NY1 political director Bob Hardt just sent out the following ItCH alert for a story that will be airing at 7 p.m. tonight downstate and on “Capital Tonight” at 8 p.m. It’s pretty self-explanatory.

State Senator – and candidate for State Attorney General – Eric Schneiderman was involved in a hit-and-run accident outside the Chelsea Market on Monday night.

Schneiderman was a passenger in the car that was being driven by a staffer when it rear-ended a parked vehicle on Ninth Avenue and then drove away, according to an eyewitness account.

A mechanic estimated that the car, owned by NY1 Executive Editor Melissa Rabinovich, suffered about $3,000 worth of damage, including a broken rear bumper, rear panel and tail light.

Rabinovich only learned of the accident because a bicyclist witnessed the incident, recorded Schneiderman’s license plate number, and then remained on the scene until Rabinovich left work for the day and approached her car.

Schneiderman contacted Rabinovich only after she called his office Tuesday morning to ask him about what had happened.

“He told me that he had disciplined the staffer but he was also insisting that it was just a bump and not a moving violation. I told him: ‘Your car was moving and then you drove away. A total stranger realized that you damaged my car but you didn’t?’”

A spokesman for Schneiderman admits the incident occurred but insists that the senator did not realize that the parked vehicle had been damaged.

“He has spoken with the owner of the other vehicle, expressed his sincere apology, and offered to pay for all repairs,” said Schneiderman spokesman James Freedland.

Ironically, Schneiderman had just completed an interview on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” before the incident occurred.

Former State Comptroller Carl McCall, a Schneiderman supporter, called the incident a “terrible lapse of judgment.”

Share|