Running in NYC

News about the presidential campaign, the convention, and the relationship between D.C. and NYC


February 22 - August 26, 2004 Archives

8/26/04

Details On Judge's Ruling Against Central Park Protest Rally

A judge told protesters yesterday they can't rally in Central Park on the eve of the Republican National Convention - but activists vowed to descend on the park anyway. ...Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Silbermann hinted the protesters could have won their battle to use the park - which has hosted huge rock concerts in the past - if they had sued immediately, in time for security arrangements to be made. (Daily News) (New York Post) (New York Times)

If you dislike the policies of President George W. Bush, happen to be playing frisbee this Sunday in Central Park and find yourself surrounded by thousands of like-minded protesters, are you breaking the law? The answer is murky, and it can change depending on who is answering it. But the test will come this Sunday, when thousands of people are expected at Central Park in defiance of yesterday's court ruling keeping the park off limits to a rally. "We will use a common sense approach and take appropriate action," said Police Inspector Michael Coan. (Newsday)

29 Officially Permitted Rallies Planned

Police commanders said they could not recall a time when the city has experienced such a succession of demonstrations and rallies. The city has issued permits for 29 rallies to have amplified sound equipment or block streets. They range in size from about 40 people, for a prayer vigil outside Madison Square Garden, to 250,000, for Sunday's antiwar march. (New York Times)

50 "Leading Anarchists" Expected

Fifty of the country's leading anarchists are expected to be in the city for the Republican National Convention, and a handful of them are hard-core extremists with histories of violent and disruptive tactics, according to police intelligence sources.Ę Police said each of the 50 have up to 50 followers who are willing to be arrested during disturbances at the convention. This group, police say, is expected to engage for the most part in civil disobedience, including sit-ins in front of delegates' buses. They also may stage more direct-action tactics, such as vandalizing McDonald's and Starbucks...(Daily News)

Pataki, Promoting Himself As A "Real Republican," Will Introduce Bush At Convention

For nearly a decade, ever since he gained national prominence for defeating the liberal Democratic standard bearer Mario M. Cuomo, Gov. George E. Pataki has been trying to convince New York's overwhelmingly Democratic voters that he is different from national Republicans. His support of abortion rights, gay rights and gun control and his embrace of labor unions have helped him win three terms as governor.

Now, with the national Republicans about to descend on New York City for the Republican National Convention, Mr. Pataki, with an eye to his political future, has a week to convince them that he can really be one of them, too. Mr. Pataki has let it be known that he might like to run for president in 2008, and his advisers have been spreading the word that in a state known for its not-so-Republican Republicans, Mr. Pataki is the real thing...Mr. Pataki has been rewarded for his efforts with the chance to speak directly to the nation and, more central to his ambitions, the heart and soul of the Republican Party. He will take center stage at the convention and, in a prime-time speech, introduce Mr. Bush to accept his party's nomination. (New York Times)

Retailers To Shut Down Around Convention

During the months leading up to the convention, many retailers in the area around Madison Square Garden had held out hope that the 50,000 convention-goers would scoop up souvenirs, buy a slice of pizza or take a stroll in the neighborhood. At this point, however, most of them have concluded that the RNC will be disastrous for their businesses and they are making contingency plans. For some, like the Cingular Wireless store on West 34th Street, that means shutting down completely. For others, it means slashing staff. Many will evaluate business on the first day of the convention to assess whether it's worth remaining open for the following three days. (Crain's NY Business)

Bush To Watch Convention From NYC Firehouse

President Bush wants to watch the Republican convention from a New York City firehouse and "bond" with the city's Bravest, officials said yesterday. (Daily News)

House Speaker Hastert Knocked For Anti-NY Comment About 9/11 Funding

New Yorkers yesterday slammed House Speaker Dennis Hastert for claiming the Big Apple was guilty of an "unseemly scramble" for cash after Sept. 11 - and one city councilman demanded he return his FDNY cap. In Chicago yesterday, Hastert insisted that the $20 billion Congress provided for New York was adequate - and still took aim at those lawmakers who were calling for more money. "More was never enough on this," Hastert said. (New York Post) (New York Times)

Should Protesters Tell The Police Who They Are? Advice Differ

Some civil liberties groups are advising protesters at the Republican National Convention to refuse to identify themselves to police officers, despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that the police have a right to obtain such information from people suspected of breaking the law. The advice appears in pamphlets, circulated in print and on the Internet, that instruct demonstrators on their rights if confronted by police officers. It conflicts with other advice, including that in brochures by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the People's Law Collective, warning that people detained for questioning risk arrest if they refuse to identify themselves; a law collective leaflet recommends providing no information "except possibly your name." Among the groups suggesting that people not reveal their names or other identifying information are the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Lawyers Guild chapter in New York City, which both suggest that demonstrators who are approached by an officer should "say nothing and walk away." (New York Times)

Police Security Taking Shape

Ten thousand cops flooding into an eight-square-block region. An all-seeing blimp patrolling an otherwise empty sky. Roadblocks and random checkpoints.The NYPD's mammoth security plan for the Republican National Convention is taking shape on the ground. Yesterday, federal Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge surveyed the plans at NYPD headquarters and pronounced the city ready for just about anything. (Daily News)

8/25/04

Kerry Campaigns In NY

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused the Republicans of "fear and smear" negative tactics on Tuesday and said they would offer only empty slogans rather than real plans to help most Americans in their national convention here next week. Kerry delivered his speech at New York's Cooper Union, the site of President Lincoln's 1860 speech against slavery that historians say thrust Lincoln into national prominence. Kerry's speech contrasted his plans for raising middle-class living standards with the past four years, just days before Bush heads to the city to lay out his agenda for the next four years. (Newsday)

Group Will Rally in Park, or Not at All

The lead organizer of the largest rally planned for the Republican National Convention said yesterday that the rally would not be held if a judge upheld a ban on protesters using the Great Lawn in Central Park on Sunday. (NY Times) (NY Post)

Chelsea Pier Will Be Holding Pen for Arrested Protestors

Unruly protesters at the Republican National Convention will get breathtaking views of the Hudson River - a Chelsea pier will be turned into a temporary NYPD holding pen. (NY Post)

8/24/04

Judge Bars Protest from Great Lawn

A federal judge in Manhattan refused yesterday to force the city to allow a rally on Saturday on the Great Lawn in Central Park, after the Bloomberg administration and protest organizers failed to reach a compromise during a sudden round of weekend negotiations. (NY Times)

Thousands of Convention Hotel Rooms Vacant

Thousands of hotel rooms, about a fifth of those set aside for the Republican National Convention, will not be filled by conventioneers next week, hotel and convention officials said yesterday. (NY Times)

Police Step Up Security at Penn Station

The New York City Police Department stepped up security in and around Pennsylvania Station yesterday, flooding the area with officers to prepare for the Republican National Convention next week. (NY Times)

Giuliani Raising Funds for Republicans

Rudy Giuliani, who has traveled across the country to bolster Republican candidates, has now reactivated one of his campaign funds to support them with cash. (NY Post)

8/23/04

As Convention Nears, Uncertainty Over Protest Location Creates Potential for Trouble
City officials and the protest's organizers, United for Peace and Justice, are still locked in a court battle over the route of the march. (NY Times)

Yippies Protest Near Bloomberg's Town House
The Yippies hit the Upper East Side last night, banging bongos and shouting anti-Republican chants. They had come to protest outside Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's town house, and they dubbed their demonstration the opening salvo of the Republican National Convention. (NY Times)

8/22

If a Protest Is Planned to a T, Is It a Protest?
Activist groups are as concerned with how their protests at the Republican National Convention will be covered by television as they are with the actions themselves. (NY Times)

Delegates in the Land of the Free
The best things in life are free - especially if you're a GOP delegate. Getting by on zero dollars a day may sound like a pipe dream to New Yorkers, but for the 4,953 Republican delegates headed to the Big Apple next week, it's going to be a cinch. (NY Post)

Black Republicans criticize GOP
The faces crowding the stage during the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia appeared to reflect a true rainbow coalition. (Newsday)

8/21
Convention Boss's Other Hat: Lobbying G.O.P. for Defense Clients
With campaign finance changes, corporate roles have grown at party conventions. (NY Times)

For Mayor, Antiwar Protest Makes a Pro-Stadium Case
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg tried yesterday to solve two problems facing his administration with one compact solution: let antiwar protesters demonstrate in a new stadium on the West Side. (NY Times)

Tourist Protesters
A city program to encourage peaceful political protest with discounts at local stores during the Republican convention has already gotten ugly. (NY Post)

Protesters await judge's ruling
A group of Arab-Americans will find out Monday morning whether they can hold a large demonstration on Central Park's Great Lawn. (Newsday)

Mayor: Stadium could be used for protesters
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a proposed stadium on Manhattan's West Side for the New York Jets could also be used by protesters. (Newsday)

8/20/04

Desk-job Detectives Will Patrol Trains During Convention

Hundreds of detectives in the NYPD's elite specialized units are being ordered to put aside cases and ride the rails as extra security as early as this weekend, the Daily News has learned. (Daily News)

Anarchists Emerge as Convention's Wild Card

As the Republican National Convention is about to begin in New York City, the police are bracing for the actions of this loosely aligned and often shadowy group of protesters, and consider them the great unknown factor in whether the demonstrations remain under control or veer toward violence and disorder. (NY Times)

Police Demonstrate Readiness for Convention Disorder

The New York City Police Department rolled, flew, marched and trotted out demonstrations of its arsenal yesterday against violent protesters, civil disobedience and the threat of terrorism at the Republican National Convention. (NY Times) (NY Post)

Police To Use Military Sound Equipment to Communicate with Protesters

Now hear this: The NYPD has two new military devices that can loudly broadcast warnings and instructions to a large crowd. The 45-pound machines, called Long Range Acoustic Devices, are among a slew of new equipment that will be used to deal with potential terrorists and unruly protesters at the Republican National Convention, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said yesterday. (Daily News)

City's Sex Workers Fear Convention Will Be Bad Business

What would a political convention be like without plenty of hookers proffering their wares to all those buttoned-up delegates from out of town? A lot like the Republican National Convention here. That, at least, is what the sexperts are saying - and that the idea the city's underground sex industry will be working overtime is a fantasy. (Newsday)

8/19/04

The Bush administration misled the public about the health hazards of the smoke and dust at Ground Zero, a new report charges. The Sierra Club report blames the thousands of cases of long-term respiratory illness among New Yorkers on the White House, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for downplaying the health risks and shirking their regulatory oversight roles. (Newsday)

Supporters of Ralph Nader's independent presidential campaign said yesterday they had filed enough petitions with the state to put him on the New York ballot. (NY Post)

The group planning what could become the largest demonstration marking the Republican National Convention took the city to court yesterday in its quest to rally in Central Park the day before the convention begins. (NY Times) (Daily News)

Protesters who think their prior arrests on minor violations have been sealed and dismissed might be in for a surprise.(NY Times)

The Port Authority is spending nearly $500,000 a week to safeguard the city's airports, waterways, tunnels and the George Washington Bridge as the Republican National Convention draws near, officials said yesterday. (Daily News)

8/18/04

City Offers Discounts to Demonstrators

Demonstrators who wear a button pledging that they are peaceful political activists will be entitled to discounts at selected hotels, restaurants and attractions during the Republican National Convention, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday. (New York Times) (Daily News) (New York Post) (Newsday)

Harlem Convention Protest Planned

Community activists plan to hold a march and rally in Harlem on September 2, the last day of the Republican National Convention, to protest policies of both political parties, which, they say, ignore "communities of color all over the country." (Daily News)

Democrats Challenge Questioning of Protesters

Three Democratic members of Congress, including Jerrold Nadler of New York, have sent a letter to the Justice Department calling for it to investigate the Federal Bureau of Investigation's questioning of would-be demonstrators about possible violence at the political conventions. The three say the questions seemed to be "systematic political harassment and intimidation of legitimate antiwar protesters." (New York Times)

Culture Groups Still Have Convention Hopes

Despite Boston's experience with the Democratic National Convention, New York's arts and tourism executives still have hopes that people attending the Republican National Convention in New York will go beyond the immediate vicinity of Madison Square Garden and sample what the city has to offer. (Daily News)

The Convention and the Homeless

The upcoming Republican National Convention has already disrupted the rhythms and routines of the homeless people who frequent the area near Madison Square Garden, the convention site. (Village Voice)

City to Pick Up Convention Trash

The city will pick up garbage normally collected by private carters near Madison Square Garden during the Republican National Convention. (NY 1)

8/17/04

Seven Bus Lines Rerouted

To keep New York City buses from getting bogged down in traffic during the Republican National Convention, transit officials announced detours yesterday on seven bus routes near Madison Square Garden. (NY Times)

The seven bus lines -- the M4, Q32, M10, M16, M20, M34 and X51 -- will detour from the convention site to avoid streets closed by the police, with the M10 steering clear by 11 blocks to avoid gridlock. (Newsday)

From early Monday, Aug. 30, through early morning Friday, Sept. 3, Transit Authority bus routes will be detoured. (Daily News)

Businesses Worry About Bottom Line

With the prospect of large political protests, extra security and skittish residents planning to leave town, many businesses, far from banking on a boom, are simply hoping that the four-day convention, which starts Aug. 30, will not make what is always a tough week worse. (New York Times)

Bloomberg Calls Free Speech and Assembly "Privileges"

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, already under fire for his tough stance against anti-GOP protest groups, Monday suggested that First Amendment rights of free speech and free assembly are "privileges" that could be lost if abused. Bloomberg, speaking to Republican National Convention volunteers in Manhattan, was trying to downplay concerns that protesters will disrupt this month's convention -- when he began articulating a broader constitutional vision. "People who avail themselves of the opportunity to express themselves ... they will not abuse that privilege," he said at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "Because if we start to abuse our privileges, then we lose them, and nobody wants that."

The mayor's comments drew immediate criticism from protest groups and came amid reports that federal agents and city police have been questioning activists, monitoring Web sites and dropping in unannounced on organizational meetings. (Newsday) (New York Times)

Sanitation Dept Takes Over For Private Carters, Costing $150K

Security concerns will require city sanitation crews to become private waste haulers for the Republican National Convention. Normally, some 46 private carters collect commercial waste from businesses within the Madison Square Garden security zone. But for the convention, the job will be done by city sanitation crews, Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said yesterday. The switch is intended "to make it easier for the police, so that they don't have all these private sanitation trucks coming in there," Doherty added. (Daily News)

"Pataki Passes" hot tickets for Republican VIPs

"Pataki Passes," said to be hot tickets for the week of the convention, are offered by Governor Pataki to Republican VIPs and get guests into a series of exclusive parties and events. (NY Times)

Protesters Prepare

Hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters, abortion rights supporters, labor rights activists and anarchists are preparing to unfurl banners, march through the streets and rally in the parks, loosening a cacophonous roar of protest during the Republican National Convention. As many as 250,000 people may march up Seventh Avenue by Madison Square Garden on the Sunday before the convention to protest the war in Iraq. Thousands of abortion rights and women's health advocates plan to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall Park. And the Hip Hop Summit Action Network will lead a march of low-income people to Madison Square Garden, the convention site. (Washington Post)

8/16/04

Protest Rap Sheet A Cause for Concern

Protesters arrested at the upcoming Republican National Convention could face harsher penalties than in the past, the Daily News has learned. (Newsday)

8/15/04

Protesters: 'Rats' to GOP

Thousands of protesters armed with costumes, pies and rodents are scrambling to get their anti-Bush messages heard during the Republican convention. (NY Post)

8/14/04

Sky-High NY Terror Drill Today

The skies above Manhattan will be filled with military and police air power today as authorities stage a secret sky-high anti-terror training drill in preparation for the GOP convention. (NY Post)

Faults in S.I. Ferry Hiring

Over a six-month period in 2001, city Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall assembled the management team that was in place two years later, when the commuter ferry Andrew J. Barberi crashed into a pier, killing 11 people. (Newsday)


City Has First Minor GOP Protest
As far as demonstrations go, it wasn't much. (Newsday)

Group: Lawsuit Challenges Rally Permit Rejection

An anti-war group has filed a lawsuit late Friday challenging the city's denial of a permit for a rally in Central Park (Newsday)

8/13/04

Area Hospitals Prepare for Convention Terror Attack

While the city is spending millions of dollars to make sure a terrorist attack doesn't happen during the Republican National Convention at the end of the month, local hospitals are getting ready in case one does. (NY 1)

Protestors Accuse Police of Scaremongering

Seasoned activists planning to protest at the Republican National Convention yesterday dismissed as fear mongering a police document that warns officers of violent tactics ranging from acid flinging to fire bombing. (Newsday)

Legal Observers Prepare for Convention Protests

Armed with neon-green hats, video cameras, and a knowledge of the law, legal observers were witness to more than 2,000 arrests-some peaceful, some not-at New York City demonstrations in 2003. This past March, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau predicted in a City Council hearing that there would be up to 1,000 arrests a day during the upcoming Republican National Convention. To prepare for this likelihood, the progressive National Lawyers Guild is recruiting over 250 volunteers to observe rallies and marches, and is bringing in a bevy of lawyers to handle, pro bono, any civil rights cases that arise. (Village Voice)

Bloomberg Says Cop Protestors Must Obey Laws

Cops angry over stalled contract talks continued to trail Mayor Bloomberg yesterday as questions swirled about whether the NYPD is treating the protesters with kid gloves. (Daily News)

Transit Officials, Fearing Penn Station Gridlock During Convention, Plan Alternative Entrances

Transit officials are concerned that the largest demonstration planned for the Republican National Convention, paired with security measures, will essentially seal off Pennsylvania Station for several hours on Aug. 29, the Sunday before the convention opens. (NY Times)

Long Island Railroad Passengers Will Have Normal Commute During Convention

Long Island Rail Road commuters can expect as normal a commute as possible during the Republican National Convention as trains will not be stopped and searched upon their approach to the city, a top transit security official said Thursday. (Newsday)

Council Will Run Ads on Security Funding During Convention

Council and labor union officials will run newspaper ads just before the Republican National Convention to call for more federal money for local antiterrorism and education programs, Council officials said yesterday. (NY Times)

City's Cigar Bars Quietly Plan for Republican Parties

Political conventions bring to mind smoke-filled rooms where deals of great import are made. But no longer in New York, where smoking is banned - except in a few exclusive places. A handful of cigar bars around the city will hold private parties during the Republican National Convention. They include the Grand Havana Room, a private club that rests luxuriously on the 39th floor of 666 Fifth Avenue, where former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani will be the guest of honor at a party that week. (NY Times)

8/12/04

Giuliani Plays Major Role In Bush Campaign

Just weeks before the Republican National Convention hits his hometown, Rudolph W. Giuliani is emerging as a central player in the Bush re-election effort, attacking John Kerry, racing around the country campaigning and directly leveraging the events of Sept. 11 in ways that President Bush and many of his closest allies have not dared. (NY Times)

One Police Officer for Every 2.4 GOP Convention Goers

At least 20,000 law-enforcement officers from agencies as diverse as the Secret Service and Connecticut-based civilian units of the Army National Guard will help secure the convention. Considering that the convention will attract 48,000 visitors, from delegates and lobbyists to the media horde, that amounts to one security officer for every 2.4 civilians at the convention. (NY Observer)

No GOP Events At Ground Zero

There will be no formally sanctioned commemorations at the site of the former World Trade Center during the Republican National Convention. (NY Observer)

8/11/04

Police, Firefighters Threaten Job Actions During Convention

Police and firefighters, saying their contract talks with the city have reached a stalemate, could stage wildcat strikes during the Republican National convention, union leaders said yesterday. (Daily News) (New York Post) (New York Times)

Protest Group Renews Effort to Rally in Central Park

The anti-war group United for Peace and Justice yesterday reversed itself and said it would not accept the city offer to hold a rally on the West Side Highway the day before the Republican National Convention. The group renewed its request for a permit to rally in Central Park on August 29, this time asking for a larger section of the park. The city promptly denied the request, and the group now threatens to take the matter to court. (Newsday) (New York Times) (Daily News) (New York Post)

Why Protest Group Changed Its Mind

The reversal by United for Peace and Justice -- which first said it would accept a protest site on the West Side Highway and yesterday rejected it - followed a week of wrenching meetings by members of the anti-war group's steering committee. (Village Voice)

Law Groups Prepares for Convention

To prepare for the Republican National Convention, the National Lawyers Guild is recruiting volunteers to observe rallies, protests and marches and is bringing in lawyers to handle any civil rights cases that might arise. The group hopes to protect protesters' rights and provide support. (Village Voice)

Parties Point-Counterpoint on New York

The Democratic National Committee said yesterday it will send a team to New York for the convention to highlight what it says are Bush administration failures in the city. But the Republicans say they will rebut every charge. (New York Times)

Police Spying on Protest Groups

The Police Department has been infiltrating protest groups that it says have used unlawful tactics in the past in hopes of controlling disruptive activities at the Republican National Convention, police sources say. Officers masquerading as demonstrators have been attending rallies and meetings to learn the groups' tactics and plans. (Newsday)

Police Brief Businesses on Convention Security

Police yesterday gave Garment Center employees and business owners a preview of Republican National Convention security measures and tried to assure those attending the briefing that everything possible would be done to allow business to be conducted as usual or nearly so during the convention. (Newsday)

8/10/04

GOP Plans Spectacle to Jazz Up Convention

When the curtain goes up on the Republican National Convention on Aug. 30, the supporting cast will include gospel- and country-music performers, elaborate videos, and celebrities doing what they can to help market President Bush's ideas and vision for America, one of the convention's organizers said yesterday. (NY Times)

New Sonar Device Will Monitor Harbor for Threats During Convention

The United States has a new weapon in its effort to prevent terrorist attacks in New York City during the Republican National Convention: a piece of sonar equipment that will scan underwater piers, hulls and seawalls in New York Harbor for suspicious activity. (NY Times)

Truck Checkpoints To Ring Midtown During Convention

The police will use a series of checkpoints in the area surrounding the Republican National Convention to screen trucks for hazardous or destructive materials, Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly announced yesterday. (NY Times)

Bloomberg Criticizes BostonŐs Handling of Protestors at Convention

Mayor Bloomberg took a shot at Boston yesterday, belittling Beantown for putting "barbed wire" around protesters at last month's Democratic National Convention. (Daily News)

From the Sky to Below Ground, Security Will be Tight at Convention

In a briefing for several hundred private security directors at Police Headquarters, officials revealed that the all helicopter flights over the city would be grounded on the last day of the convention, when President Bush delivers his acceptance speech. Underground blasting for the city's new water tunnel, now under construction just blocks from Madison Square Garden, also will be halted for the week of the convention, Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. (NY Post)

Protestors to Reopen Fight for Central Park Rally

Organizers of the biggest protest planned for the Republican National Convention are expected to try today to reopen the fight for a Central Park rally, sources said yesterday. (Daily News)

8/06/04

An Alaskan Delegate Prepares for Trip to the Big City

Doug Isaacson has a few ideas about city folks. First of all, they do not understand Alaska. Second of all, they do not understand Alaska. (NY Times)

Republicans Face Unlikely Protestors: Cops

The Republican National Convention is more than three weeks away, but an unlikely group of demonstrators has already turned up to protest: off-duty police officers and firefighters agitating for a new labor contract. (Newsday)

8/05/04

Anarchists Plan Illegal Protests for GOP Convention

Members of a group opposed to the Republican National Convention, many describing themselves as anarchists, said yesterday that they would carry out illegal protest activities on the convention's second day. (NY Times)

Area Surrounding GOP Convention to Be Shut Down

When Republicans descend on Madison Square Garden later this month, the NYPD plans to cordon off the surrounding blocks, banning traffic, limiting pedestrians and deploying hundreds of police officers in the "frozen zone." (NY1)

Members of Congress Call On Mayor to Protect First Amendment Rights

Some local members of Congress are calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to protect first amendment rights during the Republican National Convention later this month. (NY 1)

8/04/04

Visiting NYC, Ridge Defends Security Alert As Non-Political

The homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, stood in the atrium of the Citigroup Center yesterday to assure doubters the decision to raise the alarm about a possible terror strike on financial institutions was based on "actionable information," not politics. "We don't do politics in the Department of Homeland Security,"Mr.Ridge told reporters and an assembly of employees who work in Citigroup Center, one of the buildings thought to be on a shortlist of Al Qaeda terror targets. "This was actionable information." Mr. Ridge's arrival in Midtown came just days after he announced that Al Qaeda operatives had cased financial institutions in three cities as possible terror targets - the New York Stock Exchange and the Citigroup Center in Manhattan, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank buildings in Washington,and the Prudential Building in Newark, N.J. The information came from a captured an Al Qaeda computer engineer, Mr. Ridge said, adding that the timing and type of attack was still unclear. "Our job is to identify the threat," Mr. Ridge continued, discounting that politics motivated Sunday's terror announcement. "Frankly, I would point out that this is the most significant detailed pieces of information about any particular region we've come across in a long time, perhaps ever, and that's why we needed to share it publicly." The Bush administration has come under fire by critics who say that most of the intelligence garnered from the Al Qaeda operative was oldÉ. (New York Sun)

Travel Restrictions On Bridges, Tunnels May Continue Through November

Travel restrictions on area bridges and tunnels will not be lifted until the Republican National Convention ends Sept. 2, and could continue until after the Nov. 2 election, some city officials said Tuesday (Newsday)

Strollers, Umbrellas, Spray Cans To Be Banned At Convention

A warning to delegates planning to attend the Republican National Convention: No guns, knives or explosives will be allowed inside Madison Square Garden. And if you are thinking about bringing strollers, spray cans or umbrellas, think again. (New York Times)

Corporate Parties At Convention May Have To Charge Admission For NY State Officials

The state Lobbying Commission yesterday threw a monkey wrench into corporate plans to host parties at the Republican convention later this month.Ę An advisory opinion from the commission yesterday has been interpreted by Republicans to mean that the corporate bashes are not exempt from state law barring companies with business before the state from giving gifts valued at $75 or more to New York public officials. The opinion could result in New York public officials being charged in advance to go to some of the swanky convention parties and events sponsored by corporations with business before the state. (New York Post)

8/03/04

Laura Bush in NY

First Lady Laura Bush and her twin daughters paid a surprise visit to the Citigroup Center yesterday, joining Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki to encourage employees who ignored the terror threat and reported for work. "I wanted to thank people for coming to work and I'm really glad to be with them today," Laura Bush said. (New York Post)

Union Rally Will Protest Bush Policies

New York labor leaders announced yesterday that they will hold a large rally during the Republican convention to protest Bush administration policies. Labor leaders said the September 1 protest near Madison Square Garden, the site of the convention, is intended to send a strong message to Republicans about what the labor officials said were Bush's antiworker and antiunion policies. (New York Times)

Anarchists Plan Direct Action for Convention

While protesters and police have been negotiating permits and other rules for demonstrations at the Republican National Convention, a group of anarchists has been organizing a day of civil disobedience and guerrilla street tactics to disrupt the convention. (Newsday)

Terror Warnings Won't Affect Convention

New warnings about possible terrorist attacks on Manhattan financial institutions won't affect security for the upcoming Republican National Convention, authorities and security experts said Monday. (Newsday/Associated Press)

7/29/04

Senator John Edwards, summoning all his skills as a trial lawyer and a populist, made an impassioned case for Senator John Kerry on Wednesday, hailing him as a battle-tested veteran ready to be commander in chief and a man who could restore economic hope and opportunity. "Hope is on the way," Mr. Edwards declared to a cheering Democratic National Convention. (NY Times)

Al Sharpton delivered his address and told President Bush that African American votes are "not for sale." (NY Times)

Jessie Jackson delivered his address and repeated an old refrain "keep hope alive." (NY Times)

Members of the New York National Guard have been put on alert for possible deployment during the Republican National Convention in Manhattan, and the state plans to use three military teams trained to deal with chemical, biological and radiological weapons when the delegates are in town, state officials said yesterday. (NY Times)

Judge Robert W. Sweet of Federal District Court in Manhattan modified his earlier ruling yesterday to give the police a little more flexibility if they want to search bags and backpacks of protesters at the Republican National Convention. (NY Times)

A soup kitchen that has fed New York City's poorest for 15 years has become a temporary casualty of next month's Republican National Convention. (Daily News)

When word surfaced this week that a top 10 list of New York restaurants recommended to Republican delegates included a reputed Mafia hangout, it threatened to embarrass organizers of the convention. But as it turned out, convention officials had already taken the kind of decisive action that would have made Don Corleone proud: they made the list disappear. (NY Times)

7/28/04

Democrats Stress Unity

On the second day of their national convention, Democrats presented an array of speakers who depicted the party's nominee, John Kerry, as someone who could unite the nation after what they described as four years of a divisive Bush administration. (New York Times)

Convention bloggers were ecstatic about the speech by Illinois State Senator Barak Obama. (Gotham Gazette)

Teresa Heinz Kerry on Her Life, Her Husband

Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of John Kerry, spoke at the convention last night and took a dig at President George W. Bush by saying that her husband, who fought in Vietnam, knew about war and courage because he had "put his life on the line." (Daily News)

In her convention speech, Teresa Heinz Kerry defended her outspoken public style. (Newsday)

Ron Reagan on Stem Cell Research

Less than two months after his Republican-icon father died, the son of Ronald Reagan stood before the Democratic National Convention and took not-so-subtle digs at President George W. Bush's opposition to stem-cell research. (New York Post)

Live Webcasts of Democratic Convention

Live web casts of the Democratic convention (TV Worldwide)

Police Doctors to be Posted at Republican Convention

The New York police department reportedly plans to deploy its own doctors outside Madison Square Garden at the Republican convention to determine whether prisoners who claim illness or injury really need medical attention or are fakers. (Daily News)

New Ruling on Searching Protesters

A federal judge yesterday relaxed his order barring blanket searches of protesters' bags at the Republican convention and then stayed his ruling to allow time for an appeal. (Daily News)

Nancy Reagan Just Says No to GOP Convention

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan will not appear at the Republican convention in New York later this summer. (Daily News)

College Republicans Eager for GOP Convention

Area college Republicans, who say their numbers have been growing in recent years, are looking forward to the Republican convention. (Newsday)

7/27/04

Co-op's Warning on Convention Raises Alarm, and Scorn

The management of a large Chelsea co-op that is home to many retired union activists is warning them to stock up on extra food and water and stay inside during the Republican National Convention, advice that some residents find disturbing and inappropriate. (NY Times)

Amtrak Issues Service Rules for Convention

During the week of the Republican National Convention, Amtrak riders will need to make reservations by telephone or through the Internet for most trains passing through New York City. (NY Times)

Democratic Delegates Focus on Rivalries, Seats and Defeating Bush

When Senator Charles E. Schumer addressed his fellow New York State delegates over breakfast Monday morning, he went out of his way to stress the unity of the state's Democrats and to heap praise on State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who is seen as a potential rival should the senator run for governor in 2006. (NY Times)

Clinton Assails Bush as Democrats Open Convention

Former President Bill Clinton opened the Democratic National Convention on Monday with a systematic challenge to President Bush's leadership. (NY Times)

Hillary Steals The Show

Senator Hillary Clinton's speech was supposed to be five minutes. It was 11. She was supposed to just introduce her husband. She did that, but only after rousing the crowd to a fever pitch. (Daily News)

Kerry's Wife to Reporter: Shove It!

John Kerry brushed off his wife's telling a reporter to "shove it" and Hillary Clinton egged her on yesterday as the flap threatened to overshadow Day One of the convention. (Daily News)

7/26/04
Contest Between Liberties and Security at Convention

The Bloomberg administration's distaste for disorder surfaced when it denied protesters a permit for use of Central Park during the Republican National Convention. (NY Times)

7/25/04

Clintons Highlight NY Delegation

They've lived together in the White House, have both written best sellers and are the most recognizable Democrats in America. It's only fitting, perhaps, that Bill and Hillary Clinton are headlining New York's delegation to the Democratic National Convention. (Newsday)

Different Town, Same Problems

In New York, protesters will get the highway. In Boston, they'll rally underneath it. A no-man's land in the shadow of a former I-93 highway ramp, ringed by coils of razor wire, is the sanctioned venue for protesters expected to converge here during the Democratic National Convention, which starts tomorrow and runs through Thursday. A federal judge here even conceded that the 25,800 square feet of asphalt resembles "an internment camp." (Newsday)

While the Republicans are Taking the City, NYers May be Taking A Collective
Vacation

While the Republicans are taking New York, New Yorkers may be taking a collective vacation. "I don't want to be around here for that week - not even for the security issues so much, but because of the hassles," said Paul Mrockowski. (Daily News)

Few oppose GOP convention

Not long ago, it would have been unthinkable _ all this fussing over Republicans. (Newsday)

7/24/04

New York Police and Fire Unions to Picket G.O.P. Events

The Bloomberg administration's distaste for disorder surfaced when it denied protesters a permit for use of Central Park during the Republican National Convention. (NY Times)

For a Republican Everyman, a Five-Star Accommodation

When William D. Harris finishes up a long day of work planning the Republican National Convention, he has a driver take him to his home away from home in New York City - the Ritz-Carlton New York. (NY Times)

7/22/04

Protest Group Agrees to West Side Site

The group planning the largest protest during the Republican National Convention agreed yesterday to hold a giant rally along the West Side Highway, acceding to the demands of the Bloomberg administration, which opposed the group's effort to demonstrate in Central Park. (NY Times) (NY Post)

Vendors Concerned They Will Be Shut Out of Convention Area

With the GOP National Convention starting in little more than a month, vendors who work around the Garden suspect they will be squeezed out. (Daily News)

Police Seeking Jail Space for Protestors

The NYPD considered turning the Staten Island ferry into a prison barge for some of the thousands of activists who could be arrested during the convention. But after stiff resistance from the Department of Transportation, the notion was apparently dropped. Instead, city officials are readying unused space in regular jails, which are conveniently empty in this low-crime era. In an extreme case, the vacant Brooklyn House of Detention in downtown Brooklyn and the Queens House of Detention in Kew Gardens could be reopened. (NY Observer)

7/21/04

City to Appeal Ruling on Searching Protesters

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly yesterday criticized a federal judge's ruling that bars police from blanket searches of demonstrators' bags outside the Republican National Convention and said that the city would appeal the ruling. The announcement represented a switch for city officials who at first said they considered the ruling a victory. (NY Times) (Daily News) (NY Post) (Newsday)

Poll Supports Park Protest

About three-quarters of New Yorkers polled said the city should allow rallies in Central Park during the Republican National Convention, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday. The city has agreed to three Central Park rallies during the convention, but has refused a request by United for Peace and Justice for a 250,000-person rally on the Great Lawn, saying that so many people would damage the grass. Instead, the city has offered the group a rally site on the West Side Highway, leaving the two sides at an impasse. (Daily News) (New York Post)

The Mayor's Park

The dispute over whether to allow a massive rally in Central Park the day before the Republican convention next month has become something of a personal turf war for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg is a longtime supporter of the Central Park Conservancy, which adamantly opposes the rally. (Newsday)

Giuliani versus Kerry

Rudy Giuliani will be the lead Republican rebutting John Kerry on the day the Massachusetts senator accepts the Democratic nomination next week, sources say. Republican strategists said the former mayor will be in Boston to speak to reporters on the morning of July 29, just hours before Kerry's address. (NY Post)

Convention in the Courts

In an effort to free up police officers during the Republican convention, the state's Office of Court Administration said yesterday that it would avoid scheduling trials and hearings in New York City courts that require the presence of police from August 23 through September 3. The plan also involves doubling the number of criminal courtrooms open for arraignments in Manhattan during the week of the convention, which begins August 30, to accommodate a possible increase in arraignments because of the protests set for the city. (NY Times)

Convention Sublets

Scores of city dwellers are trying to rent their apartments to visitors to next month's Republican National Convention -- and they are charging big sums. So far, though, there aren't many takers. (Newsday)

Street Vendors Worry About Convention Cuts

With the city planning to close several midtown streets for the Republican National Convention next month, street vendors are worried that the gathering could hurt their business. (Newsday)

7/20/04

Convention Rolling Out Red Carpet For Press

Work spaces have been assigned and wireless Internet access has been arranged. Phone lines, electric outlets, parking spots for satellite trucks: all are details being worked out for the massive media center that will be created in Midtown Manhattan for the Republican National Convention at the end of August. (NY Times)

Judge Disallows Protester Searches

NYPD cops blasted a federal judge's ruling aimed at stopping them from searching demonstrators' bags outside the Republican National Convention, saying the decision gives "an open door to terrorists." (Daily News)

7/16/04

Protesters Picket City Hall in Support of Central Park Rally

About 150 protesters picketed outside of City Hall Park yesterday to demand that the Bloomberg administration allow a giant rally in Central Park before the Republican National Convention next month. (NY Times)

New Jersey's Commuters Face an Inconvenient Convention Week

Commuters on New Jersey trains face rerouting, additional police patrols, locked bathrooms and bans on the use of overhead luggage racks and garbage cans during the week of the Republican National Convention in Manhattan. The security measures, announced yesterday by New Jersey Transit officials, could cause delays and inconveniences for the thousands of passengers from New Jersey who make trips into and out of Pennsylvania Station each day, officials warned. (NY Times)

Unions Sue City for Preventing Convention Protest at Madison Square

Three city unions are taking their quest to protest at Madison Square Garden to court today, the Daily News has learned. Lawyers from the city's police, fire and teachers unions will be in Manhattan Federal Court this morning to seek legal action against the NYPD's decision to prevent them from assembling en masse during the runup to the Republican National Convention. (Daily News)

Republicans Plan Convention Parties

They don't call it the Grand Old Party for nothing. Plans for hundreds of parties are under way in the days leading up to and during the Republican National Convention. The hottest ticket looks to be the joint California-New York delegations shindig on Ellis Island, date to be determined. (Newsday)

7/15/04

Police Offer GOP Protestors "Final Option"

The Police Department drew a line in the sand yesterday for the group planning the largest protest during the Republican National Convention next month, telling the protest organizers they can hold a giant rally only along the West Side Highway, four long blocks from the convention site. If the group disagrees with the site, police officials said, its leaders can sue the city. (NY Times)

Clinton Not Upset She Won't Speak at Democratic Convention

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Wednesday that she was not upset that Democratic Party leaders had not given her a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention in Boston later this month. (NY Times)

Democratic Leaders Upset Hillary is Snubbed at Convention

Democratic leaders faced an embarrassing party revolt yesterday after they refused to allow Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to address their national convention. The stunning snub of the former first lady was blasted as a "total outrage" and "very stupid" by one of New York's leading Democrats, former state Chairwoman Judith Hope. (NY Post)

Schumer Returns Campaign Donations

Sen. Chuck Schumer's re-election campaign is donating to charity $4,000 it received from indicted New Jersey developer Charles Kushner, but will hold on to nearly $60,000 in donations from Kushner's businesses, family and associates. (NY Post)

7/14/04

Senator Clinton Won't Speak at Convention

New York Senator Hillary Clinton is not among the big-name Democrats slated to speak at this month's Democratic convention in Boston, according to the list of speakers released yesterday. (NY Times)

Bioterror Facility, Chemical-Weapons Antidote

The federal government is speeding up shipment of chemical-weapons antidotes to New York City in advance of the Republican convention later this summer. Boston, site of the Democratic convention, is also getting expedited shipments of the antidote. (Newsday) (NY Post)

Bloomberg Seeks Balance

With the Republican convention nearing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg faces more hazards every day as he navigates between being a Republican whose party is about to come to this city and the mayor of a city that is overwhelmingly Democratic. (Newsday)

7/13/04

Mayor Warns Anarchists: Don't Disrupt Convention

Mayor Bloomberg warned anarchists yesterday to keep away from the Republican National Convention, vowing that the city will clamp down quickly on troublemakers bent on disruptions. (Daily News)

Mayor Slams Fed's Election Proposal

Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the federal government's plan to possibly delay the November presidential elections in the event of a terrorist attack Monday, saying it smacks of defeatism. (NY Newsday)

7/09/04

Republicans Prepare to Party

The name of the candidate the Republican Party will nominate at its convention this summer is no surprise. But many delegates are already placing bets on what will be more fun - taking in the skyline with the governor of California during a late-night party on Ellis Island or getting tipsy with the New York delegation next to a wax sculpture of Derek Jeter. (NY Times)

New Jersey Transit Riders to Be Rerouted During Convention

Thousands of commuters who take NJ Transit trains directly to Manhattan will be forced to go to Hoboken and transfer to PATH trains during the GOP convention, officials said yesterday. The plan would be to divert NJ Transit's 11,000 daily commuters who usually take the Midtown Direct service into Penn Station and have them transfer at Hoboken. (NY Newsday) (NY Post)

City Has Plan for Arresting Convention Protestors

The city is ready for the prospect of holding in custody hundreds of demonstrators who may be arrested next month during the Republican National Convention, Correction Commissioner Martin Horn said yesterday. (NY Newsday)

Glitzy NYC Fundraiser for Kerry, Edwards

Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp were among the stars slated to appear at a star-studded fundraiser for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall Manhattan Thursday night. (NY 1)

Kerry, Edwards Draw NYC Crowd

A mix of Democrats, Republicans, tourists, locals, protesters and supporters showed up outside Radio City Music Hall last night to get a glimpse of the Democratic presidential ticket. (NY Newsday)

7/08/04

More Private Donations for Political Conventions

The host committees for the Republican and Democratic conventions this year will draw almost $104 million in private contributions, 12 times what they did a dozen years ago. (NY Times)

Mayor Warns Unions Against Protests at GOP Convention

City unions that picket around Madison Square Garden during the runup to the Republican National Convention will be hurting only themselves, Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday. (Daily News)

D'Amato Calls for Bush to Dump Cheney from Ticket

Former Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato yesterday called on President Bush to dump Dick Cheney from the GOP ticket. (NY Post)

7/07/04

New York Politicians on Edwards

Top New York Democrats were quick to praise Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's choice of North Carolina Senator John Edwards as his running mate yesterday, while state Republicans were just as quick to attack the selection. (Newsday)

City Workers to Picket Garden

City police, firefighters and teachers plan to picket at Madison Square Garden and to ask other union members not to cross the line in a move that could disrupt preparations for the Republican National Convention. The city workers plan to begin their action on July 19, when the city hands over the site to convention organizers. The city employees are angry over failed wage and benefit negotiations with City Hall. (New York Post)

Battle Over Central Park Continues

The battle over the right to stage protests in Central Park during the Republican National Convention continued yesterday, as civil libertarians accused the city of favoring high culture over political expression and parks commissioner Adrian Benepe countered that the use of the park for political protests was an anomaly in its long history. (New York Times)

7/06/04

Kerry Chooses Edwards as Running Mate

John Kerry has chosen John Edwards to be his running mate. (NY Times)

Local Merchants Fear Convention Losses

Mayor Bloomberg has promised an economic boom for the city during the Republican National Convention - but some merchants near the Garden fear they will be shut out. (Daily News)

7/02/04

10,000 Volunteer for Republican National Convention, But Some May be Protestors

Ten thousand people have signed up to volunteer at the Republican National Convention, but city officials are bracing for the possibility that some won't show up as a form of protest. (NY Times)

Many Convention Tour Guides Will Be Tourists

Only 42 percent of the unpaid convention guides are New York City residents. The rest are from other areas, including upstate, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to statistics released yesterday by NYC Host Committee 2004. (NY Newsday)

Bloomberg Increases Donation to Republican National Convention

Billionaire Mayor Bloomberg, who already committed $5 million to the Republican National Convention, has quietly upped his donation, sources told the Daily News. Bloomberg's personal contribution to the four-day GOP fest is now closer to $7 million, the sources said. (Daily News)

With Mayoral Aspirations, Weiner Criticizes Bloomberg for GOP Contributions

Only one of his likely Democratic challengers seems to draw Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg into snarky public dissing and all-out bridge burning: U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner. In yesterday's episode, the congressman, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, took to City Hall steps with poster-size blowups of federal disclosure forms to display the billionaire mayor's contributions to the GOP. (NY Newsday) (NY Times)

Penn Station to Close Most Entrances During Convention

Six entrances to Penn Station will be closed during the Republican National Convention this summer, leaving more than 600,000 commuters squeezing in and out of the remaining two. (NY 1)

Queens Congressmembers Face Primary Challenges

With the heat of summer and election season in full swing, three of Queens' six Congressmembers are facing the prospect of primary challenges this September if their opponents collect enough signatures to get on the ballot. (Queens Tribune)

7/01/04

Some GOP Protest Permits Issued

City officials yesterday began granting permits for demonstrations coinciding with the Republican National Convention, even as negotiations over a massive anti-war rally languished. Among those winning approval was a coalition of labor unions that plans to rally outside the convention site, Madison Square Garden, during the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 gathering. (Newsday) (NY Post)

Penn Station Plan for Convention Will Cause Serious Gridlock

A study conducted by railroad officials on the flow of people in and out of Pennsylvania Station shows that New York City's plans to close six of the terminal's eight exits during the Republican National Convention could cause serious inconvenience for the more than 600,000 people who use the station every day. (NY Times)

6/29/04

Cheney in New York

Vice President Dick Cheney visited New York City yesterday, meeting with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, attending a Yankees game and speaking at a lunch that raised $500,000 for the Republican Party. (Daily News)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a half-hour meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney in New York yesterday. The mayor lobbied the vice president for more homeland security money for New York City. The two also discussed planning for the Republican National Convention. (Newsday)

Bush Won't Visit Ground Zero

President George W. Bush will not visit Ground Zero during this summer's Republican National Convention in New York City, his campaign manager said yesterday. But Ken Mehlman did not rule out the possibility that Bush might visit the World Trade Center site on the third anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks -- nine days after the convention ends. (New York Post)

Two NY Republicans Take Different Approaches to the GOP

With the conventions coming to New York City in two months, Governor George Pataki seems to be drawing ever closer to the national Republican party, while his fellow Republican, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, seems to be pulling further away from it. (New York Times)

6/29/04

Protest Group and City at Odds Over a March Past the Garden

Police officials and protest organizers met yesterday to discuss whether to let demonstrators march past Madison Square Garden the day before the Republican National Convention begins Aug. 30, protest organizers said. (NY Times)

Mayor: UPJ holding up permits

Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday accused the largest of the protest organizations gearing up for August's Republican National Convention of sabotaging the permitting process for smaller groups by refusing to work with the city. (Newsday)

6/28/04

Giuliani and Pataki Will Book-End Convention

Rudy Giuliani and Gov. Pataki will book-end the Republican convention, with the former mayor speaking the first night and the governor taking the stage the night President Bush accepts the nomination, the Daily News has learned. While Pataki gets the top spot, both he and Giuliani are guaranteed prime-time plums to enhance their political hopes and help the GOP frame the message of the four-day convention around Bush's war on terror. (Daily News)

6/26/04

NYC Streets Will Be Blocked for Convention Security

New York City announced ambitious security measures yesterday for the Republican National Convention, including shutting down Midtown thoroughfares for hours each day, putting a concrete barrier around Madison Square Garden, and letting protesters get only as close as one corner of the convention site.(New York Times)

Hospitals Advise Staff To Stay Put

The word is out, if only unofficially: if you are a trauma surgeon, an emergency-department nurse or a top hospital administrator, do not take vacation in late August, in the days up to and during the Republican National Convention Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. For those days, nearly 4,900 delegates and alternates, thousands of journalists and their support staff and thousands of protesters will converge on Manhattan, and hospitals are girding for trouble. (New York Times)

6/25/04

Senate Agrees to Give Extra Cash to City for Convention Security

The Senate approved a measure yesterday to double the cash New York City will receive to protect the Republican National Convention this summer. (Daily News)

Bloomberg Considers Contributing to Democrats

Sure, Mayor Bloomberg is a Republican - but he'll write checks to Democrats if they help the city. (Daily News) (NY Post)

Police Commissioner Says Protest Permits Coming Next Week

The NYPD will likely begin issuing permits next week to protest groups planning to gather for this summer's Republican National Convention, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. (NY Post)

6/24/04

Senator Schumer Returns Tax Payer Money after Criticism from Rival

Senate candidate Howard Mills savored a minor victory this week when his staff asserted that his rival Senator Charles Schumer had been using tax dollars to fly around the state. (NY Times)

Months Before Convention, Bloomberg Battling Republicans

With just 2 1/2 months remaining until the GOP swoops into town for its national convention, Mayor Bloomberg can't seem to stop feuding with Republicans in Congress. Yesterday, it was Kansas Rep. Todd Tiahrt's turn to feel the mayor's wrath, as Bloomberg lashed out at the congressman for introducing an amendment to bar access to a federal gun database for use in civil lawsuits. (NY Post)

Companies Near Convention Center Moving Employees to Other Locations

Some companies located in the office buildings closest to Madison Square Garden are making plans to have their employees work elsewhere during the Republican National Convention this summer. (Crain's New York)

6/23/04

Punishing Politicians Who Do Not Help NYC

Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned yesterday that there would be political ramifications for Washington politicians who do not help the city. (Newsday)

The mayor's plans to help friends and punish foes in Washington may not always work. U.S. Representative Harold Rogers helped lead a successful drive to defeat a plan that would have sharply increased the amount of anti-terror aid New York receives from Washington -- despite Bloomberg's $5,000 contribution to the Kentucky Republican's campaign. And Representative Tom DeLay, with whom the mayor has clashed in the past, supported more aid for New York. (New York Times)

Protesters on Bikes

A senior police commander told Queens community leaders yesterday that officers will have to be pulled from the outer boroughs to provide security for the Republican National Convention. (Newsday)

Reassigning Police for the Convention

Thousands of demonstrators on bicycles plan to block city streets during the Republican National Convention to dramatize their contention the war in Iraq is all about oil. (Newsday)

6/22/04

Mayor Rescinds Invitation to a G.O.P. Congressman

A lunch planned for two Republican Congressional leaders at Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's town house was canceled when the mayor disinvited an Ohio congressman who had voted against a plan that would have sent nearly $450 million to New York for domestic security, according to people who were scheduled to attend the lunch. (NY Times)

6/17/04

Record Fundraising for GOP Convention

The New York City Host Committee is expecting to raise $64 million for the Republican National Convention. The Host Committee is expecting to raise a record amount of money, and already has tens of millions of dollars in contributions and commitments from donors ranging from an Indian tribe that runs a casino in Connecticut to real estate agents, financiers and drug manufacturers. (NY Times)

Partial List of Donors to Convention

A partial list of donors to GOP Convention (NY Times)

6/16/04

Convention Protest Permits

Dozens of groups hoping to hold protests at the Republican convention in New York yesterday expressed frustration with the process of applying for permits as the police still have not granted any permits or disclosed where demonstrations will be allowed. (Newsday)

The police department said yesterday that groups wanting to protest at the Republican convention would have until around July 30 to apply for permits. The original deadline for applications had been yesterday -- June 15. (New York Times)

6/9/04

Pickets at Boston Convention Site

Six weeks before the Democratic convention opens in Boston, picketing by union members, including city police, has forced a delay in renovations to the Fleet Center where the convention will be held. In addition, police say they will start random inspection of packages on commuter trains and subways. (New York Times)

Minister File Suit Over Protest

A minister filed suit against the city yesterday, charging that it made it has made it so to demonstrate outside the Republican National Convention that even a prayer service would not be allowed. Patrick Mahoney, a Presbyterian minister and director of the Christian Defense Coalition, accused Mayor Michael Bloomberg of rejecting his request to stage prayer services outside Madison Square Garden during the convention. (Associated Press)

NY Politicians at GOP Convention

Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki will be featured prominently at the Republican National Convention in recognition of their actions after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a convention spokesman said. Leonardo Alcivar said that it has not yet been determined what Exact role each will play at the convention. (Associated Press)

6/8/04

Bush to New York: Here's Your $20 MillionŃNow Drop Dead

By the time the Republican National Convention starts on August 30, the host of this party, Mayor Bloomberg, will be quietly battling with his guests, President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress, on almost every issue of importance to the city. (New York Magazine)

6/5/04

We May Pen In Protesters, Top Cop Says

The highest-ranking uniformed officer at the New York Police Department Friday defended the department's use of metal pens and mounted police units to control demonstrators at political rallies and said police officials had not ruled out these and other measures during protests at the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Chief of Department Joseph Esposito's comments came in testimony Friday at a nonjury hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan. The New York Civil Liberties Union and several protesters have sued the NYPD, contending their civil rights were violated during a protest March 20, an anti-war demonstration on Feb. 15, 2003, and a demonstration during the World Economic Forum in 2002.

The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction against the department so that disputed procedures that they charge violate demonstrators' civil rights will not be in place at the upcoming convention. These include keeping people in metal pens, controlling access to demonstrations and using mounted police units for crowd control. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Urges Ridge To Help Stop Turning Anti-Terrorism Money Into "A Political Slush Fund"

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg called yesterday on the homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, to stand up to Congress over what the mayor has repeatedly characterized as its efforts to shortchange New York City on anti-terrorism money. The mayor, appearing on his weekly radio program on WABC-AM, charged that Congress had turned the distribution of homeland security money into a political "slush fund," in which small states receive far more dollars per capita than those states at greater risk, like New York. (New York Times)

Bill Clinton Blasts Bush Terror Policy At City College Graduation Ceremonies

At the City College of New York graduation yesterday, ex-President Bill Clinton took a swipe at the Bush administration's terror war. "We have to recognize in an interdependent world we cannot ever succeed in killing, jailing or occupying all of our adversaries," Clinton said. "We've got to make a world with more friends and fewer terrorists."… Hundreds of graduates cheered as Clinton said the U.S. needs to spend more money fighting disease and global poverty alongside terrorism. "For a fraction of what we spend on defense - a fraction - we could double our efforts in all of those areas, and make a world with more partners and fewer terrorists." (Daily News)

6/4/04

Republicans Shun Risqué Broadway Shows

The New York City Host Committee recently designated eight Broadway shows as fit to ply convention delegates with free tickets. There is barely a Tony nominee in the bunch. All are nice, safe musicals guaranteed not to offend mainstream American tastes or, for that matter, provoke much thought. The title song of "42nd Street" is about as risqué as it gets, with its reference to "sexy ladies from the Eighties who are indiscreet." (NY Times)

6/3/04

Lawsuit Seeks to Change Police Tactics for Handling GOP Protests

A lawsuit aimed at changing the city's procedures for policing protests went to trial Wednesday. The New York Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of three people who took part in anti-war protests last February. The suit says police should not have used metal "pens" and police horses to control the crowd. The NYCLU wants to prevent the same tactics from being used during demonstrations near the Republican National Convention in August. (NY 1)

6/2/04

Giuliani and the GOP Convention

Former Governor Mario Cuomo predicted yesterday that former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will excite the crowds at this summer's Republican convention in New York. Such a response will spur some to urge that Giuliani replace Vice President Dick Cheney on the Republicans tickets and could fuel a possible future presidential candidacy for the former mayor. (Daily News) (New York Post)

5/28/04

Fighter Jets Will Patrol During Convention

Fighter jets will return to city skies during the Republican National Convention this summer to protect New York City from terror attacks from above, FBI sources said yesterday. F-15s from a National Guard unit in upstate Troy will provide air defense during the four-day gala . an event that along with the Democratic Convention, presidential election and July 4 weekend, federal officials say could be targeted by terrorists. (NY Post)

5/27/04

Kerry Says More Must Be Done on Domestic Security

John Kerry made another sharp critique of President Bush's handling of the war on terrorism, asserting that major domestic security needs remained inadequately financed under his watch. (NY Times)

Kerry Will Accept Nomination at Convention

John Kerry made another sharp critique of President Bush's handling of the war on terrorism, asserting that major domestic security needs remained inadequately financed under his watch. (NY Times)

5/26/04

Woman plan 'pom pom' protest

Some women will brandish pom poms and flash their underwear to protest the Republican National Convention in New York this summer. The groups hope to add wit and a women's perspective to a sometimes male-dominated protest scene. (Newsday)

5/25/04

Organization Tied to G.O.P. Gets Warning on Donations

A tax-exempt organization associated with the chairman of the United States House Committee on Financial Services may have to register with the New York State attorney general's office before it can stage a party during the Republican National Convention in New York, state officials said. (NY Times)

5/21/04

Focusing on Convention, City Bans Street Fairs in Late August

Street fairs, long a staple of the hot New York summer, have been banned in the city at the end of August so the New York Police Department can concentrate on policing the Republican National Convention, Newsday has learned. (Newsday)

Wall Street Plans to Roll Out Red Carpet for Republicans

Despite the talk about protesters overwhelming the Republican National Convention in New York City this summer, one sector of the city is rolling out the red carpet: Wall Street and its investment banks. They are showering the conventioneers with money for parties and other events to make the Republicans feel right at home. (New York Times)

5/20/04

Former Police Commissioner Calls for Bush Reelection

A day after coming under fire at a hearing into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik said Wednesday "the threat is imminent" for another terrorist attack and that President Bush must be re-elected. (Newsday)

Republicans Nominate Challenger to Senator Schumer

Balloons dropped, music blared, and politicians talked tough about terrorism. There was praise for President Bush, scorn for the Democrats and the nomination of a candidate, Assemblyman Howard Mills, to challenge Senator Charles E. Schumer. (NY Times)

5/14/04

Federal Election Commission Orders Sharpton to Return Funds

With his aborted presidential campaign already more than $500,000 in the red, the Rev. Al Sharpton took another hit in the wallet yesterday when the Federal Election Commission ordered him to return $100,000 in public matching funds. (New York Post)

5/13/04

Clinton Says She Has No Interest in Vice Presidency

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that she has no interest in being Senator John Kerry's running mate this year. She also said she intends to seek re-election to the Senate in 2006. (Newsday/AP)

Republicans Not Spending Here Yet

The Republican convention is expected to bring tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars to New York City, but so far most of the money being spent for planning the event has gone to consultants and businesses in other states. (Newsday/AP)

5/12/04

Governor Welcomes First Lady for Prayer Breakfast

Mixing piety with Republican politics, Gov. George E. Pataki welcomed Laura Bush as the guest of honor at his annual prayer breakfast on Tuesday, using the occasion to praise both God and the president. (NY Times)

5/11/04

Laura Bush Stops By NYC

First Lady Laura Bush visited the city Monday to honor World Trade Center victims and buoy a presidency sagging under the Iraq war and a widening Baghdad prison abuse scandal. (Newsday) (Newsday)

Laura Bush and Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced funding for renovations to the Gardens of Remembrance in Battery Park, which commemorates war heroes. The First Lady took the opportunity to defend her husbandŐs handling of the prisoner abuse scandal. (NY 1) (Newsday)

First Lady Laura Bush brought good cheer to eight Big Apple schools yesterday, announcing they've been awarded $5,000 grants to upgrade and expand their libraries. (NY Post) (Newsday)

Laura Bush and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg stood shoulder to shoulder yesterday in an appearance that may well dispel any lingering doubt as to the mayor's feelings about the president, or of the mayor's own political identity. (NY Times) (Newsday)

5/7/04

City is Blocking Political Protests During Convention, Charge Demonstrators

Mayor Bloomberg has said demonstrators will be able to exercise their First Amendment rights during the Republican National Convention. But United for Peace and Justice, which first applied for permits last June, said yesterday the city is helping only the Republicans get their message out - not people who disagree with them. (New York Daily News) (Newsday)

5/6/04

Mayor Criticizes GOP Official for Talking About Security

A miffed Mayor Bloomberg yesterday slammed a Republican National Convention official for speaking "without knowledge" about security arrangements for the four-day event. The mayor was fuming over comments made Tuesday by convention Director of Operations Mike Miller that a potentially blocks-long security perimeter would be erected around Madison Square Garden, inconveniencing residents and businesses. (NY Post) (Daily News)

5/5/04

Convention Security Plans

Varying accounts of security procedures for the summer's Republican convention appeared in newspapers after a convention official said parts of Seventh and Eighth avenues could be closed during this summer.s Republican convention.

--City officials said security plans have not been determined, and that any closings of avenues would be announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg or the police department. (Daily News)

--Two sources familiar with the city's plan for security said an outer security perimeter will run from West 29th Street north to West 34th or West 35th streets, between Seventh and Eighth avenues. Pedestrians would be allowed to shop within the perimeter and motor vehicles would be allowed, though West 31st and West 33rd streets could be restricted, if not closed at times, sources said. (Newsday)

-- A large area around Madison Square Garden will be turned into a security zone during this summer's Republican convention, organizers revealed yesterday. At the security perimeter - which could extend for blocks in all directions around the garden - pedestrians and drivers will be required to show identification proving they have business in the area, said Mike Miller, director of operations for the convention. (New York Post)

Delegates to View Wholesome Plays Only

The New York Host Committee for the Republican convention will send delegates to special performances of eight Broadway shows the Sunday before the convention opens but only the most wholesome productions have been selected. (New York Times)

Heinz Kerry in Manhattan

Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, visited preschoolers in an early childhood education center in Upper Manhattan yesterday. (Newsday)

4/29/04

Protecting the GOP Convention

New York City police officers and bomb-sniffing dogs will board trains during the Republican National Convention and search the cars as they approach Pennsylvania Station, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday. (NY Times) (Daily News)

4/28/04

Police, Firefighters to Protest

Unions representing city police and firefighters have requested permits to protest at the Republican National Convention to be held in New York City in August. They are angry that New York gets less homeland security funding per person than virtually any state in the nation and that the city has yet to give them a contract they can ratify. (Daily News)

Undercover Volunteers

Some anti-Republican protestors are considering the idea of volunteering to help out at the convention and then either not showing up or showing up and protesting. The city is seeking 8,000 volunteers but so far has registered only about 1,400. (New York Times)

4/23/04

10,000 Officers Will Guard Madison Square During Convention

Nearly 10,000 of 'New York's Finest' will be working to keep this summer's Republican convention safe - the largest force ever assigned to a national political gathering, NYPD sources told The Post. The figure is more than triple the nearly 3,000 police assigned to the Democratic convention in 1992, the last time the city hosted a presidential party gala. (NY Post)

4/22/04

Mayor Koch To Recruit Volunteers for GOP Convention

Who could the Republican Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg turn to for help in selling his predominantly Democratic constituents on the notion that bringing his party's national convention to town should be viewed not as a partisan event, but as a pro-New York event? The answer Mr. Bloomberg hit on was the former Mayor Edward I. Koch. (NY Times) (NY Post) (Newsday)

4/21/04

Bush Attends New York Fund Raiser

President George W. Bush made a quick trip to New York City yesterday for a fund-raising lunch at the River Club on East 52nd Street that brought in $3.75 million. (New York Post)

President Bush received the biggest applause at yesterday's fund-raiser in Manhattan when he praised Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg and thanked them for attending the event. (Newsday)

4/20/04

Election Day Terror Warning

For the second day in a row, a top Bush administration official warned there may be terrorist attacks in the coming months tied to the November elections. (Daily News)

4/16/04

Sharpton Endorses Kerry, But Continues to Campaign

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who flashed quick wit and rhetorical jabs on the campaign trail but failed to spark a large following, Thursday endorsed John Kerry for president but promised to continue his own urban agenda campaign. (Associated Press)

4/15/04

Kerry Campaigns And Raises Millions in NYC

Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry slammed George W. Bush for getting the country "stuck" in Iraq, but he refused to call the war a failure during a lucrative fund-raising trip to the city Wednesday. The Massachusetts senator made his comments in Harlem, then sped downtown to collect $6.5 million at three fund-raisers. He's expected to raise another $2.4 million at a Democratic National Committee event this morning. (Newsday) (NY Post)

4/13/04

Convention Funds Falling Short

More and more, when voters in New York are given the chance to select Democrat or Republican, they choose neither. (NY Times)

4/02/04

Convention Funds Falling Short

The city's host committee for the Republican National Convention fell short of its goal of banking $60 million by Thursday, although sources say the nonprofit has secured $70 million in uncollected pledges. If those commitments don't materialize, events like a huge fete for 8,000 journalists and a Broadway theater outing for GOP delegates might have to be scaled back, said one planner on condition of anonymity. (New York Times)

Penn Station May Close Temporarily During Republication National Convention

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg raised the possibility yesterday that Pennsylvania Station might be shut down temporarily during the Republican National Convention, but said it will not remain closed for the entire Convention. (New York Times) (New York Daily News)

10,000 Police Officers Train in Terror Preparedness For Convention

Police officers from across the city played out terrorist scenarios yesterday, from a gas attack in a hotel room to an explosion in a subway in preparation for the Republican National Convention in August. The two-day drill, called COBRA training, is part of a goal of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to train 10,000 members of the department in terrorist preparedness for the upcoming convention. (Newsday)

3/30/04

Sharpton Loses Matching Funds

The Federal Election Commission Ruled that former presidential candidate Al Sharpton is not eligible for $100,000 in matching funds. (NY Post)

3/26/04

Democratic Stars Show Support for Kerry

To swelling trumpets, the biggest stars in the Democratic firmament strode on stage here Thursday night, but true to form, they seemed to lack a certain coordination. (NY Times)

3/25/04

White House Responds to Claims It Ignored Al Qaeda

President Bush's former counterterrorism chief, Richard A. Clarke, testified on Wednesday to the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks that the Bush administration had largely ignored the threat from Al Qaeda prior to the attacks. The White House responded saying that Clarke's assessment is wrong. (NY Times)

Big Name Democrats Get Together for Kerry

The hunger for victory is so intense among Democrats that some of the party's biggest names - two former presidents among them - are putting aside longstanding tensions to appear together here on Thursday night for a dinner that is expected to collect $11 million for their presumptive nominee, Senator John Kerry. Former President Jimmy Carter, a reluctant participant in partisan causes, will be at the fund-raising dinner, along with former President Bill Clinton, with whom Mr. Carter was never particularly close. And though Mr. Clinton's relationship with his vice president, Al Gore, has been strained since the 2000 campaign, Mr. Gore will attend, too. (NY Times)

3/24/04

Voter Registration

The National Republican Committee will send its Reggie the Registration Rig to MTV's Total Request Live studio on Times Square Thursday in an effort to register young voters. (Newsday/Associated Press)

3/23/04

Kerry's New Ad Highlights War Record

Kerry's New Ad Highlights War Record John Kerry yesterday launched a new 30-second television ad showing video of him as a young soldier in Vietnam and stressing he "fought for his country." The spot begins airing today in 17 swing states, (New York Post)

White House Rebuts Former Adviser

Top White House officials launched an aggressive counterattack Monday against a former counterterrorism chief who accused President George W. Bush of "ignoring terrorism." (Newsday)

3/22/04

Bush Aid Claims That Kerry's Plans Would Drastically Increase Deficit

Mr. Bush's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, released an analysis that he said showed a $1 trillion gap over the next decade between spending increases Mr. Kerry has called for during the campaign and the tax increases he has already supported. (NY Times)

3/21/04

New Yorkers Join In Day of Worldwide Antiwar Protests

Marking the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, crowds of sign-waving, slogan-chanting demonstrators marched through Midtown Manhattan and scores of cities from Alaska to Australia yesterday in a largely peaceful global rebuke to the war. (NY Times)

3/20/04

Clinton Officials To Tell 9/11 Panel They Warned Bush Of Terror Threat

Senior Clinton administration officials called to testify next week before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks say they are prepared to detail how they repeatedly warned their Bush administration counterparts in late 2000 that Al Qaeda posed the worst security threat facing the nation and how the new administration was slow to act. (NY Times)

3/19/04

Website Shows Which New Yorkers Give To Which Presidential Campaign

tony address of 770 Park Ave. is the biggest Democratic presidential money pit in the city, with more than 20 donors pitching in $50,000 to candidates, according to a new Web site. On the Republican side, the gold mine is 85 Broad St. - the New York headquarters of investment-banking giant Goldman Sachs - the www.fundrace.org Web site reveals. (NY Post)

3/18/04

Candidates Attack Each Other on Military Spending

In a blistering critique of Senator John Kerry's record on military issues, Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday portrayed the Democratic presidential candidate as weak, inconsistent and a threat to the security of the nation. Almost simultaneously, Mr. Kerry, speaking in Washington, denounced President Bush's foreign policy, which he said had left the United States "bogged down in Iraq" and its troops overextended and "with the target squarely on their backs." (NY Times)

3/17/04

Clintons For Kerry

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton have launched a drive to raise $10 million in 10 days for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. (New York Post)

3/16/04

Sharpton Endorses Kerry, but Stays in Race

While he said he will support Sen. John Kerry as the only way to beat George W. Bush in November, the Reverend Al Sharpton says he will continue to push for an urban agenda and campaign on issues affecting the minority community. (New York Post)

3/15/04

What Democrats and Republicans Must Learn About Politics of Sept 11

New York's experience provides insight into the benefits and pitfalls Democrats and Republicans risk as they continue to play the Sept. 11 card in this year's contest for the presidency. (NY Times)

3/14/04

Bush and Pataki Took Different Tacks on Sept 11

President Bush and Gov. George Pataki took completely different tacks when it came to using the memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in their re-election campaigns. (Newsday)

Kerry Challenges Bush to Monthly Debates

Senator John Kerry challenged President George W. Bush to monthly debates. (New York Times)

3/13/04

Civil Rights Group Accuses City of Stifling Protest During Convention

New York City civil liberties groups accused city and police officials yesterday of trying to stifle protests during the Republican National Convention by publicly predicting that officers would arrest more than 1,000 people each day of the event. (New York Times)

3/12/04

President Bush Campaigns In Long Island

With suburbia looming as a major political battlefield, President Bush came on Thursday to where it all began: Long Island, where the first modern suburb, Levittown, was born. (NY Times)

In Possible Precursor To Convention, Police Department Prepares Pens For March 20 Demonstration

The Police Department is denying a request to refrain from using interlocking metal barricades to contain demonstrators at a March 20 march and rally, the organizers said yesterday. Demonstrators, civil rights advocates and the police say they view the protest, against the occupation of Iraq, as a test of how all sides will handle demonstrations during the Republican National Convention. (NY Times)

Sharpton's Presidential Bid Draw Public Money, Official Scrutiny

The government delivered good news and bad news to Al Sharpton Thursday: The Democrat will get $100,000 in public money for his presidential bid _ and will face an investigation into his campaign's finances. (Newsday)

3/11/04

President Visits Long Island

President Bush's visit to Long Island today comes amid criticism of a campaign ad in which he uses a Sept. 11 image and complaints that he has been reluctant to fully cooperate with an investigation of the attacks. (NY Post)

New York Prepares for Bush's Visit

As Bush highlights small-business success and reborn communities, some area residents say diverse Bay Shore, Long Island suffers from racial and economic dividing lines. (Newsday)

3/10/04

RNC Security Cost

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration had said the city would spend $22 million for police protection, plus $5 million for insurance and sanitation for the convention, to be held at Madison Square Garden from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. (Associated Press)

Morgy sees an arresting convention

Street protests during this summer's Republican National Convention could spur as many as 1,000 arrests a day, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said yesterday. (Daily News)

Kerry Closer to Nomination

US Senator John Kerry has captured four more states in the latest contests to choose a Democratic presidential contender to challenge George W Bush. Mr Kerry won by landslides in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Mr Bush's home state of Texas. (BBC News)

9/11 Ads Insult to Families

The head of the Republican Party angered 9/11 families again yesterday by saying only a "small segment ... who are very anti-war" objected to President Bush's use of Ground Zero scenes in his reelection ads. The father of one 9/11 victim called the comment "insulting." (Daily News)

3/9/04

Laura Defends 9/11 Ads

First Lady Laura Bush joined the battle over her husband's campaign ads yesterday, defending the use of graphic 9/11 images as a reelection tool. (Daily News)

3/8/04

What's Next for Sharpton

He may not have won many votes this primary season, but the Rev. Al Sharpton won credit for often stealing the show at Democratic presidential debates with his wit and sense of humor. Now, as he contemplates leaving the campaign trail, Sharpton is trying to ride his into a career in television and radio, books and movies. (New York Times)

3/7/04

Bush Defends Ads

President George W. Bush defended his use of images of Ground Zero in his campaign ads on Saturday, days after victims' families blasted him for politicizing their loved ones' deaths. (Daily News)

Sharpton Urges Support for Gay Marriage

The Rev. Al Sharpton called on black religious leaders Saturday to support same-sex marriage, even if that means having to put aside their own beliefs. To do otherwise, he told supporters of his presidential candidacy at the Emanuel AME Church in Harlem, would renew threats to civil rights and play into the hands of the president, who has proposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (Newsday)

3/6/04

Bush to Visit 9/11 Memorial

Facing criticism for running ads that depict the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, the White House announced Friday that President George W. Bush will visit a 9/11 memorial on Long Island this Thursday. (NY Post) (Daily News)

9/11 Families Speak Out for Bush

More than a dozen families who lost relatives in the September 11 attacks released an "Open Letter to America" Saturday declaring their support for President Bush and his use of images of the destroyed World Trade Center in campaign ads. (Associated Press-Newsday)

Bloomberg on Bush Ads

Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused Friday to criticize political ads being aired by President George W. Bush that include scenes of the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Bloomberg said repeatedly during his Friday radio program that he had not seen the ads. "Certainly am not in favor of exploiting," Bloomberg said. He said he expected the events of 9/11 would be the subject of debate during the presidential election, and that "dialogue and discussion are healthy." (Newsday)

3/5/04

Bloomberg Walking Political Tightrope For Convention

Mayor Bloomberg a lifelong Democrat who became a Republican to run for office finds himself in an uncomfortable political position, as the Republican National Convention nears. New York Democrats, who outnumber Republicans by a ratio of five to one, are complaining that their mayor is doing the bidding of the White House. At the same time, Republicans close to the White House say they view Mr. Bloomberg's Democratic background with suspicion and have clashed with his aides over logistical and financial details of the convention. (New York Times)

President On Defensive Over 9/11 Ads

President Bush completed the second day of a campaign swing through California on Thursday, with pointed emphasis on his credentials as commander in chief and a robust defense of his tax cuts. But throughout the day his aides were scrambling to counter criticism that his first television commercials crassly politicized the tragedy of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (New York Times)

Bush Campaign Will Use Giuliani To State Its Case On 9/11

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will be used by the Bush campaign to get its side across in the national debate over the Sept. 11 attacks, top White House advisers said. (New York Post)

3/4/04

Edwards Drops Out, Bush Launches Campaign Ads

Senator John Edwards of North Carolina formally announced the suspension of his campaign. (New York Times)

The Bush campaign announced the start of what may be the most expensive advertising campaign in presidential history, with commercials devised to erase months of Democratic attacks by portraying President Bush as a plain-spoken leader who steadied the nation after the 2001 terrorist attacks. (New York Times)

New York Democrats United Behind Kerry

New York is clearly united behind Senator John Kerry. The presumptive Democratic nominee for president cleaned up across the state in Tuesday's primary among every possible group. (NY1)

Low Voter Turn Out In New York

About 600,000 Democrats voted statewide on Tuesday, according to preliminary returns. That's roughly equivalent to the number of registered Democrats in the Bronx alone. (Newsday)

Giuliani Criticizes Kerry

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani jabbed Democratic candidate John Kerry yesterday, charging the senator has flip-flopped on terrorism. "One thing I admire about [Bush] is his consistency," Giuliani said. "On the other side, we have a lot more inconsistency." (NY Post)

Sharpton's Campaign In Debt

As the Rev. Al Sharpton struggles to keep his slim presidential hopes alive, he's grappling with another problem: how to pay back $485,696 in campaign debt and loans. (Newsday)

3/3/04

Kerry Wins New York

New York was John Kerry country yesterday as he trounced John Edwards and dealt hometown hopeful Al Sharpton an embarrassing drubbing. (Daily News)

Kerry Wins Across the Board

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry convincingly beat North Carolina Senator John Edwards among virtually every category of voters in yesterday's New York primary -- men and women, rich and poor, white and black and Hispanic, upstate and down, cities and suburbs, those who once supported Howard Dean and those who did not. According to exit polls, Kerry did particularly well among the many voters who considered the ability to defeat President George W. Bush or the candidate.s experience the single biggest factor in deciding whom to vote for. (Daily News)

Primary results (from the Associated Press)

Setback for Sharpton

The Reverend Al Sharpton's third-place finish in his home state of New York Tuesday could wind up costing him a reputation as political powerhouse in the city's black and Latino neighborhoods. (Newsday)

Sharpton Considers Whats Next

Following single-digit showing in his home state of New York and in other primaries yesterday the Reverend Al Sharpton is reportedly considering whether or not to remain in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sharpton said he thought he demonstrated a strong enough vote-getting ability among blacks in urban areas like New York and Detroit to make it necessary for Democrats to work with him as they prepare their campaign against President Bush. But in contrast to his previous political efforts, Sharpton did not win a majority of the black or Hispanic vote in yesterday.s New York primary. (New York Times)

3/2/04

Kerry Promises To Fight Bush Policies on Taxes, Education, Health Care and Terrorism

John Kerry vowed that he would not be another "wishy-washy, mealy-mouthed" Democrat, pledging Monday to wage a bare-knuckled campaign against President Bush as he sought a Super Tuesday sweep to lay claim to the party's nomination. (Associated Press)

Edwards Stays Upbeat In Final City Swing

Edwards took a final campaign swing through the city yesterday, speaking to about 1,000 people ... at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University (LIU). "Give me a shot to beat George Bush," Edwards said, "and I will give you back the White House." (Staten Island Advance)

3/1/04

Kerry On NYC

In a debate Saturday that was mostly about foreign policy, John Kerry did manage to bring up New York City, in a question about security:

"We're in New York City. Fifty percent of the African-Americans in New York City are unemployed between the ages of 16 and 64. One of the thing the president could have done in order to make this city more safe, frankly, he's only given it one-tenth of the money that they need with respect to protection of water supply. He's cut $250 million for firefighters. They're cutting firefighters and closing fire houses. They're cutting the COPS program. There's a $5-to-6-billion deficit in the State of New York. The governor, therefore, has to either raise taxes or cut services. George Bush's priority: tax cuts for the wealthiest American. My priority: A $50-billion fund as a tax relief education fund, which is part of the stimulusÉ"

See a full transcript of the debate

Worst Debate Performance

We wish the New York Time's Elisabeth Bumiller was running for president, just so that we could vote against her. She just turned in what may be the worst debate performance since Nixon sweated through his makeup. It's the journalism equivalent of the Dean Scream. (Wonkette)

Edwards Attacks Kerry Sharply in Debate as Crucial Votes Near

Two days before the biggest round of Democratic primaries and caucuses this year, Senator John Edwards repeatedly challenged the party's front-runner, Senator John Kerry, on a variety of fronts yesterday in the most contentious Democratic debate in months. Mr. Edwards, scrambling to keep his candidacy alive, tried to draw a stark contrast between his record and Mr. Kerry's. He described Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, as a Washington insider who had supported bad trade agreements, made too many promises and was unlikely to bring about the change Americans wanted.

Mr. Kerry, who had grown accustomed to far gentler treatment from Mr. Edwards in recent weeks, fired back that his record on trade was essentially the same as Mr. Edwards's, and suggested that the North Carolina Democrat was simply looking for a political issue. Mr. Kerry acidly dismissed the charge that he was a Washington insider by saying that the "last time I looked," Mr. Edwards was also a member of the Senate.(New York Times)

Kerry Meets With Jewish Leaders To Ease Fears

John Kerry met privately with 50 Jewish leaders yesterday amid concerns about whom he would pick as a Mideast envoy and his stand on Israel's security, sources said. The Democratic front-runner assured the group that, contrary to a speech he gave in December, he wouldn't seek out former President Jimmy Carter or former Secretary of State James Baker as his envoys, sources said. Both men are perceived as tilting against Israel, and Kerry's speech touched off concern among Jewish leaders at the time. Instead, Kerry offered up the names of Sandy Berger, Richard Holbrooke and Dennis Ross.(Daily News)

Kerry Talks To Amsterdam News Editorial Board

Kerry touched on a number of issues with the board - health care, death penalty, prison sentencing structure, small businesses, the Patriot Act, gun control, education, and Haiti.(Amsterdam News)

Edwards and Kerry Make Last-Minute New York Push

Looking for an upset in Tuesday's New York primary, Senator John Edwards rallied for votes in Brooklyn and in Albany yesterday, while Senator John Kerry sought to shore up support among upstate residents.But a contentious morning debate in New York City, filled with frequent interruptions and pointed exchanges, remained on the minds of the candidates for much of the day, the last either planned to spend in New York before the primary. Mr. Edwards, heading for Albany on his campaign plane, grinned broadly and pronounced the debate "very interesting" and "fun." Mr. Kerry, however, bemoaned the tone of the debate and what he said was the lack of discussion of education and other issues. "That was a debate?" he said when asked about it. (New York Times)

2/29/04

Countdown To Primary

John Edwards was hunting for votes in Super Tuesday states where he saw the best prospects for slowing John Kerry's march to the nomination, portraying himself as the Democrat who can attract the most independents and swing voters. "I am a good closer," the North Carolina senator said Saturday, predicting a come-from-behind surge and shrugging off polls that show him behind in all 10 states choosing delegates Tuesday. (Associated Press)

Sharpton Returns With a Few Good Jabs but Very Few Delegates

In his three previous campaigns for public office, the Rev. Al Sharpton generally exceeded political expectations by attracting more votes than virtually anyone had predicted. The accomplishment added mightily to his stature as a political force to be reckoned with in New York. But as he comes into his home state, campaigning before the Democratic primary on Tuesday, he brings with him only a smattering of delegates and the widely held perception that he did poorly in his first showing on a national stage. (New York Times)

Front-runner glows in B'klyn

John Kerry and John Edwards started their final pitch for New York votes yesterday, as the clock wound down on Super Tuesday's 10-state primary sweepstakes. (Daily News)

2/28/04

What do New Yorkers Want in a President

By and large, the political desires voiced [in New York City] streets oddly echoed those that have surfaced [throughout the country]. Voters want someone honest, they say, or someone who will end the war, or keep the city safe from terrorism, fix the economy, get rid of the deficit, build more low-cost housing, improve education or find people jobs. Or all of the above." I'm looking for anybody but Bush," said Alan Kellner, sounding a note that has reverberated among primary voters across the country. (New York Times)

Kerry: I'd beat Bush on security

Democratic front-runner John Kerry, painted as soft on defense by the GOP, said yesterday America would be safer with him than it is under the Bush administration. "I am convinced that we can prove to the American people that we know how to make them safer and more secure," said the Massachusetts senator. Laying out his plans to fight terrorism, Kerry said he would beef up first-responders, intelligence and border security and repair international alliances. (Daily News)

Testing New Voting Machines

Super Tuesday will be a big test for new touchscreen voting machines. But computer experts are worried about security issues. (New York Times)

2/27/04

Meeting Local Needs in a Presidential Primary

Now that the New York presidential primary suddenly has become a pivotal moment in the contest for the Democratic nomination, New York politicians have an opportunity to play kingmaker, to lend their name and political prestige to a national candidate at a time when that can really make a difference. (New York Times)

2/26/04

Candidates Show Different Campaign Styles in NY: Edwards Races, Kerry Lopes

At a weekend event at Hofstra University on Long Island, Senator John Edwards literally had to be held back from bounding out onto the stage before a local legislator had finished making his introduction. When front-runner John Kerry campaigned here, by contrast, his events were relaxed Edwards. (New York Observer)

Local City Council Member Running Edwards Campaign

Not long ago, Bill de Blasio was one of the state's top Democratic operatives, managing Hillary Clinton's campaign for U.S. Senate. Now, he's the City Council member from Park Slope, a figure so local his name is printed on garbage cans. But he hasn't left the larger political world behind, and in his spare time he serves as the chairman of Senator John Edwards' New York campaign. It turns out he hasn't left behind his role as an operative, either: Mr. de Blasio moonlights as a $6,000-a-month political consultant to Senator Edwards. (New York Observer)

Edwards Hopes To Convert Dean Supporters in New York

There are two strands of voters that the North Carolina senator hopes to weave together into an upset victory in New York and elsewhere on Super Tuesday: Deaniacs looking for a new political home since their favorite withdrew and economically squeezed workers worried about disappearing jobs. (Newsday)

2/25/04

Kerry Leads Poll

Sen. John Kerry maintains a huge lead over Sen. John Edwards among New York Democrats a week before the March 2 primary, according to a statewide poll of likely voters. The Quinnipiac University poll found Kerry leading Edwards, 60 percent to 21 percent. (Newsday/Associated Press)

Edwards Seeks Union Voters

John Edward has identified union members as a key constituency in his effort to win the New York primary and other elections scheduled for next Tuesday, March 2. Unite, the textile workers union that has been the only labor union to endorse him, held a rally for Edwards in New York City on Monday. (New York Times)

Sharpton Offers to Help Haiti

Speaking at a news conference at the Haitian consulate in New York yesterday, the Reverend Al Sharpton offered to meet with Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and rebel leaders in an effort to help stem the violent unrest in the country. Sharpton said Haitian-Americans in New York, as well as in Florida, had asked for his help. (Newsday/Associated Press)

Schwarzenegger Says Kerry Will Lose

Democratic presidential contender John Kerry can be easily defeated, Arnold Schwarzenegger told New York Republicans at the New York County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner last night. "He's going down, big-time," Schwarzenegger said. Schwarzenegger helped his party raise $500,000. (Daily News)

2/24/04

Kerry Speaks to New York, Talks Back to Washington

It was a day of political pageantry in Harlem, hard-luck labor stories in Queens and fund-raisers on Park Avenue and Central Park West. But Mr. Kerry's two-borough tour was quickly eclipsed by his attacks on Mr. Bush's campaign, and the rapid-response counterattacks by the president's representatives, in what took on the crackle of a tense day in late October. (New York Times)

Kerry and Edwards Scrambling for Support in New York Vote

Mr. Kerry has courted, and won, the endorsements of many elected officials. He took to a ballroom in Harlem yesterday, introduced by Representative Charles B. Rangel, who had been Wesley's Clark's biggest New York booster, then headed out to Queens where the Democratic organization, which had endorsed Howard Dean , heralded him as the next president. (New York Times)

Dems Turn Their Sights on City

Democratic presidential rivals John Kerry and John Edwards campaigned in New York yesterday showcasing different styles: Kerry got tough on Republicans for suggesting he is weak on defense, while Edwards lent an empathetic ear to textile workers. (Newsday)

2/23/04

Up to One Million Protesters Expected At Republican National Convention

Though the Police Department and many protest organizers have been reluctant to predict how many people will ultimately turn out for protests, estimates have ranged from 500,000 people to a million.

Six months before any delegate is to take a seat at Madison Square Garden, it is clear that many groups are already planning strategy and activities. Labor unions, environmentalists, self-declared anarchists and others who merely label themselves as anti-Bush or anti-Republican are making plans to turn out. Barely a week passes without several planning sessions in New York, focusing on everything from housing and tactics to legal strategy and what to expect in interactions with the police. (New York Times)

2/21/04

Mayor Gently Criticizes Edwards For 9/11 Comment

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that Senator John Edwards was wrong when he suggested on Thursday that Republicans were holding their convention in New York to exploit the Sept. 11 tragedy, and that the city's economy was a shambles.

But Mayor Bloomberg, a Republican, also softened his earlier criticism of Senator Edwards, a Democratic presidential candidate from North Carolina, saying that his comments were "just political verbiage" and that he did not hold them against the senator. (New York Times)

New York's Confusing Primary Voting System

After the 2000 election, it became hard to find anyone who would say that voting in America was as straightforward as one man, one vote. And to many, the presidential primary season adds another layer of mystery to what it means to cast a ballot. (New York Times)