Politics | The New York Observer

Morning Read: A Well-Connected Lawsuit and Contentious St. Pat's Parade

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:53:13 -0500

Cuomo and Dicker: Looking at their relationship. [David King]

Violent Footage: From inside four state prisons. [Nick Confessore]

NY-26: Corwin says she never employed an undocumented worker. [Buffalo News]

Peter King's Hearing: Shouldn't focus on Islam, say the editors. [NYT]

Peter King's Hearing: "The government has no business examining any peaceful religious group because a handful of adherents have broken the law." [Richard Cohen]

Peter King's Hearing: Let parents of American Muslim soldiers testify. [Michael Daly]

Redistricting: Democrats move to...

Towns Talks Vito, Says District Leader Race 'A Difficult Task'

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:02:46 -0500

Brooklyn Congressman Ed Towns said today that the only thing that could keep him from winning his son's seat as district leader is a bloc of at-large committee members, who were appointed by county chair Vito Lopez last year.

"Well, it's a difficult task because of the fact that they have all these at-large members," said Towns, who didn't mention Lopez by name, in a brief interview in his district office. "It's not the members...

Congressional Delegation Gathers at City Hall to Brace for G.O.P. Budget Cuts

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:41:02 -0500

A number of members of the New York City Congressional delegation gathered at City Hall this afternoon to discuss with Mayor Bloomberg and members of his administration strategies to blunt some of the cuts being proposed by the Republican House of Representatives.

"These cuts are real and they are deep and they are going to hurt people," Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said. "It is a serious time for the city and we are talking about ways...

Roundup: Cuomo Staffs Up as Somebody Tweets for Sharpton

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:31:23 -0500

Military Trials: Underway again. [Bloomberg]

Gillibrand: Fighting for women. [WNYC]

Polls: Christie, warmer than Obama; cooler than Clinton. [Aaron Rutkoff]

Poll: Ron Paul warmer than Bloomberg. [Anna Sale]

Sentencing Hevesi: His replacement does not through him a lifeline. [Celeste Katz]

Same-Sex Marriage: Lady Gaga aims at a freshman GOP State Senator in Buffalo. [Liz B]

Peter King: Getting air-time ahead of his hearings. [Celeste Katz]

Redistricting: Democrats want to a public hearing on Cuomo's proposal. [Casey Seiler]

Redistricting: "Political theater" says GOP...

Michael Grimm Wants Muslim Hearings Expanded, Too

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:06:17 -0500

Earlier today we reported about how Congressional Democrats from New York City disapproved of Peter King's hearings on Muslim radicalization. Since King is a Republican, and the White House is similarly concerned about the hearings, it was not too much of a surprise that local Dems wouldn't back their longtime colleague.

But now it appears that even local G.O.Pers have concerns.

Staten Island and Brooklyn Rep. Michael Grimm's office just sent over the following statement saying...

Governor Tough Guy

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:17:29 -0500

"You think I'm a softie…You think I'm a softie?"

--Governor Andrew Cuomo when questioned about how vociferously he'll push for his ambitious agenda. [via Celste...

NY Congressional Delegation Concerned About King's Radicalization Hearings

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:13:03 -0500

Members of the New York City Congressional delegation were at City Hall today and several of them expressed concern to The Observer about Rep. Peter King's upcoming hearings on Muslim radicalization.

"I don't where that is all coming from and I am not supportive of polarizing any community within our country," said Rep. Joe Crowley of Queens. "I think it's unfortunately been divisive and I would prefer that our government not be engaged in these kinds...

Russell Simmons Praises Bloomberg's Absence from Peter King Protest

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:40:07 -0500

A few hundred people rallied against Congressman Peter King's upcoming Muslim radicalization hearings in Times Square yesterday, cheering a litany of interfaith speakers and carrying signs that said: "Today I am a Muslim too."

One person who wasn't in attendance: Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg has been a strong voice for tolerance of the Muslim-American community--most notably in his speech defending the so-called Ground Zero mosque--but yesterday, instead of attending the rally, he was marching in a...

Weiner's Campaign Tweets Again

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:32:31 -0500

Not as funny as the guy who took Rahm Emanuel's Twitter handle, but the person behind Anthony Weiner's campaign Twitter is dusting it off for the first time since 2009.

Weiner's official Twitter-musings are here.

[h/t Reid...

New York Times: Bloomberg's Plan Is 'Almost Unintelligibly Complex'

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:16:13 -0500

The New York Times editorial this morning has some harsh words for Mayor Bloomberg's plan to change teacher seniority rules, calling it "almost unintelligibly complex." Evidence of that is in their news pages, where a seemingly hard-working teacher is, based on the evaluation system, going to be shoved out the door.

But the paper does outline what they'd like to see in a final piece of legislation:

The Legislature must make sure that the scoring system...

Bloomberg and the Subjective Evaluation of Teachers

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:42:28 -0500

As he plans to lay off thousands of public school teachers, Mayor Bloomberg says he wants officials to decide which educators to keep and which to get rid of based on a new, "merit-based" evaluation system, not, as the current law mandates, based on seniority.

But in an interview this weekend, Bloomberg described the new evaluation system as akin to what workers in the private sector face, which the mayor described as "subjective."

The Interview:

HOST: How...

Quinn: Some NYC Parades More Discriminatory Against LGBT Than U.S. Military

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:32:22 -0500

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn says she won’t march in Staten Island’s St. Patrick’s Day parade anymore because, for the first time, they barred participation from LGBT parade-goers.

Quinn, who is Irish and openly gay, made the announcement Sunday surrounded by NYC Comptroller John Liu, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Stringer and others, before the start of the all-inclusive St. Patrick's Parade in Sunnyside, Queens.

Referring to the other parade on Staten Island...

Morning Read: Bloomberg Marches in Parades, Peter King Targeted

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:52:36 -0500

Parade Politics: "[P]arade organizers and police swarmed the group...when it started marching wearing rainbow pins." [Daily News]

Parade Reception: Cat calls, explicates, rude hand gestures. [NYT]

Parade Protection: On Staten Island, "[Bloomberg] marched with popular Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and the beloved PS 22 Chorus of Graniteville." [SI Advance]

LIFO: "[T]ossing of the seniority system is absurd on its face." [Fred LeBrun]

LIFO: Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein and others urge Cuomo to fix his legislation. [NYP]

LIFO: Start reforms...

Weiner Sells Israel to Progressives: Not An Occupier, Settlements Not in Palestinian Territory

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:03:32 -0500

Anthony Weiner is trying hard to make Israel palatable to progressives.

The outspoken congressman has long been one of that country's most ardent defenders in Congress. He has steadfastly pleaded its case through a series of damaging p.r. incidents--most recently, last year's deadly incident aboard the Mavi Marmara flotilla--and has frequently criticized President Obama for not being a staunch enough supporter of Israel's interests.

But, for a man who has carefully cultivated an image...

Roundup: Schumer's Candidate, Bellavia's Party

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:57:13 -0500

Bill Keller: "If you’re a regular viewer of Fox News, you’re one of the most cynical people on planet Earth." [FishbowlNY]

Recruiting Candidates: Schumer and Reid tried luring Ken Jennings into politics. [Daily Intel]

Rallying Islam: Before Rep. King's hearing, a rally Sunday in Times Square. [WNYC]

2012: Natalie Portman is Huckabee's Murphy Brown. [TheCaucus]

Senior Centers: List of those slated to close. [Wonkster]

NY-26: Bellavia switches enrollment. [Capital Tonight]

Pedro Espada: Trail on September 12. [Capital Tonight]

Bloomberg: More on...