Politics | The New York Observer

Mirrors

Mike Bloomberg Does Not Have A Self-Esteem Problem

By David Freedlander | February 3, 2011 | 1:22 pm

Mike Bloomberg was asked today what he thought about this week's New Yorker cover, which showed the Mayor as his own Valentine date, gazing at himself in the mirror while he nibbled on chocolates. Surely such a depiction would offend our cranky mayor, no? "I thought it was great,"Bloomberg said. "The only ones [spokesman] Jason Post could come up with who also had their pictures on the cover were President Obama and the Pope, and if I am in that company, boy, I guess I should have a very big smile on my face. I thought it was cute looking in the... MORE»

Big Boxing

Ulrich Unbothered By Walmart's Absence at Hearing [Video]

By David Freedlander | February 3, 2011 | 11:17 am

Councilmember Eric Ulrich made a lively appearance on Good Day New York this morning, and the Queens Republican said he understood why Walmart was boycotting today's City Council hearing. "I don't blame them," he said during a debate with Steve Barrison of the Small Business Congress. "I wouldn't show up either. It's going to be an anti-Walmart... MORE»

There goes the last of Times Square's grit.

Greensward

Snuffed Out: Butts Banned from Parks for Good

By Matt Chaban | February 3, 2011 | 9:39 am

New Yorkers can breathe a little easier, unless they're smokers, in which case their pulses must be racing: By the spring, when prime park season returns, it will be illegal to light up on the city's greens, following the passage of another smoking ban by the City Council... MORE»

Post-game

Donovan Takes Wait-and-See Approach on Schneiderman

By David Freedlander | February 3, 2011 | 8:49 am

Dan Donovan made his first appearance at City Hall yesterday since losing the attorney general's race to Eric Schneiderman, and he declined to weigh in on how his one-time opponent is faring in his new... MORE»

Morning Read: The Year of the Anniversary

By David Freedlander | February 3, 2011 | 8:11 am

Mayor Bloomberg proposed sweeping new pension rules that would require most new municipal workers to work at least 10 years, or double the current amount, to qualify for a pension, and bar them from receiving pension checks until age 65. Was Andrew Cuomo's budget the first move of his 2016 presidential... MORE»

Elsewhere: Kristallnacht, Bloomberg vs. Brewer and Booing You Back

By David Freedlander | February 2, 2011 | 6:38 pm

Leroy Comrie compared today's City Council vote on banning smoking at parks and beaches to the Holocaust. Then he joined the majority of his colleagues in passing the measure. George Pataki is leaving his RevereAmerica... MORE»

Explained Absences

Quinn Chides Walmart for Ducking Council Hearings

By David Freedlander | February 2, 2011 | 6:19 pm

Walmart seems to have a long way to go to convince Council Speaker Christine Quinn that they belong in the five boroughs. Asked at today's pre-stated Council press conference about what we can expect at tomorrow's hearing on the mega-retailer's bid to move to East New York, Quinn said, "Not... MORE»

Slideshow

From Pleased to Peeved, the Response to Cuomo's Budget Plan

By Jeremy B. White | February 2, 2011 | 4:32 pm

As soon as Andrew Cuomo released the particulars of his budget plan -- and in some cases beforehand -- the responses began pouring in. A budget whose basic principal is curtailing government spending without raising taxes was guaranteed to generate some strong reactions, and that it did. State workers -- particularly union chiefs, educators and health care workers -- sharply questioned how the state will continue to function with seemingly draconian cuts ahead. Groups facing smaller reductions were supportive, and the business community emerged as an ally.... MORE»

Shoot

Journalists Despair: Bloomberg Won't Have 'Public Fight' With Cuomo

By David Freedlander | February 2, 2011 | 4:01 pm

Just as the dispute between Andrew Cuomo and Mike Bloomberg seemed to be heating up, the New York City mayor threw cold water on the cover artists, headline writers, and reporters everywhere, who were hoping for an all-out budget... MORE»

Something to Say

Andrew Cuomo Has a Message [VIDEO]

By David Freedlander | February 2, 2011 | 3:01 pm

Andrew Cuomo took to YouTube this afternoon for a special "video message to the people." The gist? He will not buckle before the special... MORE»

Snow Fallout

Bloomberg: All City Employees Are 'Essential,' So Should Have Dragged Themselves to Work

By David Freedlander | February 2, 2011 | 1:20 pm

Yesterday we reported that city workers who were told to stay home during the city's snow day on January 27 had found out that they were being docked for their failure to come in. Today, the mayor said that after telling all non-essential employees not to come in that morning, the city reversed course when the streets cleared up, and all workers should have reported to get to work. And those who missed the revised memo?... MORE»

Being Heard

On Cusp of Council Hearing, Walmart Pushes Back—UPDATE

By David Freedlander | February 2, 2011 | 12:09 pm

The City Council is slated to take up for the first time the issue of Walmart in New York City tomorrow, and backers of the superstore are beginning to push back on opponents' notion that the city retailer will kill jobs. Walmart representatives sent the following letter--copied below--to The Politicker, which they have distributed to City Council members. In it, Walmart explains their reason for declining to appear at tomorrow's... MORE»

Causes

Bloomberg: Obama Should 'Stand Up' on Gun Control [VIDEO]

By David Freedlander | February 2, 2011 | 9:55 am

Mike Bloomberg appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" last night to talk up his administration's investigation into a Phoenix gun show and to urge President Barack Obama to crack down on illegal guns. "The president should stand up and I will keep urging him to say so," he said. "We've got to stop all this... MORE»

Morning Read: 'The Budget Treats New York City Inequitably'

By Jeremy B. White | February 2, 2011 | 9:40 am

Michael Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed that Cuomo's budget proposal is unfair to New York City. Cuomo's office responded to Bloomberg's... MORE»

Planes Trains & Automobiles

MTA Feels the 'Pain' of $100 M. Budget Cut, But It's Just a Flesh Wound

By Matt Chaban | February 1, 2011 | 7:41 pm

Governor Andrew Cuomo released the new state budget today, and as expected, it was not pretty. There were cuts across the board, but one grouop who faced an atrocious 2010 escaped relatively unscathed. That would be... MORE»

Koch Calls on Heroes to Back Redistricting Bill

LGBT Lawmakers Raise for Quinn

Hayworth, Buerkle Respond to DCCC Targeting