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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.
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.
Report: RFK Jr. Ex-Wife Found Dead In Home
May 16th - 4:59 pm
The New York Post is reporting that the ex-wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been found dead in her home in Mt. Kisco.
In the report, the NYP sources Radaronline.com which is reporting she died from an apparent suicide.
We will have more details on this as the story develops.
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.
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.
Siena: NYers Support Med-Mar, Split On Fracking, Meh On MMA
May 16th - 6:13 am
Today’s Siena poll finds a strong majority of New Yorkers – 57 percent – support legalizing marijuana for medical use, despite the fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made clear that’s a non-starter for this legislative session.
The timing of this poll is impeccable, since we at CapTon plan to have Assemblyman Dick Gottfried and Sen. Diane Savino – two Democrats who are sponsoring legislation on this issue – on the show tonight.
Siena’s Dr. Don Levy said the poll’s numbers show Democrats and independents strongly support legalization, and at least a majority of every demographic agree – except Republicans and self-described conservatives, who are divided on the issue.
Among the 68 percent who are following the issue most closely, support is running high at 62-31.
The poll also found voters remain sharply divided – 37-36 – on the question of hydrofracking in the Marcellus.
On the question of whether the ban on mixed martial arts, otherwise known as ultimate fighting, should be lifted in New York, the largest group of respondents – 38 percent – say they need more information before making a decision.
Only one in four voters said they’re paying attention to the MMA debate (it polls high among younger New Yorkers, not surprisingly), and it scored the lowest in terms of public interest of the eight issues Siena polls this time around.
Extras
May 15th - 5:50 pm
President Obama keeps up with the Kardashians. “Fifty Shade of Gray”? Not so much.
The Senate passed a resolution honoring the late Adam Yauch (AKA MCA), and Sen. Daniel Sqaudron (of Brooklyn) quoted the Beasties on the chamber floor.
Ashley Dupre, best known as the hooker who brought down Eliot Spitzer, discusses becoming an adult and opening a new lingerie/swimwear store.
Bill Lynch, a veteran advisor to Rep. Charlie Rangel, predicted: “We’re going to win and we’re going to win big. Take it to the bank.”
UB’s Shale Resources and Society Institute released a report that found environmental “incidents” related to fracking in Pennsylvania are declining and New York’s proposed regulations would prevent or mitigate similiar occurences here.
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and her colleagues were (Briefly) united against Mayor Bloomberg as they overrode his living wage veto, sparking a legal battle.
Anti-frackers held a “die-in” at the Capitol.
Mark Ruffalo wants Cuomo to “evolve” with advocates on the subject of fracking. (Kinda like the president “evolved” on gay marriage…get it?)
The Sept. 13 state primary date is a done deal.
JCOPE board member Ravi Batra called for a probe of the ethics commission following apparent leak of its investigation into Sen. Tom Libous.
Chris Smith has mixed feelings about Pedro Espada Jr.
Bloomberg rolled out an interactive “Made in NY Digital Map,” providing an easy way to find the city’s tech startups and job opportunities.
A Rockland County Girl Scout attended the Assembly Democrats’ minimum wage press conference today at the invitation of Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Colorful charts from the CBC depict per pupil spending on education in New York compared to other states.
Years after Spitzer first nominated him, Buffalo developer Howard Zemsky today overcame Western New York turf battles to finally get confirmed as chairman of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.
As the doors of an elevator closed on him, former President George W. Bush told ABC News: “I’m for Mitt Romney.”
In other – more important? – news, the Bushes have a new cat named Bob.
This exists. (The world is so weird).
Gianaris: Senate Dems Didn’t Encourage Complaint Against Libous
May 15th - 4:14 pm
Sen. Mike Gianaris, head of the Senate Democrats’ political arm, confirmed during a CapTon interview that he had spoken with Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan about possibly challenging Sen. Tom Libous this fall, but did not encourage him to file an ethics complaint against the veteran GOP lawmaker.
Even though Ryan opted against running for the Senate, he filed a complaint with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics last month, urging the ethics watchdog to investigate a claim that Libous used his clout to land his son, Matthew, a $150,000-a-year sweetheart job with a politically-connected Westchester County law firm.
That claim was made in an unrelated federal corruption trial of a Yonkers city councilwoman during the testimony of disbarred lawyer Anthony Mangone. Libous has repeatedly denied that allegation. His son did work for the firm, but is no longer employed there.
“I have not talked at all to him about this.,” Gianaris said when I asked whether he and Ryan had discussed the mayor’s complaint against Libous, adding that his response to this morning’s TU story (subsequently re-reported by the NYT) about the JCOPE investigation was as follows:
“It’s not pleasant. You know, even though we’re on opposite sides of the aisle, I do consider Tom Libous a friend. We get along. He’s entitled to defend himself, and he says that none of this is true. So, I’ll take him at his word until it’s proven otherwise. But, I hope it’s not true.”
My full interview with Gianaris will air at 8 p.m. and then re-air at 11:30 p.m.
Koch: Turner ‘Embroidered’ My Words On Gillibrand
May 15th - 3:26 pm
Rep. Bob Turner sought to downplay the fact that his US Senate bid is not backed by his most significant special election supporter – Ed Koch – telling Orthodox Jewish backers the former NYC mayor lamented to the Queens congressman in a phone call that he’s “stuck” with his endorsement of fellow Democrat, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
At about the 7:40-minute mark in this video, which I believe was recorded at a fundraiser held at a private home this week, Turner tells Yochonon Donn of Hamodia that as soon as he announced his intention to challenge Gillibrand, he received a call from Koch, whom the congressman called “a friend of mine.”
According to Turner, Koch said:
“You know, I have already endorsed Gillibrand. She may be uninspired, but I have already endorsed her. It’s OK. I promise I won’t say anything bad about you ever, but I am struck with this.”
I reached Koch in his NYC office this afternoon, and he told me Turner got his comments only half right.
“I’m sorry he said that,” Koch said. “I said to him: ‘You and I are friends, and I’m never going to say anything bad about you, but I’m supporting Gillibrand.”
“I did not attack Gillibrand. I think she’s been a good senator, and I’m happy to be supportive. I volunteered. She didn’t ask me; I volunteered my support. She came to see me just to see what I was doing, and I volunteered.
“(Turner’s) before an audience, and regrettably if you’re not reading off a scripted page, you sometimes embroider. He embroidered.”
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