Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Citizens Union

Recent blog posts

Posted by on

The State Legislature seems to be a in rush to get out of town. 

Assembly Speaker Sheldon SIlver has cancelled today's scheduled session. "Why?" you ask. Well, for ethics training of course! 

Sort of. The Assembly has been scheduled to undergo ethics training today for sometime but the session was going to go on later in the day.

However, it was decided the ethics training could run late. 

Meanwhile, the Senate has called off session for Monday and Tuesday citing the Jewish Holiday Pesach Sheni. 

...
More about:

Posted by on

The names of elected officials secretly recorded by disgraced ex-State Sen. Shirley Huntley will be revealed this afternoon, thanks to a judge's ruling. Nine were recorded and eight are under investigation. Six of those being investigated are politicians, including Sen. John Sampson, who was arrested earlier this week. One of the charges Sampson faces is embezzling $440,000 from sales of foreclosed properties, and this has revealed a flaw in the way foreclosed homes are being handled. State officials are now looking at how the problem could be addressed. Sampson had tried to plant a mole in the Brooklyn DA's office to find out if he was under investigation, but that mole turned out to be an informant. His arrest may further dampen Democrats' chances at controlling the chamber.

Other Stories We're Following

Kimani Gray's Parents To File Suit Against City (Daily News)

Report Sees Widespread Mold After Sandy (The Brooklyn Bureau)

NYC Set To Pass Sick Days Plan (Associated Press)

...
More about:

Posted by on

A judge has ruled that the names of eight people who spoke on wiretaps with former state Sen. Shirley Huntley can be made public tomorrow. 

Huntley, who pleaded guilty to funnelling tens of thousands of dollars in public money to a bogus charity that she operated, wore a wire for federal prosecutors for several months last year. 

What makes Huntley's case so interesting is that prosecutors are arguing that the names should not be released because doing so could compromise ongoing investigations. Six of the eight people Huntley spoke to while wearing a wire are elected officials.

Judge Jack Weinstein wrote in his ruling that he isn't worried that revealing these names will ruin any cases. 

"Every legislator who has conversed with this defendant will necessarily assume that he or she wasrecorded under the supervision of the FBI," he wrote. "There will be no surprises to the potentially accused by the revelations of their names. Interference with ongoing investigations will be of almost no significance."

...
More about:

Posted by on

Senate Republicans held a hearing today on the New York City public campaign finance system in what seemed as an attempt to beat back the push by a number of advocacy groups and legislators for the state to adopt a similar system. Things probably didn't work out as Republicans had intended.

Testimony was by invite=only and a number of good government groups protested their exclusion.

Outside the small hearing room, six Senate sergeants-at-arms guarded the doorway. The public was told there was no room for them and were barred entry.  

"Let us in!" protesters shouted, the words thundering through the room from outside each time someone entered, causing consternation among speakers and legislators. Protesters discovered that the windows were open to the room and started their chant quietly outside the window. Some threw money and asked, "How much do you want to let us in? What does it cost?" Sergeants-at-arms were called in to drive away the protesters. They shut the window and eventually State Troopers responded. 

The push for campaign finance reform has come as a slew of Demcoratic legislators have been arrested by federal authorities on corruption charges. But Senate Republicans continue to be the main benefactors of large corporate donations that are currently allowed in loopholes under current law. 

...
More about:

Posted by on

As Democratic mayoral candidates continue to court political leaders in the outer boroughs, former Comptroller Bill Thompson today secured an endorsement from one of the Bronx's most powerful Latino leaders.

Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. stood in front of City Hall alongside Thompson, touting the former comptroller's commitment to the Bronx and his track record with the community.

Díaz said Thompson has shown that when worked on "broader issues" that "there's been equity."

"There's a certain commitment," he said. "There's a heart that he has that says, 'I want to do for all New Yorkers.'"

Diaz said that he had been in talks with other Democratic candidates who vied for his endorsement, namely Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

...
More about: