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Liz Benjamin
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Posts by Liz Benjamin
Extras
May 17th - 5:35 pm
NYC proposed offering buyouts to hundreds of teachers who have been floating in the system for more than a year without a permanent classroom position, as part of a change in labor practices outlined by Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott.
Manhattan BP Scott Stringer and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal are hosting a town hall meeting tonight on the UWS mosquito infestation. The assemblywoman Tweeted: “Be there, or risk being bitten.”
The Westchester County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that Mary Kennedy hanged herself.
Sen. Chuck Schumer went after Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin for “defriending” the US to avoid paying taxes on whatever he earns when the company goes public tomorrow.
The WFP isn’t happy with Mark Zuckerberg.
Who will the Senate Democrats run against Sen. Mark Grisanti? Says one local Dem: “At this point, they would put up Genghis Khan if they thought they could win the seat. It’s a purely utilitarian position of what works.”
Billionaire Joe Ricketts, the man pitched to fund a Super PAC campaign to revive the issue of Obama’s controversial former pastor Jeremiah Wright, is bankrolling the growing NYC news start-up DNAInfo.
Jon Huntsman for mayor of NYC? Alex Pareene says: “Yes, please.”
Former – and would-be future – Assemblyman Pat Manning’s residency is in question, thanks to a voter registration card he filed in Massachusetts in 2008.
Mitt Romney’s latest tactic: Lavishing praise on Bill Clinton.
It’s official: There will be no Americans Elect candidate in the presidential race this year.
Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney is facing a primary challenge from Village of Walden Mayor Brian Maher, who recently biked across the newly-drawn 101st AD to kick off his campaign.
In case you were curious, Sen. Adriano Espaillat does indeed give a damn about an endorsement from Obama, which he would very much appreciate receiving.
Rep. Charlie Rangel, on the other hand, says he doesn’t need Obama’s endorsement to win, but would “welcome” it.
NYC’s unemployment rate has ended its nearly yearlong climb and dipped to 9.5 percent – down from 9.7 percent in March, but still well above the 8.1 percent national average.
Anti-fracking groups in New York applauded Vermont’s statewide fracking ban – the first of its kind in the nation.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s super NYC Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. (This is the kind of cover some pols only dream of; hopefully, he’s already got one framed).
Savino: Cuomo Could Do For Med-Mar What He Did For Gay Marriage (Updated)
May 17th - 4:30 pm
ICYMI: During our CapTon chat yesterday, I asked Sen. Diane Savino if Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reluctance to get on board with medical marijuana might be due to his widely-speculated White House aspirations.
Savino, who is the new Senate sponsor of the med-mar law (she took it over from longtime Democratic sponsor, Sen. Tom Duane), suggested Cuomo could be a national leader on this issue, setting an agenda for other governors – and even perhaps the president – to follow, much like he did with same-sex marriage.
“He’s a leader, he’s not a follower,” she said. He’s led the way on a whole host of issues, and particularly one of the most prominent ones right now on the national scene, and that’s marriage equality.”
“He didn’t wait for the federal government to do it. He said: New York State should step forward and take its place in history. And I’m assuming that if Andrew Cuomo ever became president of the United States he would take that same position with him to Washington. So, if he were to lead on this issue in New York, he would also lead on this issue on the federal level.
This whole medicinal pot issue is a little thorny, since marijuana is illegal under federal law – period, end of story, even in states that have passed legislation or ballot initiatives making the drug legal for use by people who are sick, those individuals are still subject to arrest by federal officials for possession or cultivation.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, most recently Connecticut. But that has has not prevented individuals and dispensaries from being prosecuted under federal law by the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Interestingly, there’s a new poll out today that found a vast majority of Americans think President Obama should respect laws in states where growing and selling marijuana is legal for medical purposes.
Even though Obama said in 2008 that he considered the “basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors…entirely appropriate” and did not plan on using the DOJ’s resources to circumvent state laws, the department has continued to raid, and in some cases shut down, dispensaries and cultivation facilities in at least nine state since he took office.
UDPATE: Gabriel Sayegh, of the Drug Policy Alliance, made the following point, which he said is “nuanced, but important”…
“You write that ‘patients … are still subject to arrest by federal officials for possession or cultivation.’ Not entirely true. The Department of Justice has made pretty clear – in the Ogden Memo, and other recent documents as well as statements – that they are not going to arrest patients who are following state med marijuana laws.”
“They have targeted some dispensaries in places like CA and CO, and they’ve done some saber-rattling around the country, but in short, patients are not being arrested by the feds and the feds have said they won’t arrest patients.”
Cuomo’s Battery Park Contributors
May 17th - 1:26 pm
The New York World’s story about two deals cut by the Battery Park City Authority board of directors on former Chairman Bill Thompson’s watch that benefited two real estate developers that just so happen to be big contributors to the former NYC comptroller’s political campaign raised a lot of eyebrows.
But an astute and politically connected reader noted Thompson is hardly the only recipient of the largesse of these two real estate giants – Brookfield Properties and Milstein Properties. The duo spreads plent of campaign cash around – including to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
As you can see from the two Excel spreadsheets below, Brookfield and its chairman, John Zuccotti, and his wife, Susan, has given $86,781 to Cuomo since 2008, while Howard and Abby Milstein have given $125,000 – all in $25,000 increments.
Thompson recently resigned from his chairmanship to focus on his 2013 NYC mayoral campaign. He was appointed to the Battery Park post by Cuomo’s predecessor, former Gov. David Paterson.
But knowing the hands-on approach of the Cuomo administration, it’s hard to believe the governor and/or his top staffers weren’t aware of the decisions that generated a nice windfall for some prominent campaign contributors.
Thompson and Cuomo have been political allies for some time. Then-AG Cuomo endorsed Thompson during his 2009 NYC mayoral bid and stumped with him – a mutually beneficial effort, since it boosted Cuomo’s standing with the black community.
After Thompson failed to oust Mayor Bloomberg, he was reportedly urged by the Cuomo camp to consider a primary challenge to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, whose own relationship with Cuomo has been turbulent.
Thompson declined, but he did agree to co-chair Cuomo’s 2010 campaign and served as an important surrogate for the governor – particularly when he came under fire from other black leaders, particularly the Rev. Al Sharpton, for the lack of diversity on the statewide ticket. After Cuomo was elected, Thompson was tapped to head his MWBE Task Force.
Skelos ‘Extremely Pleased’ To Be In The Clear On Redistricting
May 17th - 12:30 pm
The Senate Republicans are now officially out of the woods on redistricting, and it’s no understatement to say Majority Leader Dean Skelos is thrilled beyond measure.
The Long Island lawmaker just released the following statement praising the federal three-judge panel’s decision yesterday denying the Democrats’ motion for a preliminary injunction on the LATFOR lines, removing the final remaining hurdle facing the lines drawn by the Senate GOP and approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo:
“The decision comes just two weeks after the New York Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that our redistricting plan complied with the State Constitution, and less than a month since we received preclearance from the Obama administration’s Department of Justice,” Skelos said.
“I am extremely pleased with this decision, and it ensures the state can administer an orderly and fair election this fall.”
In short: More bad news for the Senate Democrats, who also lost their challenge to the 63rd Senate seat, added by the Republicans to boost their chances of retaining the majority this fall. But they seem pretty resigned to their fate, tacking left on a number of controversial issues – from fracking to campaign finance reform – even though it puts them further at odds with the governor.
The Democrats were also bouyed by this week’s Siena poll, which showed 56 percent of New York voters would prefer to see them re-take the majority this fall.
Here And Now
May 17th - 7:39 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Albany with no public schedule announced as of yet, but it’s possible he’ll make an appearance at the Capitol this morning.
Members of the governor’s cabinet are hitting the road to tout his legislation to create a new state agency meant to better protect about a million New Yorkers with disabilities under state-funded care.
At 10 a.m., OPWDD Commissioner Courtney Burke will be at Albany’s Center for Disability Services.
At 1:30 p.m., Office of Mental Health Commissioner Michael Hogan will be at the Developmental Disabilities Institute in Smithtown, Long Island.
The Senate unanimously approved the bill. The Assembly is still reviewing it.
Advocates for the disabled dislike the idea the state will retain primary control over reports of abuse and neglect, which hasn’t worked terribly well in the past.
AG Eric Schneiderman is expected in Syracuse at noon today for an announcement about a consumer-related settlement.
More headlines…
Cuomo’s ex-wife, Kerry Kennedy, said her family is devastated by the loss of her “best friend” and sister-in-law Mary Kennedy, who hanged herself in the barn behind her Westchester County home yesterday.
Under Cuomo’s new nonprofit executive pay limits, which don’t take effect until next year, former Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.’s Soundview Health Clinic would have been in jeopardy of losing state funding.
Cuomo’s plan would force top nonprofit earners to apply for a waiver and justify their compensation if they earn more than $199,000 and their pay is in the upper 25 percent of compensation paid to executives in similar operations.
Sources tell the NY Post Soundview has paid more than $1 million of Espada’s legal expenses during his trial – and subsequent conviction – on charges he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Bronx health clinic.
Espada’s attorney said the former senator plans to appeal his conviction. She said she hasn’t been informed of the reported plan by prosecutors to re-try him on four counts of theft, fraud and conspiracy on which the jury failed to agree.
The TU cheers Espada’s demise.
Making good on a campaign pledge, Cuomo is set to issue a regulation as early as today to ban the use of fingerprints as a requirement for those seeking food stamps, setting himself up for yet another conflict with Mayor Bloomberg.
Bloomberg gave NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is getting married this weekend, an early wedding present – a near endorsement for her 2013 mayoral run.
Extras
May 16th - 5:44 pm
A federal judge granted class-action status to a lawsuit challenging the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk tactics, saying she was disturbed by the city’s “deeply troubling apathy towards New Yorkers’ most fundamental constitutional rights.”
Hillary Clinton is getting a pass on gay marriage – for now.
Greg David urges a “single standard” for all special interests – including the Committee to Save NY.
NYC Councilman Eric Ulrich might be facing a primary challenge in his state Senate bid from Juan Reyes, a former Giuliani administration aide who is a favorite of the Queens GOP (whose leaders don’t get along terribly well with Ulrich).
NYC Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s campaign argued her endorsement by the electrical workers Local 3 is a potential gamechanger in the NY-6 primary.
Ed Koch is already robocalling for one of Crowley’s Democratic primary challengers, Assemblyman Rory Lancman.
Rep. Charlie Rangel would like to be hugged and kissed (metaphorically speaking) by President Obama.
David Grandeau, citing “inside gossip,” says the second floor (AKA the Cuomo administration) “green-lighted” the JCOPE leak about Sen. Tom Libous, which, of course, would be illegal.
Disgraced former SU basketball coach Bernie Fine’s wife, Laurie, is suing ESPN for libel, saying the network ruined her reputation. ESPN says it stands by its reporting.
The attorney for Bernie Fine accusers Bobby Davis and Mike Lang says her clients should be allowed to pursue their own slander suit if Laurie Fine gets to go forward with hers.
Eleven people have reportedly passed up the opportunity to challenge Sen. Tony Avella on the GOP line.
RadarOnline is reporting RFK Jr.’s ex-wife, Mary, who is Cuomo’s ex-sister-in-law, was found dead in her Westchester County home.
The Bedford Police Department confirmed an unattended death at the Kennedy home, but did not confirm the identity of the victim pending notification of the family.
Two workers were hurt in an explosion early this morning at a hydraulic fracturing tank site in south Texas.
Contrary to its advertising campaign – and Kim Kardashian – Sketchers’ footwear do not tone your butt. AG Eric Schneiderman announced a record $45 million settlement with the company for deceptive ads.
Labor groups are planning a rally outside Sen. David Carlucci’s office. They’re angry he’s not supporting a bill to hike Rockland County’s sales tax.
Here’s video of Sen. Dan Squadron’s tribute to the late Beastie Boy, Adam Yauch, (AKA MCA), on the Senate floor yesterday.
Things are getting personal in the NY-1 GOP primary.
Bloomberg high-fives Mr. Met. Over and over and over.
US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor really loves New York.
Dem Sources: Charlie King Is NOT Jay Jacobs’ Replacement
May 16th - 4:33 pm
The conventional wisdom since state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs’ abrupt resignation decision has been that Executive Director Charlie King move up to replace him in the No. 1 slot.
There’s logic to that assumption. After all, King goes waaaaaaay back with Cuomo, serving under him at HUD, running as his LG in his ill-fated 2002 gubernatorial campaign and then, at then candidate-Cuomo’s request, serving as the official party attack dog during the 2010 campaign.
(Of course, there was that little bump in the relationship road when King challenged Cuomo in the 2006 AG’s race, but he ended up dropping out and backing Cuomo, so that’s all water under the bridge now).
I’ve heard from two highly-placed Democratic sources, however, that King is NOT in fact Cuomo’s choice to lead the party.
One source tells me King actually asked not be to considered because he wants to return to the private sector “well before” Cuomo’s 2014 re-election bid because he has some college tuitions to start saving for, which means whoever does replace Jacobs – and I haven’t managed to get any names confirmed yet – is going to have the opportunity to pick his or her new executive director fairly soon after taking control of the party.
It has been clear for some time that Jacobs’ days were numbered. Even Jacobs himself admitted as much when I talked to him briefly last night after news of his imminent departure broke in the NYT.
Another source insists nothing in particular is behind the timing of Jacobs’ departure, the administration just happened to “get around to it” now after kicking around the idea of a party re-organization for several months.
“The notion is they need someone acceptable to the state committee and the county chairs, not just someone pulled out of nowhere, but also someone who will elevate the profile of the party, someone real,” this source said.
And, of course, the person in question has to be loyal as the day is long to Cuomo, AND be able to raise money – although the governor is no slouch in that department.
It’s kind of hard to find someone with all those qualities. It will be interesting to see who the governor picks – or rather, has picked, because it’s highly unlikely the news of Jacobs’ resignation would have leaked if Cuomo didn’t have a replacement chair already lined up.
DC37 And NY-8 (Updated)
May 16th - 3:27 pm
Multiple sources informed me last week that the executive committee of DC 37, New York City’s largest public employees union, had voted unanimously to endorse NYC Councilman Charles Barron over Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries in their primary battle for retiring Rep. Ed Towns’ Brooklyn House seat.
I asked the union for a confirmation and received the following response: “There is a process that these things go through. We will be announcing endorsements later this month after our delegates meeting on May 22.”
I also contacted both Barron (personally) and Jeffries (through a spokeswoman), neither of whom had any idea at the time that a vote had been taken on Wednesday, May 9.
The Politicker’s David Freedlander subsequently reported the vote, and said an announcement is expected sometime next week. He also spoke to Barron, who said it would be “huge” and a “game-changer” for him to receive the DC 37 nod.
I’ve since spoken with several union sources who say Jeffries’ alliance with Brooklyn Democratic Chairman/Assemblyman Vito Lopez and his support of charter schools were most to blame for his loss of support among DC 37 executive committee members.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the full delegate convention would overturn the executive board’s candidate selection, although that happens only rarely.
One labor leader could recall only three recent examples: The union ended up backing former Sen. John Sabini over his 2002 primary challenger, Charlie Castro (NOT his ’06 and ’08 challenger, Hiram Monserrate, who had DC 37′s support – fixed); Eric Schneiderman over Guillermo Linares in 2002 (when the Republicans re-drew the district to make it more Latino) and then-Rep. Chuck Schumer over then-GOP US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato in 1998.
In all three of those cases, someone – or a number of someones – lobbied for the underdog candidate. So far, I haven’t heard of an internal campaign being waged at DC 37 for the delegates to buck the executive committee and go with Jeffries, but I’m willing to bet one is underway.
Then there’s the question of exactly how big of a deal it would be if DC 37 ultimately goes with Barron. Jeffries has already collected a number of union endorsements, including from 1199 SEIU, which has a pretty impressive GOTV operation.
Since the June 26 primary is about two and a half months earlier than usual, it’s essentially functioning like a special election, which meants turnout will be everything. Whoever has the better GOTV operation will likely win that race, and then cruise to victory in the general election.
UPDATE: Ryan Harbage, campaign manager for Colin Beavan, the Green Party candidate in NY-8, took issue with my saying that whoever wins the primary will be a new sure thing in the November election. He says people are “tired of old-fashioned two-party politics,” adding: “It’s not working.”
“While I respect Councilman Barron and Assemblyman Jeffries, whichever of them wins the primary next month will be wise to acknowledge that the real race begins June 27th,” Harbage said in an email.
Harbage actually wanted me to “run a correction,” which I won’t do, because history has shown that in Democrat-dominated NYC districts – particularly in a presidential electino year – the primary winner is a safe bet to win the general. But Beavan (AKA “No Impact Man”) is indeed in the race, and should be acknowledged as a contender – especially after the sweet write-up he got from the NYT this week.
RIP Ed Malloy (Updatedx2)
May 16th - 12:53 pm
New York’s elected officials and labor community are mouring the death of Edward J. Malloy, a longtime veteran NYC labor leader who passed away at the age of 75 77.
“I think his passing will be mourned by all who had the privilege to know Ed. He was a friend to the city. He was a friend to me. And he is someone for whom I have always had an enormous amount of respect,” Mayor Bloomberg said during his Q-and-A with reporters. (Actually, this is how a number of us found out that Malloy had passed, although several labor sources told me he has been sick for about a year now).
“Ed for years helped build New York and I think his legacy can be seen all across our city in projects big and small,” the mayor continued. “And it is no exaggeration to say that without his leadership we wouldn’t have hundreds of schools, office buildings and parks in our city. And we might not have the stadium that brings us here today, the new home of the New York Mets, Citifield.”
Malloy, a member of the steamfitters union, served as president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York from 1992 to late 2008 when he was replaced by Gary La Barbera.
AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento issued the following statement:
“Ed Malloy dedicated his life to improving the lives of working men and women throughout the State of New York. Ed was an innovator who thought outside the box and had the rare ability to bring people together from different points of view to create jobs, improve working conditions, and foster positive change.”
“No fight was too big, no issue was too small to get Ed’s personal attention when it came to protecting workers. The thoughts and prayers of our affiliates and members are with Ed’s loved ones on this sad day.”
UPDATE: And now we have the following statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo:
“Today we mourn the passing of Ed Malloy, who for decades stood up for the working men and women of New York and helped build the state into the great place it is today.”
“For the years that Ed served as president of the New York City and New York State Building and Construction Trades councils representing over 200,000 union members, he worked tirelessly with public officials, investors, and labor leaders to get major infrastructure projects off the ground and create jobs in every corner of the state.”
“Ed pioneered the Project Pathways agreement and Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills that changed the face of the construction industry and opened the door for more than a thousand young, diverse New Yorkers to launch successful careers in the building trades. He was an early partner in forging the public-private partnerships that have helped pave the way toward building a new Tappan Zee Bridge.
“Above all else, Ed was a gentleman and a true New Yorker: putting the interests of others and service to his country and community above all else, including serving in armed forces and in numerous roles in public life. I send my condolences to his friends and family.”
UPDATE2: Lots of statements have come in since news about Malloy’s passing broke, but this one from Sen. Chuck Schumer is really worth posting – personal and very moving:
“Ed Malloy was New York to his very bones; a child of New York City and the Catholic schools who was an Army vet and a steamfitter, he rose to lead the proud workers of the building trades for two decades.”
“Eddie was pure class, a guy who knew, from instinct and intellect, how to navigate both sides of every street – public and private, labor and management. From Project Pathways, to rebuilding after 9-11, to thousands of PLA’s, he used his charm and toughness and skill to improve the lives of countless working people and their families, and in the process was a partner in the building and rebuilding of the greatest city on the face of the earth.”
“Today, the very angels in heaven got a new business manager who will find a way to make even their existence more than a little bit better. RIP, Eddie.”
Here And Now
May 16th - 6:48 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Syracuse today to tout his legislation to protect New Yorkers with special needs and disabilities. (10:30 a.m., SU’s Schine Student Center, The Underground, Suite 228D).
LG Bob Duffy and state Health Commissioner Nirav Shah will be doing the same thing in Canandaigua. They’ll be at Finger Lakes Community College at 2 p.m. (Student Life Center, Stage 14).
The plan Cuomo et al will be discussing has been criticized by three former whistleblowers who worked in state-funded institutions caring for the disabled, who say it doesn’t go far enough to halt decades of abuses and cover-ups embedded in the culture.
Cuomo’s visit to CNY comes on the same day Laurie Fine, wife of disgraced SU basketball coach, will be announcing a lawsuit against a news organization stemming from her husband’s sex abuse scandal.
Stillwater, one of just 51 statewide that tried to override the tax cap, saw its budget go down despite unusually high turnout yesterday. Two others – Bethlehem and Ballston Spa – easily reached the 60 percent supermajority needed to blow the cap.
Cap override votes were also defeated in the North Country and WNY. )More here).
More results (not complete) here. (We’ll be following this story today).
According to NYSUT’s Carl Korn, the pass rate for schools budgets is estimated at 96 percent. At least 24 tax cap overrides succeeded, but most of the defeats were override attempts.
JCOPE’s decision to potentially pursue an investigation into Sen. Tom Libous puts both the ethics watchdog and the deputy Senate majority leader in a politically charged spotlight.
This the first known review of a case involving a legislator by JCOPE, which cannot proceed with a formal investigation or issue subpoenas until it is approved by a vote of the full commission.
Cuomo continues to insist (through a spokesman) that there will not be an agreement this session on raising the minimum wage.
…That’s despite the fact Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos seemed to hint at a potential deal, saying his conference would not pass the Assembly’s minimum wage bill, but also not ruling out passing something else.
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