its actions.The five-page document, delivered on a hasty schedule by
demand of the governors themselves, mostly restated problems that have been
extensively aired in the wake of Bridgegate: that the Authority needs to restoreits mission and reform the way its leadership is currently chosen. The
Authority's current leadership model might be described as the governors of New
York and New Jersey dividing the baby in two.
US Attorney Seeks Pension of Former Councilman Convicted of Stealing Public Cash
Former City Councilman Miguel Martinez, who was serving a federal
sentence for stealing public cash, appeared in federal court in
Manhattan Wednesday, as the U.S. attorney wants something else from him:
his pension. Former City Councilman Miguel Martinez, who was serving a federal
sentence for stealing public cash, appeared in federal court in
Manhattan Wednesday, as the U.S. attorney wants something else from him:
his pension. Martinez is one of the first former elected officials to face that question after spending years behind bars. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has a long list of public officials he
has put in cuffs. In the last week alone, he brought charges against
upstate state Senator Thomas Libous and now-former Assemblywoman
Gabriela Rosa. That lengthy resume of catching so-called corruption, though, is not enough. Bharara wants their pensions, too. On top of Martinez, Bharara is going after former City Councilman
Larry Seabrook's pension. Seabrook is serving time for directing public
cash to his friends and family. The U.S. attorney also has also
his eye on state Senator Malcolm Smith, who will be facing a public
corruption trial next year. If convicted, Smith's pension could be on
the line, too. (Video NY1)
It is Clear That the NYT Can't Play the Game of Journalism Anymore in this Town
Another Nail in the Kingdom's Coffin: Who Are the Local Opinion Writers? Stengel,Berra?
The NYT is losing the power to effect elections in NYC. Does not look like their endorsement attracted any of their readers to vote against Rangel
How low are you on a scale of human decency when Vito Lopez wants to distance himself from you to improve his chances?
Vito looks to distance himself from Shelly in sexual harassment suit(NYP) After years of being joined at the hip politically, disgraced former Assemblyman Vito Lopez is looking to distance himself from Sheldon Silver in a pending sexual harassment lawsuit. Lopez (D-Brooklyn) filed legal papers Wednesday seeking to be tried separately from the Assembly speaker in an upcoming civil trial over a lawsuit by two woman accusing Lopez of sexual harassment and Silver of turning a blind eye to the alleged perverted behavior. “The allegations against Silver will severely prejudice Lopez, denying him a fair discovery process and a fair trial,” lawyer Lyle Zuckerman wrote Manhattan federal Judge Analisa Torres. “The inquiry into the allegations that Silver turned a blind eye to many instances of sexual misconduct in the Assembly will necessarily include a parade of plaintiffs’ witnesses telling their stories of violation, and even more defense witnesses responding to those claims (potentially including an alleged rapist and convicted sex offender).
As Vito Pulls Away From Speaker Silver the Women Leaders In the Assembly Continue to Ignore
“None of this is relevant to the allegations against Lopez, but all of it is highly prejudicial.” Silver’s Outside Income Grows(YNN) Financial disclosure forms released on Wednesday show Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver reported earning between $650,000 and $750,000 in his role as “of counsel” at the Manhattan personal injury law firm Weitz & Luxenberg. The pay is a jump from last year’s disclosure, which documented he earned between $350,000 and $450,000 in 2012 at the firm.* Silver discloses a raise from outside work(Capital) * * Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver saw his outside income as of counsel at the law firm Weitz & Luxenberg jump to $650,000 to $750,000 in 2013, up from $350,000 to $450,000 the previous year, the Daily News reports:* @CharmianNeary I suppose the "alleged rapist and convicted sex offender" whose potential testimony would taint the case is Mr. Boxley.
SILVER’S GOLD—Capital’s Jimmy Vielkind & Laura Nahmias: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver nearly doubled his income
from a Manhattan plaintiffs' firm between 2012 and 2013, according to
financial disclosure forms released Wednesday. The Democrat from Lower
Manhattan was paid between $650,000 and $750,000 in 2013 for his “of
counsel” work for Weitz & Luxenberg. According to his form,
Silver engaged in “general practice of law with emphasis on
representation of individual clients and personal injury actions and 'of
counsel' to law firm.” But he brought in far more than any other lawyer-legislator,
for an unclear amount of labor. The Speaker has long been criticized for
sitting on measures that might restrict the size of verdicts won by
trial lawyers as a result of his outside engagement. His spokesman has
denied any connection, and says his opposition to tort reform measures
is based on principle. Legislative leaders fought to keep the Moreland
Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, which was convened by
Cuomo, from subpoenaing records
from their firms and others that employ legislators that would detail
the extent of their work and their exact clients. Commission officials
said such outside employment raised the “risk of criminal behavior.” Cuomo and legislative leaders struck a deal to disband the commission
in exchange for changes to the state bribery statute, a new enforcement
counsel at the Board of Elections and a pilot program for public
campaign finance.
It Is Going to Get More Experience to Live and Work in New York
The exchange, which has prided itself on being affordable, is facing
requests for increases as high as 28 percent next year for some
customers. New York’s health exchange, which has
prided itself on being affordable, is now facing requests for increases
as high as 28 percent next year for some customers of MetroPlus—the most
popular plan on the exchange. “In our case, the advertised rent is triple what we are now
paying. We aren’t alone. In the past year, all kinds of pioneering
restaurants that helped set the table for their respective neighborhoods
— including Mesa Grill, in the Flatiron district, and WD-50 on the
Lower East Side — have each lost out to untenable rent escalations. My
hunch is that they won’t be replaced by restaurants that will become
similar pillars of their neighborhood.”*Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, the
chair of the Assembly Health Committee, is seeking a probe of
double-digit rate increases that New York insurers are requesting for
new Affordable Care Act policies
Sally Goldenberg @SallyGold
Why property tax bills will rise, despite de Blasio's boast
There Goes the Neighborhood Cafe(NYT)Rising rents are killing off Manhattan’s local restaurants Subways and Railroad Fares Going Up After the State Elections Middle class
commuters are being unfairly squeezed by the Long Island Rail Road union
workers who are threatening to strike and Gov. Andrew Cuomo must step
up to protect them, the Post writes:
Judge Goes After Halloran's Lawyer for Saying Bloomberg Bought the Ballot Also
Former City Councilman Halloran shook hands when making deals: FBI Agent(NYDN) “He asked me for the money,” the agent told Halloran’s lawyer. To consummate a dirty deal, former City Councilman Daniel Halloran “shook hands, clinked glasses and decided that half would be paid up front and the rest once it was done,” an undercover FBI agent testified Wednesday in the pol’s corruption trial.
Judge scolds Halloran lawyer over Bloomberg claim(NYP) A federal judge scolded a lawyer for indicted ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran on Tuesday after the legal eagle claimed his client’s crimes were business as usual for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.Karas flipped out, telling Varghese “you are flirting with sitting down” as the lawyer questioned a federal agent and alleged the ex-mayor had given money under the table to county Republican leaders to successfully get the GOP line in the 2009. He also claimed Bloomberg gave the brother of former Bronx Republican Committee Chairman Joseph “Jay” Savino a job after receiving Savino’s support. The judge grew especially peeved when Varghese asked the undercover agent — who had posed as a power-hungry developer to get the goods on Halloran — if he knew whether Bloomberg was ever prosecuted.*Former City Councilman Dan Halloran's lawyers try to drag Michael Bloomberg into bribery trial (NYDN)
Undercover agent to jury: Halloran ‘very guilty’(NYP) A federal agent who went undercover as a wealthy businessman in the bribery case of state Sen. Malcolm Smith testified Monday that he believes co-defendant and former City Councilman Dan Halloran is guilty of corruption charges and also shot down allegations of entrapment. During the White Plains federal corruption trial of Halloran (R-Queens), defense lawyer Vinoo Varghese tried to shoot down the government’s claims that the pol in 2012 offered to dole out $80,000 in no-show city consulting work on a Queens YMCA to the wire-wearing undercover agent in exchange for funds to boost what would be a failed congressional run by Halloran. Instead, Varghese tried to paint Halloran as a cash-strapped candidate who tried to use the agent for campaign funds. “Isn’t it true, your fears came true? You got played by Mr. Halloran,” Varghese asked. The agent, known to jurors as “Raj,” shot back, “He took cash from us. He took checks from us. Those are crimes, sir.” Halloran allegedly pocketed $18,300 in cash bribes and $6,500 in straw-donor campaign donations for agreeing to steer $80,000 of council discretionary funding for the scheme, the feds say. Halloran is also accused of pocketing $20,500 in cash bribes for masterminding cross-party negotiations for a failed $200,000 bid to get Smith — one of the state’s top Democrats — the Republican line in last year’s mayoral race.
EXCLUSIVE: City's building design boss will continue side job at Columbia University with pay, housing and tuition benefits(NYDN) Feniosky
Pena-Mora received a waiver from ethics rules so can keep teaching at
Columbia University and receive a salary, housing and tuition benefits.
The compensation is on top of the $205,180 he earns as the city's design
and construction commissioner. Feniosky Pena-Mora, New York City’s
new design and construction commissioner, received a waiver from ethics
rules so he can continue teaching at Columbia University and receive
housing and tuition benefits, on top of his $205,180 city salary.
Just What NY's Corrupt Pols Need About Pot of Slush Funds
True News Had the Whole MirRam Member Item Story June 25th . . . CrainsNY and the Clueless NYP Followed
Council Speaker Campaign Gives the Most Member Items $$ to Her Campaign Consultants Lobbyists MirRam After a Bad Night for Their Client Espaillat MirRam Still Made Money Today
Melissa Mark-Viverito Paid MirRam $35,000 for Her Campaign Hispanic Federation gets biggest @NYCCouncil member item:$400K out of speaker's pot. (Capital)The federation has ties to almost every Hispanic lawmaker in The Bronx, including Rivera, but primarily benefits two men: political strategist Luis Miranda, who co-founded it and once served as its president, and Roberto Ramirez, a former Bronx Democratic Party boss. The men run a private political consulting firm, the MirRam Group. It’s paid by the Hispanic Federation and is hired by politicians who steer taxpayer money to the nonprofit.FlashbackTwi$ted web of political nonprofits in Bx.(NYP)
The NYP is Wrong About Honest Graft . . . If They Are Going to Copy That Should at Least Understand What they Copy
Memo to NYP Political Director: David Seifman: MirRam Violated the City's Ethics Law
What the NYP left out was that MirRam that group that profited from the graft was illegally working on the the campaign to make Melissa Mark Viverito Speaker. The lines that the NYP did not copy from the CrainsNY piece was the most important to point out how MirRam acted illegally. CrainsNY - "Last November, during the heart of the City Council speaker race, an employee of the MirRam group fielded a press request from Crain's on Ms. Mark-Viverito's behalf for an article about her past refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for MirRam said any work done for Ms. Mark-Viverito was only related work for her 2013 City Council campaign, though it had ended weeks before the press request was fielded by MirRam. The firm was not paid to assist her speaker campaign." Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group, landed in hot water for providing free consulting services during Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker campaign. Advance Got In Hot Wate, WTF WHERE ARE THE PROSECUTORS? As the Daily News Reported
One Week After True News and 3 Days After CrainsNY Pick Up Our Story the Post Discovers Their Own Story About Hispanic Federation and MirRam
WednesdayHonest graft(NYP Ed) Crain’s is reporting that more than $1.31 million is headed to a powerful, politically connected Bronx nonprofit called the Hispanic Federation. To put that in perspective, this is more than a four-fold jump over what the same group got last year. And $833,333 of it will come from a fund controlled by Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito . In 2012, The Post reported the Hispanic Federation had received $24 million in taxpayer funds since 1998. And between 1998 and 2008, the federation in turn paid MirRam and another firm tied to Miranda $681,644.Now MirRam has lobbied its client, Speaker Mark-Viverito, to hand $1.31 million in new taxpayer money to a group that pays it handsomely in return.The real crime here is that, so far as we know, none of this is illegal. We’re not saying the federation, which funds other Bronx nonprofits, never does any good work. But when taxpayer dollars are steered to politically connected groups through a process that doesn’t even require a council vote, someone should cry foul.
A nonprofit organization founded and represented by NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s top political consultant saw its pork-barrel funding quadruple in the first budget deal she brokered.
A nonprofit organization founded and represented by the chief political consultant of Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito saw its pork-barrel funding quadruple in the speaker's first budget, Crain’s reports:
Of the $1.3 million windfall allocated to the nonprofit Hispanic Federation in the city budget passed last Wednesday, more than $830,000 came from a newly created program funded by monies directly under Ms. Mark-Viverito's control. The lobbying firm that serves as her campaign consultant, the Manhattan-based MirRam Group, specifically lobbied lawmakers including Ms. Mark-Viverito to create the fund. Luis Miranda, a founding partner of the MirRam Group, who is close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, founded the influential Hispanic Federation in 1990 and now serves as its paid lobbyist. The Hispanic Federation has also paid more than $680,000 for "consulting" to MirRam and a firm registered to Mr. Miranda and his wife, the New York Postreported in 2012. he Hispanic Federation, an umbrella group that provides grants to Latino nonprofits and advocates on issues such as immigration, employs MirRam on an $8,500 monthly retainer, according to state lobbying records. Besides serving as Ms. Mark-Viverito's main City Council campaign consultant, MirRam quietly provided assistance in the midst of Ms. Mark-Viverito's council speaker campaign last fall, though it denies the work was related to the speaker race. The firm has become a force in the city's political landscape, especially among minority elected officials in Manhattan and the Bronx. The firm's other founding partner is Roberto Ramirez, the former Bronx Democratic Party leader. he Hispanic Federation, an umbrella group that provides grants to Latino nonprofits and advocates on issues such as immigration, employs MirRam on an $8,500 monthly retainer, according to state lobbying records. Besides serving as Ms. Mark-Viverito's main City Council campaign consultant, MirRam quietly provided assistance in the midst of Ms. Mark-Viverito's council speaker campaign last fall, though it denies the work was related to the speaker race. The firm has become a force in the city's political landscape, especially among minority elected officials in Manhattan and the Bronx. The firm's other founding partner is Roberto Ramirez, the former Bronx Democratic Party leader. MirRam also lobbied Queens Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, the council's finance committee chairwoman. Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group, landed in hot water for providing free consulting services during Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker campaign.
The Incumbent Protection Campaign Poster Law
In A City Where Few Vote, Why is the City Giving Out Fines 4 Posters Designed to GOTV?
New York City has assessed $105,075 in fines to campaigns in the 13th Congressional District for illegally posting signs on public property as they campaigned ahead of the June 24 primary, Capital New York reports:
Another Re-Election Pot of Money for the Mayor Gets Fancied Up
De Blasio names big givers to advisory board(NYP)The committee advising the not-for-profit arm for City Hall initiatives has been stacked with big mayoral campaign donors. Besides actress Cynthia Nixon, nearly two dozen of 58 Mayor’s Fund to
Advance New York City appointees (or their relatives) gave Mayor de
Blasio’s campaign the maximum allowed, or raised above $4,950 as
intermediaries, including Gina Argento, Jay Eisenhofer and Anthony
Bonomo.* New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
supporters and political observers said he deserves credit for his
progress on pre-K, but now hope he will turn his attention to other
issues as he begins the second half of his first year as mayor, The Wall Street Journal reports:
Gentrification Taking Over NYC Eliminating Tale of Two City's Problems?
In a city that had experienced decades of white flight, a tiny shift toward racial equilibrium is seen.* A new report shows Manhattan’s
white-collar workers make more than double what its non-office workers
do, there are proportionately fewer blacks and Hispanics than 20 years
ago in the professional ranks and a persistent wage gap between men and
women, the Journal reportsA report from New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer shows
an increasingly polarized workforce over the past two decades. In 2012,
Manhattan's white-collar workers made an average annual salary of $100,900,
more than double what nonoffice workers made. In 1990, office workers made 75%
more than nonoffice workers. There are also proportionally fewer blacks and
Hispanics than 20 years ago within the professional ran
Parking After the Street Sweepers Council Bill Again . . . Pandering?
de Blasio Like Bloomberg Says Proposal Will Lead to Dirtier Streets
Street sweeping 2.0(NYDN Ed)
A bad Council idea could lead to a better plan for alternate-side parking. Ultimately, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez’s bill reflects both the
Council’s overblown belief that every difficulty can be outlawed and an
utter lack of creative thinking during an era of high-tech innovation. City buses are equipped with GPS devices. You can use a smartphone to
see exactly where they are. Ditto snow plows and a growing number of
cabs and livery cars. If street sweepers were similarly equipped, a sweeper driver could post
that a block was open for parking as soon as cleaning was finished.
Drivers and enforcement agents alike could then keep track
electronically. New York Council Bill Aims to Ease a Parking Burden(NYP)
Legislation that will have a hearing before the City Council would allow drivers to return to parking spaces once street sweepers pass on alternate-side-parking days.* .@NYCSanitation says changing the alternate-side parkingrules would be unworkable.(WNYC)* New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Sanitation Department warned against a proposal to loosen alternate-side parking rules, saying it will lead to dirtier streets, the Daily News reports:* PUMP YOUR BRAKES: Mayor de Blasio objects to easing of rules on alternate-side parking during street sweep days(NYDN) “The department objects to the bill, officials said, because it would
impede their ability to go back and double-clean streets, a common
practice especially during the fall. ‘If we didn’t need to go back
around the block, it wouldn’t be an issue. But very frequently we’ve had
to go back,’ said Paul Visconti, the department's assistant chief of
cleaning operations. It is a ‘misconception,’ Visconti said, that anyone
sitting in a parked car is immediately issued a summons when street
cleaners approach.”de Blasio's Trash 180 * De Blasio voiced support for
reforming alternate side parking rules a day after his Sanitation
Department testified that such changes could leave many streets jammed
with trash, the Observer reports:
Jacqueline Saved More Than Grand Central Station
“Grand Central Entrance Named For Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” by CBS New York: “A
newly-renovated entrance at Grand Central Terminal has been named for
former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.A special dedication
ceremony was held Monday.In 1975, Onassis led a movement against a plan
to build a 55-story tower on top of the landmarked building. Three year
later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the city’s Landmark Law, which was
being challenged by developers. … The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foyer
at Park Avenue and East 42nd Street features a plaque honoring her
efforts.”
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? NY DA Interconnected With the Corrupt Campaign Consultant Advance Group and Their Partners
"Who will guard the guards themselves?"
What Are the Reasons for New York's Political Corruption Storm?
1st The founding fathers granted Freedom of the Press to guard the city's guardians in order to protect the public has failed with this generation of none investigative passive reporting.
2. It is No Secret That the DAs Played A Major Role in Metastasizing With Corruption NY's Politics
99% of the political corrupt cases against NY's elected officials have come from federal prosecutors. The dirty little secret of city district attorneys was since the days of Tammany Hall rule that that they did not go after the political machines and elected officials that elected them. Now as campaign power has shifted from machines to campaign consultants lobbyists it is becoming increasing clear that the city's DAs not only depend on them during election time, but look the other way when political corrupt is connected to them. While the old political machine pulled out the people it gave services to the consultants depend on manipulate voters with spin. It is also now becoming clear that many of these campaign consultants will brake election laws and organize conspiracy with others to elect their candidates to office. Which is exactly with the the FBI and the CFB are investigating the Advance Group for their role in the NYCLASS PAC.
Prosecutors and Campaign Consultants Worlds Collide
The AG Has Not Publicly Said He is Investigating the Advance Group, Berlin Rosen, Arzt and Brandford, Now He May Be Forced To Now
The Hynes Investigation Nexis State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman reportedly subpoenaed consultant Mortimer Matz and Jerry Schmetterer as he looks into possible criminal charges against former Brooklyn district attorney Charles Hynes Daily News "Still, sources close to Hynes say the majority of Matz’s emails were sent out on his own time in early morning hours. Matz defenders contend he was an integral part of the press office who routinely attended press conferences.. "Wayne Barrett wrote in the Village
Voice in 2010. that campaign consultant lobbyist "Sheinkopf one of the
worse consultant lobbyist, makes kings so he can then make deals with the kings
he’s made."
Campaign Consultant Conflicts for the AG Investigation of Hynes
The Advance Group, Gorge Arzt and Brandford will be used by the defense of Matz as the consultants that were running the Hynes campaign in the primary. Hynes and Schneiderman both used the same consultant, Brandord Communications. How can the AG investigate Hynes and not investigate Hynes consultant the Advance Group which is already being investigated by the FBI and CFB?
Branford Worked for Bronx DA Johnson, Brooklyn DA Thompson and AG Schniderman
Branford who Worked for Both Brooklyn DA Thompson, Bronx DA Johnson and AG Schniderman. Brandford candidates CM Maisel. Cabrera, Gibson, Rose and Andrew J Cohen received mailings from United for the Future PAC controlled by both Advance and Red Horse. Advance's candidate CM Mark Levine and Laurie Cumbo were fined for his connection to Advance. Branford worked with Berlin Rosen for Daniel L Squadron for Public Advocate. Branford work with both Advance and Red Horse with Bronx BP Rubin Diaa,Jr. Branford worked with Berlan Rosen for AG Schniederman.
The CFB Fined Two City Council Members Because the Advance Group Ran Their Campaign and They Received Funding By A PAC Controlled By Advance
Two City Council members were slapped with fines Wednesday for taking off-limits contributions from animal rights group NYCLASS, which bankrolled Mayor de Blasio's mayoral campaign for his pledge to ban horse-drawn carriages. Council members Laurie Cumbo (D-Brooklyn) and Mark Levine (D-Manhattan) have to pay back money they were given by New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets because they shared the same political consultant — the Advance Group — as the anti-carriage group. "The penalties levied today against the Cumbo and Levine City Council campaigns represent only the first step in this proceeding," said Board Chair Rose Gill Hearn. ” Both Cumbo and Levine were fined for being connected to Advance PAC NYCLASS. But were not fined to date for another PAC Advance worked for and contributed to both campaigns, United for the Future.
How the Advance Group Infected Other Consults Who Worked for District Attorneys
Advance Infected Berlin Rosen Who Worked for Brooklyn DA Thompson and AG Schniderman
Berlin Rosen
Both the Advance Group and Berlin Rosen worked for Comptroller Stringer and CM Mark Levine and Laurie Cumbo were fined for his connection to Advance. Berlin Rosen also worked for NYS AG Schniderman. Mayor de Blasio and Comptroller Stringer. Brandford worked with Berlin for the AG and for Comptroller Stringer along with the Advance Group.
Red Horse
Red Horse worked for Brooklyn DA Thompson campaign along with Berlin Rosen. Both Red Horse and Advance Group worked for the UFT's PAC United for the Future (the UFT attempted to covering up Advance involvement by paying them through a fake company) Red Horse worked for Manhattan DA. Red Horse worked for Brooklyn BP Adams, Bronx BP Diaz and PA James. Red Horse worked for Manhattan DA Cy Vance. Red Horse worked for Pitta Bishop for Brooklyn BP Adams. Red Horse worked with George Arzt in the Queens BP campaign.
8 Of Red Horse Council Clients Received Funding by the UFT PAC United for the Future which Advance Also Worked for:
Councilman James Vacca used Red Horse as a consultant and received mailing from United for the Future even though he had no race. Another Red Horse client CM Annabel Palma received funding by United for a Future.Austin Shafran another Red Horse client was funded by UF the UFT PAC that Red Horse Worked for. CM Daneek Miller another Red Horse client got mailing from UF. Red Horse client CM Antonio Reynoso also received help from UF PAC. CM Helen Rosenthal A Red Horse Client got mailing from UF PAC another Red Horse client. CM Richard Torres A Red Horse Client got mailing from UF PAC another Red Horse client. CM Paul Vallone A Red Horse Client got mailing from UF PAC another. NYS DEMOCRATIC SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (NYS DSCC)
Why Has the CFB Not Gone After Advance's Clients Who Got Funding From the UFT's PAC United for the Future Which Advance Also Worked for?
Months ago CrainsNY reported that the Advance Group through a fake group Strategic Consultants was working for the UFT PAC United for the Future. What is also not known is another consultant that worked for many candidates in 2013 also worked for the UFT PAC, Red Horse. Both the Advance Group and Red Horse worked for Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. Both Advance and Berlin Rosen work for Mark Levine in the 7th council district. Both Advance and Berlin Rosen also worked for Ydanis A Rodriguez. Red Horse Served as a consultant to Jenifer Rajkumar by received funding by the Citizens United PAC who the Advance Group worked for. Advance work for Manhattan BP Jackson who also was funded by Advance's PAC United for the Future
Advance Group
Brandford worked with the Advance Group in the DA Hynes campaign
In the 2013 Elections Berlin Rosen Was Interconnected with Both Red Horse and Advance
In the 3rd council district Berlin Rosen candidate Corey Johnson received mailing from United for the Future, Red Horse worked for UF. In the 19 council district Red Horse worked on Austin I Shafran campaign along with consultants Berlin Rosen and PITTA BISHOP. In the 1st congressional district Red Horse worked for Jenifer Rajkumar against Berlin Rosen candidate Margaret S Chin. In the Manhattan BP race Red Horse worked for Jessica Lappin against Berlin Rosen candidate Julie Menin. In the 6th congressional district Red Horse worked for Helen Rosenthal against Berlin Rosen candidate Marc Landis.
Mark Guma Who Worked With Cy Vance and DA Brown Also Worked With Red Horse
Red Horse worked with Mark Guma for Jessica S Lappin.
Spinning the Spinner Loeser Reach Out to WFP to Expand His Base
Loeser Who Represents Charter Schools Hires WFP Flack Who Fought Against Them for the UFT Loeser hires Working Families spokesman(Capital) Stu Loeser & Co., the consulting firm founded by a
longtime spokesman for Michael Bloomberg, has hired Khan Shoieb, who will leave
his job as the New York communications director for the Working Families
Party. Shoieb recently defended the
W.F.P.'s deal with Governor Andrew Cuomo, in aconfidential memo to state
committee members that was leaked to the press. According to Shoieb, the party
was minutes away from endorsing one of Cuomo's more liberal challengers, but
was able to convince the governor to help the liberal-leaning party achieve a
number of priorities, including raising the minimum wage and helping Democrats
take control of the State Senate. “What else was the WFP supposed to get?”
Shoieb asked in the memo. Loeser's firm represents a number of pro-business, pro-growth
clients, but he said Shoieb's progressive background won't create a conflict.* A report on the state of public
education by New York City’s budget oversight agency found schools in
the city are becoming more crowded and the number of students in
temporary housing situations, including homeless shelters, has shot up,
The New York Times writes:* 'WE'RE LOOKING AT A CRISIS': Number of homeless students struggling through school leaps in 2012-2013(NYDN)
Question to the NYT: Where are the None Weak Points in the City's Education System?
Amid de Blasio’s Pre-K Push, a Bid to Boost Learning at a Weak Point in the Pipeline(NYT) With prekindergarten classes set to grow under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
ambitious plan, the ad hoc in-home day care providers that serve
thousands of city children are getting fresh attention.* Public education
needs to move from a system where the government’s sole concern is about
running its own schools to where it gives every child options by
encouraging more good schools, no matter where they come from, the Post writes:* A children’s crusade (NYDN Ed) Lawsuit fights the good fight to put good teachers in every classroom * New York City will allocate
another $23 million for arts education in the upcoming school year to
hire 120 new teachers and help rehabilitate dilapidated arts facilities
in dozens of schools, the Associated Press reports:* Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools
Chancellor Carmen Farina defended hiring uncertified teachers—including
college grads with no experience or teaching certificate—for
pre-kindergarten programs, the Daily News reports: * New York City’s Public Schools Are Poorer and More Crowded, Report Says(NYT)* City summer school student numbers fall by 25%(NYDN)
FARIÑA on ‘the only thing that’s going to change the system’ -- Capital’s Eliza Shaprio:
“New York City schools chancellor Carmen Fariña laid out a partial
blueprint for improving student performance across the school system in
an interview with Capital on Wednesday, after months of questions on how
she plans to implement the sorts of systemic change she's talked about
in broad terms. ...’I believe strongly that what we missed in the past
was that we worried so much about structures, that we forgot that real
change happens in the classroom,’ said Fariña. “Fariña said she does not believe the school system can ‘handle” a
series of large, system-wide changes, as were implemented during the
Bloomberg years. ‘This is not about making change for its own sake to
create a chaos theory,’ she said, adding that professional development,
which she called a ‘missing piece’ during the Bloomberg years, ‘is the
only thing that’s going to change the system.’”*Earlier city school start times due to teachers’ contract(NYP)
The Homeless Real Estate Establishment Strickes Back
The de Blasio administration is working to reduce the high rates it pays
to private landlords to house homeless people, but at least one such
landlord is threatening to sue the city and evict families if his rent
payment is cut.
NYC Loses Its Keepers of Its Morality Compass: The Gabriela Rosa Edition
The Only Checks and Balances Left in NY's Government is Jail
The arrest of a NYS Assemblywoman for pretending to be an American Citizen does not shock anyone anymore. NYC's special institutions like the media and neighborhoods has lost most of power to keep the moral compass that has protected generations of NYC residents protected from government abuse. New Yorkers' learn of the many cases of political corruption only after the arrest. The U.S. Attorney has asked the media to investigate corruption, but they have ignored him. The trial of the leaders of the second largest party in the city for selling their ballot line (our democracy) to elect a mayor, gets almost no media attention. It is clear that the media has lost not only moral compass, but its moral leadership as well It not only the media that is failing Our city government was elected claiming to be moral progressives.
. . .
Moral Compass Reporters Generation Lost: Kemptem, Breslin, Hamill, Barrett, Newfield
What has become increasing clear in the first 6 months of this new city government is that this new brand of progressives is mostly a spin to gain public support at the polls.mToday's progressives are very different from the progressives that reformed government 100 years ago. These new progressives spin social issues while ignoring the government reforms that protect those social issues. Today's progressive city council use member items slush funds for their reelection campaigns and help the campaign consultants that elected them lobby city agencies on behalf of their clients who have hired them. As life long progressive reporter Wayne Barrett demands to know why are progressives protecting a teachers union over students needs? Today's progressives pols protect the UFT because of the major role that union played in getting them elected. It takes a neighborhood to build a moral compass. As the city continues to gentrify it is destroying local neighborhood structures that helped build our city's moral compass. Even the black church's of central Brooklyn are selling to the real estate developers. The question must be asked what has happen to the moral compass that made New York for generations a class act. It was in NYC that FDR's new deal reforms moral compass was born.
Defining Deviancy Down Progressive Selfies
In 1993, a man from from the greatest generation described what is happening to today's New York moral compass. When most of today's city council were in diapers Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan published an most important pieces of social theory entitled" Defining Deviancy Down." that explains their governing behavior. Moynihan believed that there is a limit to the amount of deviant behavior any community can "afford to recognize" His basic idea is that we had moved the bar for what we, as a culture and political behavior, defined as acceptable, down. Moynihan believed “we have been redefining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized, and also quietly raising the ‘normal’ level in categories where behavior is now abnormal by any earlier standard.” Moynihan would not be shocked by the fact that New York's voters have continue to reelect their Albany and City Council legislatures despite the dysfunctionalism and corruption that has destroyed the economy of the state and sent dozens of elected officials to jail, the poor into depression like suffering and the middle class fleeing the city.
After the Spin That More Public Housing Repairs Are Being Made NYCHA Tenants Sue for Lack of Repairs
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said he would announce on Sunday a plan for
more-aggressive testing and treatment, a result of months of
negotiations with AIDS activists.* Gov. Cuomo sets goal of ending AIDS epidemic by 2020(NYDN)
.
If Your Trying to Kill Harlem King Rangel Make Sure You Kill Him
Who is Splitting Espaillat's Latino Vote as Espaillat Tries to Hang onto His State Senate?
Just confirmed Guillermo Linares collecting petitions for
#nys31. This could get really bad for @EspaillatNY chances against
@RJackson_NY
How Can the Mayor's Flacks Bully A Press That is Already Dead? PressNecrophilia . . In America Today More Important to Spin or Control the Press Than Fixing Government
'We need to attack, not react,' de Blasio press secretary tells PR staff in pep talk(NYDN) When it comes to making it in the world's toughest media market, Mayor
de Blasio's top spokesman apparently thinks the best defense is a good
offense. “We need to attack, not react – no bunker mentality,” City Hall Press
Secretary Phil Walzak said at a Thursday gathering of about 50 city
agency PR staffers, according to a Daily News tipster. “Be aggressive. Tell your story loudly and proudly," Walzak urged the crew in his tough-guy pep talk, our source said."We live in a very combative media environment." Some who attended the gathering -- held to introduce the flacks to
their new point woman, Andrea Hagelgans -- felt Walzak's advice was
“over the top,” the insider added. The meeting came a week after de Blasio hired Hagelgans--who
led Planned Parenthood’s aggressive response to the Susan G. Komen
Foundation’s decision to withdraw funding -- to coordinate media ops for
his cabinet and all city agencies.Hizzoner decided to retool his press strategy after staggering through a series of PR fiascos early in his term. We have reached out to Walzak for comment, and will update if we hear back...
Amazing How the Press Reports Campaign Spin As Real . . . Learned Nothing From Mayor's Race . . .Pathetic
SenatorSkelosis spot on here: rips Cuomo for Senate deal - Politics on the Hudson * A post-election IDC-Democratic Senate reunification could result in fewer or less strenuous primary challenges against IDC members, but it could also mean a GOP opponent for one member where none previously existed, State of Politics reports: * Business groups are wary of the deal announced that could return control of the state Senate to the Democrats and many say they fear their four-year streak of pro-business legislation will soon come to an end, Crain’s reports:
Former New York City councilman Robert Jackson kicked off his bid for state Senate today and will now face off against the incumbent, Adriano Espaillat, City & State reports:* Democrats and the Working Families Party are clear on what issues they would push to get into law if they win the Senate majority in November—public campaign financing, the Dream Act, abortion rights, increased minimum wage and a ban on fracking,Gannett Albany reports: * State of Politics explores the complicated nature of the Independent Democratic Conference’s announcement that it will rejoin the mainline Senate Democrats after November, noting that IDC Leader Jeff Klein and the “regular” Democratic leader will have to jointly agree on everything that comes to the floor for a vote:* * State Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos told WNYC listeners that his party would retain control of the
Senate, despite his crumbling coalition with the Independent Democratic
Conference, by taking out Democratic incumbents in contested districts,
the Observer reports: * The decision by the Senate
Independent Democratic Conference to work with the mainline Democrats
next year will mean Sen. David Carlucci, who recently pledged to rejoin
the Democratic Conference if the IDC didn’t break with the Republicans,
will avoid a primary this year, Gannett Albany reports:
“I’m surprised with the governor for his capitulation to the
Working Families Party and Bill de Blasio and their radical agenda,” Skelos
said. The Long Island Republican noted how only four years ago Cuomo demanded
that the liberal Working Families Party accept his centrist agenda.
Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos slams Gov. Cuomo overbreakaway Dems (NYDN) The IDC’s abandonment of the Republicans to re-join the regular Democrats in a power-sharing deal is either an unmitigated disaster or a bonanza for liberal causes – depending on who you ask.* Sen. Tom Libous:
“It’s basically Mayor de Blasio just doesn’t want to run New York City,
he wants to run upstate New York and New York City, and some of things
he represents is not what we represent in upstate.” * Senate Republicans are preparing to run
against “ultra-liberal New York City radicals” who are working to
empower “illegal immigrants” and stifle business, according to a set of
talking points distributed to Republican senators. * Despite their conceptual deal, leaders of both Democratic conferences have so far refused to call
for an end to a half-dozen primary challenges to incumbent senators
that were put in motion in recent months as the rival factions geared up
for electoral war.* Former NYC Councilman Robert Jackson announced his candidacy for Sen. Adriano Espaillat’s seat, and said he thinks the senator, who is now seeking re-election, is “exhausted” from his failed primary challenge to Rep. Charlie Rangel.* * State Senate Republican Leader Dean
Skelos said Gov. Andrew Cuomo “sold his soul” to the Working Families
Party and its “radical agenda” after Cuomo’s push to break up the IDC
coalition, Newsday reports: * Although the IDC announced it will
abandon the state Senate Republicans, IDC members will still face
primary challengers that have the support of advocates and legislators
wary of the new conference, the Gotham Gazette reports:
Why Does Reporters Not Assume Doubt After the 2013 Promises Died?
Joseph Esposito, who led the New York City Police
Department’s responses to Hurricane Sandy and the Sept. 11 attacks, was named
emergency management commissioner.* Emergency Chief Is Appointed (WSJ)
Besides Pre-K Where are the News Education Programs From this Administration?
Councilmen Defend Funding a Vito Lopez Non-Profit(NYO) Three Brooklyn councilmen once tied to disgraced Kings County
Democratic Party chairman and ex-Assemblyman Vito Lopez designated more
than $440,000 in the 2015 budget for the controversial non-profit Mr.
Lopez founded, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council.Councilman Rafael Espinal showered the organization with $98,125 of
his discretionary funding–also known as member items–and personally
sponsored an additional $60,000 allocation. Mr. Espinal also
co-sponsored another $275,000 earmark for the group with Councilman
David Greenfield funded through the “speaker’s list” pot of money
controlled by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Councilman Steve Levin conferred an additional $7,000 on Ridgewood Bushwick.* Three Brooklyn councilmen once tied to disgraced ex-Assemblyman Vito Lopez designated more than $440,000 in the NYC budget for the controversial non-profit Lopez founded.
Weiner None Believer in Democratic IDC Deal(NY1)
The deal, brokered in part by Gov.
Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, would unify the two
factions of Democrats in a coalition, with Jeff Klein as one of its
co-leaders, a source with knowledge of the offer tells City & State:* De Blasio met yesterday with IDC members in hopes of convincing them to return to the regular Democratic conference. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top labor leaders were reportedly at the same meeting, at which an offer to reunite the IDC and mainline Dems was put on the table.* CUOMO, MAYOR MEET – “De Blasio huddles with IDC to talk about reconciliation,” by Capital’s Jimmy Vielkind:
“New York City mayor Bill de Blasio met on Monday afternoon with state
senators from the chamber's Independent Democratic Conference to discuss
the possibility of a reconciliation with the chamber's mainstream
Democrats, three people familiar with the meeting said.“The talks were described as still in the preliminary phase, one
person said, and come as an array of Democratic officials and allied
groups—including de Blasio himself—has threatened to back primary challengers to the five I.D.C. senators unless they agree to some sort of rapprochement.” http://capi.tl/1v2oLZa-- “Secret offer on the table to reunite Senate Dems and IDC:
Source,” by City and State’s Jon Lentz, Nick Powell and Morgan Pehme:
“An offer is on the table to reunite the mainline Senate Democrats and
the Independent Democratic Conference as the new State Senate majority …
The offer came together … at a secret meeting in New York City that
included Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, State
Senate Majority Coalition Co-Leader Jeff Klein and representatives from
several of the state’s most powerful unions. …“Klein would continue as co-leader of the Senate with a
representative of the mainline Democrats—presumably either Senate
Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins or State Sen. Michael Gianaris,
the leader of the Senate Democratic Conference’s campaign
committee—replacing current Coalition Co-Leader Dean Skelos, the Senate
Republican leader. “If the deal is accepted by all of the parties involved it
would instantly bring about a profound sea change in New York politics,
potentially deposing the Senate Republicans from power next session and
moving the state farther to the left. It would also open up the
possibility for a slew of progressive legislation to pass that has been
stymied up to date as a result of opposition from the State Senate
Republicans.” http://goo.gl/wMUjTg* De Blasio huddles with I.D.C. to talk about reconciliation(Capital)* The talks that took place were described by a source to Capital New York as still in the “preliminary phase.”* Cuomo’s Senate Republican Ties Remain Strong(YNN)* “I think we end up w/ an absolute majority & the IDCwould be making a mistake if they break the coalition,” Ed Cox. * Even after Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed to
help Democrats retake full control of the state Senate, Republicans are
still appearing alongside the incumbent governor at events around the
state, State of Politics reports:
Lipstick on the Election Law Pig Bill Hammond:
“Cuomo will fittingly share the ballot this November with a proposed
constitutional amendment that — depending on whom you ask — will either
end the ugly practice of gerrymandering or merely put lipstick on the
pig.”
No Extra Money for Vets but Money for Municipal ID
The City Council voted to create the
largest municipal ID program in the country, giving the city’s
undocumented immigrants and the homeless a way to prove their identity
and transgender people to self-designate their sex, the Daily News reports:
A Hint At the Empty Values of NY's New Campaign Operatives
Anti-Israel rants on his FacebookCampaign aide axed for anti-Israel rant ALBANY — The campaign manager for Bronx state Senate candidate Oliver Koppell — a former field director for the Working Families Party — was fired Wednesday after The Post questioned... “We live in the United States of Israel,” Robert Byrd Akleh wrote Sept. 21, 2011, the same day President Obama told the United Nations that America’s commitment to Israel was unshakable. A year later, Akleh was again railing against the Jewish state — this time for upsetting his outing to a Mets game.“Just my luck. I go to Citi Field to watch the Mets game and it turns out to be celebrate Israel night smh!!!! [shaking my head]” he complained on May 30, 2012.Israel wasn’t the only target of his social-media ire. Akleh blasted Gov. Cuomo as a “s–tbird” just three months ago, when state budget negotiations were in full swing.
NYT Endorsement is the Kiss of Death . . . Not Charisma Shown During Debate That Nobody Watched
Political analysis said Rep. Charles
Rangel’s charisma during debates and state Sen. Adriano Espaillat’s
alienation of Puerto Rican and black voters with his appeals to
Dominican ethnic pride contributed to Rangel’s victory, The Times writes:* Rangel Wins House Primary Rematch(NYT) * For Espaillat, Strong Start Was Marred by Missteps (NYT)
Tuesday A Week After the NYT Continues to Explain Why Their Endorsed Candidate Lost
The campaign between Rep. Charles
Rangel and state Sen. Adriano Espiallat demonstrated Harlem is a
community in flux: gentrifying, but with pockets of persistent poverty as well, the Times writes: NY-13 — Harlem after Rangel — Times’ Nikita Stewart: The
demographics are changing, and so is the economy of Harlem. Does the
neighborhood that is also a global brand still need an iconic
congressman like Charlie Rangel or Adam Clayton Powell Jr.? Stewart:
“What does Harlem, in this day and age, really represent? … The Harlem
where the streets bubbled with debates led by W.E B. DuBois, Malcolm X
or Marcus Garvey is long gone. … Yet residents do not seem to be
yearning for another Powell, or the next Rangel—or even this one—to lead
them. … Harlem voters make up less than half of the congressional
district, which includes a swath of the Bronx; more than half the
district’s voting-eligible residents are Hispanics. More than ever,
Harlem is less a clearly identified voting bloc than an idea. A brand.” -- 2016 candidate speculation: former governor David Paterson;
former assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, Councilwoman Inez Dickens,
Assemblyman and state Democratic Party chairman Keith Wright, and former
White House aide Clyde Williams make the list. via News’ Jan Ransom:* WHY ESPAILLAT LOST: Gerson
Borrero writes that infighting among Dominicans, including ongoing
struggles between state Sen. Adriano Espaillat and former assemblyman
Guillermo Linares, factored into Espaillat’s congressional loss: ThursdayNo congrats from de Blasio, Cuomo, or Obama: Rangel(NYP)
After Rangel Already
Congressional hopefuls are already
eying Rep. Charles Rangel’s seat, which will open up in 2017 when Rangel
retires, and courting Rangel’s endorsement, the Daily News writes: Espaillat Concedes
Murdoch Throwing Stones At Corrupt Rangel In A Glass House As the Owner of the Post is Question in England About the Conviction of His Paper's manager on phone hacking his NY paper calls NY Corrupt for Sending Rangel Back to Corrupt WashingtonRep. Charles Rangel’s
reelection is another reminder of why New York has a reputation as one
of the nation’s most politically corrupt states, the Post writes:
RIP Queens GOP Boss Ragusa PHIL RAGUSA, 74—Longtime Queens GOP chair dies—Daily News’ Lisa Colangelo and Celeste Katz:
Phil Ragusa, chairman of the Queens County Republican Party, died
Tuesday after a battle with leukemia. He was 74. "Chairman Ragusa had
dedicated his life to serving his community, the Republican Party and
particularly his friends and family. He has been chairman of the Queens
Republican Party since 2007 and will be sorely missed," the GOP said in a
statement. The soft-spoken Ragusa passed away at New York-Presbyterian
Hospital, according to a spokesman. The party leader "will be remembered
for his integrity and commitment to the democratic process and was
viewed by many as not just a friend but a mentor." http://nydn.us/1jfHrPS
. WFP Caused the Walmartization of NY's Politics . . . Using the Wal-Mart Business Model to Win Campaigns and Drive Out the Competition
NYC does not have a single Walmart because of the WFP and their friends in the progressive movement protesting the company unfair business practices. The protesters accuse Wal-mart of bulk purchasing and corporate financing to sell merchandise at low costs in order to drive competitors out of the market. WFP says the Wal-Mart's business model pushes mom and pop business out of the market creating an economic monopoly. It is now clear that the WFP has use the Wal-Mart unfair business model to take over NY's politics by using unfair economic advantages. In 2009 the WFP createdData and Fieldas a for profit company to give them competitive advantages in campaigns. Centralization of Money And Campaign Consultants Taking the Power Out of the Local Communities to Choose Who Represent Them
WFP, Unions and Developers Sucking the Life Out of NYC Neighborhoods Date and Field was a complicated web of coordinated campaign services at reduced prices, shared resources and staff, and quiet money transfers between six 2009 Council campaigns, as well as Bill de Blasio’s campaign for public advocate. Upwards of a million dollars, and possibly more, was involved, with over $1.7 million in matching funds comprised of taxpayer dollars already disbursed and more are potentially was at stake. Data and Field was forced to shut down as part of a lawsuit settlement against Councilwoman Debi Rose, filed by five Staten Island voters. The voters alleged that Rose was under billed for a services provided by Data and Field Services (DFS), a political company created by the WFP. Rose should have paid DFS $100,000, but the lawsuit alleged that her campaign was under billed because she was endorsed by the Working Families Party, which violates election laws. After years fighting in court the Staten Island DA has just won the right to use aspecial prosecutor to investigate Data and Field. Special prosecutor Roger Adler will be looking at all the campaigns run by Berlin Rosen, which is now the house lobbyists for City Hall that received funding and services from Data and Field, including Bill de Blasio, Brad Lander, Debi Rose, Daniel Dromm, Jumaane Williams and Melissa Mark-Viverito.
NYCLASS, United for the Future PACs in 2013, Like Data and Field in 2009 Also Gave Unfair Advantage to WFP Candidates
It is clear that the WFP completed the Wal-Martization of NYC politics in the 2013 municipal election. Data and Field was not longer available to the WFP so they developed a close working relationship with two PACs, NYCLASS and United for the Future. A PAC funded by the UFT. We know that the Advance Group is under FBI and CFB investigation for their role in running NYCLASS. We also know that two council members have been fined for their campaigns being run by Advance and receiving mailings by the Advance run PAC NYCLASS. The CFB said the campaigns of Laurie Cumbo and Mark Levine (both WFP endorsed) were illegally coordinated and received unfair economic advantage. Melissa Mark-Viverito another WFP candidate also was funded by NYCLASS. What is unclear is if the CFB or the FBI is looking at the unfair advantage other WFP endorsed candidates received by PACs connected to their campaign consultants. The same political consultant that benefited from Data and Field Berlin Rosen were side by side with Advance in the 2013 WFP campaigns of fine candidates Mark Levine, Laurie Cumbo. Berlin Rosen also worked in the campaigns of WFP candidates funded by the UFT Advance run United for the Future PAC: Corey Johnson, Kirsten J Foy, Rory Lancman and Ydanis A Rodriguez. The Advance Group involvement in the UFT PAC United for the Future was covered up by the UFT who paid the consultant though a fake company. The following additional WFP candidate received funding by the United for the Future PAC: Rosie Mendez, Vanessa L Gibson and Alan Maisel. Red Horse another consultant that worked for United for the Future PAC also got funding for two of their WFP back candidates Ritchie Torres, Paul Vallone.
Election Day in the 13th CD
Rangel: Leaders who abandoned me ‘made one hell of a mistake’(NYP)
* After voting in today’s
congressional primary, Rep. Charles Rangel reflected on his more than
four decades in Congress, while state Sen. Adriano Espaillat looked to
the future, the Daily News reports: http://goo.gl/k8qLGJ
* Espaillat wants everyone to be
aware of the “widespread voting problems” that occurred in 2012, the
last time he faced Rep. Charles Rangel in an election, Business Insider
reports: http://goo.gl/JYmQjW
* Rangel told radio listeners that
Mayor de Blasio told him privately he was backing Pastor Mike Walrond—a
third contender in the 13th Congressional District race—for
Rangel’s seat, in spite of the fact that de Blasio said earlier this
month he would not endorse in the race, the Observer reports: http://goo.gl/bfjrTH And while we wait to see if turnout stinks... Document Drop: The price of NY primaries (NYDN)
* Here’s a list of the top contributors to contestants in today’s New York congressional primaries, courtesy of Maplight, which follows the impact of money on Congress, and Capitol Confidential: Charlie Rangel-ing for voters(NYP) *Rangel and Espaillat Make Final Push on Eve of Primary(NYT) *
There
is no doubt that the WFP is the most powerful party in New York
politics today, after taking over City Hall and making the govern of the
empire state gravel on video to gain their support. What is at question
is who does the Working Families Party represent and how do they
operate. In a city that has 8,337,000 residents, the WFP has 2529
active members that voted in the 2013 election, just .0003% of NYC
voting population. Political parties in NYC were designed by district
to give a voice to each neighborhood in the city. At the height of the
Tammany Hall Democratic Party, there were over 400 clubs representing
the neighborhood in the city. Many in the same neighborhood competing against each other. There’s
was more to the Tammany Hall story than corruption. Tammany Hall’s
leaders delivered social services and took care of the residents of
their district problems. They massaged justice at a time when the poor
did not have access to public defenders. They gave food and jobs to those who need them. In short Tammany Hall power came from delivering services to the
voters. Political parties today like the WFP gain their power by
controlling ballot access, campaign consultants, lobbyist and money. Bloomberg paid
millions for the GOP and Independent party line when he was mayor.
Malcolm Smith tried to buy
the GOP line from two party leaders who are under indictment. Not only
are registered voter in the Independence Party not receiving the
services that Tammany Hall democratic were provided at the turn of the
century, but as the Daily News proves over and over again those IP
registered voters have no idea they belong to a real party, they think they are just independent.
WFP
Making the Progressive Movement into A Cult That Cuts Out Its
Traditional Reform Services Roots to A Narrow Union Protection Racket
Yesterdaylifelong
progressive wrote that the WFP was exploited by the union interests
that bankroll it. "With de Blasio and the UFT-financed Working Families
Party
as allies, the union is hijacking the very language of progressive
movement politics,
annexing left journalism to defend its narrowest interests and even
recruiting
progressives to join its war against charter schools that work for
kids."Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labour
began her reform of America's labor laws working side by side with
Tammany Hall to reform the city's building code after the 1911 Triangle
Shirtwaist fire. Perkins came to Roosevelt's cabinet from a career
championing workers'
rights. An outspoken graduate from Mount Holyoke, she began work as a
social reformer as part of Tammany Hall well before women won the right to vote. A
defining moment for her was the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911: 146 garment
workers, most of them young immigrant women, died as an overcrowded
factory burned down in Greenwich Village. Perkins, who had been having
tea with friends nearby, witnessed the tragedy from the pavement,
watching young women leap to their deaths from the upper floors. She
vowed to redouble her efforts and became an adept political operator,
working with the famously corrupt Democrats in Tammany Hall.
.
.
.
The WFP Took Over Politics Because the Other Parties in the City Are Not Real Also
All the parties have let the voters of NYC down. The middle class who they were supposed to serve are fleeing the city fueled by political leaders who fund tax breaks for real estate developers that gentrify (increase rents) in neighborhoods they live in . The poor who the parties were designed to help in exchange for their vote have increased in numbers. It is no surprise that the WFP was able to march in with a slick PR campaign and take over. The Independence Party has no power to win votes. It candidate the only Latino in the race in the 2013 mayoral campaign got
less than 1% of the vote in the general election. The GOP is down to just 6 elected officials
in a city with over 130 elected positions.
Most importantly the leadership of the city's dominant Democratic
Party
has lost the ability to work together and elect citywide candidates. Rudy Giuliani, Mike Bloomberg, the loss of
the council speaker position by Queens Boss Crowley and the fact that not one
democratic county leader supported de Blasio for mayor in the primary, show you just
how out of touch the democrats aging party leadership has become.
At the Least the WFP Has Played Fast and Lose With the Election Laws
The
WFP took advantage of the weakness of
the city's other parties and low voter participation, by putting
together a smart and sharp coalition with the unions that knows how to
run campaigns and has no fear
about breaking election laws to elect their candidates or threatening
primaries against candidates that don't follow their orders. The WFP
campaigns against the IDC candidates this year show how aggressive and
coordinated their quest for power has become. Many of today's elected officials come from the political class (working for other elected officials) and have no strong political support from the district they were elected from. In other words they do not have the power to stand up to the special interests. The Data and Field
scandal in 2009 and the NYCLASS scandal shows their coalition
willingness to violated election laws to gain power. The buzz in
political circles has been that anyone of these two scandals could take
down the WFP, even the mayor. But the Buzz today is that the Yoda
governor can accomplish the begin of the destruction of the WFP with one
move.
.
.
.
.
Competition On the Left is the Way to Stop or Slow Down the WFP Invasion of New York's Government
Listening
to an interview on Cassimatis’ round table today with Exec. Dir.
of the Liberal Party Martin Hassner, one get the feeling that it would
be OK
with the party if Cuomo also ran on his its line this year. By agreeing
to run on the Liberal line Cuomo not only gives the party back a
permanent
ballot line, but set up competition on the progressive side for a party and coalition that has
pushed
him or tried to push him around, on issues like charter schools, the
IDC-GOP
Senate coalition and increasing taxes. It would also make some of
Cuomo's GOP money people very happy. Some say that Zephyr Teachout run
as a
democrat, with a WFP operative as her campaign manager, is an insurance
policy
by the WFP leadership to keep Cuomo from taking the Liberal Line. Stay
Tuned.
What is clear is that when comparing the role of political parties today
with
the Tammany Hall era, the corruption is the same, but instead of serving
the
voters like Boss Tweed or Boss de Sapio did, modern day party leaders
are all
about deceiving the voters and only helping their friends.The campaign year's third petition period looms on L.I.(Newsday) More About WFP, Acorn 2.0 and the New Progressive Machine WFP, Cuomo, IDC and Koppell Klien Race
The Rent Battle 1%
The New York City Rent Guidelines Board
voted not to follow Mayor Bill de Blasio’s call to freeze rents,
instead opting for historically low increases of up to 1 percent for
one-year leases and 2.75 percent for two-year lease
Mayor de Blasio fell just short of getting the rent freeze he had
ordered up. But make no mistake: The 1% hike on one-year leases approved
Monday night by the Rent Guidelines Board — a historic low — is very
much a victory for his populist reign.
Rent board rejects freeze,(NYDN) approves 1% hikes for 1-year leases in city The nine-member panel voted 5-4 to reject the proposed freeze favored by Mayor de Blasio on Monday. Angry tenants stormed the stage after the vote while landlords also fumed, saying the low hikes weren’t much better than a freeze.
How New York’s taxes drive up rents(NYP Ed)*The Daily News writes
that by calling for no rent increases and leading the charge on Long
Island College Hospital, Mayor Bill de Blasio created unreasonable
expectations, but now the demands of governing appear to have taught him
the lesson that wishing will not make it so Facing Pressure From Tenant Groups, Board Is Set to Vote on Rent Freeze(NYT)For the first time in its history, the Rent Guidelines Board may vote to freeze rent prices for one year for nearly 1 million apartments in New York City. * The New York City Rent Guidelines
Board is set to vote today on whether it will freeze rent increases for
the first time since its formation in 1969, something landlords argue
will set a dangerous precedent*The rent is due(NYDN) An increase of zero breaks the law of economics* De Blasio to rent board: 'Think deeply'Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday stopped short of calling for a rent freeze for the city’s nearly 1 million rent-regulated apartments, despite supporting one during his 2013 campaign. Mr. de Blasio instead called on the Rent Guidelines Board, which will vote on regulated rents Monday, to “think deeply” about what he described as New York’s affordability crisis. [Metropolis] Plus:The de Blasio administration’s plan to build and preserve 200,000 affordable-housing units launched amid sharp criticism from one tenant advocate. [The Insider]* Final Vote Tonight on Proposed Rent Hikes (NY1)* @BilldeBlasio calls for 1-year rent freeze, contradictingwhat one of his aides@DMAliciaGlen saidvia @andyjayhawk*Mayor Bill de Blasio Calls for Rent Guidelines Board to Freeze Rates(NYO)
A Coming Lesson In Democracy and NY's Gatekeeping Election Law for Professor Teachout
NY's Election Law Proctology Exam Ballot-Bumping in New York (Gotham Gazette) In New York, which has some of the most complicated election laws in the
nation, knocking your opponent off the ballot is a routine aspect of
the political game. Every year, dozens of candidates are eliminated on technicalities. And many more potential challengers
did not even bother running, knowing that they would face huge legal
bills and hours in court defending their right to run. The process not only limits voters' choices, but it means the
candidates spend more time in court than they do meeting the voters and
hearing their concerns.
"In
New York, politics is a blood sport," said election lawyer Henry
Berger, who now work in the administration of his 2013 client de Blasio.
n California, one need only gather 65 signatures and pay $3,500 to
get on the ballot for governor. In New York City, a candidate for the
far more lowly post of City Council has just a few weeks in the summer
to collect at least 900 signatures from voters in their district who are
also registered in their political party. And the candidates have to
make sure that the petitions, the pieces of paper where the signatures
are collected, adhere to every little rule. No fourth-grade penmanship
teacher was ever as strict. Most experienced candidates, knowing that
they will end up in court
defending their petitions, collect 2,000 to 3,000 signatures. The
concept of gathering signatures on petitions dates back to the
late 19th century. It was supposed to help eliminate the political
parties' control of the ballot, according to Douglas Kellner, a
commissioner at the Board of Elections.Ironically, these rules set up
over a century ago to assure a more open,
honest and democratic process of elections have become just the
opposite -- a powerful tool for political parties and incumbents to
maintain their advantage. To these New York politicos, the best
elections are those in which there is only one candidate left on the
ballot for voters to choose. Many incumbents, backed by their political
party, have teams of lawyers
who will go over a challenger's signatures, line by line, looking for
minor mistakes misspellings, and voters who have
signed petitions not knowing whether they live in the district or not.
Good
Government Groups Have Failed to Reform NY Corrupt Election Law. Only
Changes in the last 40 Years Occurred After McCain was Knocked Off the
Presidential Ballot in 2000
New
York's Byzantine election laws received national attention in
2000, when Arizona Senator John McCain, who was running against George
W. Bush in the Republican Presidential Primary, was knocked off of the
ballot by his own party. At the time, New York's election law required
that a candidate
collect thousands of signatures from each of the 31 congressional
districts across the state, including areas of the city with few
Republicans. Governor George Pataki, who supported Bush, used the laws
to keep McCain out of the running. McCain, who had already won the New
Hampshire Primary, denounced the state's "Stalinist politics." A federal
judge eventually put McCain back on the ballot, but not
before dozens of editorials across the country mocked New York's
political process. That same year, Republican Steve Forbes spent
$750,000 just to get on the primary ballot. After the national
embarrassment, state lawmakers instituted reforms.
But local races are still decided as much in the courtroom as in the
voting booth. The battles make for some very bizarre tales. "Often it
appears that candidates spend more time in court trying to
knock each other from the ballot than they do explaining themselves to
potential voters," Governor Mario Cuomo wrote in the New York Law
Journal. "The State has no interest in denying qualified candidates an
ability to be on the ballot and to be judged on their own merit.
Unfortunately, New York's ballot access law does just that."
Brooklyn BP None Profit Trip
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams
and his deputy, Diana Reyna, took an 11-day trip to China to promote
economic development and tourism paid for by a nonprofit run by a
volunteer staff member, the New York Post reports:f
NYP Attacks Pirate de Blasio On Economy But Ignores the Naked Ladies . . . Boring
de Blasio Wedding Man and Taking the Tale of 2 Cities National
De Blasio is launching a national mayoral task force to address issues of economic inequality, which he called “a threat to our fundamental values.”* In July, de Blasio will officiate
at his sixth wedding since taking office, an average of about one
ceremony a month. That is twice as many weddings as his predecessor,
Michael Bloomberg, performed over 12 years.* “De Blasio Seeks to Alter Entry Plan for NYC Elite Schools,” by Bloomberg’s Henry Goldman:
“de Blasio … said he wants to end a 43-year policy that restricts
admission at the city’s elite high schools to students who score highest
on a standardized test. The rule has been debated since a 1971 state
law made the test the only criteria to gain entry to eight specialized
public schools that offer college-preparatory curriculum … Bills in the
legislature backed by the teachers union and set to be reintroduced next
year would allow use of other measures, including grades, attendance
and scores on other exams.“‘I do not believe a single testshould be determinative,
particularly for something that is as life-changing for so many young
people,’ de Blasio said last week. … His son, Dante, attends Brooklyn
Technical, one of the specialized high schools that would be affected. …
De Blasio’s criticisms echo questions about high-stakes testing that
former Mayor John Lindsay raised more than 40 years ago.”* --“Mayors Led by De Blasio Create Inequality Task Force,”“U.S.
mayors led by … de Blasio are creating a task force to examine ways to
combat the economic inequality in America’s cities. … De Blasio, who has
made universal pre-kindergarten and affordable housing priorities of
his administration, announced the creation of the task force during the
annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Dallas along with
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, president of the cities’ group.”* The Daily News writes that some of the Mayor's recent effortscreated unreasonable expectations(NYDN)
Daily
News Only Reports on the Alliance of the Mayor and the UFT, But Does Not
Explain Where the Union Got the Power to Control A Mayor
A lifelong progressive's case against the teacher's union
Errol Louis @errollouis
A Must Read: Wayne Barrett slams "unholy alliance"
between .@BilldeBlasio and .@uft as far from progressiveDe Blasio’s embrace of
the teachers union isn’t progressive; it’s political
Barrett Blasts City Progressives Movement and UFT
With de Blasio and the UFT-financed Working Families Party
as allies, the union is hijacking the very language of movement politics,
annexing left journalism to defend its narrowest interests and even recruiting
progressives to join its war against charter schools that work for kids.Seen through
a progressive lens, all that should matter in these school skirmishes is
whether a charter, a contract or an employment rule benefits students. Whenever
progressive Democrats instead choose teacher power over the futures of minority
kids, they are putting a big bucks lobby ahead of a core but comparatively
powerless constituency.
Barrett Says the WFP is Exploited exploited by the interests
that bankroll it
You may, for example, have gotten the impression, when the
WFP appeared poised last month to nominate charter foe Diane Ravitch to oppose
Gov. Cuomo, a charter champion, in his reelection bid, that these nonprofit-run
public schools are a Republican hedge-fund conspiracy. That's what the WFP, a
sometimes-blunt instrument exploited by the interests that bankroll it, and
75-year-old Ravitch, the adopted guru of the UFT and de Blasio administration,
would have us believe.
As quiet as it's kept, de Blasio is the only mayor of one of
America's 10 largest cities, almost all Democrats, who isn't a charter booster
Democrats like Dean and others have seen through the
"privatization" trashing of charters by Ravitch and the union,
recognizing that there's no structural difference between the non-profits that
run public school charters and the ones that operate Head Start, day care and
pre-K programs. For his part, de Blasio has never explained what distinguishes
maligned charter non-profits from the ones that will run 60% of his celebrated
new pre-K classrooms.The only difference, in fact, is that most charters,
unlike other nonprofit education providers, opt out of contracts like the UFT's
200-page straitjacket that micromanages the school day and imposes an assembly-line
mentality on schools - one that charters have exposed as dysfunctional. Charter
opposition is now reflexively used in New York City as a progressive barometer,
regardless of the overwhelming evidence of their benefits to mostly black
children, with 63% of the schools here outperforming traditional schools in
math, for example.
The UFT is Not the Democratic Bastion It Claims to Be
In
fact, until the union jumped on de Blasio's bandwagon in the sure-win
race last November, it had not endorsed a Democratic mayoral candidate
since 1989 - with the exception of 2001, when it picked three losers,
one in the primary (Alan Hevesi), one in the runoff (Ferrer) and one in
the general (Mark Green).How can any of this be progressive? It's
special interest protectionism and patronage at its worst. The question
is not whether these insurmountable layers of teacher
insulation are "valuable" to the system. The question is whether they
help kids. Isn't that the only truly progressive measure? * The Naked Self-Interest of the Government-Worker Class
To the Winner Lobbyists Goes the Spoils (City Council) Since
the 2013 elections Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin has picked
up of 70 clients to lobby for. 51 clients to lobby the city council, 17
to lobby the office of the mayor
Another
big winner of 2013 made a similar argument. Jon Del Giorno,
sitting in his firm's 28th-floor conference room a few blocks from City
Hall, downplayed the notion that his closeness with Ms. Mark-Viverito
will help his firm, Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, which has
hovered near the bottom of, or just out of, the top-10 list. Pitta
Bishop has done Ms. Mark-Viverito's election-law compliance since
2005, and last year Mr. Del Giorno quarterbacked her uphill speaker bid.
In a clever and unprecedented move, the firm set up a 2017 campaign
account for an unspecified office with the state Board of Elections,
which allowed Ms. Mark-Viverito to raise $100,000 and hire a full staff
for her run, despite needing just 26 votes from council colleagues to
win. More than $21,000 of the money reportedly came from Pitta Bishop's
long
roster of business and labor clients, and gave Ms. Mark-Viverito an edge
over her rivals. Common Cause New York said the new speaker was
"exploiting" the state's lax campaign-finance system.
Magic or Budget Gimmicks? Nobody Will Tell Us - All In the Tank
Magic or Budget Gimmicks? Nobody Will Tell Us They Are All In the Tank NYPD adding 1,000 more patrol cops at no extra cost to the city: Police Commissioner Bill Bratton(NYDN) * City's $75 million budget stirs concerns over increased spending among watchdogs(NYDN) * Paying Bill’s bills (NYDN)Mayor de Blasio and the City Council feted their budget agreement
Thursday night with self-congratulation and upbeat talk about new
initiatives, such as improved mental health care for Rikers Island
prisoners and more police in public housing. Completely unmentioned was the worrying reality that overall city
spending has ballooned by $5 billion — or 7% — since this time last
year.* Some Fiscal Watchdogs Call City Budget Agreement 'Prudent'NY1 * Impact of $75-billion budget deal unknown for city(Newsday) Comptroller Scott Stringer, an ally of the mayor's, said Friday the budget is "financially prudent
but also goes to help a lot of people in the city who are struggling."
But he said he wants to see future budgets identify and cut
inefficiencies and waste.* DE BLASIO – Top of WSJ Greater New York cover, “In Budget Lovefest, De Blasio Is Adored,” by Michael Howard Saul: “On
Thursday night, Mr. de Blasio and Ms. Mark-Viverito … announced they
reached a deal on the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. It
marked the denouement of the least contentious budget season in recent
memory. Nicole Gelinas, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a
conservative think tank, said the deal ‘clearly shows that the mayor is
the dominant political figure on the city scene.’“‘Both sides say they eliminated the budget dance,’ said Ms.
Gelinas, referring to the historical process of the mayor eliminating
council priorities and the council restoring them. ‘But this was a
budget dance, and the mayor won it.’ “Ms. Mark-Viverito defended the deal as an "incredible
victory," but some members of the council voiced disappointment with the
outcome. At least one openly wondered whether the council was doing
enough to act as a check on the mayor. ‘The jury's still out with
regards to the council ensuring its own institutional clout in the
city,’ said Councilman Vincent Ignizio of Staten Island, the council's
GOP leader.”* Mayor and NYC Business and their best behavior. But it won'tlast as they debate the tough issues @
Albany Done for the Year IT’S A WRAP—Senate gavels out at 9:38 p.m.:After dark, state
legislators concluded their annual half-year session. They approved a
new enforcement counsel for the Board of Elections, new red light
cameras for several upstate cities, targeted education aid and longer
hours at video slot parlors. What was done (and not done) in the final
hours:* ELECTORAL FALLOUT: Cuomo said Friday that the results of this
legislative session have led him to conclude the state Senate's current
governing coalition is a “failure,” but he stopped short of saying he
will campaign for Democrats across the board. The governor in late May set a benchmark for his support of the alliance between Republicans and the five-member Independent Democratic Conference, saying he wanted action on the Dream Act (whichfailed in April), a broader system of public campaign finance (beyond the pilot program passed in the state budget) and his Women's Equality Act, which has been controversial because of a plank changing the state's abortion laws. http://bit.ly/1p1gc3s
* “Because this is what’s important in Albany. State legislators
in both houses have passed a bill banning people from posing for photos
while hugging, patting or otherwise touching tigers in New York state.
Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal explained that she introduced
the legislation to increase safety at traveling circuses and county
fairs that allow the public to get up close and personal with their big
cats. But the Upper West Side Democrat acknowledges proudly that the
bill would also destroy a trend now prevalent among users of dating apps
— men snuggling with tigers in reckless attempts to look brave or
cuddly …“‘They can still pose with bears and monkeys,’ the
assemblywoman said. … The wacky bill puts a crimp in what has become one
of the most annoying Internet memes this year. … Rosenthal says … there
have been seven instances in 15 years in which a tiger escaped or hurt
New Yorkers. … A spokesman for Cuomo said the bill was under review. http://goo.gl/S1sKaB
City Budget Agreement - Hugs and Kisses and . . . Since NYC Grew Out of New Amsterdam the City Has Had Over 350 Budgets, Yesterday Budget Makers Think They Made History?
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and de Blasio seal a budget deal with a hug and a kiss. Via @GloriaPazmino: NEW YORK CITY HAS A BUDGET -- Bill de Blasio and City Council
Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced an on-time, $75 billion budget
that includes increased funding for Rikers Island, safety initiatives at
NYCHA, and free school lunch for all middle school students as part of a
pilot program. The mayor however, did not concede to the council’s
request for 1,000 additional cops.Capital’s Sally Goldenberg and Gloria Pazmino report: * Bill de Blasio and City Council Share the Love With Budget Deal(NYO)
-- 200 cops, not 1,000 -- The New York City Police Department
will pull police officers currently working desk jobs to put them back
on the beat. The move will only cost the city $6 million, instead of the
projected $94.3 to pay for 1,000 cops. Despite the news, Mark Viverito
still hailed it as a win: "It is a true victory for all our communities
who are going to see these additional personnel in our local precincts,"
Mark-Viverito said. -- Libraries take hit (sort of) -- Neither side mentioned the
request for approximately $65 million to add to the budget of the city's
public libraries, but when asked, de Blasio acknowledged that libraries
were not given enough additional resources to provide six-day service
for all branches in the city. The lack of funding means some libraries
will not be able to open a sixth day and others will not be able to meet
hiring needs. Libraries committee chairman Jimmy Van Bramer said the
baselined library budget was a “step in the right direction. -- Pilot lunch program for now: De Blasio cited concern over
federal funding dollars as the reason for not implementing free
universal school lunch. For now, the city said it will test the waters
by launching a pilot program to provide free lunch for middle schoolers
as soon as this september at a cost of $6.25 million.
When Brooklyn Merged With Manhattan No Hugs and Kisses
"If anything should happen to Mayor Bill de Blasio, you're looking at the next mayor of the City of New York," Tish James pointed out as she introduced Representative Charlie Rangel
at a Harlem church on Sunday. While it's true that, as Public Advocate,
James stands first in the line of succession to New York's mayoralty,
we're didn't realize that it was on the forefront of her mind. Be
careful over at City Hall, Bill.
* Just a day after promising not to
build low-income housing on Staten Island, former Councilman Domenic
Recchia, who is challenging GOP Congressman Michael Grimm, softened his
stance, saying “the people in this district will decide,” the Observer
reports: http://goo.gl/t0N7tj
* New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
nominated two people to serve on the Landmarks Preservation Commission,
but withdrew another nominee because of potential conflicts of interests
resulting from her job at a land-use firm, the Daily News writes: http://goo.gl/47ChMe
.jpg)
Friday
At Least in the Media
New York's Falling Voter Participation Rate is A Canary in the Coal Mine Warning for Our Failing City and Democracy
A Little Over 1 Million NYC Voters Show Up At the Polls Yesterday 
The City's Falling Turnout The City's election results from a half-century ago look like misprints. 3.46 million out of the City's 3.53 million registered voters, a staggering 98%, cast ballots in the 1952 Presidential election. One year later, 93% of registered New Yorkers voted in the Mayoral election. Today, the bottom has fallen out for the City's electorate. Only 27% of the City's registered voters cast their ballots in the last mayoral election in 2005. 39% of registered voters took part in the Mayoral election of 1997. Voter turnout was less than 20% for City Council elections in 1999. NY's Falling Voter Participation New York's Sinking Vote 1. 337,110 more New Yorkers voted in 2004 than 2008. 2. New York Ranked 42 of 50 in Voting Age Turnout 50.7% 2008.The City's Falling Turnout The City's election results from a half-century ago look like misprints. 3.46 million out of the City's 3.53 million registered voters, a staggering 98%, cast ballots in the 1952 Presidential election. One year later, 93% of registered New Yorkers voted in the Mayoral election. Today, the bottom has fallen out for the City's electorate. Only 27% of the City's registered voters cast their ballots in the last mayoral election in 2005. 39% of registered voters took part in the Mayoral election of 1997. Voter turnout was less than 20% for City Council elections in 1999. NY's Falling Voter Participation New York's Sinking Vote 1. 337,110 more New Yorkers voted in 2004 than 2008. 2. New York Ranked 42 of 50 in Voting Age Turnout 50.7% 2008. 3. In 1944 NY had 6,291,885 votes for president and 47 Electoral votes. 4. In 1944 Florida had 482,592 votes for president and 8 Electoral votes. 5. In 2008 Florida had 1,204,479 more votes for president than NY. 6. In 1944 New York had 3,423,467 more votes than California. 7. In 2008 California had 6,291,885 more votes than NY. 8. In 1944 New York cast 13.1% of the Nation's vote. 9. In 2008 New York cast 5.5% of the Nation's vote. Mayor O’Dwyer election in 1941, which took place one month before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor received 1,100,649 more votes than Bloomberg 68 years before mayor won his third term. The 1940 census reported the population of New York City to be 7,454,995. The most recent estimate from the City Planning Commission, as of July 1, 2009, gives the population of New York City as 8,363,710. Two decades before that Mayor John FrancisHylan(1921) Jimmy Walker(1925) both received 200,000 thousand more votes than Bloomberg
I have been voting in New York City for nearly 30 years, and now I feel no need to vote here ever again. As a voter, you put your hope and trust in the person you cast
your ballot for and want so badly ... so very badly, that they will try
to come through for you. But now I see how stupid and naive I was. Now I see it is not
the voters that some New York politicians are working for — its
rich, real estate interests. They are the official owners of New York
politics. It's not hard to see the damage these people have caused the
average New Yorker. Affordable housing is almost non-existent in every
borough. Once-beautiful historic blocks of brownstone housing are now
dotted with newly constructed houses that resemble ugly cereal
boxes. The well-off New Yorker has their pick of luxury housing, which
brings me to the reason I will no longer vote..jpg)
Long Island College Hospital (LICH) has just been sold to a
developer who donated money to Gov. Cuomo. Several other companies were
supposed to bid on running this hospital, but trumped up excuses were
made against the first two bidders and they were passed over in favor of
a company that donated the most money to the governor. This should be a
scandal and fodder for whoever is running against the governor this
year...but it won't be. Who is going to investigate this? No one... not
when you've pretty much hired everyone who could investigate you. Our current mayor got himself arrested last year, protesting
the closing of this hospital, but I knew it was just a stunt to gain
attention ... and it worked. I voted for him with the silly hope that he
would at least try to save the hospital, and when he negotiated a deal
for different companies to bid for running the hospital, I had hope
again...silly, silly hope. When the bidders were rejected under odd circumstances, I knew
where this ship was heading and that Gov. Cuomo was at the helm. While I
am not sure if the mayor knew how crooked this deal was, his silence
was loud enough. In the old days of Hollywood movies, the good guys and
bad guys were always clearly seen and most of the time, there was a
happy ending. But in this movie, the people (politicians) who we thought
were the good guys, turned out to be the bad guys... and there is no
happy ending.
There are good politicians, on both sides, who do want to fight
for us. But the rich control the rest, and they will not let anything
good happen. There is this mix of emotion that I feel about this: anger,
frustration, sadness and hopelessness. When you see thousands of good
people losing their jobs and a community losing its hospital — knowing
that the people you voted for are the cause of this ... knowing that
they betrayed you, just because you were stupid enough to trust them —
there is this gnawing ache … an ache of inferiority. Because I, and the
average, non-rich, New Yorker, mean nothing to these people ...
nothing. I know there are those who will say that if I don't vote then I
should not complain when nothing changes. Well I did vote...and I voted
for term limits in New York City. I signed the petition to make it a
law and voted for term limits, twice. Then I watched our former, rich
mayor strong-arm the city council into overturning that law. No, no
more. I will never put my faith in any of these people ever again. Some people will also say, “Just find another hospital.”
Why? My luck in picking hospitals is not that great! Nearly every
hospital that was affiliated with the doctor I chose has closed. St.
Mary's in Brooklyn, St. John’s in Queens and now, LICH. So, I think I'll
be doing you hospitals a favor by not going to you at all! I know now that I am invisible ... a nobody ... worthless...
left to vent my anger in a letter that hardly anyone will see. LICH was
nearly 160 years old. The Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and
even the skyline of Manhattan did not exist when this hospital saw its
first patient. How ironic to see it fall just because of the view that
grew up before it. It was one of the first hospitals to use anesthesia.
One of the first hospitals to use a dedicated ambulance corps. Every
woman in this country should be angry because, the very first hospital
that felt women need special care, too, gave us the first doctor of
gynecology. Soon, this will be gone, replaced with luxury condos that only
the richest among us can afford. And when that first bulldozer comes to
tear down this historic place, I will bury my voter's registration card
in its rubble. Thank you, governor ... thank you, mayor ... for
nothing.
Why Is A Mysterious Group Of Protesters Chasing A Longshot Candidate Around New York? (Business Insider) Our attempt to discover the origins of the anti-Teachout movement
ended with one of the protesters screaming, cursing, and threatening us. Teachout's mysterious opponents first drew notice at a press
conference she held on Tuesday in Manhattan in conjunction with
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino where they joined
together to criticize Cuomo's ethics. The protesters carried hand drawn
signs encouraging Teachout to "moveout" to Vermont, where she was raised
and urging Astorino to "come clean." They declined to speak with reporters about why they showed up to protest. A report from Capital New York also
noted the protesters "tried to cover their faces with their signs when
cameras were pointed at them" and declined to answer questions about
their identities. "I'm by myself," one said.* Fredric U. Dicker @fud31 Unbelieveable video of Cuomo Administration"transparency.''TV crew threatened with arrest at Mount McGregor* Here’s a ragtag group of college kids — with anger issues, apparently — who just happen to be organically concerned with Zephyr Teachout’s residency issues.*We Did It Cuomo campaign admits they were the ones hounding@zephyrteachout at her press conferences
* Nuns raise rents at immigrant home to boot longtime residents(NYDN) They’re kicking them like a bad habit. The nuns running St. Joseph’s Immigrant Home in Hell’s Kitchen are boosting the rent on young female residents and trying to boot women.. The Selling of Bed Stuy Co-ops, Rentals and Institutions in Bedford Park(WSJ) Bedford Park, in the northwest Bronx, is home to some of the
borough's premier cultural and educational institutions, a draw not lost
on residents, who also value its relatively affordable housing stock.* Rent soars across Brooklyn, pricing longtime middle-class residents out (NYDN) Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick get the worst of it as rents skyrocket as much as 15%.*
Are you coming to 
Saturday
”Sunday Update Excuses for sale(NYDN Ed) For the love of money You’re former City Councilman Dan Halloran, on trial for corruption. The jury has heard a recording of a developer asking you to find someone a job, you agreeing, him handing you an envelope stuffed with cash, and you saying, “Money is what greases the wheels — good, bad or indifferent.”How do you explain that away on the witness stand? By swearing that the money you accepted was in no way a bribe, but merely a “loan.” Maybe you should have stuck with the insanity defense.* New revelations of questionable uses of campaign funds underscore the need for continued investigation, and for stronger reform of the laws on and monitoring of political contributions and spending, the Times Union writes:
JON STEWART SLAMS THE GOV: “Basically, Cuomo formed a
commission promising, ‘You can even look at me.’ And then when they
looked at him, he basically said: ‘You looking at me? You looking at me?
I don't see any other governors here. You looking at me?' … Turns out,
Governor Cuomo may be like the boss who says, ‘Yeah we'll play hoops at
lunch. You can go hard.” And then when Jimmy from accounting blocks his
shot while he drives the lane, he goes: ‘Hey, the other team isn't
allowed to touch the ball because I started the game.’” Video * Jon Stewart skewers Cuomo on ethics scandal(NYP)
In a letter to Queens Library trustees, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz demands that they rein in library President Thomas Galante and cut the $2 million payout he’d receive if he is dismissed, the Daily News’s Juan Gonzalez writes: 
F.A.A. Lifts Ban on U.S. Flights to and From Israel(NYT) * F.A.A. Lifts Ban on U.S. Flights to and From Israel(Time) * Why I Flew to Israel Featured-Bloomberg View * Mike Bloomberg in Israel: FAA wrong In-Depth-Politico* The Politics Behind the FAA's Israel Flight Ban
SEDDIO BACKING SAMPSON: State
Sen. John Sampson’s political future has looked bleak ever since he was
indicted on multiple federal corruption charges, but a powerful segment
of the Brooklyn Democratic establishment is doing all it can to keep
him in office, City & State reports:
First, the PR man said Seddio would release the file only after the vote for a new boss. Then, the PR man said Seddio had entirely ruled out going public because the documents refer to other people whose privacy could be infringed. Then, the PR man said Seddio would allow the Daily News to look at portions of the files with names blanked out, but no copying would be permitted. And he’d make the arrangements sometime after the vote. We’re not holding our breath. As the song goes, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.Frank Seddio picks up George Arzt for his push ... - * Capital New York One of George Arzt's clients is Extell, and Extell is the sponsor of the exclusive, luxury condo called One57 that is the target of an investigation for possible corruption. Extell has funneled approximately $75,000 in campaign contributions to Christine Quinn. According to this report, generated moments ago from the New York City Campaign Finance Board Web site, Mr. Arzt has contributed $90,500 in political donations to municipal candidates Judy Menin Manhattan BP race run by Belin Rosen and George Arzt can you find out who told her to hire Melvin Lowe Melvin Lowe Under Investigation Hired by Menin truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com *Menin’s spokesman George Arzt confirmed that Lowe was hired by the campaign to assist with petitioning, and said campaign ended its relationship with Lowe “after a very brief period” just as the news of Huntley’s wiretap list broke. Arzt Gave almost $100,000 in campaign contributions to NY state candidates spread out over many years.* 2013-10-29 George Arzt - NYS Board of Elections Contributions - Disclosure.pdf George Arzt represents Excell One57 and dozens of other developers * George Arzt - NYC Lobbyist Search Result * More George Arzt is A Bad Guy * Extell George Arzt Moreland Commission * George Arzt Communications, Inc. - NYC Lobbyist Search Result
Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) Corporations and people affiliated with Extell Development made more than $300,000 in donations to Cuomo since May 2012, around the same time the governor and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would save Extell millions over a decade.
It's About What the Reformers Don't Know or Want to Know
Friday Update
“The commission
developed a list of promising targets, including a lawmaker suspected of
using campaign funds to support a girlfriend in another state and pay
tanning-salon bills. The panel also highlighted activities that it saw
as politically odious but perfectly legal, like exploiting a loophole to
bundle enormous campaign contributions. But a three-month examination
by The New York Times found that the governor’s office deeply
compromised the panel’s work, objecting whenever the commission focused
on groups with ties to Mr. Cuomo or on issues that might reflect poorly
on him. … “[F]ederal prosecutors are investigating the roles of Mr.
Cuomo and his aides in the panel’s shutdown and are pursuing its
unfinished business. … Things got so bad that investigators believed a
Cuomo appointee was monitoring their communications without their
knowledge. … In a 13-page statement responding to The Times’s questions,
Mr. Cuomo’s office defended its handling of the commission. It said the
commission was created by and reported to the governor, and therefore
he could not be accused of interfering with it…. Yet, The Times found
that the governor’s office interfered with the commission when it was
looking into groups that were politically close to him. In fact, the
commission never tried to investigate his administration. “Beyond that, Mr. Cuomo’s office said, the commission needed
the governor’s guiding hand because it was, simply, a mess: Its staff
was plagued by ‘relationship issues’ and was ‘mired in discord.’ The
commissioners, whom he earlier called some of New York’s sharpest
governmental and legal minds, ‘did not understand the budget or
legislative process or how state government worked,’ the statement said.
Their subpoenas often had ‘no logic or basis,’ and those that touched
on the governor’s supporters were more for show than for legitimate
investigative purposes, the statement said.” h ttp://nyti.ms/1nADaNo * Zephyr Teachout: If Gov. Cuomo knew about Moreland Commission meddling, he should resign(NYDN)* Bill Hammond @NYDNHammond "One state senator appeared to be supporting a
girlfriend in Connecticut and paying tanning-salon bills." Hmm.* The odd couple and the defunct commission: A NY moment(Newsday)* 2,200-word response to NYT inquiries about Committee to SaveNY * NYT: Cuomo's officescuttled investigations into his political allies(TPM) * Stewart-Cousins Defends Cuomo Interference in the Moreland Commission(NYO)* While today’s New York Times story on
the Cuomo administration’s extensive meddling in the now-defunct
Moreland Commission is exhaustive, it does not address what laws may
have been broken or by whom, State of Politics reports: http://goo.gl/DwkAmG
"God forbid we
should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all,
and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in
proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive.If they remain quiet under such
misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty.
... And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned
from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them
take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify
them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty
must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It
is its natural manure."
Keeping the Public Uninformed While Racking In the Millions
Rapfogel nwas ForestCity's partner on ncil Seward Park bid, charity show,etc * Former Forest City Ratner lobbyist Melvin Lowe, Sampson crony, charged with corruption; charges do not involve developer(Atlantic Yards) The Forest City angles 1) Given that Forest City Ratner joinedwith the Met Council on a bid to redevelop the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, the departure of Rapfogel--surely highlighted as a key executive in the bid package--casts a major shadow on that bid. 2) The Barclays Center chose to give the Met Council--and a music camp--profits from a 2/28/13 cantorial concert. Shouldn't investigators look into any ulterior motives, like buffing the developer's relationship with Silver as a prelude to that Seward Park bid? 3) The position of Rapfogel's son Michael, a Forest City VP of External Affairs who's the developer's chief legislative liaison, has to become a little uncomfortable, though he is of course not responsible for his father's actions. His mother Judy is still Silver's top aide, and that has to be the key legislative relationship. But the name Rapfogel is now associated with an emerging scandal. I've written at length about the ties between Forest City, Silver, and the Rapfogels.
This is rich! The poor will use a separate door under plans for a new Upper West Side luxury tower — where affordable housing will be segregated from ritzy waterfront condos despite being in the.
In an interview, Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group, indicated that the multimillion-dollar effort was a significant shift in city politics and might alter the nature of campaigning on the local level. “The entire point of a City Council race is to reflect the needs of the neighborhoods in a district,” Ms. Lerner said. “This undercuts the neighborhood-based nature of a district and replaces neighborhood concerns with industry concerns.
Cuomo $300,000 from Extell
On Real Estate Contributors Subpoenas
Cuomo said he has no problem with the anti-corruption Moreland Commission he convened sending subpoenas to real estate companies that have contributed to his campaign, including Extell Development, the Times Union writes:
Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) Corporations and people affiliated with Extell Development made more than $300,000 in donations to Cuomo since May 2012, around the same time the governor and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would save Extell millions over a decade.Two corporations tied to Extell Development each contributed $50,000 to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign the same day the Assembly passed a housing bill with tax breaks for five developers, including Extell, the Daily News reports: *Sheldon Silver aided Gov. Cuomo in sneaking through tax breaks for luxury developer(NYDN) * Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) Corporations and people affiliated with Extell Development made more than $300,000 in donations to Cuomo since May 2012, around the same time the governor and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would save Extell millions over a decade.* Towering corruption (NYDN) Commission must find the truth about Albany's tax breaks for luxury highrises* New York City real estate companies are exploiting a loophole in state election law that considers limited liability corporations as individuals, allowing them to contribute up to $150,000 through LLCs that they own for different sites, Crain’s Insider reports
Albany's Tax Breaks Turn Into Foreign Aide for the Rich
Silver Builds Affordable Housing for the Residents of Qatar Not Middle Class and Poor New Yorkers Qatar Prime Minister – New Owner of the $100 Million New York’s Most Expensive Penthouse
How Much Has New York Lost To Florida? * Qatar Prime Minister – New Owner of the $100 Million New York’s Most Expensive Penthouse
“Frank left the job because the bench was less-than-scintillating,” said Seddio spokesman George Artz. “Frank is a people person, and he found the post wasn’t for him.” You think after losing with Hynes Artz would have gotten out of Brooklyn?* * 2013-10-29 George Arzt - NYS Board of Elections Contributions - Disclosure.pdf George Arzt represents Excell One57 and dozens of other developers * George Arzt - NYC LobbyistSearch Result * More George Arzt is A Bad Guy LobbyistsWho has done a lot of harm(True News) * One of George Arzt's clients is Extell,and Extell is the sponsor of the exclusive, luxury condo called One57 that is the target of an investigation for possible corruption. * George ArztCommunications, Inc. - NYC Lobbyist Search Result+copy.gif)
GILDED CITY – New York mag cover, “Stash Pad: The New York real-estate market is now the premier destination for wealthy foreigners with rubles, yuan, and dollars to hide,” by Andrew Rice: “Every year, the British real-estate brokerage Knight Frank publishes a document called ‘The Wealth Report.’ The latest edition produces the curiously precise estimate that there are 167,669 individuals in the world who are ‘ultrahigh net worth,’ with assets exceeding $30 million … forecasting that over the next decade, the ranks of the ultrarich will increase by 30 percent, with much of the growth coming in Asia and Africa. … New York is forecast to add more ultrahigh-net-worth individuals than any city outside Asia over the next decade.”“[S]ince 2008, roughly 30 percent of condo sales in large-scale Manhattan developments have been to purchasers who either listed an overseas address or bought through an entity like a limited-liability corporation, a tactic rarely employed by local homebuyers but favored by foreign investors. … Corcoran Sunshine, which markets luxury buildings, estimates that 35 percent of its sales since 2013 have been to international buyers, half from Asia, with the remainder roughly evenly split among Latin America, Europe, and the rest of the world. ‘The global elite,’ says developer Michael Stern, ‘is basically looking for a safe-deposit box.’ …* A study showed Manhattan’s apartment inventory is up after a two-year shortage, but the average price for a Manhattan apartment rose 20 percent to more than $1.6 million, the Times writes: * Hidden in Plain Sight: New York Just Another Island Haven()ICIJ) Lax U.S. rules and real estate industry’s no-questions-asked approach make it easy for dodgy characters to funnel wealth through high-end Manhattan apartments.
Ex-NYC housing honcho: I raked in $2.5M in bribes(NYP)A former city housing honcho said Monday he raked in $2.5 million in bribes from developers and contractors looking to access affordable housing contracts. The stunning admission from former Housing Preservation and Development Department assistant commissioner Wendell Walters came as he testified in the Brooklyn federal court bribery trial of developer Steve Dunn and his lawyer partners Lee Hymowitz and Michael Freeman.* Ex-Housing Official Tells of Bribes(WSJ)
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Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation, New York Cosmos LLC, Association of Water and Sewer Excavators Inc., Madelaine Chocolate Novelties, Inc., AMERICAN RECYCLING TECHNOLOGIES INC., Election Systems & Software, Inc., Touro College, Abbott Laboratories, Times Square District Management Association, Inc., Oxford Nursing Home, Inc., New York Community Bancorp, Inc., Marshall E Bloomfield ESQ,Palladia, Inc., RCN Telecom Services, LLC, AbbVie, Inc, 2030 Astoria Developers, LLC., HUNTS POINT TERMINAL PRODUCE COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION INC, Taxicab Service Association Inc., Master Plumbers Council of the City of New York, Inc, American Recycling LLC, FIGLI DI SAN GENNARO, INC. ***Here is City Hall lobbyist Davidoff telling Earl Lewis on NY1 that the mayor will be OK
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N.Y.'s 'Open to Business' ads are closed to scrutiny(poughkeepsiejournal) The state's ads touting New York's economy, tourism and business friendliness have been ubiquitous around the country for over a year. How much tax money is spent on the ads isn't as apparent. For the past year, Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, has delayed a Freedom of Information request by Gannett's Albany bureau that seeks details about the spending on New York's "Open for Business" marketing campaign. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration and state legislators allocated $150 million over three years through the agency to market the state's business climate and tourism industry. The program was extended in the current fiscal year with another $50 million from the state Power Authority.In May, Cuomo said New York increased its ad budget to promote the state's tourism industry by 50 percent, up to $45 million in the current fiscal year. The money is in a pot separate from the "Open for Business" fund, but it still falls under Empire State Development's control. The funding boost included seven ads narrated by celebrities to draw visitors to upstate, including ones by actors Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Steve Buscemi.
Wills charges Schneiderman tried race-baiting in 2010 primary(NYP) State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman tried to play the race card
in his 2010 primary battle against Nassau DA Kathleen Rice, drafting a
fellow Dem to do his dirty work, new court papers charge. Schneiderman asked state Sen. Shirley Huntley, who is black and was
supporting him, to call Rice, the white prosecutor running against him
in the Democratic primary for state attorney general, a racist,
according to the filing. “Schneiderman asked for Huntley’s support as her district was
significantly African-American and was thought to be the tipping point
for the race,” according to court papers filed last week by embattled
City Councilman Ruben Wills, Huntley’s former top aide. Schneiderman, who was then a state senator, wanted Huntley to say Rice
used her position to “unfairly and disproportionately prosecute
African-Americans,” court papers say. “He encouraged Huntley to gather crowds in predominately minority
neighborhoods and then publicly and falsely accuse Kathleen Rice of
racism,” according to the filing. Huntley, who represented southeast Queens, refused Schneiderman’s request, sparking bad blood between the two, court papers say. Wills — who was indicted by the Attorney General’s Office in May on
charges of stealing more than $30,000 in taxpayer money from a charity
he founded and using some of the cash for shopping sprees — may just be
trying to save himself with the race-baiting allegations. The allegations came in a legal filing in which Wills is seeking to
remove Schneiderman from his case and have a special prosecutor
appointed. Huntley was recently released from federal prison. She pleaded guilty
in 2013 to taking $87,000 from a nonprofit she started. Schneiderman
began investigating charities linked to her shortly after he took office
in 2011. Huntley declined to comment but said of Schneiderman in a 2013
videotaped interview posted to YouTube that “There were things that he
asked me to do that were not kosher.”* Indicted pol seeks Schneiderman's removal from case
Flashback Huntley Indicted By Schneiderman But the Case Was Secretly Turned Over to the Feds, After Which the Senator Taped 8 of Her Fellow Elected Officials Including Wills
Think of the kids, Eric(NYDN Ed) Cast into defending New York’s education-deadening teacher tenure laws,
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman faces the prospect of arguing
against the interests of children and for those of teachers unions. As a “progressive” in a Democratic Party in tune with labor (see Mayor
de Blasio’s defense of tenure), Schneiderman may be quite comfortable
battling a tenure challenge. His office says he has not formulated a position on the merits of two
lawsuits — one filed, one soon to be filed — challenging New York’s
lifetime job protections for teachers, no matter how poorly they do
their jobs . Whatever the case, the litigation will test his mettle in
an election year.
The Atlantic Yards CBA promised a path to union apprenticeships. Instead, BUILD's coveted program provoked a bitter lawsuit(AYR) 
From the Queens Chronicle:
Markowitz to lead push for Democratic convention at Barclays(NYP)
Halloran allegedly tried to give away a congressional seat for $15K(NYP) For $15,000, you can own your own congressional seat!That’s what ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran allegedly gloated in 2012 while offering the unique opportunity to a crooked Rockland County developer. Mark “Moses” Stern — a developer who wore a wire and cooperated with the FBI in the sweeping corruption probe that scored indictments against state Sen. Malcolm Smith, ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran and others — testified Thursday about how Halloran made him an offer he believed wouldn’t be refused. Halloran then told Stern he could be “co-owning [his] own congressional seat, and I need $15,000,” Stern recalled on the stand. Stern – who cooperated with the feds to avoid prison after being indicted on fraud charges in 2010 and quietly pleading guilty – was asked by Halloran’s lawyer Vinoo Varghese if he tried to “dig dirt on as much people as he could” for the FBI. Stern responded, “Not dig dirt — but cooperate and give knowledge that I know.” Smith, the feds say, turned to Stern and an undercover agent for money and help pulling off a botched $200,000 bribery scheme to get the Democratic Queens senator the GOP line in the 2013. The senator, in turn, promised them $500,000 in transportation funds for a project in Spring Valley, NY. Halloran faces up to 45 years behind bars if convicted. Smith heads to trial in January.
Manhattan GOP leader ‘freaked out’ after being offered bribe(NYP) he head of Manhattan’s Republican Party said Wednesday he “freaked out”
after being offered a $25,000 bribe to help Democratic state Sen.
Malcolm Smith secure the Republican line in last year’s mayoral race. His solution: Call the richest person he knows. Testifying in the White Plains federal corruption trial of the plot’s
alleged mastermind, ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran, Manhattan GOP
Chairman Daniel Isaacs said he called then-Republican mayoral candidate
and Gristedes tycoon John Catsimatidis about the illicit offer made
outside Spark’s Steakhouse in Manhattan on Valentine’s Day 2013. Unknown
to Isaacs and Halloran – who brokered the meeting – the offer was made
by a wire-wearing federal agent pretending to a powerful developer. Isaacs said he later met with Catsimatidis that night and told him
about the offer — and that Halloran, then-Bronx Republican Chairman
Joseph “Jay” Savino and then-Queens GOP Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone
were also at Sparks.
The agent, according to transcripts, told Isaac during the shady
session in back of a parked car, “All I am saying is five minutes of
work. You send me a bill for whatever you need.” Isaacs said he could see the agent’s breast pocket “had a large
envelope.” Isaacs, a lawyer, also said he realized he wasn’t being
offered legal consulting work as initially suggested — but rather a
“bribe.” So Isaacs said he “freaked out” and left. * Manhattan Republican Party Chairman
Daniel Isaacs, during former City Councilman Dan Halloran’s corruption
trial, said he nearly took a bribe, thinking it was a legitimate payment
for his legal and political expertise, but balked when he realized he
was about to break the law* Manhattan GOP chairman testifies in Daniel Halloran corruption trial, says he almost took bribe(NYDN) “I’m generally not used to clients paying with large envelopes,” Isaacs said..jpg)
Petitioning Process Difficult for Some Candidates in Statewide Races(NY1)
EXTRA EARNINGS: Rob Astorino, Cuomo's GOP opponent, has $30G consulting gig(NYDN)
Gov. Cuomo received $76,000 from real estate investors weeks before giving their property a tax break on bill (NYDN) * A luxury tower's tax breaks look more outrageous and suspicious by the day * The companies that will benefit, their lobbyists and PACs have donated $1.5 million to Albany campaign accounts over the past five years. The bill’s sponsors — Sen. Marty Golden and Assemblyman Keith Wright — professed ignorance. * Tax Breaks for Billionaires(http://metcouncilonhousing.org)
Pols and Lobbyist Killing the Fabric and Soul of NYC Fueling RE Market Pushing Stores Out All Over the City
Airbnb to be a sponsor of the NYC Marathon(NYDN) Airbnb announced Thursday that it will be a sponsor of the New York City Marathon — angering the city’s hotel industry, which sees the home-rental website as a threat. Airbnb is snatching customers from the hotel market. The company said Thursday that 10,000 visitors stayed with its hosts during last year’s Marathon. Airbnb seems intent on increasing its presence in the city, despite an ongoing investigation by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman into whether some hosts are violating state law by renting their apartments. The company recently launched an aggressive ad campaign in the subways featuring New Yorkers who rent out their flats by the night. Both the City and State and Capital News Blogs depend on adv revenue from Airbnb 
Albany is Fueling Gentrification with Tax Breaks to Developers
Gonzalez: Mayor de Blasio calls overcrowded public schools 'unacceptable'(NYDN)+copy.gif)
More Officers at New York Public Housing Amid a Rise in Shootings(NYT)
Paging Shira Scheindlin(NYP)
Anderson later showed the jury transcripts of text messages between
Halloran and Savino on Valentine’s Day 2013, shortly after Savino
allegedly secured his cash bribe during a meeting outside Spark’s
Steakhouse in Manhattan. Halloran tells Savino in a text, “Tell me u love me.” Savino, a former power-broker lawyer, also confided to jurors about how
far he’s fallen hard since being busted by the feds, saying he now works
at a restaurant cleaning bathrooms and filling ice trays.He said the feds as part of his plea agreement opted not to prosecute
him for lying about his address for years so he could vote in the Bronx
— a move that also allowed him keep his Bronx Republican chairmanship. The feds also haven’t prosecuted Savino over other alleged crimes,
including charges that he used party funds for personal expenses, Savino
said.* Daniel Halloran accused of arranging $15G bribe for ex-Bronx GOP chairman(NYDN) Joseph (Jay) Savino
said he pocketed a $15,000 cash bribe arranged by Halloran on
Valentine's Day in 2013. Halloran, a former City Councilman, then wrote
him a text message that read, 'Tell me you love me,' Savino said.
Savino, the ex-Bronx County Republican Party chairman, testified Tuesday
in Halloran's corruption trial. The men didn’t use the word “bribe,” Savino admitted Tuesday when grilled by a defense lawyer. “At the time, I took it to mean retained,” Savino testified. “But it was a bribe.” “He was the quarterback,” Savino said, pointing at Halloran.* The restaurant where ex-Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino is cleaning bathrooms belongs to his mother-in-law.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has created a campaign account for 2017 with the CFB and has been quietly fundraising during the past few months.* Blaz registers with Campaign Finance Board(NYDN)* De Blasio has started fundraising for 2017 re-election bid(NYP)* De Blasio Sets Fund for Second-Term Bid (WSJ)Other pols who have filed with the board to run in 2017
include Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilman James Van Bramer and
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.* City scheduler helps with Dante college meetings (Capital)
DE BLASIO ALLIES IN POT RIFT -- Mayor agrees with both -- Capital’s Azi Paybarah: Two
of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s allies appear to disagree over how to deal
with first-time offenders charged with possession of small amounts of
marijuana. Brooklyn D.A. Ken Thompson announced
Tuesday that his office will no longer prosecute most first-time
offenders for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Police
commissioner Bill Bratton said the news “will not result in any changes”
at the NYPD and that officers will continue to arrest people for that
offense. Later, a de Blasio spokeswoman said the mayor agreed with both
Thompson and Bratton.
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Vito Lopez and Micah Kellner Still Seeking Political Posts(NYO) Vito Lopez, the former assemblyman and Brooklyn Democratic boss who was
forced from office after being accused of sexually harassing his
staffers, filed petitions to run again for his position as a district
leader and state committeeman, according to Board of Elections
documents. And Assemblyman Micah Kellner, the Upper East Side pol who
chose not to seek re-election after his own sexual harassment scandal,
also moved forward with his state committee bid after the Observer first reported his intentions in May.
Getting to the bottom of how Silver and other legislators earn outside income had been Job One for Gov. Cuomo’s anticorruption commission.But Silver joined Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos and Senate Independent Democratic chief Jeff Klein in stonewalling the panel. The three had common cause in battling for secrecy. Skelos reported making from $150,000 to $250,000 while serving of counsel to the politically connected Long Island law firm Ruskin, Moscou and Faltischek. Like Silver, he gives every appearance of working full-time on Albany duties. Klein reported income of $75,000 to $100,000 as a partner in the Bronx law firm Klein Calderoni and Santucci. In the middle of resisting the commission’s subpoenas in court, Silver, Skelos, Klein and other lawmakers prevailed on Cuomo to halt the probe nine months early as part of a half-a-loaf deal on ethics reform. The shutdown drew justified criticism by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who took control of commission files.The Democrat and Chronicle praises US Attorney Preet Bharara for cracking down on Albany corruption while Cuomo’s JCOPE “essentially twiddled its thumbs.”
Outside Legal Work Proves Fruitful for New York’s Top Legislators(NYT) Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, and Senators Dean G. Skelos and Jeffrey D. Klein earned as much as $1.1 million combined practicing law last year, according to disclosure statements.* Speaker Silver earned up to $750K for legal work outside legislative duties — more than prior year(NYDN)* Astorino Ties Cuomo To Legislature’s Scandals(YNN)
Cuomo allegedly ordered Kathy Hochul to stay ‘under wraps’(NYP) Where in the world is former US Rep. Kathy Hochul? fervid opposition to giving state
privileges to illegal aliens has all but disappeared from public view
since Gov. Cuomo picked her in May as his running mate for lieutenant
governor.* Andrew Cuomo Calls Latest Fred Dicker Column ‘Absurd’ and ‘Silly’(NYO)* Cuomo: ‘Absurd’ And ‘Silly’ To Suggest He’s Keeping Hochul Hidden(YNN) Tuesday.@zephyrteachout: Cuomo "afraid" primary voters
will learn" @KathyHochul was "anti-immigrant bank lobbyist...doesn’t
share their values."
Karim Camara Says He’s ‘Comfortable’ With Kathy Hochul on Guns and Immigration(NYO)
Sources: Advance Group Refunded Robert Jackson for Use of Voter Database Information(Capital) The Advance Group has said it did not use information from other campaigns for its Anybody But Quinn push–but the consulting firm has now reimbursed 2013 Manhattan borough president candidate Robert Jackson’s campaign for using his database, sources told the Observer. The leading campaigning and lobbying group voluntarily sent a check to Mr. Jackson’s unsuccessful borough president operation, two sources said, shortly after the Observer reported last month that the group had drawn information from his Voter Activation Network–a repository of voter addresses, ages, and registrations–and used it for the anti-Christine Quinn effort. A whistleblower from ABQ furnished the Observer with documents last month
indicating that the ABQ campaign’s canvassers went door-to-door with
VAN “turf packets” that had Mr. Jackson’s name — along with the names
of Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo’s and candidate Robert Waterman — clearly
printed on them. “They illegally and unethically used the VAN we paid for and gave it to other clients,” the source close to the campaign said. The Advance Group–already under fire for failing to disentangle other NYCLASS-financed expenditures from the City Council campaigns it ran last year–claimed to the Observer
in June that it had only shared publicly available databases, and not
proprietary information. The firm stood by the statement when questioned
again, and refused to issue further comment. But the refund to Mr. Jackson’s campaign, which the source close to
Mr. Jackson said could only be for the use of the VAN, would appear to
fly in the face of that assertion.
Mayor de Blasio helped Democrats raise a half-million dollars last week toward reclaiming control of the state Senate. De Blasio headlined a Wednesday night fund-raiser that drew more than 200 people at up to $25,000 a head. “It’s a tremendous start to the campaign season, and we very much
appreciate the mayor’s support,” said Queens Sen. Michael Gianaris, head
of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.
New York’s Mapmaking Scandal(NYT) A constitutional amendment would only make it easier
for legislators to continue to draw district maps that help no one but
the incumbents. In
his 2010 campaign for governor, Andrew Cuomo promised to end “partisan
gerrymandering,” in which lawmakers draw their own districts. He failed
to do that, and instead, as governor, signed onto a set of legislative
maps in 2012 that were carefully designed to keep legislators safely in
their jobs.Then,
he and lawmakers came up with a counterfeit reform, a constitutional
amendment on November’s ballot that would only make matters worse and
make it harder to clean up the whole inbred process for years to come. The
flawed maps created in 2012 will be in use until 2022. The
constitutional amendment would put a new, virtually permanent system in
place for the next round of mapmaking that starts after the 2020 census.
The amendment sets up a bipartisan commission, a majority of whose
members are appointed by legislative leaders. The possibilities for
partisan gridlock are endless, and it will take another constitutional
amendment to make any corrections of what is destined to be a flawed
system. In a recent report,
Common Cause/NY, New York Public Interest Research Group and Effective
NY warned that the amendment would only make it easier for New York
legislators to continue to draw district maps that help no one but the
incumbents. Amendment
supporters say the maps would be drawn by a bipartisan, independent
commission, with co-executive directors, one Democrat and one
Republican. That sounds reasonable, except that it is much the same as
the state’s Board of Elections, one of the least effective public
operations in New York. That board is also bipartisan, which often means
stalemate, not compromise. Under
this new system, if the Legislature does not like the commission’s
maps, they can vote them down and send them back for amendments. If the
maps return and the lawmakers still don’t approve, they can vote them
down and then draw their own, much as they do now. This amendment is not
a reform. It is another way to maintain the status quo, and does not
deserve voters’ support.
An effort is under way to change the name of tony Barrow Street in the West Village to honor Thomas Paine, the 18th century writer who helped inspire the American Revolution. “Thomas Paine is like the Founding Fathers’ founding father. He’s the one who made the convincing case for independence,” writes Dylan DePice in an online petition to the City Council calling for the switch. “The guy who did as much as anyone to spark the creation of a country founded on religious liberty deserves to be honored for it.”Barrow, which runs from Washington Place to the West Side Highway, was once called Reason Street, in honor of Paine’s 1795 “The Age of Reason.” The street became city property in 1809 and was renamed Barrow to honor rich landowner Thomas Barrow, a vestryman at nearby Trinity Church. * Freedom of the press came of age in NYC (NYDN) When a newspaper publisher was accused of seditious libel.
Teachout: I have petition signatures to run against Cuomo(NYP) Leftist Fordham law prof Zephyr Teachout says she has rounded up more
than enough signatures to run against Gov. Cuomo in the September
Democratic primary.A minimum of 15,000 valid signatures is required. Teachout says she
already has 27,000 and is looking to reach 45,000 by Thursday’s
deadline. But Cuomo’s office refuses to say if he intends to challenge those
signatures — a sign that he’s seriously considering that option. If nothing else, a legal challenge by the governor’s campaign would
tie up the novice challenger in expensive legal proceedings and force
her to devote resources to lawyers instead of voters.Signatures can be challenged on numerous grounds, starting with whether the signer is actually a registered Democratic voter. When activists in the Working Families Party attempted to run
Teachout as their candidate on the WFP ballot line this coming November,
Cuomo cut a deal to push the party’s agenda and get the line himself.
'WITH THIS MAYOR, WE FEEL MUCH MORE LEFT OUT': Mayor de Blasio's Staten Island 4th of July parade appearance draws some boos(NYDN)
Fed up students file lawsuit to overthrow NY tenure laws(NYP) A group of fed-up students and parents on Thursday declared their
independence from incompetent New York City teachers shielded by the
state’s tenure and seniority laws.In the wake of a landmark anti-tenure ruling in California, the
coalition of 11 students filed a class-action lawsuit in Staten Island
state Supreme Court, seeking to eliminate protections afforded to bad
teachers. “This lawsuit has to do with students’ rights and parents’ rights. We
have to do away with the ‘students last’ policies. No one is talking
about the children who are failing every day,” said Staten Island dad
Sam Pirozzolo, a co-leader of the New York City Parents Union.* Lawsuit Challenges New York’s Teacher Tenure Laws(NYT) In the wake of a landmark court decision in California, an education
advocacy group says the laws violate the State Constitution’s guarantee
of a “sound basic education.”*More Teacher Retire After Contract Approved * In the wake of a new contract that
incentivizes teachers to retire, more New York City educators applied to
leave last month than in the same period in recent years, Capital New York reports: * In an audit, New York City
Comptroller Scott Stringer found that the school system could not prove
it sought competitive bids for an $88.1 million custodial supply
contract and then failed to monitor overpayments, the Post writes: * In the Times’ “Room for Debate,” a number of experts weigh in on the student-led approach to
reading and writing known as “balanced literacy” that is making a
comeback in New York City: * The lawsuit in
California that struck down the state’s teacher tenure and
seniority-order layoff laws will not succeed in New York, Michael
Rebell, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University writes in the Daily News
.@powellnyt's Gotham swan song: An informer known as"Tony" recalls his complicity in fingering innocents: (NYT)* Times columnist Michael Powell to move from Metro to Sports(NYT)
Man Accused of Killing Brooklyn Boy, 6, in Elevator Pleads Not Guilty(NYT) * Woman Chasing Her Dog Is Killed by Garbage Truck(NYT) * Police Identify Suspect in Fatal Hit and Run in Brooklyn (NYT)* Rain May Spare Fireworks, but Not Other July 4th Plans (NYT) * Girl, 12, Fatally Struck by Stolen Van in Brooklyn; 2 Are Critically Injured(NYT) * What about Corruption in NY? Countering Corruption in Indonesia(NYT)* Breezy Looks to Spruce Up Your Summer Wardrobe(NYT) Friday Studying What Lures Turtles to a Tarmac at Kennedy Airport(NYT) *Man Charged in Fatal Brooklyn Hit-and-Run(NYT)* Sheltering in Storm, Family Must Flee as Debris Rains From Brooklyn Bridge(NYT) * Year after year, residents of Inwood defy the police to puton a huge unsanctioned fireworks show.(NYT) Saturday Homicide Charges Likely in Baruch College Fraternity Retreat Case(NYT) * Man Accused in Brooklyn Hit-and-Run Had Trouble With Drugs(NYT)* City Kitchen: Easy-to-Make Sorbets and Shaved Ice(NYT) Sunday Firefighter Dies After Blaze at Brooklyn High-Rise(NYT) * Missing 2-Year-Old Girl Is Found Dead in Prospect Park Lake(NYT)* Even on weekends, the manicurist Jin Soon Choi is never farfrom her nail business. (NYT) Monday ‘Festivus’ Poles. ‘Close Talker’ Mascot. Yada, Yada, Yada. (NYT) Tuesday Baby Girl Is Abandoned on Columbus Circle Subway Platform(NYT)* A Fan Sleeps at a Game, Wakes Up and Sues Baseball(NYT) * NYTimes: Cupcake Shop Crumbs Shuttering All Its Stores * Maggie Haberman: “Was a shame when it was [Clyde Haberman]signing off and it's a shame to see [Powell] do the same. No voices anymore” * A Brief History of Croquet in Brooklyn(NYT)* Before He Leaves, Michael Powell Shares His Favorite Gotham Columns(NYT)
Former City Councilman Halloran shook hands when making deals: FBI Agent(NYDN) “He asked me for the money,” the agent told Halloran’s lawyer. To consummate a dirty deal, former City Councilman Daniel Halloran “shook hands, clinked glasses and decided that half would be paid up front and the rest once it was done,” an undercover FBI agent testified Wednesday in the pol’s corruption trial.
Census Estimates Show Another Increase in New York City’s Non-Hispanic White Population(NYT)
'IT'S THE SAME': NYCHA residents still waiting for change after Mayor de Blasio's promises, from six months ago(NYDN) Seventeen tenants
sued NYCHA in June on behalf of DeWitt Clinton Houses' 1,700 residents,
demanding the authority address dozens of repairs that date back years.
While de Blasio's administration has made some changes, some tenants
throughout NYCHA developments still suffer.
Gerson Borrero @GersonBorrero · Jun
27
'We need to attack, not react,' de Blasio press secretary tells PR staff in pep talk(NYDN) When it comes to making it in the world's toughest media market, Mayor
de Blasio's top spokesman apparently thinks the best defense is a good
offense. “We need to attack, not react – no bunker mentality,” City Hall Press
Secretary Phil Walzak said at a Thursday gathering of about 50 city
agency PR staffers, according to a Daily News tipster. “Be aggressive. Tell your story loudly and proudly," Walzak urged the crew in his tough-guy pep talk, our source said."We live in a very combative media environment." Some who attended the gathering -- held to introduce the flacks to
their new point woman, Andrea Hagelgans -- felt Walzak's advice was
“over the top,” the insider added. The meeting came a week after de Blasio hired Hagelgans--who
led Planned Parenthood’s aggressive response to the Susan G. Komen
Foundation’s decision to withdraw funding -- to coordinate media ops for
his cabinet and all city agencies.Hizzoner decided to retool his press strategy after staggering through a series of PR fiascos early in his term. We have reached out to Walzak for comment, and will update if we hear back...
Monday Update
SenatorSkelosis spot on here: rips Cuomo for Senate deal - Politics on the Hudson * A post-election IDC-Democratic Senate reunification could result in fewer or less strenuous primary challenges against IDC members, but it could also mean a GOP opponent for one member where none previously existed, State of Politics reports: * Business groups are wary of the deal announced that could return control of the state Senate to the Democrats and many say they fear their four-year streak of pro-business legislation will soon come to an end, Crain’s reports:
Former New York City councilman Robert Jackson kicked off his bid for state Senate today and will now face off against the incumbent, Adriano Espaillat, City & State reports:* Democrats and the Working Families Party are clear on what issues they would push to get into law if they win the Senate majority in November—public campaign financing, the Dream Act, abortion rights, increased minimum wage and a ban on fracking,Gannett Albany reports: * State of Politics explores the complicated nature of the Independent Democratic Conference’s announcement that it will rejoin the mainline Senate Democrats after November, noting that IDC Leader Jeff Klein and the “regular” Democratic leader will have to jointly agree on everything that comes to the floor for a vote:* * State Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos told WNYC listeners that his party would retain control of the
Senate, despite his crumbling coalition with the Independent Democratic
Conference, by taking out Democratic incumbents in contested districts,
the Observer reports: * The decision by the Senate
Independent Democratic Conference to work with the mainline Democrats
next year will mean Sen. David Carlucci, who recently pledged to rejoin
the Democratic Conference if the IDC didn’t break with the Republicans,
will avoid a primary this year, Gannett Albany reports: 
Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos slams Gov. Cuomo overbreakaway Dems (NYDN) The IDC’s abandonment of the Republicans to re-join the regular Democrats in a power-sharing deal is either an unmitigated disaster or a bonanza for liberal causes – depending on who you ask.* Sen. Tom Libous:
“It’s basically Mayor de Blasio just doesn’t want to run New York City,
he wants to run upstate New York and New York City, and some of things
he represents is not what we represent in upstate.” * Senate Republicans are preparing to run
against “ultra-liberal New York City radicals” who are working to
empower “illegal immigrants” and stifle business, according to a set of
talking points distributed to Republican senators. * Despite their conceptual deal, leaders of both Democratic conferences have so far refused to call
for an end to a half-dozen primary challenges to incumbent senators
that were put in motion in recent months as the rival factions geared up
for electoral war.* Former NYC Councilman Robert Jackson announced his candidacy for Sen. Adriano Espaillat’s seat, and said he thinks the senator, who is now seeking re-election, is “exhausted” from his failed primary challenge to Rep. Charlie Rangel.* * State Senate Republican Leader Dean
Skelos said Gov. Andrew Cuomo “sold his soul” to the Working Families
Party and its “radical agenda” after Cuomo’s push to break up the IDC
coalition, Newsday reports: * Although the IDC announced it will
abandon the state Senate Republicans, IDC members will still face
primary challengers that have the support of advocates and legislators
wary of the new conference, the Gotham Gazette reports: 
@SalAlbaneseNYC is not happy about LICH @HuffPostNY "LICH Hospital already served its purpose as de Blasio's campaign prop."
KLEIN, CUOMO ANNOUNCE SENATE COALITION: Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein announced a new coalition with mainline Democrats, but only after the November elections, City & State reports: * Deal to End Senate Rift May Give Democrats Full Control in Albany(NYT)* NY1 ItCH: A Dark Day for the State GOP * New York State Senate Coalition Ends (WSJ)* Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos says NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to become the “de facto governor” if the Senate flips into the hands of downstate Democrats.
Councilmen Defend Funding a Vito Lopez Non-Profit(NYO) Three Brooklyn councilmen once tied to disgraced Kings County
Democratic Party chairman and ex-Assemblyman Vito Lopez designated more
than $440,000 in the 2015 budget for the controversial non-profit Mr.
Lopez founded, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council.Councilman Rafael Espinal showered the organization with $98,125 of
his discretionary funding–also known as member items–and personally
sponsored an additional $60,000 allocation. Mr. Espinal also
co-sponsored another $275,000 earmark for the group with Councilman
David Greenfield funded through the “speaker’s list” pot of money
controlled by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Weiner None Believer in Democratic IDC Deal(NY1)
Rangel proves to be a sore winner after beating Espaillat(NYP) Rangel will never forgive Adriano Espaillat, whom he once privately described as a “punk,” according to sources in the congressman’s camp.* Rangel win helped by increased turnout from black neighborhoods(NYDN)* Forgotten ethnic factor helped Rangel win(NYP)* Adriano Espaillat Concedes to Charlie Rangel in Congressional Primary(NYO) * Mark-Viverito Argues Her Endorsement Was Still ‘Helpful’ to Espaillat(NYO) * New Class of Winners and Losers Emerges After Rangel Fells Espaillat(NYO) Winner Rasheida Smith and Neal Kwatra:, 1199 SEIU:, Bill Clinton:The Central Harlem Democratic Establishment Loser Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito:Rev. Al Sharpton: MirRam Group: The United Federation of Teachers:* * After loss to Rangel, Espaillat to focus on re-election in Albany (NYT)* Espaillat Concedes House Primary Race to Rangel(NYT)* @cbrangel reflects on how he won his primary contest on@InsideCityHall. (NY1) * Azi @Azi scoop: my interview with @EspaillatNY: 'I'm not upset. I'mhappy'(Capital)* Despite his loss, Espaillat insists
he’s “happy” because he worked hard and made a “major statement” at the
polls, considering “the whole Washington permanent government came out”
in favor of Rangel.* Rep. Charles Rangel, who was censured
by the House in 2010 for ethics missteps, is scrambling to amend his
annual disclosure form after failing to report an all-expenses paid
junket to China last year, the Daily News writes: 
"After nearly 44 years in office, it is now time for him to yield to the next generation." (NYT) @Azi @chrissmithnymag although the NYT is hilariously wrong. Debate performances that nobody saw and 9 point increase in negs. Cmon.
The NYT Could Not Even Deliver the White vote to Espaillat
There
is no doubt that the WFP is the most powerful party in New York
politics today, after taking over City Hall and making the govern of the
empire state gravel on video to gain their support. What is at question
is who does the Working Families Party represent and how do they
operate. In a city that has 8,337,000 residents, the WFP has 2529
active members that voted in the 2013 election, just .0003% of NYC
voting population. Political parties in NYC were designed by district
to give a voice to each neighborhood in the city. At the height of the
Tammany Hall Democratic Party, there were over 400 clubs representing
the neighborhood in the city. Many in the same neighborhood competing against each other. There’s
was more to the Tammany Hall story than corruption. Tammany Hall’s
leaders delivered social services and took care of the residents of
their district problems. They massaged justice at a time when the poor
did not have access to public defenders. They gave food and jobs to those who need them. In short Tammany Hall power came from delivering services to the
voters. Political parties today like the WFP gain their power by
controlling ballot access, campaign consultants, lobbyist and money. Bloomberg paid
millions for the GOP and Independent party line when he was mayor.
Malcolm Smith tried to buy
the GOP line from two party leaders who are under indictment. Not only
are registered voter in the Independence Party not receiving the
services that Tammany Hall democratic were provided at the turn of the
century, but as the Daily News proves over and over again those IP
registered voters have no idea they belong to a real party, they think they are just independent. 
Yesterday lifelong
progressive wrote that the WFP was exploited by the union interests
that bankroll it. "With de Blasio and the UFT-financed Working Families
Party
as allies, the union is hijacking the very language of progressive
movement politics,
annexing left journalism to defend its narrowest interests and even
recruiting
progressives to join its war against charter schools that work for
kids." Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labour
began her reform of America's labor laws working side by side with
Tammany Hall to reform the city's building code after the 1911 Triangle
Shirtwaist fire. Perkins came to Roosevelt's cabinet from a career
championing workers'
rights. An outspoken graduate from Mount Holyoke, she began work as a
social reformer as part of Tammany Hall well before women won the right to vote. A
defining moment for her was the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911: 146 garment
workers, most of them young immigrant women, died as an overcrowded
factory burned down in Greenwich Village. Perkins, who had been having
tea with friends nearby, witnessed the tragedy from the pavement,
watching young women leap to their deaths from the upper floors. She
vowed to redouble her efforts and became an adept political operator,
working with the famously corrupt Democrats in Tammany Hall. 
Listening
to an interview on Cassimatis’ round table today with Exec. Dir.
of the Liberal Party Martin Hassner, one get the feeling that it would
be OK
with the party if Cuomo also ran on his its line this year. By agreeing
to run on the Liberal line Cuomo not only gives the party back a
permanent
ballot line, but set up competition on the progressive side for a party and coalition that has
pushed
him or tried to push him around, on issues like charter schools, the
IDC-GOP
Senate coalition and increasing taxes. It would also make some of
Cuomo's GOP money people very happy. Some say that Zephyr Teachout run
as a
democrat, with a WFP operative as her campaign manager, is an insurance
policy
by the WFP leadership to keep Cuomo from taking the Liberal Line. Stay
Tuned.
What is clear is that when comparing the role of political parties today
with
the Tammany Hall era, the corruption is the same, but instead of serving
the
voters like Boss Tweed or Boss de Sapio did, modern day party leaders
are all
about deceiving the voters and only helping their friends.The campaign year's third petition period looms on L.I.(Newsday)
Rent Guidelines Board member who voted down the rent freeze took off on a plane(NYDN)
Rent board rejects freeze, votes 1% hikes for 1-year leasesin city 
NY's Election Law Proctology Exam
"In
New York, politics is a blood sport," said election lawyer Henry
Berger, who now work in the administration of his 2013 client de Blasio.
n California, one need only gather 65 signatures and pay $3,500 to
get on the ballot for governor. In New York City, a candidate for the
far more lowly post of City Council has just a few weeks in the summer
to collect at least 900 signatures from voters in their district who are
also registered in their political party. And the candidates have to
make sure that the petitions, the pieces of paper where the signatures
are collected, adhere to every little rule. No fourth-grade penmanship
teacher was ever as strict. Most experienced candidates, knowing that
they will end up in court
defending their petitions, collect 2,000 to 3,000 signatures. The
concept of gathering signatures on petitions dates back to the
late 19th century. It was supposed to help eliminate the political
parties' control of the ballot, according to Douglas Kellner, a
commissioner at the Board of Elections.Ironically, these rules set up
over a century ago to assure a more open,
honest and democratic process of elections have become just the
opposite -- a powerful tool for political parties and incumbents to
maintain their advantage. To these New York politicos, the best
elections are those in which there is only one candidate left on the
ballot for voters to choose. Many incumbents, backed by their political
party, have teams of lawyers
who will go over a challenger's signatures, line by line, looking for
minor mistakes misspellings, and voters who have
signed petitions not knowing whether they live in the district or not.
New
York's Byzantine election laws received national attention in
2000, when Arizona Senator John McCain, who was running against George
W. Bush in the Republican Presidential Primary, was knocked off of the
ballot by his own party. At the time, New York's election law required
that a candidate
collect thousands of signatures from each of the 31 congressional
districts across the state, including areas of the city with few
Republicans. Governor George Pataki, who supported Bush, used the laws
to keep McCain out of the running. McCain, who had already won the New
Hampshire Primary, denounced the state's "Stalinist politics." A federal
judge eventually put McCain back on the ballot, but not
before dozens of editorials across the country mocked New York's
political process. That same year, Republican Steve Forbes spent
$750,000 just to get on the primary ballot. After the national
embarrassment, state lawmakers instituted reforms.
But local races are still decided as much in the courtroom as in the
voting booth. The battles make for some very bizarre tales. "Often it
appears that candidates spend more time in court trying to
knock each other from the ballot than they do explaining themselves to
potential voters," Governor Mario Cuomo wrote in the New York Law
Journal. "The State has no interest in denying qualified candidates an
ability to be on the ballot and to be judged on their own merit.
Unfortunately, New York's ballot access law does just that."
Pirate Bill and the de Bluesios: NYC mayor in Mermaid Parade(NYP) His
scoundrel-of-the-sea costume dripped with irony, critics charged. “You
could call it a pirate theory. It’s finding a way to reach into
the pockets of people who have worked hard and done well for
themselves,” said Mike Long, chairman of the Conservative Party of New
York State. “His city budget increased by 5 billion — ultimately,
someone will have to pay for that.” Paradegoers also feared the lanky
seaman will sink the city’s economy. “It’s good that he’s a pirate. It
screams liberal. I’m a little
worried. The economy might collapse under him,” said Jacob Bouchard,
36. De Blasio is the first mayor to ever march in the wet-and-wild
event,
for which his children, Dante and Chiara, wore blue body paint and led
the parade dressed as its King Neptune and Queen Mermaid. * De Blasios don costumes for Mermaid Parade in Coney Island(NYDN)* * The 2014 Mermaid Parade: Dante and Chiara de Blasio's Coney Island Coronation(NYMAG)
Magic or Budget Gimmicks? Nobody Will Tell Us They Are All In the Tank
Mayor, 
Six days before a possible Long
Island Rail Road strike, negotiations appeared to collapse, as the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority acknowledged “a gulf” with its
unions, and labor leaders said they would proceed with plans for a
walkout, The New York Times reports: 
NYC has given out a lot of tickets this year(NYP) City enforcement agents set a ticket-blitz record this year by handing
out 57,166 tickets in April, the most of any month in three years —
despite Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to cut back on the summons avalanche. In the previous five months of 2013, agents gave out just 197,278 tickets, or 40,363 fewer. “The thing that we’re focused on immediately is ending the arbitrary
ticket blitzes that were revenue-based,” the mayor said in February, two
months after taking office. He even cut projected fines revenue from $859 million to $789 million. In March, the City Council with the mayor’s support made changes in
regulations that officials estimated would reduce fine revenues by 25
percent. But the number of restaurant summonses given out in May was 2,239, down only slightly from 2,336 in May 2013. The Sanitation Department, which accounts for more than 60 percent of
all ECB summonses, wrote 40,517 tickets in April, also a three-year
record. The FDNY also had a big month this March, the second-highest month on recent record blazing ahead with 5,411 violations.The ECB collected more than $67 million between January and June,
compared to about $66 million in the same time period last year,
officials said.
Ride-hailing app Lyft is delaying its
launch until July 14 after the state Attorney General’s office and the
Taxi and Limousine Commission obtained a temporary restraining order
preventing the company from starting its service in New York City
tonight as it had planned, Business Insider reports * Car-Hailing Service, Lyft, Postpones Its Debut in New York(NYT)* LYFT
HITS A SPIKE: Car-hailing service delaying New York City launch until
it can comply with the TLC after threats of restraining order, vehicle
seizures(NYDN)
DE BLASIO HAS A BALL: Mayor tries to dunk City Council speaker at Brooklyn cookout ahead of family vacation in Italy(NYDN) More from the Council outing. Speaker @MMViverito waits to
get dunked again, this time by CM @JumaaneWilliams I
Tom Robbins 
Sal Albanese 
Michael Powell 
Top administrators fleeing de Blasio’s Dept. of Education(NYP) The de Blasio administration’s warmer, fuzzier approach toward teachers apparently hasn’t reached senior staffers at the Department of Education — they’re quitting in droves, sources told The Post. As many as 100 top-level
administrators have left the state Department of Education since January
amid low morale due to mismanagement
Far from the educating crowd(NYP) Here’s a riddle: When school enrollment is flat and you’re adding seats, how do you end up with overcrowding? Answer: Have the city’s Department of Education run the joint.This is no joke. A report released last week by the city’s
Independent Budget Office shows a spike in the number of students stuck
in “overcrowded” buildings — from 403,403 in 2007-2008 to 446,751 last
year. That’s a jump of almost 11 percent. In other words, New York is fast approaching the point where half our students will be stuck in overcrowded buildings. *At pre-K event, Silver reminds de Blasio: Don’t forget classroom trailers 
Schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña,
has vowed to rid the schools of trailers within five years, though, at
the same time, she is also trying to find space for thousands more
students expected to enter the system as Mayor Bill de Blasio expands prekindergarten. And the state budget deal reached last week is quite likely to make the task even harder, since it compels the city to find room in public school buildings for new charter schools, or help pay for their space costs.* * A new audit by New York City
Comptroller Scott Stinger found one-third of the city’s public school
buildings were overcrowded during 2012, yet school officials produced no
clear plan to deal with the problem, Daily News’ Juan Gonzalez reports:
Former City Councilman Miguel Martinez, who was serving a federal
sentence for stealing public cash, appeared in federal court in
Manhattan Wednesday, as the U.S. attorney wants something else from him:
his pension. Former City Councilman Miguel Martinez, who was serving a federal
sentence for stealing public cash, appeared in federal court in
Manhattan Wednesday, as the U.S. attorney wants something else from him:
his pension. Martinez is one of the first former elected officials to face that question after spending years behind bars. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has a long list of public officials he
has put in cuffs. In the last week alone, he brought charges against
upstate state Senator Thomas Libous and now-former Assemblywoman
Gabriela Rosa. That lengthy resume of catching so-called corruption, though, is not enough. Bharara wants their pensions, too. On top of Martinez, Bharara is going after former City Councilman
Larry Seabrook's pension. Seabrook is serving time for directing public
cash to his friends and family. The U.S. attorney also has also
his eye on state Senator Malcolm Smith, who will be facing a public
corruption trial next year. If convicted, Smith's pension could be on
the line, too. (Video NY1)
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito,
an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the
Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her
candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013) Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO)
Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of
an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU)
Wednesday Honest graft(NYP Ed) Crain’s is reporting that more than $1.31 million is headed to a powerful, politically connected Bronx nonprofit called the Hispanic Federation. To put that in perspective, this is more than a four-fold jump over what the same group got last year. And $833,333 of it will come from a fund controlled by Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito . In 2012, The Post reported the Hispanic Federation had received $24 million in taxpayer funds since 1998. And between 1998 and 2008, the federation in turn paid MirRam and another firm tied to Miranda $681,644.Now MirRam has lobbied its client, Speaker Mark-Viverito, to hand $1.31 million in new taxpayer money to a group that pays it handsomely in return.The real crime here is that, so far as we know, none of this is illegal. We’re not saying the federation, which funds other Bronx nonprofits, never does any good work. But when taxpayer dollars are steered to politically connected groups through a process that doesn’t even require a council vote, someone should cry foul.
A nonprofit organization founded and represented by the chief political consultant of Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito saw its pork-barrel funding quadruple in the speaker's first budget, Crain’s reports:
New York City has assessed $105,075 in fines to campaigns in the 13th Congressional District for illegally posting signs on public property as they campaigned ahead of the June 24 primary, Capital New York reports:
Street sweeping 2.0(NYDN Ed)
“Grand Central Entrance Named For Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” by CBS New York: “A
newly-renovated entrance at Grand Central Terminal has been named for
former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.A special dedication
ceremony was held Monday.In 1975, Onassis led a movement against a plan
to build a 55-story tower on top of the landmarked building. Three year
later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the city’s Landmark Law, which was
being challenged by developers. … The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foyer
at Park Avenue and East 42nd Street features a plaque honoring her
efforts.” 
99% of the political corrupt cases against NY's elected officials have come from federal prosecutors. The dirty little secret of city district attorneys was since the days of Tammany Hall rule that that they did not go after the political machines and elected officials that elected them. Now as campaign power has shifted from machines to campaign consultants lobbyists it is becoming increasing clear that the city's DAs not only depend on them during election time, but look the other way when political corrupt is connected to them. While the old political machine pulled out the people it gave services to the consultants depend on manipulate voters with spin. It is also now becoming clear that many of these campaign consultants will brake election laws and organize conspiracy with others to elect their candidates to office. Which is exactly with the the FBI and the CFB are investigating the Advance Group for their role in the NYCLASS PAC.
The Hynes Investigation Nexis 
Branford who Worked for Both Brooklyn DA Thompson, Bronx DA Johnson and AG Schniderman. Brandford candidates CM Maisel. Cabrera, Gibson, Rose and Andrew J Cohen received mailings from United for the Future PAC controlled by both Advance and Red Horse. Advance's candidate CM Mark Levine and Laurie Cumbo were fined for his connection to Advance. Branford worked with Berlin Rosen for Daniel L Squadron for Public Advocate. Branford work with both Advance and Red Horse with Bronx BP Rubin Diaa,Jr. Branford worked with Berlan Rosen for AG Schniederman.
Two City Council members were slapped with fines Wednesday for taking off-limits contributions from animal rights group NYCLASS, which bankrolled Mayor de Blasio's mayoral campaign for his pledge to ban horse-drawn carriages. Council members Laurie Cumbo (D-Brooklyn) and Mark Levine (D-Manhattan) have to pay back money they were given by New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets because they shared the same political consultant — the Advance Group — as the anti-carriage group. "The penalties levied today against the Cumbo and Levine City Council campaigns represent only the first step in this proceeding," said Board Chair Rose Gill Hearn. ” Both Cumbo and Levine were fined for being connected to Advance PAC NYCLASS. But were not fined to date for another PAC Advance worked for and contributed to both campaigns, United for the Future.
Red Horse worked for Brooklyn DA Thompson campaign along with Berlin Rosen. Both Red Horse and Advance Group worked for the UFT's PAC United for the Future (the UFT attempted to covering up Advance involvement by paying them through a fake company) Red Horse worked for Manhattan DA. Red Horse worked for Brooklyn BP Adams, Bronx BP Diaz and PA James. Red Horse worked for Manhattan DA Cy Vance. Red Horse worked for Pitta Bishop for Brooklyn BP Adams. Red Horse worked with George Arzt in the Queens BP campaign.
Councilman James Vacca used Red Horse as a consultant and received mailing from United for the Future even though he had no race. Another Red Horse client CM Annabel Palma received funding by United for a Future.Austin Shafran another Red Horse client was funded by UF the UFT PAC that Red Horse Worked for. CM Daneek Miller another Red Horse client got mailing from UF. Red Horse client CM Antonio Reynoso also received help from UF PAC. CM Helen Rosenthal A Red Horse Client got mailing from UF PAC another Red Horse client. CM Richard Torres A Red Horse Client got mailing from UF PAC another Red Horse client. CM Paul Vallone A Red Horse Client got mailing from UF PAC another. NYS DEMOCRATIC SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (NYS DSCC)
Months ago CrainsNY reported that the Advance Group through a fake group Strategic Consultants was working for the UFT PAC United for the Future. What is also not known is another consultant that worked for many candidates in 2013 also worked for the UFT PAC, Red Horse. Both the Advance Group and Red Horse worked for Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. Both Advance and Berlin Rosen work for Mark Levine in the 7th council district. Both Advance and Berlin Rosen also worked for Ydanis A Rodriguez. Red Horse Served as a consultant to Jenifer Rajkumar by received funding by the Citizens United PAC who the Advance Group worked for. Advance work for Manhattan BP Jackson who also was funded by Advance's PAC United for the Future
.jpg)
The state Court of Appeals upheld the
conviction of political consultant John Haggerty for siphoning $750,000
from the 2009 re-election campaign of then-New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg,
What has become increasing clear in the first 6 months of this new city government is that this new brand of progressives is mostly a spin to gain public support at the polls.mToday's progressives are very different from the progressives that reformed government 100 years ago. These new progressives spin social issues while ignoring the government reforms that protect those social issues. Today's progressive city council use member items slush funds for their reelection campaigns and help the campaign consultants that elected them lobby city agencies on behalf of their clients who have hired them. As life long progressive reporter Wayne Barrett demands to know why are progressives protecting a teachers union over students needs? Today's progressives pols protect the UFT because of the major role that union played in getting them elected. It takes a neighborhood to build a moral compass. As the city continues to gentrify it is destroying local neighborhood structures that helped build our city's moral compass. Even the black church's of central Brooklyn are selling to the real estate developers. The question must be asked what has happen to the moral compass that made New York for generations a class act. It was in NYC that FDR's new deal reforms moral compass was born.
In 1993, a man from from the greatest generation described what is happening to today's New York moral compass. When most of today's city council were in diapers Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan published an most important pieces of social theory entitled" Defining Deviancy Down." that explains their governing behavior. Moynihan believed that there is a limit to the amount of deviant behavior any community can "afford to recognize" His basic idea is that we had moved the bar for what we, as a culture and political behavior, defined as acceptable, down. Moynihan believed “we have been redefining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized, and also quietly raising the ‘normal’ level in categories where behavior is now abnormal by any earlier standard.” Moynihan would not be shocked by the fact that New York's voters have continue to reelect their Albany and City Council legislatures despite the dysfunctionalism and corruption that has destroyed the economy of the state and sent dozens of elected officials to jail, the poor into depression like suffering and the middle class fleeing the city.
WFP, Unions and Developers Sucking the Life Out of NYC Neighborhoods
Rangel: Leaders who abandoned me ‘made one hell of a mistake’(NYP)
The
WFP took advantage of the weakness of
the city's other parties and low voter participation, by putting
together a smart and sharp coalition with the unions that knows how to
run campaigns and has no fear
about breaking election laws to elect their candidates or threatening
primaries against candidates that don't follow their orders. The WFP
campaigns against the IDC candidates this year show how aggressive and
coordinated their quest for power has become. Many of today's elected officials come from the political class (working for other elected officials) and have no strong political support from the district they were elected from. In other words they do not have the power to stand up to the special interests. The Data and Field
scandal in 2009 and the NYCLASS scandal shows their coalition
willingness to violated election laws to gain power. The buzz in
political circles has been that anyone of these two scandals could take
down the WFP, even the mayor. But the Buzz today is that the Yoda
governor can accomplish the begin of the destruction of the WFP with one
move. 
