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NYC Mayoral Candidate Allon Hits Airwaves (Very Early)
Nov 7th - 3:20 pm
Newspaper publisher Tom Allon’s candidacy for mayor of NYC in 2013 hasn’t been taken terribly seriously up to this point – probably a function of the fact that he’s 1) not a politician – something that could be considered an asset, not nearly as rich as the last apolitical businessman who successfully took the plunge into Big Apple politics, Mayor Bloomberg.
Allon is looking to change that perception with a new TV ad – the first of the still-very-far-away election – that will run tomorrow exclusively on our sister station, NY1. The ad blasts the lack of voter choice in most elections, slams “career politicians,” and touts the fact that Allon, who is also a former teacher, is independent of the established political system.
“New Yorkers should be out voting today,” Allon said in a statement that accompanied a link to his ad. (I assume that by “today” he actually means “tomorrow”).
“But instead of having open and democratic elections like editorial boards and good government groups across the city demanded, the Republican and Democratic bosses once again orchestrated special elections to keep independent, reform-minded, and third-party candidates out of office.”
“As Mayor of the City of New York, I will make electoral reform and good government top priorities of my administration. If the people don’t have real choice on Election Day, our whole system of government is a sham.”
The ad features a few generic newspaper headlines highlighting the downsides of politics like “Mayoral Frontrunner Investigated” and “Politician Arrested” And then there’s this: “Slush Fund Scandal.” That’s clearly a dig at the perceived current frontrunner, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who presided over that particular mess, which continues to bedevil Council members.
‘Contagion, Not Just A Movie’
Sep 21st - 2:31 pm
Advocates who are pushing NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn to bring a paid sick days bill up for a vote are employing a little bit of Hollywood magic to boost their cause – perhaps trying to scare her into acting?
The coalition Family Values @ Work produced a Web video based on the new hit flu epidemic movie “Contagion” in which a grocery cashier, a coffee barista, restaurant workers and a school bus driver discuss how they’ve all gone to work when they were feeling too ill to do so – and most likely infected co-workers and customers in the process – because they don’t have paid sick days and couldn’t risk losing their jobs.
Only 19 percent of low-wage workers, like those featured in the film, have paid sick days, according to Family Values @ Work. Three in four food service workers, three in five personal health care workers and three in four child care workers, all of whom have significant interaction with others, do not have paid sick days.
Smart approach. And scary, which I guess is the point. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash my hands.
(This was first reported in City Hall News’ “Heard Around Town” morning email blast; third item).
Turner Revives Council ‘Slush Fund’ Scandal To Attack Weprin (Updated)
Aug 2nd - 11:55 am
Congressional hopeful Bob Turner is reviving the three-year-old “slush-fund scandal” that engulfed the New York City Council in 2008 and 2009, charging that his Democratic opponent David Weprin did nothing to stop the problem.
The scandal came about after millions of dollars in public grant money were allocated to “phantom” non-profit groups. Several Council aides were indicted in the scandal’s aftermath. Weprin, at the time, was the City Council’s Finance Committee chairman.
Weprin was elected to the Assembly in 2010.
A spokesman for the Republican businessman said in a statement that Weprin “never satisfactorily explained” how so much money was funneled through the fake charities at the time.
“David Weprin either knew about these fake charities or he wasn’t doing his job; there is no in-between,’ said Turner campaign spokesman William O’Reilly.
“Dummy charities were fabricated to park taxpayer money out of the public eye and David Weprin was supposed to be watching that money. Did he look the other way, or is Mr. Weprin really that careless with the public’s money? It is a legitimate question and Brooklyn and Queens voters deserve a clear answer.”
Weprin, who unsuccessfully ran for city comptroller that year, told a city radio show at the time that the scandal was unfortunate, but added, “in the end I think the process is stronger for it, and we’re all better off for all the scrutiny that came out of this.”
UPDATE: Jake Dilemani, Weprin’s campaign manager, forwarded the following response:
“Bob Turner is lying about David Weprin in a sad, pathetic attempt to distract the people of Brooklyn and Queens from his extremist tea party-inspired plan to slash trillions from Medicare and Social Security.”
Quinn Calls For Hearings On City Storm Response
Dec 28th - 12:53 pm
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn is promising to hold oversight hearings on Jan. 10 to look into the city’s response to the Blizzard of 2010.
Quinn had some positive things to say about the way New Yorkers banded together during the storm and praised the work of the Sanitation Department, while admitting there were some significant failures in the overall response.
Here’s her statement in full:
“Yesterday, Members of the Council encountered the true spirit of New York in every corner of the five boroughs as neighbors helped one another overcome the difficulties brought on by the elements.
“Council Members also encountered justified anger throughout their districts as New Yorkers were stranded on trains and buses, forced to suffer with a backlog in response to emergencies. New York’s Strongest, the men and women of the Sanitation Department, do an amazing job day in and day out and we are grateful for their service. That said, by all accounts, the collective storm response was not anywhere near up to the standards New Yorkers are accustomed to.
“This is unacceptable.
“New Yorkers have serious questions about the City’s snow emergency policy and response. We in the Council will seek forward looking answers on behalf of our constituents. Therefore, the Council will convene oversight hearings on January 10th at 1pm to examine questions surrounding the City’s response to yesterday’s blizzard.
“This hearing acknowledges the reality that many New Yorkers are experiencing, that something went wrong. We will conduct a constructive fact finding effort with the goal of preventingit from happening again. As we convene this hearing we must be mindful that the events of the last two days are a stark reminder of the need to protect core public services from potentially life-threatening budget reductions.”
Sen. Kruger Slams City’s Snow Response (UPDATED)
Dec 27th - 3:46 pm
Sen. Carl Kruger is slamming city officials for their slow response to the first blizzard of the season.
The Brooklyn Democrat is calling on the City Council’s sanitation committee to hold emergency hearings to address what he is calling the city’s “colossal failure.”
His strongly-worded press release comes following reports that FDNY EMS is working on a three-hour delay for critical cases and a 12-hour delay for non-critical cases.
“At 1 p.m. today there was already a backlog of 1,300 critical calls,” Kruger said.
“How many people are going to die today because our streets haven’t been cleared?”
Kruger says the main streets in his southern Brooklyn districts still haven’t been cleared and he compared the situation to the so-called “Lindsay debacle” following a blizzard in February 1969.
Dance Fever!
Dec 20th - 8:59 am
Say what you will about the Rev. Al Sharpton, but the man’s got rhythm.
Sharpton cut a rug with his daughter, Dominique, to the tune of James Brown’s “Poppa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” at last week’s “The Stars of New York Dance” fundraiser in Brooklyn that raised money for at-risk children.
The “contest” was won by Colvin Grannum, president and CEO of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, and his partnter, Shani M. Worrell, dancer and vocalist for the Restoration Youth Arts Academy.
NYC Councilwoman Tish James also participated, (if you click here the link in the first line, there’s video), and apparently suffered from a “wardrobe malfunction,” when the strap on her gown broke. NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio danced with his wife, Chirlane McCray, but there’s no video that I can find.
Padavan Out, Officially
Nov 8th - 1:00 pm
In what is pretty much just a formality, given the overwhelmingly 3,000+ vote margin of victory of his Democratic opponent, former NYC Councilman Tony Avella, soon-to-be-former veteran GOP Sen. Frank Padavan just released an official concession statement.
“It has been a deep honor to serve my Country and City and a privilege to serve as a New York State Senator for nearly four decades,” the 38-year Senate veteran wrote.
“Over that time, we faced times of unimaginable adversity and moments of great triumph. We have overcome odds never thought possible and we stand stronger for taking on each and every challenge. ”
“I am proud of the countless good works our community has undertaken together and moreover I am proud to have been a part of them.”
“Earlier today, I officially ended my pursuit for another term in the State Senate. The voters of the 11th Senate District have spoken and now our community heads in a new direction. While the decision comes with a heavy heart, I welcome new and exciting opportunities to continue my life-long service to the Northeast Queens community.”
Padavan filed a court motion last week to impound all ballots and voting machines in the 11th SD, citing problems with the new equipment, even though the unofficial results showed him badly trailing Avella, 25,864 votes to 22,781 votes.
ESPA: Paladino ‘Not Cut Out’ To Be Gov
Oct 11th - 10:35 am
The Empire State Pride Agenda is the latest LGBT organization to weigh in on Carl Paladino’s ant-gay statements, calling it “unfathomable” that the Buffalo businessman “could espouse the homophobic position that the lives of gay New Yorkers are not as valid as his.”
“Law abiding, tax-paying LGBT New Yorkers, and parents of LGBT children, should not have to worry that their governor will be siding with those who feel we are less than, that we are second class citizens living less valid lives than our neighbors,” Levi said in a statement that appears in full after the jump.
“Apparently, Carl Paladino is fine with schools teaching that sentiment as well, and believes that to teach otherwise is brainwashing. Fortunately, what Carl Paladino calls brainwashing most New Yorkers call getting along.”
“Carl Paladino seeks to be governor, but by confirming anti-LGBT sentiments, he shows that he is clearly not cut out to be the leader of our state. New York needs a governor who is committed to equal treatment and equal respect for all its citizens, not one who finds a whole segment of the population he would be representing to be invalid and dysfunctional. ”
“The days of elected officials refusing to give LGBT people the dignity and respect we deserve as citizens are long over. We expect and demand better from those who seek to represent and lead our great Empire State.”
Levi, Sen. Tom Duane, (the chamber’s first openly gay and HIV-positive member); NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, (the first lesbian and woman to hold her leadership post); Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, (one of the first gay elected officials to represent Queens) and Marty Rouse of the Human Rights Campaign Fund will hold a pre-Columbus Day press conference to denounce Paladino’s “homophobic comments” at 11 a.m. in Manhattan.
Quinn, Maloney, Brodsky Send Aides To Schneiderman
Sep 23rd - 10:39 am
Top mouthpieces for NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Rep. Carolyn Maloney have joined Sen. Eric Schneiderman’s campaign to help the Manhattan Democrat handle communications for the remainder of the AG race.
NYC Council communications director Jamie McShane is on loan to the Schneiderman camp for the next six weeks as senior communications advisor. (Recall that Quinn served as one of the senator’s top LGBT/pro-choice/woman surrogates during the primary).
Alix Anfang, who rassled with reporters for Maloney’s successful weathering of a primary challenge from newcomer Reshma Saujani, has departed the congresswoman’s office to sign on with Schneiderman as a deputy press secretary.
In addition, Alex Monticello,who was the communications director and deputy campaign manager for Assemblyman Richard Brodsky’s short-lived 2006 AG campaign, has taken a leave from his post as associate counsel to the Assembly Corporations and Transportation Committees to become Schneiderman’s upstate deputy press secretary.
(Brodsky, as you’ll recall, was one of the four fellow Democrats Schneiderman defeated in the Sept. 14 primary).
“We are thrilled to be adding three extremely talented and hard-working new members with a wealth of experience to our communications staff,” said Schneiderman spokesman James Freedland, who has been serving as the loan press contact since leaving the senator’s office to join his campaign.
“The addition of Jamie, Alix, and Alex reflects Eric Schneiderman’s ongoing commitment to communicating with New Yorkers in every part of this state.”
Empire Center Sues NYC Pension Funds, Council
Sep 20th - 10:19 am
The Empire Center for New York State Policy has filed a lawsuit against 2 New York City pension funds, and the New York City Council, claiming they failed to release public records as part of the Freedom of Information Law.
Two of the lawsuits allege that the New York City Police Pension Fund, and the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund has refused to release names and pensions of retired employees. The 3rd one is aimed at the city council for failing to release a list of their member items, known as “discretionary funding”.
The Empire Center has been collecting data from all state agencies, and posting them on their website SeeThroughNy.net. They have already posted salaries of nearly 1.5 million state workers and the pensions of another half a million retired state workers.
The lawsuit has already triggered a response from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. She tells the Daily News that the city should be able to release the information by Wednesday.
“This is a victory for taxpayers throughout New York,” said Tim Hoefer, operations director of the Center and its SeeThroughNY website. “We applaud Speaker Quinn for acknowledging the tardiness of the Council’s response to our FOIL and for her commitment to expanding openness in the future.”
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