City Hall - February 11, 2008

Tom Suozzi on what is next for the property tax commission and his own political future.

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VOL. 1, NO. 2

Up and Coming:

Richard Brodsky goes

Capital Region Spotlighting five elected officials to watch.

Back & Forth on congestion pricing and staying in the Legislature.

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INSIDE:

Democrats Fret Over Green’s Delay of Game No back-ups in Syracuse if former footballer skips race

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Checks and The DiNapoli Balances Three, One

Judges charge that Year Later pay raise delay is Latimer, Magnarelli forcing them off and DelMonte reflect state bench on the Spitzer attacks

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Manhattan Media 79 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor New York, NY 10016

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FEBRUARY 2008

FIRST-CLASS MAIL PRESORTED U.S. POSTAGE PAID BELLMAWR, NJ PERMIT NO.1239

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Roundtable Discussion Looks to Take Mystery Out of Article X X, THE STATE’S POWER plant siting law, expired more than five years ago. But according to those who participated in a roundtable discussion on New York’s energy future Jan. 30, there is new power in the effort to get a new law passed.

This could happen by the end of the current legislative session, said Arthur “Jerry” Kremer.

Kremer, a former member of the Assembly and chair of New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (AREA), favors a siting law that would be “fuel neutral,” with no extra restrictions placed on one kind of plant versus another.

With Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) calling for a different approach to energy policy in his State of the State address, and enough pressure coming from both business interests and consumers upset by the high price of electricity, Kremer expressed confidence that such a law will pass.

“There’s sort of an awakening going on that you can’t say that you want more power and then say it’s only restricted to that one type of power and nothing else, because it just won’t happen,” he said.

The event was sponsored by New York AREA, the Independent Power Producers of New York, the Energy Association of New York State, the Business Council of New York State, Inc. and The Capitol as a forum for discussion about the status of energy policy in New York.

Energy advocates have long been pushing for a renewed Article X, which would allow the construction of new power plants in the state. No new plants have been built in the state—with the exception of projects which were already underway—since the law expired at the end of 2002. Without new plants to augment the energy supply as demand continues to increase, advocates of renewing Article X say costs will steadily rise.

The efforts to pass a new Article X have been stalled by concerns about the placement of power plants and a larger political debate about the future of New York’s approach to energy, with specific fears about the safety of nuclear plants a major factor in public opinion.

But to retain existing businesses and attract new ones, said Heather Bricetti, vice president of government affairs for the Business Council of New York State, the state must act quickly. Otherwise, she and others indicated, those businesses are likely to relocate in neighboring states where the energy policy is set.

“Businesses need to plan,” she said.

“They can’t plan day-to-day. They have to plan four years out, five years out. And if we want to attract new businesses into the state, we need to have an energy market that is viable so that the businesses can get the energy they need at a price that is reasonable.”

Gavin Donohue, president & CEO of the

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Jerry Kremer led a roundtable discussion on New York’s energy future Jan. 30.

Independent Power Producers of New York, noted that the state was also suffering from not having money come directly from new power plants and the jobs they would provide. He said he regularly gets calls from power companies interested in building power plants in New York that ultimately turn elsewhere to avoid getting entangled in the uncertain process of getting new plants approved in New York. That, he insisted, means New York is missing out on the economic benefits of plants while still paying an environmental cost when the plants instead go to nearby states.

“We are sending incentives to tell people ‘go invest in Pennsylvania; go invest in Massachusetts; we don’t want your taxes; we don’t want your jobs,’ but New York will also succumb to your pollution because of how the trade winds work,” Donohue said.

He said fuel neutrality in a new Article X is critical, and encouraged the state to look equally on clean coal and nuclear plants and those that rely on solar, wind power, and fossil fuels. Safety and emissions thresholds should be the determining factors, he said, and nothing else.

But while Patrick Curran, executive director of the Energy Association of New York State, joined the chorus of voices in support of renewing Article X, he also encouraged focus on what he called the “overlooked stepchild of the restructuring era”--infrastructure. He encouraged a renewed effort to get new infrastructure built.

“If we have all that power but the system that gets the power from the plant to the outlet is stressed and hasn’t been built and hasn’t been maintained and hasn’t been supported, the lights still aren’t going on,” he said. “And that’s an issue that by far we’re paying even less attention to than we are to Article X.”

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Democrats Fret Over Green’s Delay of Game

FEB RUARY 2008

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Democrats are hoping Tim Green will make up his mind to come off the bench and take on Sen. John DeFrancisco.

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

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F DECIDING WHETHER TO RUN FOR

New York State Senate were like football, Tim Green, a former defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons, would be at fourth-and-goal. But the clock is ticking, and Green may be running out of time.

Green, now a Syracuse-based attorney, television commentator and novelist, is said to be considering a run against incumbent State Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-Onondaga).

But Green has been mulling the decision for over six months now. And with the November elections fast approaching, Democratic recruiters are getting antsy.

“It’s getting pretty close, but we still have time,” said Sen. Jeff Klein (DBronx/Westchester), who heads the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee’s fundraising arm. “Anyone who wants to run, we’re asking them to raise some money and raise their profiles in their respective districts.”

With the Republican majority in the Senate hanging in the balance and only a handful of seats up for grabs, Democratic strategists are weighing their best chances at unseating incumbent Republicans. For many in the party, Green, a Republican-turned-Democrat with the star power of a professional athlete, could be the right man to oust DeFrancisco.

While Klein would not comment on whether Green plans to enter the race, he did say Green’s profile in and around the Syracuse area would be an obvious advantage.

The race will be highly competitive, Klein said, “if he is the candidate.”

Klein offered no names of other potential Democrats in the district.

Green has had discussions with Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) and Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), and is very close to making a decision, said a political strategist from the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee who asked not to be named because talks are

still ongoing.

“He’s not 100 percent there yet,” the strategist said, indicating the campaign committee’s interest in getting a candidate set. He confirmed that there are no other candidates being considered.

“We would prefer a decision sooner than later,” the strategist added.

Diane Dwire, chair of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee, said her group would begin looking at potential candidates sometime after the first of March.

She would not discuss whether Green was on the list, or her group’s view on the former defensive end.

Green, a graduate of Syracuse University, played seven seasons with the Falcons from 1986 to 1993. After graduating from Syracuse Law School in 1994, he took a job at Hiscock & Barclay, LLP. That work, along with his sports and children’s writing, helped earn him the title of the “renaissance man of sports” by both Sports Illustrated and the Los Angeles Times.

A secretary at Green’s law office said the potential candidate was declining comment on the race, and that she had amassed a list of reporters to call back when he made a decision.

Although the incumbent advantage is

SCOTT WILLIAMS

No back-ups in Syracuse if former footballer skips race

Giuliani’s presence on the ballot to stimulate the party’s base, may now find staving off a Democratic coup more difficult.

In any case, though, DeFrancisco is unlikely to be an easy target. An eightterm incumbent, he is well-liked in the district and the chair of the Judiciary Committee in Albany. Party enrollment is in his favor as well, with Republicans edging out Democrats in the district by 10,000 registered voters.

Plus, as of the January campaign finance filing deadline, DeFrancisco has raised over $260,000 in donations. Green, by contrast, is not registered with the State Board of Elections and has not raised any money.

“DeFrancisco is some ways in very good shape,” said Jeffrey Stonecash, a political science professor at Syracuse

The race will be highly competitive, said State Sen. Jeff Klein, “if he is the candidate.” powerful in New York, the state has been trending Democratic. Rudolph Giuliani’s (R) exit from the presidential race have some speculating that Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R), who was banking on

University, noting the senator’s efforts spearheading a plan to stimulate upstate tourism and against unpopular development projects.

With Green in the race, though, Stonecash said the dynamics could change very quickly.

“But Tim Green’s got charisma, he’s well known, he could get some money,” he added. “I’ve been doing polls for 27 years and I’ve seen lots of cases where you thought someone was secure, and then wham!”

Democrats are hoping he is right, and that Green will come off the bench to give their team a shot at winning.

“He’s got a great résumé and he’s good looking,” said the Democratic campaign insider. “If you have someone like Tim Green in the race, I can see that as winnable.” ahawkins@nycapitolnews.com

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FEBR UARY 2008

ISSUE FORUM:

ENERGY

Building on Our Success

BY PAUL TONKO NEW YORK STATE ENERGY Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is at the forefront of New York’s efforts to solve our shared energy and environmental challenges. Our nation is dangerously dependent on fossil fuels and foreign sources of energy, experiencing skyrocketing energy costs, and confronted with an aging energy infrastructure and growing demand. Harmful emissions are damaging the environment and causing climate change. The good news is that New York already has the infrastructure in place with which to address these issues.

Indeed, NYSERDA is nationally recognized for its experience, expertise, and ability to address these energy and environmental challenges. Our program activities range from research and development—which feeds both conservation and supply solutions—to deployment, from energy efficiency to renewable sources of energy, from low income assistance to education initiatives, and from market transformation to environmental preservation efforts. Now we must build upon the success of these programs.

As we move forward, it is important to recognize that there is no single solution.

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Rather, we must both invest in energy efficiency and develop renewable sources of energy to achieve a sound, sustainable outcome.

Gov. Spitzer has aggressively responded with his 15 by 15 plan, which calls for New York to reduce statewide electricity use by 15 percent by the year 2015.

Simultaneously, this plan will reduce energy costs, spur economic opportunity, curb pollution, and address global climate change. NYSERDA views the 15 by 15 initiative as the cornerstone of New York’s energy and environmental policies.

To that end, NYSERDA offers a portfolio of cost effective and proven programs that promotes energy efficiency and conservation, including alternative fuel vehicles, green buildings, energy efficient appliances, residential and commercial building improvements, clean energy technology development, and more.

Under NYSERDA’s New York Energy $mart SM Program, the level of annual energy bill savings has grown to $480 million. The level of annual greenhouse gas reduction has grown to about 2 million tons, which is equivalent to removing about 400,000 cars from New York roadways. And for every dollar New Yorkers invest through this program, $2 in energy costs are avoided.

Coupled with energy efficiency, a variety of energy sources are needed to ensure a sustainable energy future. The Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program is a critical component to our efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and develop green energy sources.

The goal of the RPS is to increase the proportion of renewable electricity used

by New York consumers to at least 25 percent by 2013. As the administrator, NYSERDA supports and provides financial incentives for the production and use of innovative energy resources, such as hydropower, wind, biomass, solar, hydrogen and other emerging technologies.

Further, Lt. Gov. David Paterson’s

Renewable Energy Task Force, in which NYSERDA is heavily participating, is formulating a strategy to increase renewable sources, potentially beyond RPS goals.

New York State is a member state in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which has as its goal the reduction of greenhouse gases. In this effort, NYSERDA contributes its expertise and is taking the lead in developing the carbon auction system. An important facet of the RGGI is the ability to trade and sell carbon offsets, which would secure additional revenues that can be invested in programs to further reduce harmful emissions.

In addition to significant energy and environmental benefits, these initiatives present vast economic opportunities. A clean energy economy, enjoined by the intellectual economy and supported by a Green Collar workforce, represents a sector ripe for sustainable economic growth.

Fossil fuels will most certainly remain part of our energy mix for some time to come. However, we must be efficient in its use, even as we grow the balance of renewable energy sources. Only then can we achieve a sustainable energy future.

Paul Tonko is the president and CEO of NYSERDA.

MOMS DEPEND ON OUR POSITIVE ENERGY Can a devoted Mom feel positive about nuclear energy?

Yes. Because there’s a lot of positive energy at the Indian Point Energy Center.

Want your children to inherit a cleaner planet? Indian Point produces none of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The National Academy of Sciences, an independent assessment group of scientific experts, said that without Indian Point, high carbon fossil fuel replacement plants would dump millions of tons of pollutants into New York’s air. Thanks to Indian Point, you, and your children, can breathe easier.

Kids (and Moms) thrive on our positive energy. For more of it, visit our website at www.rightfornewyork.com

Indian Point Energy Center

WE’RE RIGHT FOR NEW YORK

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FEBR UARY 2008

The Power of Competition

ISSUE FORUM: ENERGY

Learn Energy Independence

by Greening New York Schools

BY REP. STEVE ISRAEL HREE DECADES AGO, OUR NATION

New York's competitive ener gy markets have allowed independent power producers to become a driving force in our state's economy.

In addition to supplying nearly 75% of New York State's electricity, electric generators: - Have invested more than $6 billion in their plants since 1999 - Employ over 10,000 people - Pay more then $300,000,000 annually in taxes Competition in New York has also fostered the development of 350 megawatts of wind powered resources and proposals for another 50 projects totaling over 6,000 megawatts -- roughly the same output as eight lar ge power plants. Today, due to the emer gence of over 1,800 megawatts of demand r esponse resources, New Yorkers now have the ability to exer t some control over their ener gy blls, help keep the lights on during contingencies, r educe envir onmental impacts, and slow down the need for additional power plants.

“New York's competitive markets have given electric generators the power to become leaders in our industr y. We stand ready to power New York's economy into the future.”

— Gavin Donohue, IPPNY President/CEO

www.ippny.org • 518-436-3749

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recognized that we were in the midst of an energy crisis. Our initial response was lackluster, and it hasn’t improved much since. In Hollywood terms, our response is parallel to remaking Planet of the Apes—and the remake wasn’t good the first time.

It’s been the same script, same scenery and same plot since we vowed to break our dependence on fossil fuels—we’ve just had different actors.

But the plot has finally twisted with the passage of landmark energy legislation that will make America more energy independent, cut energy costs and grow our economy through the creation of hundreds and thousands of new “green” jobs.

Now that we’ve made a national commitment to changing the “players” by creating the next generation of green thinkers, New York should lead the way in transforming the “set” where these players are educated by making a statewide commitment to the greening of our schools.

I recently read a book called “Smart Kids, Smart Schools” by Edward Fiske.

Fiske explains that because of the rapid industrialization of the late 1800s, schools were actually modeled after factories— ideologically and structurally. These educational factories were complete with teachers as factory workers, children as raw material and the bell sounding for a change or break in the everyday assembly line of basic skills and knowledge. The emphasis was on standardization, uniformity and efficiency, because public schools were the first line of defense against rebellion and anarchy.

When our school buildings were constructed, we did not anticipate that we’d one day be struggling with a dependence on foreign oil that is a threat to our economy, our national security and our future.

The energy bills for schools in my district and around the state have skyrocketed over the past few years. This is unacceptable. The legacy of our factory schools has left us with an aging infrastructure that is quite literally blowing our tax dollars out its windows.

Updating or replacing school structures can reduce energy use and save taxpayer money. Schools around the state can go green by assessing their potential to generate on-site renewable energy using technologies like solar, wind, geothermal and biomass, entering into green energy contracts to purchase renewable energy offsite and retrofitting buildings using the most efficient technologies.

According to the Green Building Council, green schools on average use 33 percent less energy, save 32 percent more water and reduce solid waste by 74 percent when compared to traditional school buildings. These energy savings extend to school budgets, with the typical green school saving an average of $100,000 per year on energy costs or $4.2 million over the life of the school.

New York is already taking the lead in encouraging schools to go green. Last year, the State Education Department and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced new guidelines to encourage the use of energy efficient design and technology when building and renovating schools. These voluntary guidelines, known as the “Collaborative for High Performance Schools,” will help schools develop and maintain learning environments that contribute to improved academic achievement while reducing operating costs and protecting and conserving our natural resources.

After these standards were announced, Governor Spitzer and I joined NYSERDA and the Long Island Power Authority to host the first “Green School Summit” for New York. At the summit, held at SUNY Farmingdale, we shared best practices so that area superintendents, principals, school board officials and managers of school buildings, grounds and fleets could learn how to reduce their energy consumption and employ advanced energy technology and building improvements.

But these improvements are expensive, and schools can’t be expected to make them on their own. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation in Congress that would provide matching funds to schools when they make investments to reduce their dependence on oil, whether that means energy-efficient lighting or solar panels for their roofs. My legislation provides federal matching funds—up to 50 percent of a project’s total cost—to school districts implementing state guidelines through investment in energy efficiency upgrades and technology.

By incentivizing schools to retrofit with energy-efficient technologies and renewable resources, we can save tax dollars, create new energy markets and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

And New York schools can take the leading role.

Steve Israel is a Democrat representing parts of Suffolk County in Congress.

He leads the Next Generation Energy Security Task Force.

“Our New York ENERGY STAR labeled home saves us money every month on our energy bills. And it’s so com mfortable, no matter how hot or cold it gets. There are no drafts.”

–The Harrison Family, Mechanicville, NY

Today, more builders and developers are discovering the advantages of building homes and multifamily buildings that use LESS ENERGY and provide greater comfort and greater durability. What you build today will save your customers on energy for years to come. Plus, there are FINANCIAL INCENTIVES and MARKETING SUPPORT for constructing a building, whether single or multifamily, that meets the New York ENERGY STAR standards.

To learn more, call

1-877-NY-SMART or log onto www.GetEnergySmart.org

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ISSUE FORUM: ENERGY

Our Renewable Energy Future: We Are in This Together

BY STATE SEN. KEVIN PARKER

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S WE LOOK AT OUR CURRENT

environmental conditions, we know that there are some truths that cannot be denied. The big truths are: up to two-thirds of potential energy is lost when traditional energy systems extract oil, coal and gas from the earth, and transport them over long distances for refining and delivery to consumers. However, renewable energy can be produced right where it is used, so almost nothing is wasted. Our supplies of oil, coal and uranium are diminishing and becoming increasingly more expensive.

Also, the extracting and processing of fossil fuels wastes water, a critically valuable resource. The world’s growing demand for energy and water, and the limited supplies of these resources, causes conflict and war. Currently, accessible renewable resources can deliver six times more energy than all the people on this planet use every day.

And renewable-energy fuels are free.

The sun and wind do not increase their price, and technology will become cheaper as the market grows.

Rising fossil-fuel prices slow economic growth and benefit only the countries and industries that produce and supply energy. Renewable energy provides stable fuel prices while creating a large number of high-skilled jobs in many sectors. Producing electricity from fossil fuels releases climate-heating CO2 waste—either into the atmosphere or into the ground for storage.

Most renewable-energy fuels produce no emissions. The sooner we switch, the sooner we can stabilize our climate and prevent catastrophe.

Another argument to consider is that for 100 years, the fossil-fuel industry has been heavily subsidized by governments around the world. To continue this financial support means wasting tax money on doomed technology.

Governments should support future technology that has the capacity to solve energy problems with clean, affordable energy for everyone. The centralized control of energy by a few leaves us all vulnerable to accidents and political power plays. More than two billion people still have no electricity at all. Renewable-energy technology produces energy in diverse, small-scale ways, allowing energy independence for everyone, everywhere.

The individual truth is that the earth’s peril is an illumination for all of us. This moment is the opportunity for us to share in the responsibility of a changed future. The least we can do,

the very least, is our own part in transforming the world into a new kind of place for our children. We’re all in this together now. When you save water, you’re saving the rivers and oceans.

When you turn down the heat in winter, you’re turning down the heat on the planet. When you take the cleanfuel bus, you’re doing your part to let all children breathe easier. Recovery of the stuff you recycle becomes the new resource for industries and jobs.

Everything matters now.

In the here and now, global transition to clean, green energy will mean much less CO2 in the atmosphere, reduced climate chaos, reduced pollution of our air, water and land, greater energy security for communities and nations, fewer conflicts and wars over energy resources, affordable energy for everyone, skilled jobs in cities and rural areas, and sustainable economies with stable fuel prices. And in the here and now, local transition to energy conservation means cleaner air, drinking water, and food, for the earth’s ecosystem is much the same as the human ecosystem. From the smallest thing to the largest, we are at the moment of opportunity. Leave the smallest footprint you can. Together we can save the earth. But we must think fast and act now.

Kevin Parker is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn in the State Senate. He is the ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee.

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FEB RUARY 2008

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ISSUE FORUM: ENERGY

With EEPS, a Careful and Collaborative Approach to Energy is Coming

BY ASSEMBLY MEMBER ANDREW HEVESI YORK STATE’S STRATEGIC energy policy is about to be changed for decades to come. The New York State Public Service Commission and other expert parties are in the process of deliberating and creating New York State’s Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS). As a member of the New York State Assembly’s Committee on Energy, I support their efforts and encourage all interested parties to join together and help make New York a national and global leader in energy efficiency.

In the last 10 years, after decades of debate, the scientific community has accepted the merits of global warming and climate change and its link to human activity. It has become clear that calculated efforts to achieve reductions in carbon emissions and decrease energy demand are imperative for the sustainability of future generations. As a result, policy makers in New York State are reacting to this emerging consensus by seeking to reduce the demand for energy in our city and state.

While the impetus for change is a positive and welcome development, we are now faced with the uncertain prospect of individual entities making isolated decisions about ways to reduce energy demand.

These decisions have the potential to impede our overall progress and run the risk of duplicative efforts, inefficient programs and unnecessary costs to our constituents. Recently, for example, Con Edison has asked the Public Service Commission to raise the rates in its service area to pay for demand side management (DSM) programs intended to reduce per capita consumption among its customers.

Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a variety of demand reduction initiatives in New York City. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is employing a variety of nationally renowned DSM programs, while numerous other entities around the state, including the New York Power Authority and other utilities, have their own programs.

As policy makers, it is crucial that we demand that all involved parties in New York resist the temptation to make judgments in a vacuum. On behalf of all of the residents and ratepayers we represent, we must encourage participation in a deliberate and collaborative effort. The EEPS, now being created by the Public Service Commission, represents exactly that type of careful and collaborative approach.

The effort to create EEPS resulted from the April 19, 2007 announcement by the governor that New York State would pursue the aggressive goal of decreasing energy consumption by 15 percent from forecast levels by 2015. This “15 x 15” initiative sets the most challenging target in the nation and places New York where it should be, as a national and global leader in the effort to reduce energy consumption.

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Currently, four working groups of the most knowledgeable and expert talent that the state of New York has on energy efficiency issues are working to create a structure to achieve the goals set forth in 15 x 15. They are charged with recommending the types of pro-

grams that are appropriate for New York’s vastly different communities, the proper administration of those programs by various entities, the measurement and verification of program goals and achievements, the use of appropriate incentives and the impact individual programs will have on our overall goal.

I encourage our elected officials, leaders in the energy field and other interested parties to not only participate in this

process but also to help ensure the uniform adoption of the completed EEPS. Working together through this process will be the only way to guarantee that the energy demand reduction goals we have set for our future come to fruition.

Andrew Hevesi is a Democrat representing parts of Queens in the Assembly. He is a member of the Renewable Energy Subcommittee.

We Cut Our Carbon Footprint by 13,000 Tons

a member of the CERES coalition of companies

In 2006, National Grid’s Investment Recovery operation recycled almost twenty million pounds of metal, paper, plastics and other materials. The EPA calculates that’s equivalent to reducing our carbon footprint by almost thirteen thousand metric tons.

As part of our climate change initiative, by 2010 we plan to move to 100 percent renewable energy for our internal use.

We’re committed to a 60% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of all our worldwide operations by 2050.

We’re focused on the future, and the safe, reliable, efficient and responsible delivery of electricity and natural gas.

nationalgrid.com

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FEBR UARY 2008

Commission Impossible?

Once a rising star, Suozzi tries to find his political future

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

rumors that he might make a run for the seat of State Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Suffolk/Nassau) have dissipated, helped along by Suozzi’s adamant denials of interest in running a race this year.

For Suozzi, 2008 and what lie beyond were not shaping out very well.

Then, on Jan. 7, he got a call. Spitzer wanted to meet with him the next morning in Albany, he was told, right before the State of the State. And then, presuming the meeting went well, Spitzer wanted to name Suozzi head of his new property tax commission.

Suozzi quickly accepted.

A vocal proponent of property tax reform since his first run for county executive, Suozzi made the issue central to his 2006 challenge to Spitzer. During the campaign, Suozzi’s push for a property tax cap was a major point of disagreement between the two.

“When he signed the executive order creating the commission,” Suozzi recalled, “the governor said, ‘Some people have criticized him for this.’

And I said, ‘Yeah, you!’”

In their appearances together to promote the commission, they have turned that old tension between them into a running joke.

At the Nassau Chamber of Commerce in January, Spitzer introduced Suozzi as “a friend, somebody who has done a spectacular job running Nassau County, and made the tough decisions, and is fun to travel with across the state.”

Suozzi went for the laugh line.

“It really isn’t that much fun—it’s a small plane, very cramped,” he said.

Spitzer parried, teasing his old opponent about the win.

“I don’t want to show you the big plane,” he Tom Suozzi seems to have returned to Eliot Spitzer’s said. good graces with his appointment as head of the Many in the audience laughed. Suozzi did not. property tax commission. But what that might mean Eager to keep the attention focused on the for the future of his political career remains unclear. need for reform, rather than on himself, Suozzi was reluctant to say that his role as the commission head

BY EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE would lead the group to make any specific recommendations that it otherwise might not.

OM SUOZZI WAS ONE OF THE FIRST elected offi“There’s no question in my mind that people are betcials to arrive at Sen. Hillary’s Clinton’s Super Tuesday celebration. He stood toward the front, ter educated than I am in the State Legislature and think chatting and clapping, primely positioned in front of the tanks on the issue of property tax reform,” he said, explaining that his mandate to the members and staff so podium.

Eventually, others started pouring in, including Rep. Charles Rangel (DManhattan), New York City Comptroller William Thompson and Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Not long after, they poured back out again, tugged by staffers to the press room to crow about the Clinton victories in front of the cameras and microphones. far has been simply to get as broad a perspective as posSuozzi stayed put.

Two years after he launched his insurgent primary chal- sible by reviewing legislation passed and debated in lenge to Spitzer, the man once seen as a rising star in his other states.

He does not, he insisted, have any sense of what the party found himself in a difficult political position at the beginning of this year. After two wins for Nassau County commission members will ultimately glean from this executive, questions are swirling about how he might fare information, or what this will lead them to recommend in a bid for a third term, or whether he will even seek one. for New York.

“I don’t know what the right answer is yet,” he said.

All the statewide offices are now held by Democrats, leaving him no clear path to Albany or Washington. And the “I just know that the problem is very clearly that prop-

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erty taxes are crushing people throughout the state, especially outside New York City.”

Now Suozzi will spend the next year embroiled in the debate, while simultaneously making constant appeals to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) to be open to the commission’s recommendations when those are announced. Their frustration over not having representatives on the panel, he said, is something which can be overcome.

“I don’t think anyone would defend the current system as being sustainable,” he said, “and I know that to fashion a solution, it’s going to require a broad consensus.”

He said he was well suited to appeal to both Silver and Bruno, as well as other Democrats and Republicans across the state.

Some might see the role on the commission as a way for Suozzi to resuscitate his political prospects. Political consultant Norm Adler, who has worked for Democrats as well as for Marcellino and other GOP State Senate candidates on Long Island, was skeptical.

Adler called Suozzi an unlikely pick to be appointed to the Senate if Clinton wins the White House, and a bid for Congress would mean a primary against popular Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Nassau), who seems unlikely to retire soon. If Andrew Cuomo (D) runs a primary against Spitzer in 2010 and leaves the attorney general race open, Suozzi could make that campaign, Adler said, but otherwise, his options are limited.

“Timing is everything, and it’s just that at this particular juncture, at least, it appears that when he finishes his term, there’s nowhere else in public life for him to go,” Adler said.

The only hope for Suozzi’s political career, Adler said, would be to get appointed to a position in the second Clinton administration, if the New York senator is able to win the White House. Outside of that, Adler said, Suozzi is likely to join the long list of once promising politicians who quietly disappear.

“I think this rising star is about to fall into a black hole,” Adler said.

But Suozzi says he is not worried. Recent political comebacks in New York and in the White House races give him solace.

“You never know what’s going to happen. You can be Hillary Clinton before New Hampshire, and you can be Hillary Clinton after New Hampshire. You can be John McCain in the summer of 2007 and you can be John McCain in the winter of 2008. There’s a big difference. You can be Andrew Cuomo after 2002,” he said.

“You just never know what’s going to happen.”

For now, he said he is upbeat, insisting that he is optimistic about his future, though for the first time in his political career, he is unsure of the next step.

“I did see a show on television the other night where people say they’re most depressed when they’re 44 years old. And after that, it’s all uphill,” he said.

He laughed.

“Well,” he said, “I was 44 when I ran for governor.” eidovere@nycapitolnews.com

For a county executive, political consultatnt Norm Adler said, “Unless you run for statewide office or run for Congress, where do you go? And the answer is, you don’t. And he don’t.”

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Despite Commission, Property Tax Cap May Wait Until Next Year Move to change laws before budget is passed seems unlikely

BY ELIE MYSTAL OV.

ELIOT SPITZER (D) IS TRYING TO CONVINCE the citizens of New York that he was wrong.

Admitting that last year’s $5 billion Middle Class STAR program failed to address the core issues that make New York’s property tax burden the highest in the nation as he barnstorms around the state on his “Bringing Home the Budget” tour, Spitzer says he has changed his mind on the property tax cap he once opposed.

Though the governor calls the cap a blunt instrument, he now acknowledges that it may be the only way to force hard decisions and discipline when nothing else works.

Those hard decisions though, do not seem likely to come before this year’s budget is passed, nor before voters go to the polls in November.

For now, the governor is waiting on the report of the Commission on Property Tax Relief he appointed to study the issue and make recommendations.

Though many expect the commission, led by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi (D), to eventually recommend a tax cap, Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Saratoga) believes the time the commis-

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and California. One of the commission’s first steps will be to study those programs, taking advantage of its broad investigative powers and even subpoena power granted through its organization under the Moreland Act. The commission will seek input from school boards and teachers’ unions. The New York State United Teachers union has already come out against a cap.

The plan, according to Spitzer and Suozzi, is to have discussions with legislative leaders before formal recommendations are announced, though there is no mechanism in place for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) to have a direct hand in shaping the commission’s proposal.

“They’ll see it when I see it,” Spitzer said.

Legislators seem unwilling to leave the final decision on property taxes fully in the hands of the commission.

Sen. William Stachowski (D-Erie), the ranking minority member on the Senate Finance Committee and a member of the Committee on Investigations, Taxation, and Government Operations, said he does not know if or when the commission will reach out to

Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco suggested that the time the commission is taking “really looks like it could be some smoke and mirrors by the governor and the Legislature to get through an election.” sion will take to study the issue will cause an unnecessary delay.

“When he did the illegal alien and driver’s license legislation, he didn’t need a commission to study it,” Tedisco said, suggesting that the time the commission is taking “really looks like it could be some smoke and mirrors by the governor and the Legislature to get through an election.”

Tedisco wants a tax cap proposal by April 1, in time to be included with the budget. But a property tax cap could be passed with this year’s budget should the commission propose one on May 15, the deadline touted by Spitzer for Suozzi’s interim report.

Spitzer, however, said he is not preoccupied with having a tax cap in place for this year’s budget.

“I don’t think it will be done by then,” Spitzer said.

Instead, the governor pointed to Dec. 1—after the November elections, when the control of the State Senate will be up for grabs—as the deadline for the commission’s final recommendations.

Taking the governor’s cue, the commission is also looking past this year for passage of a cap, said Paul Tokasz, a former Assembly majority leader who was named to the commission.

“I don’t think anything is going to happen that is that substantial until ’09,” he said.

Several states have adopted some form of tax cap, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island,

his committees. But he expects the Legislature to change the proposal after Suozzi makes recommendations.

“If there’s a concern that there are no teeth, then the Legislature can look at it and put teeth into it,” he said. “The governor can’t make us pass a law.”

However, when the time comes to pass the bill, Stachowski believes Spitzer will have the political capital to get a tax cap passed.

Sen. John Bonacic (R-Dutchess/Ulster/Orange/Sullivan) agreed, but noted that before he pushes the plan very far, the governor will have to first sell the property tax cap to members of his own party. Silver, Bonacic believes, could prove a major obstacle.

But Bonacic is optimistic that a broad coalition of upstate and downstate interests coming together on a cap, with only Manhattanites—who pay for public schools out of the city administered personal income tax—resisting the plan. Spitzer seems to be courting precisely that kind of coalition, making stops in support of the commission in Syracuse and Rochester, as well as Nassau and Westchester Counties.

To pass a property tax cap in 2008, the commission will have to make a report and have enough support behind it ahead of the May 15 interim report deadline.

To the governor, that date will be far from the finish line.

“Think of it like a four lap race,” he said. “May 15th marks the end of the second lap.” emystal@manhattanmedia.com

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New Energy Policy Critical in 2008

By Arthur (Jerry) Kremer

Electricity is the blood that pulses through the veins of New York’s economy, which is something the governor addressed in his 2008 State of the State speech. He pledged to increase production of local renewables and reduce electricity use by 15 percent by 2015, while offering a bill to fast-track the building of new power plants.

This comes on top of senior staff moves, adding Paul DeCotis, former Director for the NY State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), as his Deputy Secretary for Energy and Garry Brown, a former VP at the NY System Operator (NYISO) to be Chair of the Public Service Commission.

Even with these steps forward, the picture became cloudier due to vacancies at the helm of the Assembly Energy Committee, with Chair Paul D. Tonko leaving to become President & CEO of NYSERDA, and most recently Senator James Wright, longtime chair of the Senate Energy Committee, announcing his retirement.

According to NYISO, southeastern New York will need up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) of new electricity by as soon as 2012, assuming that Indian Point — which produces in excess of 2,000 MW — continues to operate.

2,000 MW is the equivalent of four to five typical sized natural gas power plants.

The reality is that due to the expiration of Article X on December 31, 2002 there are no new power plant projects in the pipeline. There has also not been a major transmission facility constructed since 1989. NIMBY activists are stopping any new generation and transmission projects, and are trying to close existing facilities, like Indian Point.

On January 31 the Westchester Business Alliance, a coalition of significant Hudson Valley leaders, released a study finding their region is facing an immediate energy crisis. Energy consumption is rising at 100-150 MW per year and by 2015 Westchester alone will consume 800 MW more than today’s current use of 5,000 MW. The Alliance says Westchester residents paid $.20 per kilowatt hour in 2006, more than twice the national average and without a new supply, they find electric bills will jump 150% more, meaning lost jobs and tax revenues.

Arthur (Jerry) Kremer is Chairman of New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance and a co-author the Article X Power Plant Siting Law. He served in the State Legislature for 23 years, 12 as Assembly Ways and Means Chair.

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The New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (New York AREA) is a diverse group of business, labor, and community leaders working together for clean, low-cost and reliable electricity solutions that foster prosperity and jobs for the Empire State.

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By Committee

No Set Powers or Meetings, But an Insistent Role for Assembly Ethics and Guidance

there a single document detailing the committee’s jurisdiction. Potential violations HE ASSEMBLY ETHICS AND include fraternization with interns and sexGuidance Committee is a unique ual harassment.

Since most of its work is providing guidand often misunderstood body charged with the narrow mission of upholding the ance to members, the Assembly committee rules and decorum governing its mem- has only had about six meetings in the last three years, according to Cahill, all of these bers—not necessarily the laws.

The chamber's only committee evenly to investigate allegations against Assembly divided between Democrats and Member Mike Cole (R-Erie/Niagra).

Cole, who remains in the Assembly, Republicans, Ethics and Guidance rarely meets. Most of the issues brought to its admitted that last April 16, he drank and leaders are the responsibility of a separate, then spent the night on the bedroom floor of a 21-year-old female intern. Cole was larger ethics commission.

Some Albany observers are skeptical stripped of his seniority and $9,000 annual that the Assembly can police its members stipend as the ranking Republican on the effectively. Others say there is no other Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee.

Cahill said that the committee was on way.

Outgoing Committee chair Kevin Cahill the verge of meeting to deal with a situa(D-Ulster/Dutchess) said the body was cre- tion involving another legislator last year. ated to consider ethical transgressions that Though he did not mention then-Assembly Member Ryan Karben (D-Rockland) by could be, but are not necessarily, illegal.

The committee is one of four bodies in name, he described circumstances that fit a complex web exercising oversight over Karben, who allegedly fraternized with state government employees including leg- female interns. Karben resigned last May, islators: the Commission on Public before the committee could be convened Integrity, which can investigate and to act.

Dick Dadey, executive director of the enforce violations of the state’s ethics and government watchdog group, Citizens Union, said Because the committee is the lawmakers should not monitoring themselves, tasked with investigating be and that the current strucalleged misdeeds of col- ture should be replaced another. leagues, it is considered a with“We support the idea of a tough assignment. unified agency having singular responsibility for the Legislature and the execulobbying laws for the executive branch and tive,” Dadey said.

Professor Eric Lane of Hofstra Law lobbyists, the joint Legislative Ethics Commission, which focuses on ethics, con- School, who served in Albany as chief flicts of interest and financial laws cover- counsel to the Democrats in the Senate for ing members and staff of the Legislature, six years, said he believes feuds would the Senate Ethics Committee, which make external oversight untenable.

“There is no government neutrality. All watches over senators, and the Ethics and have a political axe to grind, so if you want Guidance Committee.

The Assembly committee conducts to maintain a separation of powers you investigations of alleged ethical violations have to let the Legislature do its own at the direction of the speaker. However, work,” he said.

A policy banning fraternization with the committee has no review over new ethics legislation, which is handled by the interns was adopted in 2004, after accusaGovernment Operations Committee. Nor is tions that Adam Clayton Powell IV (DManhattan) raped a 19-year-old intern that year. The charges were later dropped.

The committee's newest member, Thomas O'Mara (RChemung/Schuyler/Tioga), suspected he Chair was tapped because of his experience as Kevin Cahill an attorney.

“It deals with having to make determiMembers nations and judgments on colleagues as William Barclay various ethical issues arise," he said. "I Joseph Lentol don't think there are members clamoring John McEneny Thomas F. O'Mara to get on.”

Bob Oaks pincus_a@yahoo.com Dede Scozzafava Direct letters to the editor to Michele Titus editor@nycapitolnews.com.

BY ADAM PINCUS

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The Assembly Ethics and Guidance Committee

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The DiNapoli Three, One Year Later Latimer, Magnarelli and DelMonte reflect on surviving the Spitzer attacks and rebuilding

BY JOHN R.D. CELOCK GOV. ELIOT SPITZER (D) attacked in the wake of their votes to select Tom DiNapoli as the new state comptroller, the last year has been one of mending relationships and repairing the damage the governor may have done with their constituents.

Spitzer went on something of a rampage in those first few weeks after the DiNapoli vote, calling the 150 members who chose DiNapoli political hacks who had blindly followed the lead of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).

Traveling the state to promote his first executive budget proposal, he lashed out at the local legislators.

One of those Spitzer put in his sights, Assembly Member George Latimer (D-Westchester), said that he got a steady stream of constituent attacks for months after the governor attacked him on a district visit.

“I had negative feedback for 90 days,” Latimer said.

“Everyone who contacted me and said, ‘The governor’s right,’ and ‘You’re a hack,’ I said, ‘You don’t know my record.’”

A Democrat in a district with many Republican voters, Latimer was particularly sensitive to the attacks from the leader of his party, and in response, he waged a non-election year campaign to salvage his reputation in advance of the 2008 election. He increased his visibility district wide, held more town hall meetings and community visits to promote his record of government reform.

Latimer said he wanted to show that he could work with the governor’s office. The DiNapoli experience and its aftermath, he repeatedly stressed during these events, was a one-time issue.

He believes his efforts worked.

“I had one person who told me to resign come back to me and say, ‘You were right’,” Latimer said.

And Latimer said his relationship with the governor got better as the year progressed. He has been in frequent contact with chamber staffers about issues in his district, and had a meeting late last month to discuss state policy effecting incorporated villages.

Assembly Member William Magnarelli (DOnondaga) may have felt the Spitzer attacks most acutely. The governor’s vituperative visit to his district came just as Magnarelli was launching his bid for county executive. With the 20-year Republican incumbent leaving office, county Democrats had been hopeful that Magnarelli could retake the office.

Magnarelli said he had to spend time throughout

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State Must Address Need for More Electricity

By Al Samuels

According to recent reports by the New York Independent System Operator, New York’s downstate region will need significant new sources of electricity by 2013 just to meet basic energy demand. Without new sources of power, the growing demand could outstrip supply, increasing the potential for costly and dangerous power shortages.

New York already has some of the highest costs of doing business in the nation, and electricity rates are a major contributor to that. The state’s average energy rate of more than 17 cents per kilowatt hour is nearly twice the national average rate of 8.8 cents. Businesses and investors regularly cite the high cost of electricity as a major inhibitor of economic growth in New York.

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OR THE LEGISLATORS

In my home county of Rockland, we recently witnessed the closing of a significant manufacturer, and clearly, high electricity costs were a factor.

Having no power plant siting law in New York sends the wrong message to investors with ideas to construct much needed, in-state power plants. New sources of power are being constructed in surrounding states, and New York is losing out on the jobs and tax revenues that these projects bring.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer put Assembly Members Francine DelMonte, George Latimer and William Magnarelli within his sights last year following the DiNapoli vote, but now the wounded legislators say they are all getting along and singing Kumbaya. the county executive’s race explaining his vote for state comptroller, instead of explaining what he wanted to do in Onondaga County, with Spitzer’s attacks brought up by both his primary opponent and the Republican nominee, former Syracuse Council Member Joanie Mahoney. While Magnarelli narrowly won a primary that went to the paper ballots, Mahoney trounced him in the general election by 22 points.

Assembly Member Francine DelMonte (DNiagara) narrowly escaped being attacked by the governor in her district— Spitzer had reportedly identified her as his next target, but a major snow storm prevented the governor from coming to Niagara Falls to deliver the rebuke.

Delmonte, who faced a tough primary challenge in 2006 and is a perennial target of Niagara County Republican Chairman Henry Wojtaszek, insisted that her relationship with Spitzer has always been good, and remains so.

But though the turmoil may be in the past, Latimer said he expects opponents to exhume Spitzer’s old comments in this November’s elections.

“People will bring up every bad thing they can Google up,” he said. “I will see a mailer on this. That’s the business.”

Johncelock@aol.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@nycapitolnews.com.

In Rockland County the Town of Haverstraw is willing to host a new natural gas plant, which would create key jobs, electricity, and tax dollars. But there is no mechanism in place at the state level to help facilitate the construction of new plants. The now defunct Article X power plant siting law has been expired for over five years. We need to make every effort to ensure that this law is reenacted to foster the development of new sources of power generation to meet New York’s increasing energy demand.

In addition to new plants, we also need to keep our cleanest and most efficient sources of power online, like the Indian Point Energy Center and the rest of our state’s nuclear power plants. We cannot overlook the need to preserve and maintain our current sources of clean, emission-free electricity.

By working together, we can ensure that New York's economy and businesses can continue to prosper for years to come.

The author is President/CEO of the Rockland Business Association, representing more than 1,000 businesses which employ more than 60,000 residents of the Hudson Valley, and is also an Advisory Board member of New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance

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Checks and Balances

BY JOHN R.D. CELOCK ITH THE STATE’S JUDGES ENTERING THEIR NINTH

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year without a pay raise, the Judiciary is continuing to pursue extraordinary measures to get the raise.

While the state’s Supreme Court is one of the oldest courts in the country, it also has the distinction of going the longest in the country without a pay hike.

Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who will leave office at the end of this year because of mandatory retirement, has made judicial pay raises a prime focus of her waning days in office. Kaye has taken the step of publicly lobbying for the raise and threatening to sue the governor and Legislature for a raise and a new compensation method.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer seems to have taken heed, including money for a raise in his budget proposal. But though Spitzer’s move has kept Kaye from making new public comments, it has not stopped her action to pressure the government to approve a change.

At the end of January, Kaye retained former Clinton White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum on a pro bono basis to prepare a lawsuit against the executive and legislative branches if needed to get the raise. Kaye’s

hardly goes as far these days.

“What was the cost of gas 10 years ago? What was the cost of rent? Gimme a break!” Golia said. “Some judges are borrowing against their pensions. Judges are dipping into their savings and I’m one of them. It’s hard.”

In addition to the raise, the Association wants to see judicial pay moved to be considered by an independent commission instead of being tied to the salaries of state legislators. Kaye has endorsed this measure, and Golia said many legislators are sympathetic. But no action has yet been taken.

“The Judiciary is the abandoned child of government,” Golia said, reflecting on the situation.

With the salaries static, Golia said he has heard of several judges around the state considering leaving the bench for more lucrative jobs in private practice.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Julian of Utica already has. After announcing his resignation at the end of December, Julian sent Spitzer a scathing letter citing the pay issue as his main reason for departure.

Julian said that when he joined the bench in 2000, he anticipated the pay to be lower and for there to be some changes in his lifestyle. But with a 40 percent rise in inflation since he took office, Julian noted that he has had to dip into his savings in addition to adjusting his lifestyle in order to afford to keep his judgeship.

With costs going up, he decided to leave the bench in order to recoup his losses.

“In my case, I had to make lifestyle modifications to become a judge,” Julian said, noting that “there are modifications, and then there is radical surgery. These are judges who are in the last third of their careers and had lifestyles before becoming judges.”

State Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-Onondaga), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said his chamber has been working to achieve the pay hike. He laid the blame for the delay on the Democratic-controlled Assembly and the governor’s office, noting the two bills the Senate passed last year on pay raises—one to create an independent commission for both legislative and judicial pay raises, and a second to make a separate commission for judicial pay raises. DeFrancisco noted that he has also been advocating for the judges to have an annual

“The Judiciary is the abandoned child of government.” —Joseph Golia, president of the state Supreme Court Justices Association. spokesman said the suit would be filed as a last ditch scenario, and messages left with Nussbaum’s law office were not returned. At the heart of Kaye’s suit, which would be on behalf of the entire Judiciary, is that the Legislature needs to stop tying judicial pay hikes with legislative pay hikes.

While Kaye was not willing to talk, other state judges were. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Golia of Queens, president of the state Supreme Court Justices Association, said the members of his association have lobbied, and plan on continuing to inform legislators of the judges’ plight. With judicial salaries stuck at $136,700 since 1999, and judges barred from making outside income, the judges have noted that the money

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Judges charge that pay raise delay is forcing them off state bench

Chief Judge Judith Kaye is making the push for judicial pay raises a central focus of her last year on the bench. cost of living raise.

Messages left for DeFrancisco’s Assembly counterpart, Assembly Member Helene Weinstein (D-Brooklyn), were not returned.

DeFrancisco noted that judicial pay raises have often been used to give legislators political cover for hiking their own pay, a particularly important factor as legislators push for pay raises themselves in a year when the control of the State Senate is expected to hang in the balance.

“No doubt,” DeFrancisco said, “it is a chip in the never ending political game of state government.”

Johncelock@aol.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@nycapitolnews.com.

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With Caveats, Downstate Legislators Prepare to Back Spitzer’s Upstate Plan Developing divisions appear more partisan than regional Serphin Maltese (Queens), said his first action upon hearing of Spitzer’s plan was to ask how it would benefit his constituents. With an expected tough re-elecN THE FIRST-EVER “STATE OF THE UPSTATE” address, delivered Jan. 16 in Buffalo, Gov. Eliot tion fight ahead of him this fall, Maltese will need to Spitzer outlined his reasoning behind pumping $1 show results to voters in his district.

“Everyone feels that they want to help their own billion into upstate cities and towns.

“It was just a few short decades ago—in the late first,” Maltese said. “And I’m one of them.”

But he acknowledged that even upstate investment 1970s—when New York City was in crisis,” Spitzer said in the speech. “Yet when the people of New York could benefit downstate indirectly, providing a reason City asked for help, the people of Upstate did not for downstate legislators to back Spitzer’s proposals.

“There’s no question the whole state benefits from look the other way.”

Spitzer is counting on that spirit of unity now help- tourism, economic development and other proing move money in the other direction, to help grams,” Maltese said.

Meanwhile, upstate lawmakers said they are cauupstate communities which are continuing to hemortiously optimistic about the prospects of Spitzer’s rhage population, jobs and money.

Spitzer’s plan calls for $350 million for the construc- plan to pass with downstate support, even at a time tion of industrial parks and infrastructure upgrades, when money is in short supply.

Spitzer’s budget, while earmarking $1 billion for including brownfield cleanup and water and sewage improvements. The governor also wants $10 million upstate revitalization, slashes health care spending put into a venture capital fund to provide seed money and scales back plans for new education aid and for small business expansion and $50 million steered property tax relief, in an effort to close a $4.4 billion budget deficit. toward upstate agriculture businesses.

“The approach of sending added state dollars to That is too much of a tilt northward for New York upstate understandably engenders an “The approach of sending added state dollars envy from other ‘famito upstate understandably engenders an envy ly members’,” said from other ‘family members’,” said Assembly Assembly Member Member Robin Schimminger. “I would think the Robin Schimminger (D-Erie/Niagra).

“I other siblings would not begrudge the one that would think the other needs extra help and assistance.” siblings would not begrudge the one that needs extra help and assistance.”

State Sen. David Valesky (D-Madison/Onondaga) City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Unaff.).

“In balancing this budget and in promoting the said the argument in favor of Spitzer’s plan is borne state’s economy, we see no need to pit downstate out by noting the amount of jobs lost across upstate against upstate or shortchange one area of New York New York and the number of young people leaving while subsidizing others,” Bloomberg said in testimo- for other areas.

“There’s always tension in the budget adoption ny before the Assembly Ways and Means Committee process,” Valesky said. “There very well may be that on Jan. 28.

Assembly members and state senators from the same kind of tension as it relates to this proposal.”

State Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-Onondaga) was five boroughs, however, were more open to supporting Spitzer’s upstate plan—so long, they said, as the more skeptical.

“The situation now has been bad for a long period governor take care to attend to the needs of their of time,” he said. “I don’t think just infusing money to communities as well.

“There’s no doubt that upstate has gone through promise that jobs are going to be created really is an economic decline over the years,” said Assembly enough anymore.”

At the moment, divisions developing over the Member Keith Wright (D-Manhattan). “There’s also no doubt that some areas of downstate haven’t even upstate revitalization plan appear to be more Democrat versus Republican rather than upstate vergotten out of the starting blocks.”

Wright cautioned that shortchanging the city sus downstate.

E.J. McMahon, director of the conservative would in turn worsen conditions for upstate commuEmpire Center for New York State Policy, argued that nities.

“As Shaquille O’Neal said back in the day,” Wright Spitzer’s plan does nothing to create a more favorable said, “if the big dog don’t get fed, the house goes tax climate for upstate New York.

“It’s a plan built on the premise that the State of unprotected.”

State Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D-Brooklyn) New York is going to figure out how to jump-start said she remembers the days when every budget investment upstate with its own money,” he said.

Regardless, downstate legislators may be fooled cycle saw new fights between upstate and downstate into thinking they are being passed over, McMahon legislators.

“The politics of fractionalizing our state into seg- said, even though the governor’s plan is largely similar ments is counterproductive,” she said in a statement to past, failed plans to stimulate upstate New York.

“They’ve been paying for upstate revitalization provided by her office.

The city’s needs are vast, she said, and must be without getting much results for years,” he said. “I included in any plan to improve the whole state’s don’t know—once they realize there’s much less than meets the eye, maybe they won’t mind.” economy. ahawkins@nycapitolnews.com One of the few downstate Republicans, State Sen.

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

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2.1 Million Jobs Depend on NY’s Power Future

By Bob Seeger

Rising energy demand and capped in-state electricity production – is a nightmare scenario for New Yorkers’ wallets.

At slightly over 17 cents per kilowatt hour (17.16), New York State’s electricity rates are third highest in the country.

With Article X, our power plant siting law now expired more than five years, New York is at a crossroads. We need to act quickly to avoid rising energy costs that can endanger the jobs of the working men and women of New York.

How important is the union workforce in The Empire State? In 2007, more than 2.1 million New York workers were represented by a union, equal to 25.2 percent of the entire workforce. These workers make up the bedrock of our economy, and they depend on reliable and affordable electricity to get the job done.

If we do not address the energy challenges we face now, the state’s economy could find itself reeling if local employers pack up and move somewhere with cheaper energy costs. A decade long study of 20 states by Americans for Balanced Energy Choices directly linked employment shifts at the state and local levels to business energy costs. States with lower energy costs grew 25 percent faster and 60 percent more jobs were created.

The Bloomberg Administration is projecting the need to develop between 65 million – 70 million square feet of commercial and significant residential space to accommodate another one million residents by 2030. Given that it takes five years to site and build power plants, we must act now to create clean energy sources to power that positive economic growth.

Given growth projections, New York City will need more than 6,000 – 7,000 megawatts of new electricity supply within the next twenty years to meet its needs. Without an Article X law allowing the construction of new power generation, the cost of powering New York will climb significantly, until and unless we can add new base-load power supply to the grid.

Without a committed effort to create an affordable electricity supply to power a growing New York economy, we must all be concerned with the economic consequences to come.

Bob Seeger is Business Manager for the Millwright & Machinery Erectors Local 740 of the New York City District Council of Carpenters.

Local 740 is a member of the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance.

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Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “It’s not conducive to relationships. My job comes first and there are times, especially around budget time, when we come in at 9:00 a.m. and don’t leave until 6 the next day. A relationship takes time, and lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time at work.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “A lot of people want the ‘inside scoop,’ and I tell them that it’s a lot like The West Wing. There’s a lot going on: the phone rings all day and I see the inside dynamics of the place. So when people ask, I just laugh and say, “Do you ever watch The West Wing?”

What’s your worst recent date experience?“I was dating someone, but I broke up with him before I went to training. This guy was so obsessed with me that he started to stalk me. He even mailed himself to me! He had a big box, and he got into it and jumped out of the box in front of my whole platoon. I was mortified. Then we had a final PT test, and I was running with another soldier when I saw this three-foot sign on the side of the road that said this person’s name and ‘Kimmy, Forever.’ I got so mad that I did two miles in 14.40!”

What’s your best recent date experience? “I have this really humorous side to me, so I was at a restaurant having dinner with someone and they asked, “Where do you want to go?” I was just joking when I said ‘Nantucket,’ but then he left to print out a photo of Nantucket and bring it back to the table. He wasn’t able to print it out, but I thought it was so touching that he wanted to do something special for me. “

Kimberly Bowmaker

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “I don’t look much, which is probably why I’m in the situation that I’m in now.”

Age: 34

They say love and politics do not mix.

But in honor of Valentine’s Day, The Capitol sought out your picks for the single people in and around state government who should stay single no more.

Here are the beautiful and the powerful, the brassy and the brainy, Democrat and Republican, young and old, divorced and never married, staffers and elected officials—Albany’s most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes.

By Rachel Breitman, John R.D. Celock, Andrew Hawkins, Elie Mystal, Dan Rivoli and Carl Winfield

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “I am working 18 to 20 hour days. There is simply not enough time in the day.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “I don’t know that they understand what an extraordinary sacrifice public life can be. Most of my contemporaries don’t understand why I am not doing something like finance or banking, something more lucrative.”

What is your best recent date experience?

“I think it would be to be with somebody who understands the commitment to a higher calling.”

What is your worst recent date experience?

“In the past, I would have steered clear of blind dates because they just seem to be disastrous. But I do make sure that I have a good time.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “Albany is not, for single men and women, a mecca for dating. I wouldn’t advise anybody to come try it.”

Assistant to the Senate Majority Leader

Greg Ball Assembly Member (R-Putnam/Dutchess/Westchester)

Age: 30

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How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “Sometimes I lie about what I really do. Sometimes it’s easier to say you’re a bureaucrat. It’s easier to understand if you’re dating someone in politics.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “Over the summer, I was still working for the city Parks Department as director of public affairs. I was on a date at the movies when there were multiple sightings of a shark at Coney Island. I spent the entire movie pretty much in the lobby dealing with every news desk while my date was in the theater.”

What’s your best recent date experience? “I had a great date in November in which I went to the Met. We had a cocktail after that, then I went home and caught up on sleep.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “I’m in Albany about twice a week.

So I guess the first place I look is the restaurant at the Hampton Inn. I think my past couple of relationships have been created through fundraisers for elected officials.”

What are you looking for in a potential significant other?

Warner Johnston

Director of Communications, Empire State Development Corporation

“Somebody who is accommodating to my schedule, and someone who doesn’t feel that they need to see me every day.”

Age: 32

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “It can be if you let it, but it’s very important to make time for other aspects of life. To be a whole person, you need to lead a full life, and I work hard to make time for things other than politics.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “There is a wide range of responses.

Some people are excited. Some people are put off by it.

After you start to engage people in conversation, basically everyone I meet is interested in talking about it.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “I can’t think of a worst recent date experience. I guess I should be very grateful.”

What’s your best recent date experience? “I do very much enjoy taking someone for dinner in one of the great Dominican restaurants in Upper Manhattan–taking someone who’s not from the neighborhood.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “My social life is not in Albany. There are great Dominican clubs and restaurants, no question. It’s where I love to hang out.”

Eric Schneiderman State Senator (DManhattan/Bronx)

Age: 53

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “Kind of, because you have so much time spent on specific legislative work or in the office or in meetings, and the other part of it is the community work. Dinner is a possibility.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “Most potential dates I might have already know that. I’ve been in politics for a long time.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “The worst was the gentleman who started and ended most sentences with ‘I’ or 'me.' He basically talked about himself the whole time.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out?

“I just go to Albany to work. I can’t say there’s a place I’d go to meet somebody. I do try to keep myself in the right circles.”

What are you looking for in a potential significant other?

“Somebody with a strong sense of spirituality, good commitment to their biological family, and great commitment to the community.”

Crystal Peoples

Assembly Member (DBuffalo)

Age: 56

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Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “I wouldn’t say it’s tough to find time to date, but it’s more about finding someone who is understanding, which is time consuming.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “Sometimes they look at me like they don’t think I’m telling the truth. Some people say that’s good.”

What’s your best recent date experience?

“I’m a simple type of guy; just being home and watching a movie. I don’t need anything special.

It’s more about the company.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “I don’t look to meet people when I go out. All of my recent girlfriends I have met at different places, so I don’t go out to look.”

What are you looking for in a potential significant other? “A person who can under-

Carl Heastie

Assembly Member (D-Bronx)

stand my life and someone who can be a good friend. I don’t ask for a lot.”

Age: 40

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “It is a bit of a balancing act between work and play, and unfortunately, there isn't much of a dating scene at the rest stops along the Thruway.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “Pretty much I get the same questions when I meet people and tell them what I do—and the funny thing is, they all think that they're being original. Most common these days is they ask if the mayor is running for president, thinking they will get some inside scoop. Also, can I fix a parking ticket? And then usually something about how I should be able to make the subway come faster or some other idea on how to make the city a better place.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “A friend set me up on a date recently and after a few minutes I realized his stories sounded familiar—turns out we had already been set up years ago and neither of us had realized it. It was really awkward since we didn't like each other the first time around!”

What’s your best recent date experience? “Had one last week— seeing him again this week—so I don't want to jinx it by going into details.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “I work a lot when I am up in Albany. The Capitol Café between 1:00 and 1:15 is pretty much as social as I get, but when I can get out, I like 74 State for drinks.”

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “It is very difficult to find time, but if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be as good at my job. A press secretary isn’t any good if he's always in a foul mood.”

How do people you meet in social settings respond when you tell them you are in politics? “Most of them are intrigued, but I often find myself explaining all sorts of policy positions, even ones that aren’t on my boss’s agenda.”

What’s your best recent date experience? “Ice cream at a Brooklyn pier overlooking the lovely skyline of Lower Manhattan.”

What’s your worst? “A gentleman never tells.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “I like lounges. I’m a big fan of the Old World Wine Bar on Lark Street.”

Errol Cockfield Press secretary, Gov. Eliot Spitzer

Age: 33

Michelle Goldstein Director of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Albany Office of Legislative Affairs

Age: 36

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FEB RUARY 2008

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “I would say yes. A lot of long hours, a lot of demands on your time outside the office. It’s not a 9-5 job. When you split your time between Syracuse and Albany, like I do, that can also be a barrier.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “Their eyes glaze over or they look at their watch.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “Never had a bad date, would you believe that?”

What’s your best recent date experience?

“You expect me to answer that? My mother might read this!”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out?

“I would say that Albany has, for a medium sized city, a pretty interesting, exciting and energetic social scene. There are plenty of places downtown and on the outskirts.”

Joe Burns

Legislative Counsel, State Sen. John DeFrancisco (ROnondaga)

Age: 28

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “It’s tough because so much of your time is spent doing your job. I often have to forgo more social events.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “Generally people are impressed.

They believe that I have a responsible position, which is true, that I have to pay a lot of attention to.”

What is your best recent date experience? “Just going out to dinner, and sampling restaurants in my districts.”

What is your worst recent date experience? “I haven’t had a bad date recently. Someone pretending to be interested in me but really being interested in my ability to help them with a constituent problem—that would be bad.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “It’s not like I am on the hunt.You meet people just in your everyday interactions, and if one of them happens to be interesting in that way, that is a plus.”

Linda Rosenthal Assembly Member (D-Manhattan)

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “It’s just hard finding the right person!”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “It depends on the person. Some people understand what it really is and some people think of the movies.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “I haven’t really had a bad time on a date, but I have been in situations where a guy just couldn’t take a hint. It’s not that he’s bad, but sometimes, when it’s not working out, the guy is just clueless. It’s annoying.”

What’s your best recent date experience? “We went out to Radio City to see Harry Connick, Jr. and we had, it had to be 15 minutes left for the concert. We said, ‘We’re going in,’ and we just hung out and had a great time.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “Downtown Albany is good because there are different streets that have a different feel, but they’re in walking distance. Pearl Street is clubby.

Lark Street has a more relaxed atmosphere.”

Julia Lilkendey

Producer, Senate Media Services

Age:33

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Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “I think you can find time for anything.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “That’s something I always hear.

People are intrigued by how I fit into politics and what I like about it. People ask, 'What do you do in the Spitzer administration?' Being at the Consumer Protection Board, I can talk about how we spearheaded the investigation into lead paint in toys.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “I was out to dinner with someone who was obsessed with the fork that she was using to eat her dinner with. And while the fork was interesting, the extreme obsessiveness she had with it was quite a bit of a turn-off.”

What’s your best recent date experience? “I recently spent a day with a young lady where in the early afternoon we went to a performance of the ballet, and in the evening, we went to see a Professional BullRiders show.”

Jorge Montalvo

Associate Director of Special Projects, State Consumer Protection Board

What are you looking for in a potential significant other? “She’ll need to be able to keep a conversation,

Age: 27

and at the same time, listen to me speak and talk to her.”

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “I work 24-7. It’s very rare that I get off on a Friday night or even a Saturday night.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “People are impressed. I usually say first when they ask me what I do that I’m a lawyer. And then I get into the State Senate. I always find people are intrigued or impressed. They’re not quite sure if you’re a United States Senator or a State Senator. I have gotten, ‘Do you work with Hillary?’”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “I had a two-year relationship that unfortunately ended in August. So I really haven’t been dating that much.”

What’s your best recent date experience? “I’ve always had long term relationships over the years. But I’m still hopeful. And there are a lot of nice, interesting women out there.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “Albany is very

Jeffrey Klein

State Senator (D-Bronx/Westchester)

work related. It’s not what you would call a meet-greettown.”

Age: 47

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “I think it’s hit and miss. Sometimes you go through periods when it seems easier. Sometimes it is more difficult to date people you work with. It doesn’t generally happen for people to date within the same office.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “I think some people who are of a different political party may not be open to it, but people are mostly agnostic. Women don’t say it’s an absolute must or definite no.”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “I went on a date with a girl, and a little piece of her hair looked like it had fallen out. It turns out she had a hair piece attachment on, and it was being held in by a pin, and I was caught off guard by that.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “I find Lionheart’s is a good place, and Bombers. It’s a very diverse, young, professional environment with a lot of people.”

What are you looking for in a potential significant other? “I guess I am looking for someone who is very attractive, nice and friendly.

I have no political requirements. I date people in both parties.”

Marcus Ferguson

Director of Government Affairs New York Business Council

Age: 31

THE CAPITOL

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FEB RUARY 2008

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “I find it difficult to hold down any type of long-term relationship. There is a lot of travel. It is a lot of weekend work, early mornings, Saturdays and Sundays.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “Generally they think it is sort of bizarre, to tell you the truth. I’m 27 and people’s first reaction is ‘Wait, what do you do?’ A lot of my peers think I am sort of an anomaly.”

What is your best recent date experience? “I generally enjoy a quiet dinner. I go out to dinner and maybe get a couple of drinks, not traveling into the city.”

What is your worst recent date experience? “Well, my worst date would be dragging into the city and spending an hour and a half stuck in traffic on the West Side Highway to go to some stuffy Upper West Side restaurant.”

Kenneth Zebrowski

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “Quite honestly, I find the Albany scene

Assembly Member (D-Rockland)

pretty dead. I’m in here at 9 and out at 9. Occasionally, I’ll go out to dinner with a few colleagues who are generally twice my age.”

Age: 27

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “We all have people who do our schedules. So if someone were to even ask me, ‘Oh, what are you doing Friday night?’ I actually would have to say, ‘Oh, I have to call my office. I don’t know.’”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “From time to time I’ll be in rooms that are not political and I’ll be talking to a man, and he’ll say, ‘So what do you do for a living?’ And I’ll actually find myself hesitating. Usually I’ll start by saying, ‘Oh, I work for the government.’ You don’t want to just say to the guy, ‘Oh, I’m a New York State Senator.’ Because immediately he’ll say, ‘Okay, gotta go.’”

What’s your worst recent date experience? “I can’t remember my worst date partly because I won’t go out with anybody. I don’t mean that I’m too picky. If I’m not immediately attracted to you, I’m not interested. Some women will go out with anybody who asks them because they figure what the hell, it’s a free meal.”

What’s your best recent date experience? “Dinner and a movie. Pretty boring but it was nice.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “The last place you want to start a relationship is in Albany. That’d be like doing it in a fishbowl.”

Diane Savino

State Senator (DBrooklyn/Staten Island)

Age: 40

Is it tough finding time to date with the demands of a job in politics? “Oh yeah. I’m always on the road. So basically if I plan things, they often get changed last minute because of my travel schedule. Today I am here, and tomorrow I could have something else.”

How do people respond when you tell them you work in politics? “A lot of girls out there are looking for finance guys. But the girls who want to get to know me often have an interest in politics, current events.”

What’s your worst recent date experience?“I once went down to New York to set up a date with a girl. We met up at this bar near Madison Square Garden. All of a sudden the girl looks towards the door and gets weirded out. She says ‘I have a boyfriend, and he just walked in here.’ As it turned out, he worked for a rival office and I knew him. She went into the bathroom and managed to slip out. On the way out, I said hi to her boyfriend like it was nothing.”

Where do you look to meet people? Is there any place in Albany that stands out? “I try not to mix work with dating too much. In my free

Sean Shortell

time, I like Jillian’s or wherever my friends are going. If you do attend a political event, at least you have interests in common with whoever you’ll meet there.”

Member of advance team for Gov. Eliot Spitzer

What are you looking for in a potential significant other?“I don’t want to get bored too quick. I want her to be pretty and intelligent, and herself. I want to be able to say something crazy and have her laugh.”

Age: 23

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More Pay, But for More Work t a time when fears of a recession are increasing and voter confidence in the State Legislature remains low, giving a pay raise to the members of the Assembly and State Senate seems totally counterintuitive.

And yet, a pay raise is precisely the right thing to do—provided that the job itself is reshaped too.

It’s true that the current annual base salary of $79,500 is more than many New Yorkers make.

But that number, even when paired with various leadership stipends, is still well below what many private sector jobs pay to experienced and valuable professionals. Public service is meant to be a calling, and the honor of serving should perhaps make up for some hit in salary. Some. But when

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ends. Agreement on three or four issues, however major, should not count as a successful session. But what else can we expect when the clock ticks down to June each year, and many legislators go back home to their districts, able to take the impasses off the top of their agendas for another six months?

Proponents of keeping the Legislature part-time tend to trumpet the supposed merits of having citizen legislators who can walk among the people, and thus better represent them in Albany. At this point, though, the best representation for the people would likely be spending a little less time walking among them, and a little more time solving their problems.

Proponents of the half-year session also argue that having the legislators at home for six months helps with constituent services. This in mind, we suggest that additional allocations for constituent service staffing be allocated along with the pay raises and the switch to a full-time Legislature.

Decades ago, Congress used to be part-time as well. Then they realized there was too much for them to do to allow them to leave Washington for half the year, so they now commute from across the country to represent the people’s interest on the federal level. The State Legislature should follow suit. It is worth noting that the base congressional salary is $169,300.

state legislators are making less than half of the standard base salary for associates right out of law school at Wall Street firms, there is a problem.

The Legislature should attract the best and brightest in all fields from across the state. Crucial to doing so is making their salaries at least somewhat more comparable to what would be available to them in other professions. Not only would this

Raise the salaries.

Raise them by a lot.

Double them, even.

Letters to the Editor: We welcome letters to the editor.

All letters must be identified with the author’s full name and, for verification, phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published.

Substantive letters addressing politics and policy will receive top priority.

Submit your letters by email to editor@nycapitolnews.com, or contact our staff writers directly with the email addresses at the ends of their articles.

almost certainly lead to more bright and capable candidates running for office, but it would also help reduce the pull so many legislators feel to trade in their member pins for offices in lobbying firms.

So raise the salaries. Raise them by a lot. Double them, even.

But do so only on the condition that the jobs are made full-time. This state has more than enough problems to keep legislators busy year-round for decades.

Aside from the need to supplement their incomes, there is no excuse for members of both chambers not to be in Albany from January through December, working out compromises and passing legislation to address the numerous problems that are left hanging each time a session

ODDS&Ends

Old Vegas bookmakers have been trumped by new technology, and dozens of websites exist to bet on the outcome of all sorts of things, including who will be the next person to measure drapes in the Oval Office. Intrade lets people buy shares in the candidates’ futures. Ladbrokes gives odds to bet against. Here are this month’s standings, with last month’s included for comparison.

CURRENTLY

DECLARED DEMOCRATS CURRENTLY DECLARED REPUBLICANS Mike Huckabee John McCain Ron Paul

PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

1.8 92.9 1.3

16 to 1 1 to 20 200 to 1

LAST MONTH PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

18 36.9 2.1

3 to 1 6 to 4 25 to1

PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

Hillary Clinton 41.5 Barack Obama 59

POTENTIAL ENTRIES Michael Bloomberg

11 to 10 4 to 6

PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

1

20 to 1

LAST MONTH PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

58.9 40.8 PRICE ON INTRADE

2.4

4 to 6 11 to 10 ODDS ON LADBROKES

16 to 1

**DATA AS OF FEBRUARY 7, 2008**

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OP-ED

So Much for Conventional Campaign Wisdom uper Tuesday’s results are in and once again the pollsters, pundits and pols got it wrong. Months ago they were predicting the Republicans could go all the way to convention without a clear frontrunner, while the Democrats would know theirs by February 6th. Oops.

John McCain, who the experts had pronounced dead just six months ago, has risen like Lazarus to all but seal the Republican nomination. Hillary Clinton, who they proclaimed Queen just six months ago, is now locked in a to-the-death struggle with Barak Obama over who gets to wear that crown.

Not only have the experts fumbled when picking candidates this time around, but their conventional campaign wisdom doesn’t seem so smart either.

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For years they’ve told us there are certain immutable truths in American politics: • That the candidate who has the most money wins • That negative campaigning works • That people vote for the candidate who panders • That candidates should avoid getting pinned down on the issues First, the money part. On the K.T. Republican side, McFarland this time the guys doing the best are the ones with the least money. Romney may have saturated the airwaves and stuffed the mail boxes with literature, but it hasn’t translated into votes. The guy who’s beating him is Huckabee, who doesn’t have two nickels to rub together. As for frontrunner McCain, he didn’t start winning until he had lost all his money and started driving around in a second-hand Greyhound bus.

With the Democrats, Hillary’s early lock on the party’s major donors and fundraisers was thought to preclude any potential challenger getting traction. But Obama found new, first-time donors, and brought people into the political process that normally don’t give politicians the time of day.

Second, the claim that negative campaigning, while distasteful, is brutally effective. So far, wrong again. Obama, McCain and Huckabee have all sworn off negative campaigning. Their aides aren’t slinking around dark alleys handing journalists unmarked manila envelopes filled with slime about their opponents. Yet Obama, McCain and Huckabee are the three candidates exceeding expectations. On the other hand, the more negative Romney and Clinton get, the more their supporters melt away.

Third, the experts argue that people vote for the candidate who panders to them. If that’s true, how do you explain

A Rapid Infusion of Tax Dollars for the State Treasury

BY STATE SEN. REV. RUBEN DIAZ n the 2008 State of the State Address, Gov. Eliot Spitzer offered several proposals to attempt to help close New York State’s budget deficit. As part of this statewide initiative, I have re-introduced Senate Bill No. 774 to ensure that New York State promptly receives all of the sales tax revenues to which it is entitled. This bill could increase the state’s budget by up to $300 - $500 million dollars in revenue.

This modification of the New York State Tax Law will require credit card companies to remit the state’s portion of sales tax amounts from receipts of retail sale of taxable foods and services directly to the State Department of Taxation and Finance—and not keep them within the accounts of businesses and retail establishments pending remittal to the state.

This change will affect all sales tax vendors registered with the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, and put our state tax dollars to use immediately and directly.

The anticipated increase in revenues to the state from my proposal are expected due to the following factors: reduced tax agency costs associated with reduced processing of these quarterly sales tax returns, the financial benefit the state will receive from the ability to use and manage sales tax funds immediately, the reduction of loss of sales tax revenue due to underreporting of taxable sales, and the ability of the state to avoid loss of col-

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lected sales tax revenue when businesses fail or file for bankruptcy protection.

Presently, businesses are required to file and submit sales and use tax returns, usually on a quarterly basis. Eliminating the need for calculating and filing quarterly sales tax returns would benefit business owners by reducing their own accounting costs.

Under the current system, businesses have the opportunity to invest already collected state sales tax in their own accounts and accrue interest for themselves and their businesses. These businesses get the benefit of the float. By allowing months to pass before receiving these already collected taxes, the state does not have use of that money until it is remitted with the tax. My bill would prevent the state from losing interest on this float by requiring that tax amounts be paid simultaneously at the time the purchase is made. Statewide, this should result in substantial revenues.

Unfortunately, either through error or otherwise, too many businesses operating in New York State underreport their taxable income. My proposed change would mean that payment will take place at the point of sale. The total price of the goods plus the tax will be charged to the consumer's debit or credit card, and simultaneous payments to the merchant and the state’s taxing authority will be made by the credit card company. This will reduce the problem of underreporting of taxable sales by businesses. If the business gets paid for a sale, the state gets paid its sales tax.

With passage of this bill, there will be less possibility that New York State will be a creditor in the traditional case of a failed business. At present, a failing business might continue to bring in sales tax receipts that are deducted from a credit card holder’s account, but, due to financial strains within the company, retain those sales tax proceeds rather than pay them to the state. A failing business might choose to do whatever it needs to survive and divert from paying business obligations such as taxes, just in order to keep the business running for a couple of months longer.

All too often these businesses never catch up with their obligations. When it comes to their time to fold, or file for bankruptcy protection, too many of them never pay off the withheld sales taxes.

My bill will allow the state to get ahead of the bankruptcy game, never be owed money, and always get paid on time—at least in this realm.

This expedient method of collecting sales tax revenues will reduce administrative expenses presently needed to process sales tax returns before the taxes actually become credited to the State Treasury. We will no longer have to wait until the end of the year to figure out how much money is coming into the state from these businesses, because it will be coming in daily.

Ruben Diaz, a Democrat representing parts of the Bronx in the State Senate, is a member of the Banking Committee.

the resurrection of John McCain? When he was telling voters what they wanted to hear, they left him in droves. Once he started telling people what they didn’t want to hear—that he would cut their favorite pork barrel projects, keep troops in Iraq, spend real money on alternative energies, and push for entitlement reform—they rallied to him. As for Obama, his biggest donors and most ardent supporters are the same guys he wants to tax to high heaven.

Fourth, don’t get specific on the issues. Political consultants warn their candidates not to go on the record with definitive stands on any controversial issues. Every time you come on clearly for or against something, you risk goring somebody’s ox, and making enemies.

So far, there has been something to that. The candidates doing better than expected are the ones who are strong on charm and soaring rhetoric but light on policy positions.

That will start to change, though, once the parties settle on their candidates.

Why? Because there will be nothing left to talk about other than policy issues. In the last few months, we have seen an explosion in the number of election commentators, news producers and journalists. There is a whole new array of media superstars on network and cable news shows.

There are literally hundreds of pollsters, pundits, pols, journalists, news anchors, and traveling press corps employed full time covering the primaries and caucuses. So far there have been lots of candidates to cover, lots of stories to write, and lots of events to comment on. But now that the field is narrowing, what will happen to these guys?

Remember, the general election is still nine months away. Do you really think they want to go back to covering Paris Hilton and Britney Spears? Not a chance.

We’re about to have the election that some of us have been dreaming about for years, where substantive issues get debated by serious candidates. And the media and the American public are fully engaged, the candidates with the most money aren’t necessarily the winners, and the politics of personal destruction don’t rule the day.

Turns out democracy isn’t dead after all; it just needed a transfusion.

welcomes submissions to the op-ed page. A piece should be maximum 650 words long, accompanied by the name and address of the author, and submitted via email to editor@nycapitolnews.com to be considered.

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Up and Coming in the Empire State ollowing Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s appointment of longtime Assembly Member Paul Tonko (D) to head the state energy authority last year, Democrats expected to easily retain Tonko’s Albany-area Assembly seat.

Republican George Amedore, a local businessman, surprised them, taking the seat in the July 31 special election.

Amedore’s election has been the talk of state Republican circles since last summer, with his name often mentioned for higher office. Amedore has been crediting his success based on his work as a businessman, which he said was able to swing voters in his direction during the special election. Regarding his work in the Assembly, Amedore discusses wanting to change the culture of Albany and bring a citizen’s approach to government. He noted that he has been trying to increase visibility in his district in order to listen to constituent concerns.

Downplaying his role as a politician, and playing up his business roots, Amedore sounds like a polished Albany politician when asked about the speculation that Republican leaders are looking to run him for a higher office in the future, given his win last year.

“I am here to serve the people in my district and the people of New York State,” he said. “When opportunities come up, I consider them. If there is an opportunity to go higher and do this for the long term, I would consider it. It’s up to the people I represent.”

F

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “It has to be the balancing of my business, my family and my duties in the Assembly.”

George Amedore Assembly Member (R)

Age: 38

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “My biggest goal is to follow through on the message of my campaign. The voters did not want a politician. They wanted a change. I am spending a lot of time working to stop the toll increases on the Thruway.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now? Regulatory Reform, Reducing Taxes and Fees

y the time Republican William Hoblock got the chance to take his seat in the Albany County Legislature, his term was half over. Following a federal court’s redistricting of the county and postponing of the regular 2003 election to the spring of 2004, Hoblock looked like he was about to pick up the seat. But with his opponent disputing which absentee ballots should be counted because of the delays, the votes remained sealed and the seat vacant, while the case worked its way through the state courts. After the state Court of Appeals punted to the federal courts, a ruling from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the ballots opened, which confirmed the original machine count of 2006. Taking his seat, Hoblock immediately had to start planning what would ultimately be his successful re-election bid last year.

Hoblock comes from a mini-Albany County political dynasty. His father is on the executive committee of the Colonie Town Republicans, his great-uncle was Colonie Town Clerk, and his cousin, Michael, was Albany County’s only Republican county executive, as well as a state senator and Assembly member. Michael Hoblock currently serves as a state racing and wagering commissioner.

In office, Hoblock said he has been focused on studying the county budget and county operations in order to develop plans to streamline county government. He noted that he is looking to cut back on county departments, and wants to stop the Democratic majority from expanding county government.

As a part of a political family, Hoblock’s name is mentioned for future offices. Coming off his contested 2004 race, he remains coy about any future race.

“Any way I can continue to be a good public servant, I will,” he said.

B

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “As a conference, we have dug through the budget and figured out what’s been going wrong. This is the year we will bring it forward.”

William Hoblock Albany County Legislator (R)

Age: 38

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “To me, I live on the motto that good government is good politics. If I can make Albany County more efficient and streamlined, that would be good politics.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now? Upstate Economic Development, Property Tax Relief, Shrinking State Government

THE CAPITOL

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Their constituencies are often spread across many miles, but that has not stopped the next generation of New York State’s elected leaders from making themselves known and prompting intense speculation into their political futures.

The Capitol has identified five of the most promising up-and-comers in each of the state’s seven regions outside of New York City and will profile each in this ongoing series. Ages were not taken into account in the development of these lists. What matters here is potential, which everyone in this group has in abundance.

Capital region

REGION DESCRIPTION: Albany is the hub of the Capital Region. Politics fuels the city and its suburbs, with state government the largest employer. As the rest of the upstate economy declined as the manufacturing industry fell by the wayside, Albany has managed to keep afloat based on its role as the state capital. Huge swathes of farmland surrounding the city have been transformed to ready suburbs, giving civil servants and lobbyists a place to sleep at night. While Albany and its environs have leaned on the government for support, other areas, including nearby Schenectady, have seen economic decay, as companies have moved on for greener pastures.

Strong party machines have dominated the political landscape, with the storied Albany County Democratic machine holding sway on one side of the Hudson, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno controlling the Republicans on the other side.

By John Celock johncelock@aol.com Photos by Barry Sloan

hen a Republican county legislator from Colonie was killed in a car accident last year, it fell to the chamber’s Democratic majority to fill the seat. The party turned to then 24-year-old Ryan Horstmyer, a law student at Albany Law School, to take the seat and defend it for a full four-year term last November. Already a political veteran, Horstmyer had lost a bid for Colonie Town Board just after graduating high school in 2001. He entered the fall campaign with an enrollment disadvantage and a Republican Party united to regain the seat.

Horstmyer’s career has benefited from the historic Republican dominance of suburban Colonie, with the dearth of Democrats in town allowing the young politician to rise quickly within his local organization.

Taking his seat last year, Horstmyer used a project from law school to put his first marks on the body. Having done research into the state’s local government ethics law for school, Horstmyer developed legislation to tighten the county’s ethics rules. The bill died at the end of last year, but Horstmyer was upbeat about the proposal’s chances this year, noting that it was debated in committee extensively last year.

Having previously worked as a law clerk in the State Legislature, Horstmyer said he enjoys his work in county government, but would like to move back to the state level in the future. Stopping short of declaring his candidacy for a future office, Horstmyer said he would consider a race for the State Legislature.

“My interest is in state government, and there is a lot to do there,” he said. “All local governments are creatures of the state. State government is where it’s at.”

W

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “In a local legislative body, what I’ve noticed is that you don’t have the same workload as a member of Congress. When you find a priority, you work on it. I found an ethics law that would change a lot. I would say that’s my biggest accomplishment.”

Ryan Horstmyer Albany County Legislator (D)

Age: 25

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “I want to get the ethics law passed. I also am interested in government consolidation and shared services.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now? Property Tax Relief, Affordable Access to Higher Education & Investment in the SUNY System, Affordable and Increased Access to Health Care

ensselaer is Joe Bruno country. Sometimes the existence of other elected officials in the county can be forgotten, given the State Senate majority leader’s dominance of local politics for the past few decades.

Not so for Kathy Jimino, a career government official who has been the county’s chief executive since her appointment to an unexpired term in 2001.

Jimino started out in county government after college, working her way up to county data processing commissioner before becoming Troy’s city manager. Following a defeat for mayor of Troy, Jimino worked as a budget analyst for the State Senate and served as a county legislator before taking the county executive’s office.

A former president of the state county executives’ association, Jimino quickly became an advocate for unfunded mandate relief in the state. While not as high profile as some county executives, like Nassau’s Tom Suozzi, Jimino has been pushing the issue in the halls of Albany and to groups in the region. Outside of crusading against unfunded mandates, Jimino has dedicated much time to the development of a comprehensive program to reduce teen alcohol and drug use, including the creation of two annual youth summits to focus on these issues.

With her activity on issues with statewide impact, the county executive has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Congress or statewide office, and as a possible lieutenant governor pick, like Mary Donohue, another female Republican who helped make a winning statewide ticket. Jimino instantly downplayed anything other than her plans to seek a third term in 2009.

“It’s always flattering to hear my name mentioned as a possible candidate for higher office,” she said. “I love my job and there is so much more to accomplish.”

R

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “The collaborative effort to show the children in our community the dangers of alcohol and drugs.”

Kathy Jimino Rensselaer County Executive (R)

Age: 51

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “I want to continue to focus on county government spending and continue to cut spending. We’ve cut $30 million over the last seven budgets. We need to continue to fight state unfunded mandates. The other issue is to focus on making our county more business friendly. Another large component is agriculture. We’ve worked hard to be agricultural business friendly.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now?

End State Unfunded Mandates on Counties

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FEBR UARY 2008

Up and Coming in the Empire State he Albany region is littered with political professionals who have moved from the halls of state government to public affairs firms. Most do not make the jump into elective office themselves.Then there is Kyle Kotary, a veteran Democratic communications strategist, who got elected to the Bethlehem Town Board in 2005.

A veteran of the Clinton Administration and various state government positions, Kotary is developing his own public affairs firm, Empire Public Affairs, representing the Home Care Association of New York, amongst other clients. Democrats were once a rare breed in Bethlehem, making a showing in local races but not winning. The party began its march to dominance in 2003, accomplishing its mission last year, capturing all the seats on the Town Board.

Kotary is quick to discuss being part of a team on the Town Board, focusing on such issues as the development of new land use plans for the town, preserving open space, and promoting economic development.These include developing new plans to link the town’s far flung neighborhoods closer together, a popular idea in suburban towns across the state.

Having worked in the state and federal government, and having a high profile in state Democratic circles, there is speculation that Kotary would consider moving past the town level and would seek to settle into a higher office.While announcing his re-election bid for 2009 and talking enthusiastically about his plans for Bethlehem’s future, Kotary did let his ambition peek through when discussing the future.

“As far as higher office, I do enjoy working at all levels , and I am open to opportunities that may come,” he said.

“I don’t have my sights set on any particular office or career path. If the opportunity presents itself, I would take the opportunity.”

T

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “I would say the two to three things I’ve taken the leadership role on are the creation of the town’s first comprehensive plan, saving Colonial Acres golf course and hundreds more acres, and efforts to improve our town’s technology and communications.”

Kyle Kotary Bethlehem Town Board Member (D)

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now?

Property Tax Relief, Upstate Economic Development, Expanding Access to Health Care, Local Government Reform

Age: 38 Profiling; Alive and Well Cousin v. Bennett Decided By: Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Jan. 4 Though it is illegal for attorneys to select jurors on the basis of race, this law continues to be nearly unenforceable in New York State. Cousin v. Bennett centers around a prosecutor who rejected the only AfricanAmerican potential juror out of a pool of 58 Suffolk County residents for no stated rea-

Case

Underdog Judges Shut Out 9-0 by U.S. Supreme Court

Court’s ruling put power in the hands of New York’s voters—through their representatives in the State Legislature, which has the power to change the process—to change the state’s 86-year-old nominating process.

“The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws,” Stevens wrote, quoting the late Thurgood Marshall.

New York State Board of Elections v. Torres

Batter Up

The court’s lack of specificity about circumstances that might possibly lead to an inference of racial discrimination may contribute to continued ambiguity about a law that has historically proven hard to enforce.

Decided by: United States Supreme Court, Jan. 16 The Supreme Court upheld New York State’s controversial process for picking state judges, in a decision that has been widely reported as a victory for party leaders and a setback for voters. The state’s process excludes potential candidates that do not have the backing of party leadership. This is a result that the state’s Federal District Court and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals had previously decided was in violation of a First Amendment right to ballot access.

Most reports skipped past the radically different takes on the First Amendment by the Second Circuit and Supreme Court.

Writing for a unanimous majority, Justice Antonin Scalia agreed that the First Amendment was the key constitutional question, though he prioritized the First Amendment rights of political parties over the rights of individual candidates. Scalia argued that the Constitution protects political parties’ rights to choose their nominees in whatever manner they wish.

On the other side of the ideological spectrum, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a concurring opinion which argued that the

POINT in

Major Court Decisions Impacting New Yorkers This Month son. The Second Circuit affirmed his right to do so.

Attorneys can normally reject potential jurors without giving a reason. However, if a judge believes that race could be playing a role in the jury selection process, the court can force the attorney to try to present a non-racial motivation.

Here, the Second Circuit decided that the prosecutor clearly had other, non-racial reasons when he rejected the lone AfricanAmerican in the jury pool, though the court did not specify what these reasons might have been, nor did it allow anyone to ask him. The court emphasized that the prosecutor rejected 14 white jurors before he rejected the first and only minority candidate he had a chance to consider.

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically?

“Over the next two years we hope to continue implementing our comprehensive plan, like our 2020 plan.”

Roberts v. Boys and Girls Republic Inc. Decided by: New York State Supreme Court, First Department, Jan. 8.

A New York City court ruled that bystanders within close proximity to a baseball field voluntarily risk being hit in the head with baseball bats.

While watching her son’s little league baseball practice, a woman was struck in the head by a swinging bat. Though she was on the spectator’s side of a fence that separated her from the field of play, the court argued that there is an inherent and obvious danger of being hit in the head with bats while watching a practice session, and therefore dismissed her claim for damages.

The court also dismissed the mother’s negligence claim, putting New York City at odds with courts elsewhere in the state. The 2003 case of Hochreiter v. Diocese of Buffalo establishes that sports franchises, organizations, or operators can still be negligent in their duty to protect spectators, even though spectators assume some risk of injury when attending practices and games. The court in Roberts v. Boys and Girls Republic Inc. explicitly disagreed, making negligence on the part of a team or organization effectively impossible to prove.

The standard set by this ruling will apply to all baseball fields in New York City, including those operated by the New York Mets and New York Yankees.

Crack Down U.S. v. Smith Decided By: Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Jan. 24 Several federal court decisions around the country in the past few months have rolled back federal sentencing guidelines that penalize crack possession far more harshly than cocaine possession. This comes despite no movement from Congress to change the sentencing guidelines.

In U.S. v. Smith , the Second Circuit allowed defendant Shannon Smith to seek a reduction in his 188-month sentence for various offenses involving crack, and then affirmed judicial authority to make sentencing decisions “based solely on the crack/powder cocaine disparity.”

The Smith decision brings New York in line with the recent Supreme Court cases of Kimbrough v. U.S. and Gall v.

U.S. Both decisions authorized judges to ignore federal sentencing guidelines because of what the Court called a gross disparity between crack and cocaine penalties passed by Congress.

The ruling will apply to all federal drug cases in New York, excluding state cases that come under the sentencing mandates of the Rockefeller drug laws.

While Smith restores judicial discretion going forward, the court was silent on whether inmates previously sentenced under the guidelines can now apply for re-sentencing on the basis of Kimbrough and Gall. This could re-open a huge number of cases involving crackrelated sentences that were handed down over the 22 years since Congress passed crack sentencing guidelines.

—Elie Mystal emystal@manhattanmedia.com

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Charting a New Course for Charter Schools Merriman says there should be no ‘cap’ on high-performing schools and the Department of Education do that work—which they already are. We also clearly saw a double standard in the treatment of charter schools in this case. Not surprisingly, and as I expected, the usual suspects have tried to portray our lawsuit as a way of escaping accountability.

Charters welcome accountability and have plenty of it; but we don’t want it to be duplicative of already existing monitoring and we also want it to be fair.

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS ames Merriman, the new CEO of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence, formerly served as Executive Director of the Charter Schools Institute of the State University of New York (SUNY), the nation’s second-largest university-affiliated authorizer of public charter schools.

In his previous role as authorizer of charter schools, Merriman was responsible for holding charter schools to the highest operational and academic standards. As head of the nonprofit Center, he is an advocate for charter schools, overseeing the Center’s efforts to ensure that charter schools have the freedom and resources to provide a public education to the City’s neediest communities.

Merriman touches on the future of charter schools in New York City, the concept of school autonomy and legal action taken by charter advocates against State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D).

What follows is an edited transcript.

Q: What sort of vision do you have for your tenure at the Center?

A: My hope for the Center is that everything we do is as top flight as the very best charter schools that we were created to serve. We need to be an absolutely relentless advocate for allowing charter schools to flourish in an environment that supports them, but equally make sure that we’re an advocate for charter schools living up to their promises of delivering not just a good but a great education to the children they serve.

Q: Besides advocacy, what else does the Center do for charter schools in the city?

A: The Center provides services to charters, with a focus on those tough technical issues that tend to take them away from the core business that they got into this in the first place -- teaching, and more importantly, learning. Our theory is that if we can relieve schools of some of the burdens of finding facilities, sorting through the maze that is the Department of Education, providing centralized services on teacher certification, fingerprinting, how to deliver special education services, we have then helped school leaders by giving them more time and energy to serving their students. Given how much schools are regulated, even charters, we have to remember always that that’s why we have schools in the first place.

Q: Given the decision last year to increase the cap on the number of charter schools, how would you rate

DANIEL S. BURNSTEIN

J

James Merriman, the new CEO of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence. the State Board of Regents’ approach towards charter schools?

A: I think the Board of Regents has been a thoughtful partner in moving the charter school movement forward. It’s pretty clear that I didn’t always agree with them when I was at SUNY and we won’t always agree now. But it is a constructive dialogue. The one thing I hope the Board fully understands and conveys to the State Education Department is that for charter schools to be successful, the autonomy that allows charter schools the freedom to innovate needs to be jealously protected. At the same time, all of us need to hold charters accountable when they don’t live up to their promises.

Q: Is this idea of autonomy related to your lawsuit against the state comptroller’s office?

A: Yes it is, and I want to be completely clear about this because there’s been a lot of confusion: charter schools and the Center do not oppose the fiscal audits of charter schools by the Comptroller.

Charter schools and district schools have undergone fiscal audits for the past two years after the debacle in Roslyn, and we understand the need for them. We filed our lawsuit only after the Comptroller’s announced that he would conduct “performance” audits on top of the fiscal audits—and then it turned out this additional round of audits was only directed at charter schools, and not a single district school. What got us about these performance audits is that we don’t understand how or why accountants should be judging how teachers and educators are doing their jobs. Let the Board of Regents

Q: Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been very supportive of charter schools, as has Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. Do you see that extending past 2009 with the current crop of mayoral candidates?

A: It would be hard to improve upon the support the Chancellor and Mayor Bloomberg have had for charter schools, but obviously we’re hopeful that anyone who comes into office will be supportive of charter schools. Not because they’re a good idea abstractly, but because of the demonstrable success they’ve had in improving student achievement. In fact, this latest round of progress reports from DOE showed that the number one and number two schools in the entire city were charter schools. If you ask me, that’s an argument for more of those schools, not less.

Q: What about the decision to include charter schools in the city’s grading system? How has that worked out so far?

A: Charter schools already have an extensive accountability structure, so there was some hesitation about whether to add another measure. However, the fact is that charter schools recognize that because this measure is likely to be used by parents to decide where to have their children go to school, and because charter schools do very well on this measure, overall we welcome it.

Q: What has been the relationship between your center and the teachers unions?

A: Cordial and respectful. Again, it is clear that we won’t always agree, but my guess is that there may be more common ground than the conventional wisdom out there has it. We have to remember that there are a number of charter schools that are unionized because they were conversions or have subsequently been unionized and we support the choice of employees to work in the setting that they collectively feel is right for them. And of course, the UFT has its own charter school and is working with a group from California to start more of them.

Q: Are there any sort of noticeable dif-

ferences between charter schools that are managed by for-profit organizations and not-for-profit organizations?

A: First, we don’t have a lot of schools in New York City that are managed by forprofits. With that said, the fact is while the for-profits have had some successes, as a group they have not been outstanding. I think this clearly raises questions in people’s minds fairly or unfairly. After all, while people might not begrudge someone making a profit if they are hitting the ball out of the park, they won’t understand why a company should make a profit from public education if the results aren’t extremely positive. And so far, unfortunately, they just haven’t been.

So it’s a challenge for them.

Q: You talked a lot about maintaining autonomy and having enough transparency so that people feel comfortable. What is sort of the appropriate level of oversight that the government should have over charter schools?

Where do you see the line that up to this point it’s appropriate, but past that you’re encroaching on the school’s autonomy?

A: What I think is appropriate is in fact the system that is laid out in the Charter Schools Act, the legislation that created charter schools. It provides for a comprehensive oversight structure in which charters are overseen not only by the Department of Education or the State University of New York, but also by the State Education Department. The laws and structure in place under which oversight is established and carried out we feel is appropriate. However, where agencies work somehow to change the charter structure to make it look just like the district structure, and all the constraints of that structure, we feel that crosses the line.

Q: Should there be a cap?

A: No. For the life of me, I can’t understand a legislative veto on having more great schools. Let’s take all the energy that we’re spending on fighting more charter schools and make sure that every one that we start has more promise of being a great school.

Q: Do you feel that especially with a lot of public schools being shut down and consolidated into other schools; do you think that charter schools can fill a gap there?

A: I do think that charters will be an important component of creating new schools and more importantly better schools for the students who have been so badly served by the schools that are closing down. But they are only part of the answer.

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FEBR UARY 2008

POWERGRID

Staff: $875,710

Travel: $17,675.53

Rent: $103,843.68

Staff: $752,596

Travel: $48,948.16

Rent: $139,927.37

Staff: $819,548

Travel: $9,383.90

Rent: $100,362.69

Staff: $817,147

Travel: $24,318.98

Rent: $81,704.47

Staff: $797,863

Travel: $18,375.26

Rent: $88,374.12

Staff: $713,268

Travel: $20,326.30

Rent: $113,981.17

Staff: $744,570

Travel: $26,703.30

Rent: $65,263.04

Staff: $698,978

Travel: $23,859.44

Rent: $95,538.47

Staff: $715,653

Travel: $26,622.34

Rent: $72,128.91

Staff: $632,350

Travel: $32,543.05

Rent: $140,028.43

Staff: $675,654

Travel: $5,632.34

Rent: $97,751.40

Staff: $650,672

Travel: $15,565.03

Rent: $99,983.08

Staff: $631,192

Travel: $31,060.07

Rent: $89,306.21

Staff: $619,262

Travel: $28,691.21

Rent: $109,409.22

Staff: $638,549

Travel: $16,142.86

Rent: $86,944.44

Staff: $642,176

Travel: $21,505.88

Rent: $67,802.09

Staff: $647,652

Travel: $26,100.38

Rent: $49,361.23

Staff: $657,833

Travel: $22,180.50

Rent: $37,743.93

Staff: $627,270

Travel: $19,459.82

Rent: $64,556.90

Staff: $563,481

Travel: $33,390.64

Rent: $95,688.24

Staff: $536,877

Travel: $39,907.19

Rent: $86,305.06

Staff: $568,578

Travel: $36,542.34

Rent: $52,925.15

Staff: $525,366

Travel: $40,974.82

Rent: $89,497.55

Staff: $525,777

Travel: $13,705.61

Rent: $107,565.98

Staff: $552,110

Travel: $13,798.35

Rent: $67,348.26

New York Delegation Spending

Allocation Arithmetic M

embers of Congress are allocated north of $1.3 million to spend each year—committee chairs get slightly more. Only $169,3000 goes to their base salaries. The rest is divided up at their discretion, letting them each decide how much to spend on the basics: staff, travel and district office rent.

Between them, New York’s 29 representatives spent almost $25 million dollars on these three main expenses in 2007, leaving them with about $500,000 each to spend on other things. But there are major differences between how much each put toward each category— for staff, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn) is the leader, investing $875,710 over the course of the year, while Rep. Jim Walsh (R-Wayne) spent almost half as much, $497,627.

For travel, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) is the leader, spending $48,948, while Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn/Queens) spent just $9,383. For rent, Meeks was also the leader, spending $139,927 between his two district offices, while Rep. John Hall (D-Orange/Westchester/Dutchess) spent just $26,503 between his two.

How the fears of a recession might change things this year is something no one can yet predict. But together over last year, this is how much New York’s members of Congress spent.

Source: Statement of Disbursements of the House

Staff Expenses

Travel Expenses

Rent Expenses

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: Brodsky, in Brief What follows is an edited transcript.

The Capitol: What do you think about the congestion pricing report that was just released?

Richard Brodsky: I think it’s a disaster.

TC: Do you think this is being touted as a substitution for a commuter tax?

RB: I haven’t heard that. I don’t know why anyone would say that, because commuters don’t pay this fee. This is only paid by people from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Not only, but largely.

TC: So why doesn’t this make sense to you?

RB: It’s a regressive tax on a large band of people, mostly middle income and low income people in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. People from Jersey don’t pay.

The money is not guaranteed to go to mass transit. They gut the environmental laws.

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

ssembly Member Richard Brodsky (DWestchester) may have been on the congestion pricing commission, but he certainly does not agree with its recommendations. In a 13-2 vote earlier this month, the commission approved a modified version of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (Unaff.) congestion pricing plan, which would charge motorists $8 to drive below 60th Street in Manhattan.

Bloomberg is the latest politician to run up against Brodsky, who in his 25 years in Albany, has established himself as one of the Legislature’s most notable no-nonsense politicians, with a reputation for being a man unafraid to criticize anyone. He has made several tries for other positions—Westchester county executive, attorney general and state comptroller, in the wake of Alan Hevesi’s resignation.

Now he is rumored to be a possible successor to Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), and though he quickly shot down that speculation, he took some time to discuss what he sees as the future of the congestion pricing plan, public authority reform and Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s improving relationship with the Legislature.

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TC: Bloomberg’s plan originally called for the creation of a new authority, but that has been shelved.

When it comes to the existing authorities, do you see room for reform?

RB: Yes. We have a bill that passed in the Assembly last year that would do that. It does a lot of things. It would change the law governing them, and that’s in the bill.

TC: Couldn’t some argue that there’s a knowledge gap of sorts when it comes to the understanding of public authorities?

RB: Well, I don’t know about nobody, but we have looked at them very carefully and we have a proposal that I think would work and that’s what’s in the bill.

TC: How do you feel the governor has changed his approach with regards to the Legislature?

RB: I think the governor is trying to find a better way to communicate with both the public and with representatives in the Legislature, and I think it’s all for the good.

There have been, I think, unnecessary bumps in the relationship and I think everyone ought to try and fix that. I think he’s listening better and it’s all for the good.

TC: In the past you’ve made three attempts to get out of the Legislature. Do you mind the idea of being an Assembly lifer?

RB: I don’t know what a lifer is.

RB: Every two years I make a decision about whether I run for re-election. That, I think, is the appropriate time and based on what the people think, then I make those decisions. I don’t sit around and worry about those decisions.

TC: Do you think you could beat Assembly Member Dick Gottfried’s (D-Manhattan) record?

RB: Got any other questions?

TC: If Shelly Silver were to step down at some point or retire, are you interested in running for speaker?

RB: Those are the questions you ask at that point.

Generally speaking, it isn’t in anyone’s interest to have folks busy figuring out what their next job is, in any business.

TC: You think it’s a distraction?

RB: I think for anybody, do the job you’re in and do it well, and the rest of it comes when it comes. The speaker does a very good job. No one that I know is engaged in the kind of discussions that you’re talking about and I’m doing the stuff I have to do.

TC: Metropolitan Transportation Authority President Lee Sanders announced that he would give a “State of the MTA” speech in March. Are you planning to attend?

RB: I haven’t been invited.

TC: What do you think can be done with the MTA? RB: I think you should go back and look at the thorough and thought-out way we approached authority reform. I think the MTA is a poster child for those kinds of reforms. These have been Soviet style bureaucracies that are out of control. There’s no accountability. And the trick is to make them accountable.

TC: Do you think that has the support to get through the Legislature?

RB: Yes. We’ve already passed it in the Assembly and the Senate passed a similar bill and we’re going to try to get it done in both houses this year.

TC: Do you think the governor will sign the bill into law?

RB: Well, the governor would be supporting the bill the Assembly has passed.

TC: A legislator for life?

RB: I don’t know what a legislator for life is. There are elections every two years.

TC: But not the Senate version?

RB: Right.

TC: Are there other positions you might be interested in running for?

TC: So there are still kinks to be worked out?

RB: Well, there are issues to be resolved.

The Publication for and about New York State Government www.nycapitolnews.com

La w Sc af fo ld Th e To O n H an g

Photography by John Afrides

Too often, workers are left dangling in the heights of a it’s just another chapter of an ongoing saga of violations, construction boom. citations and slaps on the wrist from regulators.

New buildings rise in the Big Apple at breakneck speed. %XLOGHUV FXW FRUQHUV RQ VDIHW\ WR ERRVW SURÀWV )DFHG ZLWK the demands of bosses who control work sites, employees try to hold onto their jobs – while hanging on for dear life.

One of the few deterrents to this bad behavior is New York State’s Scaffold Law. It holds contractors and owners accountable for ensuring that safety precautions are in place at work sites. And it gives them a reason to think twice before risking lives of workers and nearby pedestrians.

In New York City, the number of construction workers killed on the job has nearly doubled – up to 43 deaths a year To avoid responsibility, builders, contractors, insurers, and ² DFFRUGLQJ WR WKH ODWHVW ÀJXUHV IURP WKH IHGHUDO %XUHDX RI other special interests are pressuring the State Legislature to Labor Statistics. Behind each number is a human tragedy.

FKDQJH WKH VWDWXWH )RU VDIHW\¡V VDNH ZH XUJH RXU OHDGHUV WR hang on to the Scaffold Law. Last month, a father of three plummeted 42 stories to his GHDWK DW D FRQVWUXFWLRQ VLWH LQ 6RKR )RU WKH FRQWUDFWRUV A message from the New York State Trial Lawyers Association Protecting Consumers and Civil Justice Since 1953 132 Nassau Street New York NY 10038 Tel: 212-349-5890 www.nystla.org

Š 2008 NYSTLA Lagerkvist/Breytman

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FEBR UARY 2008

The Markowitz Factor

If BP makes Brooklyn a battleground, Weiner’s mayoral prospects may take the hit

BY EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE MARKOWITZ IS AWARE OF his shortcomings as he weighs a bid for mayor next year.

With just over $900,000 raised as of the January filing, the Brooklyn borough president has far less money than the three expected major candidates. He lacks the benefit of having run citywide before, as two of his prospective opponents do. And he is much further behind the other anticipated mayoral candidates in making up his mind about whether to even make the race.

But should he get in, he believes he has something which could help him very quickly make up ground: a strong base in Brooklyn and a history with the kind of voters from whom he could potentially cobble together a winning citywide coalition.

And that, political observers agree, could mean big trouble for Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens), who is planning to make another run for Gracie Mansion.

If he runs, Markowitz said, his campaign would be built on the man-of-thepeople image he has fostered for the past six years as borough president.

“I don’t have extraordinary skills or extraordinary intelligence,” he said. “I’m an average New Yorker.”

But being known for exactly that, he said, could win him a lot of votes.

“The kind of person that supports me,” he said, “are the overwhelming majority of people who live in the city.”

Political observers say that Marty More importantly, though, Markowitz running for mayor would according to several political make Rep. Anthony Weiner’s camobservers, Markowitz would have Brooklyn. And though skepti- paign anything but a cakewalk. cal that this could win him the race, they agreed that this could make him enough of a spoil- Hank Sheinkopf speculated, er to change the dynamics of the campaign entirely, par- could mean major problems for Weiner.

“Markowitz is a far more superior player in that turf ticularly for Weiner, but also potentially for Council in Brooklyn than Weiner is,” he said. “Markowitz deletes Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan).

“He’s not a threat to them in the sense that he would Weiner’s strength geographically. This has nothing to do win over them,” said political consultant Joe Mercurio. with race or ethnicity. It has to do with geography.”

City Comptroller William Thompson, also expected “He’s a threat in that he could take enough votes away to make the race, is from Brooklyn as well. But though he could lose some local votes to Markowitz, Thompson would not only have the strength of being the only expected minority candidate in the race, but benefit from several non-minority candidates splitting the primary vote.

“The more ethnic, white candidates in the race who are looking for Jewish and Catholic votes,” Mercurio from them that they would not win.”

Weiner’s 2005 mayoral campaign was built on an said, “the easier it is for Thompson.”

Markowitz, however, insisted that if he does run, he appeal to middle class, outer borough voters which drew heavily on supporters from his native Brooklyn. will run to win, helped by support that he believes will He is expected to make a similar appeal in next year’s come from African-Americans. In more than two decades campaign. But Markowitz would likely be strong among of State Senate races, Markowitz noted, he carried a disthis constituency as well, especially after two terms as trict which has a heavy African-American and Caribbeanthe borough’s president. And that, political consultant American population, which he said gives him confi-

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“The kind of person that supports me,” Marty Markowiz said, “are the overwhelming majority of people who live in the city.”

dence in getting African-American votes even if up against Thompson.

“I understand the draw of AfricanAmericans to an African-American,” he said. “But I think that I would be competitive. I’m sure that that leadership would not support me, but they didn’t support me when I ran for State Senate in an overly African-American district, and they didn’t support me when I ran for borough president. And that’s all right.”

And he would be able to call on other ethnic and racial groups as well, he said. A background campaigning and governing in a borough as diverse as Brooklyn, Markowitz believes, has given him inroads into just about every kind of community which exists across the city.

But, he admitted, some New Yorkers may remain beyond his grasp.

“Would I appeal to a very wealthy East Side resident?” he wondered. “That I don’t know.”

He continued to dismiss the idea that he might try to translate his appeal into a run for another citywide office. Public advocate, he says, “calls for a personality type that’s not Marty Markowitz.” And having him as comptroller makes little sense -- “I can hardly balance my own checkbook,” he joked.

A race for mayor, though, just might work, provided he can figure out how to raise the money without becoming beholden to donors or interest groups, he said. Never one to shy away from praising Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Markowitz said he wants to continue Bloomberg’s efforts to limit the influence of campaign donations. And while he may not have the multi-billion dollar personal fortune to call on for his own campaign, the borough president insisted that he could put together a campaign on low-dollar contributions.

“I believe it’s possible if I set my mind to it, and I had the geniuses that know how to do it,” he said. “And there are people out there, believe me, who know how to do it.”

And in governing style as well, he said, he would model himself after Bloomberg. He encouraged the comparisons.

“He’s Jewish, I’m Jewish. His birthday is Feb. 14, my birthday is Feb. 14. People say he’s short. I’m shorter,” he said. “Besides that, there are only billions that separate us.”

Still, he said, if he does decide to start a campaign, he knows the late start in campaigning and fundraising may hurt him. He is aware, as well, that he may suffer from being known more for his sense of humor than his policy agenda.

“I know I wouldn’t be the favorite,” he said.

But he hinted at how he might parlay that into a winning strategy.

“Maybe I could become everyone’s second choice.

That wouldn’t be too bad,” he said. “All you got to do is make it to the run-off.” eidovere@cityhallnews.com

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FEBR UARY 2008

American Dream or Nightmare?

By Robert Bonanza, Business Manager, Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York, LIUNA

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hen you ask people their definition of the American Dream there is one universal answer: owning your own home. For generations people have flocked to our great city, from other nations and other parts of this country, in search of the American Dream. Sadly that dream is becoming more and more elusive to more and more people. The cost of housing in New York City has reached a point where in the near future only the super wealthy will be able to afford to live here. In survey after survey the lack of affordable housing is cited as the single greatest challenge to attracting and maintaining businesses and workers to our city. That is why Mayor Bloomberg is to be applauded for setting the goal of building or rehabilitating 165,000 units of affordable housing.

The Department of Housing Preservation & Development is charged with bringing the Mayor’s vision to fruition. With billions of dollars allocated to the development of affordable housing units, HPD is the “800 pound gorilla” at the table. They set the agenda and tone for all matters related to affordable housing. Acting on the Mayor’s mandate, HPD determines how the resources will be allocated, who the developers will be, and monitors the progress, or the lack thereof. Their influence and power cannot be overstated. Ultimately their choices determine the quality of the units, the standards used in building them and whether or not all applicable laws and safety standards are enforced.

Unfortunately to date HPD has fallen short of its responsibilities to the people of New York City. Many of the housing units that have been built under HPD’s umbrella are substandard units, not fit for people to live in. Many of the developers who have been awarded work have long histories of operating outside of the laws and basic quality standards accepted in New York City. The business practices that HPD has employed have had a devastating effect on all New Yorkers. From the workers who are exploited, to the homeowners who are sold an uninhabitable home, to the taxpayers who subsidize these projects, to the future generations who will ultimately be forced to foot the bill for repairs to block after block of dilapidated housing, we all are paying the price.

No one is more committed to building affordable housing than the men and women of the organized construction trades. The members of our unions provide the highly skilled, reliable workforce needed to get the job done right, the first time. They represent the economic backbone of New York’s middle class. Our signatory contractors are the most respected and knowledgeable people in the industry. However, these experienced, reputable businesses cannot compete with fly-by-night, irresponsible contractors who are willing to pay workers $60 a day, cash, off the books to get the job done. This “race to the bottom” has resulted in the type of problems that have plagued affordable housing construction in every borough.

In order to avoid such problems in other agencies, the Bloomberg Administration has enacted policies designed to ensure quality construction, while protecting the middle class. The historic School Construction Authority project labor agreement, the CM Build initiative with the New York City Housing Authority and the mandatory apprenticeship language included in all Mayoral agency procurements (except HPD) are all examples of the Mayor’s leadership. If it works for these agencies it will work for HPD. We are at an historic crossroads in our city. In Mayor Bloomberg we have a leader who has demonstrated the willingness to take on longstanding problems and enact innovative solutions. It would be a tragedy if the challenges facing the affordable housing problem did not benefit from the same leadership, commitment and determination.

The nearly 15,000 members of the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York include construction workers, asbestos and hazardous materials handlers, recycling and waste handlers, office and professional personnel and Catholic high school teachers. The MTDC is an affiliate the Laborers’ International Union of North America.

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Affordable and Sustainable Housing for Our Growing Population

BY COMMISSIONER SHAUN DONOVAN BLOOMBERG’S PLANYC lays out a blueprint for a greener, greater New York. It aims to reduce emissions while preparing the city for an estimated one million more New Yorkers by 2030. To do both requires an ambitious green approach to the new housing we must build. Creating enough housing for the growing population is a major part of PlaNYC, and we are committed to making new homes not only as affordable as possible, but as green as well.

We are already making good progress.

New housing is going up all across the city. 2007 saw the highest number of building permits for privately-owned residential units in New York City since 1972, and was the third year in a row with over 30,000 new building permits. This is a reversal of a long-standing trend in which the pace of housing construction has lagged behind the population’s growth—a trend that has resulted in a gap between housing supply and demand that has created an affordability crunch, putting the housing market out of balance and making housing more expensive.

The Bloomberg Administration is committed to closing this gap and spurring the development of housing for all New Yorkers. As a result, the mayor has launched an ambitious 10-year affordable housing plan that will build and preserve enough affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers—more than the entire population of Atlanta.

But since 79 percent of New York City’s greenhouse gases come from buildings, a higher proportion than in any other U.S. city, making sure this new housing is sustainable, as well as affordable, is vital— not only for the success of PlaNYC, but for the future of our whole city. Recently, 32 architect-development teams from around the world vied to construct affordable green housing on a city-owned site in the South Bronx. The winning design features over 200 units of affordable housing, incorporates green materials, energy efficient design, and even space for tenants to grow their own food.

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By incorporating green technologies and practices including energy efficient appliances, lighting, windows and insulation, we not only help save the environment. We also reduce utility costs for the building owners and tenants, making housing even more affordable. And the new construction codes signed into law by the mayor last year will take these efforts even further by granting rebates for green design.

While New York City living is already good for the environment—the average New York City resident contributes less than a third of the emissions generated by a typical American—we are committed to making it even better. With the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation’s history and the mayor’s far-reaching PlaNYC, we are making great progress.

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Shaun Donovan is the commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

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BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOMES. CHANGING PEOPLE'S LIVES.

Every day, the members of New York's affordable housing development community change people's lives by providing them with new affordable homes.

Well designed and built with quality and care by a diverse and well-paid workforce. Housing that families stay in while their children and grandchildren grow.

When we build affordable housing, we are building the future—one house and one family at a time.

To learn more about how the affordable housing community is brightening the future for so many New Yorkers, email info@nysafah.org.

5925 Broadway, Bronx, NY 10463 • Phone: 718.432.2100 • Fax: 718.432.2400 • info@nysafah.org • www.nysafah.org

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Daunting Housing Challenges Require Innovative “Changes”

BY ASSEMBLY MEMBER VITO LOPEZ NEW YORK CITY AND ACROSS New York State, we are currently facing an unprecedented need for affordable housing. As Chairman of the New York State Assembly Housing Committee and a lifetime advocate for affordable housing, I am acutely aware of this need and have continued to maintain that the development of affordable housing is my highest priority.

I am proud to be part of a broadbased coalition of advocates and political representatives who have for years sought to increase the funding available to build affordable housing. Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s recently announced $400 million Housing Opportunity Fund was an outgrowth of my efforts and the efforts of the advocate community for the past year.

In the past year, we have had several major victories for affordable housing in the city and state of New York. I am particularly proud of the reform of the 421-a Program that we passed in the State Legislature and that Gov. Spitzer signed into law last year. Under the reformed program, developers who receive a 421-a tax exemption must now provide at least 20 percent of their

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new units in many neighborhoods throughout all five boroughs of New York City to families of four making 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is about $42,000 per year. These units must remain affordable at these income limits for at least 35 years. In addition, building service workers in 421-a buildings over 50 units must be paid prevailing wages for their services. This provision will create over 1000 prevailing wage jobs in the city.

Through our efforts last year, we were also able to get the Public Housing Shelter Allowance Bill signed into law, which provided the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) with an additional $50 million in federal, state and city funding per year. At a time when NYCHA is suffering from an enormous deficit in federal, state and city funding, this additional funding is crucial to ensure that New York’s public housing tenants can continue to receive the services that they need and deserve.

In addition, we were able to get HUD to recognize that while they have for years said that New York City’s AMI is $70,900, this number is drastically

inflated because it includes neighboring, and often wealthy, counties such as Nassau, Rockland and Westchester, as well as Hudson and Bergen Counties in New Jersey. The new HUD-recognized AMI in New York City is $58,600 for a

family of four, which is much closer to reality for working families.

Gov. Spitzer’s allocation of $400 million to the Housing Opportunity Fund is a great success for affordable housing throughout New York State. In addition to the funding allocated for Gov. Spitzer’s Housing Opportunity Fund, I am also advocating for $40 million for the Housing Trust Fund budget, $25 million for the Affordable Housing Corporation, $15 million for Homes for Working Families, $20 million for public housing modernization, and $5 million for the Hope/Restore Program.

The challenges of affordable housing in New York State are daunting. They include the rising cost of construction, a shortage of available land, the underutilization of brownfield sites, and mixed-use developments. I am looking forward to holding hearings in the coming weeks and having dialogue with housing advocates, developers, and city and state housing agency officials to address the affordable housing crisis that the residents of New York State are facing.

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Vito Lopez is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn in the Assembly.

He is chair of the Assembly Housing Committee.

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Service Directions and Affordable Housing Partnering For A Better Tomorrow Caring about laundry is our business. Caring about people, our passion.

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Stimulate the Economy With Affordable Housing

BY MARC JAHR CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT consider ways to deal with troubles in the housing market and look to stimulate the economy, one of the best ways to create jobs and help the housing market is through increased federal support for affordable housing. New York City is building record amounts of affordable housing. But we could use some help from our friends in Washington.

The year 2007 was another banner year for the City’s Housing Development Corporation (HDC). HDC is a public benefit corporation established to finance the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout New York City.

Through Mayor Bloomberg's $7.5 billion, 165,000 unit New Housing Marketplace Plan, HDC has committed to finance 42,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years. Over 33,000 of those units have already been funded.

In 2007, HDC issued $659 million worth of bonds to finance the construction and preservation of 4,786 apartments for low, moderate and middle income New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs. That made HDC the second-largest issuer of bonds among all housing finance agencies nationally, second only to our colleagues at the New York State Housing Finance Agency.

In addition, HDC financed nearly $145 million in mortgage loans from its own corporate reserves during the year, at no cost to taxpayers, further supporting the efforts of developers to build affordable housing in New York City by offering lower interest rates.

The success of the affordable housing incentives in the mayor’s housing plan has led to a pressing challenge, as the demand for tax exempt bonds far exceeds supply.

Annually, the federal government allocates each state an amount of tax exempt bonds – or “volume cap”—on a per capita basis. While states are able to use these bonds to finance a range of activities, New York spends the largest portion of its bond allocation on housing development, where the need and demand are greatest. It is only February, but over $960 million in private activity bonds are required for affordable housing deals in HDC’s 2008 pipeline alone, while New York State overall has a pipeline of more than $6 billion. Unfortunately, however, New York State’s yearly allocation of cap is only around $1.6 billion.

A number of factors have contributed to the current need for more volume cap.

The slight yearly increase in the per capita allocation of volume cap has not been enough to meet the strong demand for affordable housing development throughout the city. Compounding this shortfall is

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the rapid run-up in construction costs, the stimulus for development resulting from the rezoning of Hudson Yards, West Chelsea, the Brooklyn waterfront and other areas of the city, as well as changes in the 421-a tax program. Absent additional volume cap, this demand will go unmet, while proposed affordable housing projects and “80-20” projects will either be significantly delayed or go unfunded.

A number of possible federal legislative changes could help. Congressman Charles Rangel, as Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Schumer will play an important role in getting such legislation passed, and have been much-needed champions in Washington for the city’s and the nation’s affordable housing needs.

One proposal allows for the “recycling” of bonds used to finance only the construction phase of multi-family rental housing, and retires after two or three years. This “recycling” is allowed for financing single family homes but not multi-family buildings, which is unfair to urban areas like New York City. This proposal would net the state and city an additional $150-200 million a year in volume cap prospectively, and as much as $500 million in the year of enactment, should we be able to recycle bonds issued in the past five years.

Most immediately, as Congress considers an urgently needed economic stimulus package, there is a compelling logic to encouraging the construction of more affordable housing. Housing and housing starts are economic drivers with powerful multiplier effects. Providing states and localities with increased volume cap and greater flexibility on how they use it would create jobs, boost the economy, help address the needs of subprime borrowers and build affordable housing that is vitally important to the residents and neighborhoods of New York City.

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Marc Jahr is President of the New York City Housing Development Corporation

Why Does Your Rent Go Up Every Year?

There are more than one million rent stabilized apartments in New York City -- half rent for less than $844 per month.

They are the largest single source of affordable housing in New York. But, since 2002:

Real Estate Taxes Increased 64% Water and Sewer Rates Increased 53% The NYC Rent Guidelines Board must pass along these increased costs in the form of increased rents. Each year, as building operating costs increase, your rent goes up – and up. There’s not much City Hall can do about rising heating oil costs. But City Hall can and should hold down property taxes and water and sewer bills.

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Cuts to Low-income Housing a Danger for Affordable Housing

BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ERIK DILAN HIS FABULOUS CITY, WHICH ATTRACTS

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hundreds of new residents from around the world, must re-commit to investing more in the new development of low- and moderate-income affordable housing.

The importance of supporting lowand moderate-income housing and funding our city’s public housing agency is all the more essential when you factor in the subprime mortgage-foreclosure mess.

We’re likely to see previous homeowners returning in droves to renting and searching for more affordable housing options.

One shudders to think of the sheer number of applications for public housing if we don’t resolve to support the development of more affordable housing.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is currently faced with a budget crunch, having sustained massive cuts from the federal government. Because of the Bush administration’s cuts to federal housing assistance, the agency is now forced to increase renter’s fees and reduce services.

NYCHA is the largest public housing agency in North America, overseeing close to 3,000 buildings throughout the city with nearly 200,000 apartments for 400,000 occupants. As of September, 2007, the tally for those on the waiting list for public housing has grown to over 126,000 families and close to 161,000 for the Section 8 voucher program.

With NYCHA’s budget deficit reaching $195.3 million, and the current demand for housing far exceeding the supply, our city and state government can no longer afford to offer billions in property tax breaks and other subsidies to Wall Street corporations, without also focusing on making up for the enormous public housing cuts with long anticipated sources of funding.

Sure, it’s forward thinking to plan for new development in our city’s hot commercial and residential real estate market. But we’re in danger of falling backward if we don’t prepare to address what some of our leading homeless and poverty advocacy groups have reported recently.

Over the past few years, groups such as Coalition for the Homeless and the Community Service Society of New York have analyzed the recent housing conditions in the city and have found that the homeless and poverty rates have doubled in the last decade.

The other sobering findings show that the housing crisis disproportionately affects African-American and Hispanic residents, who account for roughly 50 percent of the city's population. In Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and sections of Manhattan, you’ll likely find thou-

sands of black and Latino families living in sub-standard housing, paying a larger percentage of their incomes for rent.

With many of New York City’s working and middle class residents spending over 50 percent of their income on housing while attempting to balance all other expenses for living, it’s no surprise that more and more city residents are being priced-out of New York, fleeing to the suburbs or other parts of the country.

So let’s all acknowledge that we’re in a housing crisis, which affects all of us.

That is why my colleagues in city and state government must ensure that city and state capital funds for the construction of low- and moderate-income housing are re-committed into our city budget and maintain our fight to build more affordable housing.

Gov. Spitzer’s Shelter Allowance Bill for approximately $47 million a year in additional public housing assistance to NYCHA, to be fully phased in by 2010, is a move in the right direction, but more needs be done on the city and federal levels to help prevent further NYCHA cuts to services.

We need to do more to fix, refurbish and maintain our increasingly dilapidated housing stock. It’s urgent that we invest more in Section 8 subsidized housing assistance, and in housing development initiatives such as after school and job training programs. And we need to increase construction of low- and moderate-income residential housing.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Council Sub-Committee Chair of Public Housing Rosie Mendez, my Council colleagues and I will work together with all levels of government to help prevent further cuts to NYCHA services and to preserve the necessity of public housing for city residents.

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Erik Dilan is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn in the City Council. He is chair of the Council’s Housing & Buildings Committee.

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T e Top Five #1 #4

#2

#3

First-Time Candidates, Big-Time Fundraisers nthony Cassino, David Greenfield, Brad Lander, Michael Simanowitz and Paul Vallone have never run for office before. But as they start their campaigns for Council seats which will open next year, these new kids on the block are already proving themselves formidable fundraisers. In the period that ended with the January filing, these five raised more than any other novice candidates.

Money is not everything in politics, as Mitt Romney now knows full well. But with a matching system that will multiply each one of these dollars into many more, the head start these prospective candidates have in the cash race may give them an early lead.

Most called on their family and friends. Some used old political connections. Some tried innovative approaches to house parties and reached across party lines.

None of them fully enjoyed the process. But they all did it well. They explain how.

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#5

#!

David G Greenfield Running for Council seat currently held by Simcha Felder

Raised

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Fundraising Secret

“Knowing how much people are able to give and asking them to get involved at the right level.”

David Greenfield does not need to ask anyone else for money. He is done. The 29-year-old lawyer and Brooklyn education activist raised enough cash in eight weeks for his campaign to land the maximum in matching public contributions—almost a full two years before elections.

He did it by drawing on lessons learned as deputy director of finance for Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman’s campaign in the 2004 Democratic presiden-

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tial primaries.

“You should never shut people out of a campaign because they can’t afford to participate,” he said.

When Greenfield first met Lieberman through a college internship years ago, he was impressed by the senator’s downto earth dealings with everyone, and the time Lieberman always set aside for his family.

“That is very important for me now that I have a one-year-old,” Greenfield said.

On the Lieberman campaign, Greenfield learned that the secret to successful fundraising was never be afraid to ask for $10—or $1,000. Nor does he discriminate based on party affiliation: State Sen. Marty Golden (R-Brooklyn) attended one of his fundraisers, and there are several Republicans among Greenfield’s 350 contributors. He credits Lieberman’s influence on his political philosophy for his willingness to reach across party lines.

Now that he is done fundraising, Greenfield said he looks forward to spending more time reaching out to potential constituents. An observant Orthodox Jew, he hopes to unite the diverse religious Jewish and Catholic communities of Ditmas Park, Borough Park, Midwood, Bensonhurst and Kensington by focusing on affordable housing and education assistance.

To reach out to the Catholic community, Greenfield recently invited Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio to Prime Grill, a kosher restaurant in midtown Manhattan. The bishop and several prominent priests arrived in full regalia and surprised the candidate by offering a non-denominational prayer.

Greenfield laughed, recalling the scene.

“The single biggest thing I’ve learned is that coalitions are critical to success in New York,” he said.

But despite his fundraising success, Greenfield and his family are feeling a personal financial pinch. His advocacy for affordable housing comes in part from their experiences: they have been priced out of owning a house in their neighborhood, he says.

#2

Brad Lander Running for Council seat currently held by Bill de Blasio

Raised

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Fundraising Secret

“Passion plus good relationships plus strong track record equals people giving enthusiastically when you ask.”

Brad Lander, 38, began a series of eight house parties in August to raise money for his Council bid. At one of them, his 4year-old daughter Rosa leapt into the role of finance director when a friend of his asked how much to contribute.

“One million dollars!” she said.

FEB RUARY 2008

Lander explained that campaign limits were a little lower.

Though this is his first campaign, Lander has spent the last 15 years advocating for improved and more affordable neighborhoods. He lives in Park Slope, one of the many distinct neighborhoods that comprise the district he now wants to represent.

For his first few fundraisers, Lander said he tapped his base—friends and people he had worked with over the years. He organized the house parties by themes.

Freelancers, artists, consultants and other independent workers were on one guest list. Parent leaders focused on education issues made up most of another.

Before becoming director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, Lander founded the Fifth Avenue Committee, a community-based organization focused on affordable housing, job creation and adult education. Lander said he started with a staff of five that ballooned to 50 by the time he left, and had developed approximately 500 units of affordable housing.

At Pratt, Lander said he is continuing to support affordable housing while also focusing on planning, architecture, public policy and environmental justice.

to show that you’re serious, so you aren’t easily brushed aside,” he said.

Outside the office, Simanowitz has patrolled neighborhoods as an auxiliary officer for the 107th Precinct for the last 12 years.

“No gun, but we do act as sort of a helper, the eyes and ears,” he said.

On the night of the Sept. 11 attacks, the city temporarily conferred peace officer status on many auxiliary officers, including Simanowitz. He worked around the clock to secure the perimeter of the World Trade Center.

If elected, he would push to see the Buildings Department use less bureaucratic red tape when issuing permits, as well as advocating that city agencies be more proactive in communicating with each other.

#3 Mic ael

“People have offered more often than I’ve asked. Some people are comfortable asking for money. I’m not.”

Simanowit

Running for Council seat currently held by James Gennaro

Raised

5

Fundraising Secret

“Just a lot of hard work. A lot of phone calls, pressing the flesh and personal visits.”

Michael Simanowitz claims home court advantage in fundraising for his Council bid. For over a decade, the 36year-old has served as chief-of-staff to Assembly Member Nettie Mayerson (DQueens) while also serving as an auxiliary police officer in the Forest Hills neighborhood where he was born and bred.

“I don’t want to say I’m lucky,” Simanowitz said of the cash he has gathered from 168 contributors since midOctober. “I grew up in Forest Hills. I have strong roots in the community.”

He said he decided to focus the beginning of his candidacy on building up his campaign treasury, welcoming $10 or $20 contributions as eagerly as checks for $500 or $1,000.

“You want a strong showing early on

#4

Ant ony Pere Cassino Running for Council seat currently held by G. Oliver Koppell

Raised

5 250

Fundraising Secret

Whether at a flea market or campaign events, Anthony Cassino said he and his wife are never comfortable talking much about money.

So before making a final decision on his candidacy, Cassino wants to answer this question: “Would people care enough to write a check?”

The answer appears to be yes: the 42-year-old lawyer from Riverdale has received 127 donations since October.

He is 90 percent decided, and plans to make a final decision before summer. But he has qualms about making the leap, he said.

“I can’t say I love the political process,” said Cassino.

The one-time pro bono affairs director for the New York State Bar Association said he wants to be sure he has broad-based support.

“The best person doesn’t always win,” he said. “But if you get the best person, I love the part after that.”

As chairman of Bronx Community Board 8, Cassino said he came to truly appreciate the power of public service when fighting to change the zoning of Kingsbridge and Riverdale a few years

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ago.

Though this would be his first campaign, Cassino has already gotten involved in controversial political decisions. The Northwest Bronx Democratic Alliance, which he founded, endorsed Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s bid for a second term. As he moves forward in his campaign, Cassino said he is committed to taking principled positions, even if they are unpopular and cause controversy.

“I try to be fair and reasonable and not let party affiliation affect an issue,” Cassino said.

#5

Paul Vallone

Running for Council seat currently held by Tony Avella

Raised

Fundraising

Secret

“It’s not easy. I’m the campaign manager, treasurer, and secretary.”

Since Paul Vallone, 40, decided to run for Tony Avella’s (D) seat, the attorney and community advocate has lately heard his storied surname and thought, “Hey, that’s me.”

Vallone said friends and family, who have been waiting years for him to run, blessed him with financial support once he leapt into the race in December. He raised over $20,000 at one event, held at Cascarinos Pizzeria in Queens.

Still, Vallone said fundraising is the downside of politics.

“It’s not easy to say to people, ‘I know you are having a tough time making do, but do you have $50 to $100?’” he said.

Growing up as a Vallone has always meant serving his community, he said. He is a member of nine civic boards and organizations, including the City Board of Corrections.

Vallone already successfully led a fight to remove a cell phone tower mounted on a local school. He hopes to wage similar battles on the Council, with a commitment to keeping his district’s private and residential atmosphere intact.

Vallone had always been interested in running, he said. But the birth of his third child, Charlie—named after his grandfather, a Queens judge—prompted him to start his candidacy now.

“It wasn’t that at 40 I knew it was time to run,” Vallone said. “It was just time to do it. I didn’t want to be an old father and an old Councilman.”

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FEBR UARY 2008

ON/OFF THE RECORD BREAKFAST

Lieber Takes on Life After Doctoroff ment there. Do you think there are things that should be changed in the way that the planning there has been done so far?

A: Sounds like a loaded question, doesn’t it? No, I think the plan has got enough flexibility built in to it. I think what’s important from previous initiatives is that you have to have the right kind of sequencing and balance in what you’re trying to do. Trying to draw big office users or tenants to areas that aren’t well served by transportation is going to be extraordinarily difficult.

an Doctoroff unquestionably left his mark on the city from his six years as Michael Bloomberg’s deputy mayor for economic development. After Doctoroff announced his departure last December, Bloomberg did not go far to find a replacement: Robert Lieber, a Doctoroff deputy who had spent a year as president of the Economic Development Corporation.

Days after starting his new job, Lieber was the guest at the Jan. 16 On/Off the Record Breakfast at the Commerce Bank flagship location on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, discussing the interview process which got him the job, how he plans to continue what Doctoroff already started, what new priorities the city might want to focus on during the last two years of the Bloomberg administration and what the future holds for major projects in places like Lower Manhattan and the Far West Side.

What follows is an edited transcript.

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Q: Was it just Mike Bloomberg sitting on the other side of a desk, going over your résumé?

A: It’s not quite that way. There were a few folks in the room and he was there. He asked a few questions and we talked. “What do you think you want to do? How would you do it? Okay.”

Q: Before you came to this job, you were the president of the EDC, and before that you were at Lehman Brothers, working in investment, in real estate investment. How do you see the private investment sensibility matching up with a sensibility from the public perspective?

A: Well, I think, not surprisingly, there’s a very nice fit from the private sector perspective. You know, initially I would look at projects from the perspective of “Can this be financed?” And if it can be financed, what’s the best way to try to finance it? The character, the experience, the background of the developer or the development team you’re working with -- I think having these perspectives is useful because coming in on this side, the projects I’m involved in now, or some of the projects I’m involved in now are much earlier stage projects than the ones that we would look at necessarily from the private sector.

Q: Dan Doctoroff was the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding. The mayor named you Deputy Mayor for Economic

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Q: What was the interview process like to get the job to succeed Dan Doctoroff?

A: I don’t know how many people were being considered. I don’t know who they were. Lots of speculation, stuff from the press, some people always had so-and-so on the inside. You know, I think from my perspective, I read some of these periodicals, and I didn’t see my name in anything. And I think part of it is that the mayor wants to make the decision about the right balance between somebody who can come in and hit the ground running and move these things along. You know, we have the infamous clock that sits in the bullpen and counts down every second in the administration, the admonition above it to make something happen. So I think that was an important part of it. But I think the other part of it, too, is that on the inside someone leaves a hole potentially in the entity, organization or agency from which they come, so I think that was part of the balance. It was a relatively short interview, I walked out of there and I said, “Hmm, that didn’t go very well.”

Q: Do you think there will be new projects that you lead the charge on over the next two years, or do you see over the next few years your job being more about making sure that what’s already been planned gets done?

A: I think the answer to your question is yes. I think it’s both… But I think it’s also important, we can’t keep our head down and not look up at and look at what our other opportunities are. Clearly there are more things to do. We continue to look at transportation and ways we can reduce the carbon footprint. If we see things that make sense, we’re absolutely going to pursue them, even if they’re things that will largely take place posttwo years from now.

Development and left off the Rebuilding part. In the press conference announcing your appointment, the mayor said the time for rebuilding is past us. Do you think that’s right? Are we past the rebuilding phase?

A: Well, I think you’re constantly rebuilding. You know, it’s like, if you’re not moving, you’re standing still and falling behind. And I think the rebuilding was in recognition of the environment in 2002. When the mayor took over after 9/11, all that was downtown and lower Manhattan was certainly a rebuilding effort, there was a crisis of confidence. Rebuilding is not just construction, but it’s also kind of rebuilding the environment and getting the momentum going, and I think if you look at what’s taken place in Lower Manhattan in the last six years, it’s remarkable.

Q: At the Trade Center site, what exactly do you see happening there and when?

A: Well, you know, I don’t know. We’re not really in charge of what’s taking place there. I’ve talked to the state and I’ve talked to my colleagues at the Port Authority. It took a little while, again, and I think to get interest aligned in the proper way. I think that the Port Authority’s expectations are today that’s largely going to be done, with the memorial and the rest of it, and I think their projection is somewhere around 2011.

Q: Do you think we will actually see a Freedom Tower there?

A: Oh, absolutely. It’s being done below ground, on the foundation and all, but it’s, as I understand it from speaking with my colleagues, actually on schedule.

Q: Another area that Dan Doctorff was very involved in was the Far West Side and the develop-

Q: There are hundreds of projects underway and you said you want to add more. The mayor’s term has two years left, so that time is ticking down. Is it feasible to think about getting all of them done, or will there be a shift to make sure that certain ones for sure get done?

A: We have 289 projects on the list that we’re trying to get done. We will likely redirect our resources to focus on those that can get done. So in the planning stage, you have a big list of projects that you want to do and when I started working with Dan I asked him how he prioritized them and he said, “It’s really simple. They’re all priorities.” So that’s the way we’ve approached it, and I think as we go forward from here, we really want to make sure we make as meaningful an impact as we possibly can. And you can’t just have ideas on all of these because subsequent administrations may not share the same point of view and may not push it the same way.

So we’ll be a little more circumspect on how we prioritize.

Q: So what are the ones that for certain need to get done?

A: The important thing that I’d like to communicate is, you see the press talk about all the big deals. Whether it be Javits or Moynihan or Willets Point or Coney Island and the others—those are all important projects. But frankly, the streetscape improvements that we’re trying to do on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City are as important as those projects, particularly when you think about what it is the city can do to lead the private sector to some of these areas where we have done the rezoning. To me, Long Island City is a great opportunity.

We’ve seen a significant amount of investment already and leadership from the private sector, and it’s really the public improvements that are going to lead to make it a more vibrant type of neighborhood, and those are the impacts that are going to be long term and sustaining.

So, again, there are lots of improvements taking place in downtown Brooklyn, at BAM, in progress that we’re doing in Staten Island as well. So it’s not just the big projects. It’s asking what are the things that can make the biggest impact longer term.

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ON/OFF THE RECORD BREAKFAST

Stringer on Changing Manhattan and Possibly Changing Offices cott Stringer has been busy in his two years as Manhattan borough president so far, gaining notice for some of the changes he has made to the office. At the Jan. 29 On/Off the Record Breakfast at the Commerce Bank location on Broadway and Warren Street, Stringer discussed why he thinks those changes matter, what he still wants to do, and where his thoughts currently stand on his 2009 political plans, among other topics.

What follows is an edited transcript.

S

And then they spend four years of the second term just raising money and doing things like that.

Q: But you are raising money. There are a lot of people who assume that you want to run for public advocate next year. Are they wrong?

A: A lot of people have said to us, and I don’t want to say there’s a draft movement citywide, but people have said, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to take a lot of the work you’ve done in Manhattan and apply it citywide?” You asked that question as well: are there things that we can accomplish beyond Manhattan? Of course we’re going to be interested in that. Of course we’re going to ask people’s opinions. I think that’s a job that has to be molded and re-shaped to be more effective, because every job you’re supposed to do as a new office holder... You want a mayor who’s going to do better than Mike Bloomberg, a public advocate that’ll do better than Betsy, and a comptroller better than Bill Thompson. And I hope there will be a borough president who will do a better job than I will, but I have nothing to do with that. We’re not there yet in terms of doing that, and I’ve already got the greatest job in the world. I mean, being Manhattan borough president, working with the people in this borough is a magical experience.

Q: The office of borough president obviously has fewer powers since the charter reforms of 20 years ago. How much time do you and your staff spend thinking about innovative ways to use the bully pulpit that you do have to get results?

A: 1989 was 20 years ago. We buried the Board of Estimate, but we didn’t bury every other city office that we have. The reality is that without a Board of Estimate, that era is gone. When you look and examine the City Charter, as we did when I started to run for borough president, there is influence and power in these city offices. What specific power may have been there is in the past, but what do you have right now? And then the personality of the office you create is the office that then has influence.

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Q: How do you use that influence in trying to meet developers’ proposals on community concerns?

A: My job is to make sure that the development community and City Hall are connected to the local residents. And what used to happen is that community board appointments were basically given out to people who supported you for borough president, and I realized that when I got 26 percent of the vote, I couldn’t stack the community board, so I had to do something. So we said let’s do community board reform and make new friends.

Basically what we did, by setting up the merit based system, we’re now seeing the results of that. And part of what we’re now doing, as it relates to affordable housing, is we’re not just stopping at land use and zoning, but we’re trying to think out of the box and think big about what sites are available for affordable housing. You know, everybody said to me, “You can’t build affordable housing in Manhattan. It’s done. You can’t build schools in Manhattan, there’s no more vacant land.” We actually did a study and went borough-wide and we found 2,400 sites that were vacant. Abandoned buildings and vacant lots.

50 percent of those sites were above 110th Street. Think about it. In the ‘70s, those sites were city-owned, but because of the red hot economy and the improvement over multiple mayors now, they’re not staying vacant. So what do we do about it? One, we need an inventory, and I’ve asked Mayor Bloomberg to do an inventory citywide.

Boston counts its vacant property every year and they crack down on people who keep property vacant. We in the city, we count homeless people every year. Yet we don’t count our vacant lots. Someday, we should take our homeless people and put them in affordable housing. We have now asked Councilman Yassky to introduce legislation to mandate the city to do such a thing, modeled after the Boston program. We have 2,400 vacant lots and buildings in Manhattan that can actually create 24,000 affordable housing units.

Q: There are people who feel that community boards have too much of a say over development sometimes. What would you say to them?

A: I have to tell you, in the two years I’ve been borough president, I have not seen a developer roll his eyes about the community boards. What they used to worry about was that they couldn’t relate to the community board members. And because we have gone to a merit based process, where we’re bringing in more engineers and architects and younger people onto the boards, there’s a better dialogue.

Q: Next year you will face a choice: run for what would likely be an easy re-election for borough presidency, and then be term-limited out off-cycle in 2013, or run for something citywide. How much time do you spend thinking about that decision?

A: I think about it everyday. I think sometimes we make too much of all this. First of all, today’s off-cycle is tomorrow’s on-cycle. Politics is fluid, and things change, so you can’t think about this. The one thing I’m committed to doing is, we really have this huge menu, every campaign promise we set out to do. You know, we had this 117-page manifesto that we published online about all the work we would do with the borough presidency.

But part of the downside of term limits is that you can’t let it take you over. You can’t be one of the folks who says, “I’m not gonna work anymore. I’ll just raise millions of dollars because I’ve got to run for something.”

Q: You made mention of changes you might want to see in the Public Advocate’s office. Can you speak specifically about some of those?

A: I was a Betsy Gotbaum opponent, but I happen to think she is one of the most genuine people I know. And when I work with her on issues relating to children and education, she is really focused like a laser beam. Her disadvantage as public advocate is being in an office with that give and take, where there has to be some kind of disagreement at some point with the mayor because you’re supposed to look at agencies and things like that. How do you do that without having your budget slashed and destroyed? The reality is that the public advocate’s job will always be problematic as long as the mayor and the Council decide your budget. That’s something we have to look at. The budget can’t be dependent on the mayor and the Council. I should have a base to operate from so I can maintain independence. This is a reform that is needed in this office. And then I think, if you’re going to make this office really work, let’s do what we did with the borough presidency. Let’s look in the Charter, look at what’s available in the Charter and then help bring that out.

Q: Yes or no—do you have a timetable for making a decision about next year?

A: Yes. Q: Can you tell us what it is?

A: No Q: You spent 13 years in the Assembly. Would you ever think about going back to Albany, in some other role?

A: Are you kidding?

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21

Pension Tension

Despite his critics, Thompson continues to resist divestment efforts

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS WENTY YEARS AGO,

NEW YORK City joined many local governments and companies in divesting half a billion dollars from apartheid South Africa. Over the last few years, several top city officials have been talking divestment again, eager to get pension money out of Sudan, Iran and North Korea.

And last month, President George W. Bush gave his blessing to local efforts, signing a law which authorizes state and local governments to cut investment ties with companies doing business with Sudan, even while arguing that the bill could interfere with his own right to set foreign policy.

But New York City divestment still seems unlikely to happen so long as City Comptroller William Thompson (D) controls the pension funds.

Thompson has been heavily involved in confronting international companies about their business ties to countries like Sudan, Iran and North Korea. Though he said he is committed to leveraging the pension funds’ power to address the humanitarian crises in these countries, for Thompson, selling off the funds’ investments in these companies is a step too far.

Rather than divest, Thompson has adopted a strategy of engagement with companies.

Thompson gained national attention for his appeals to companies with ties to Iran to change their business practices, and in the years since, has prompted Halliburton, Aon Corporation, Cooper Cameron, ConocoPhillips, Foster Wheeler and General Electric to consider cutting their business ties with the nation. His office hopes to duplicate these efforts in Sudan, and throughout last year, sent letters to a dozen companies urging them to cease all business in Sudan and to provide aid to refugees in that war-torn country.

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He claimed his alternative strategy was more effective.

“Companies [with ties to] Sudan, Iran and others, I think you'll see we’ve reached out to a number of them because we believe, in the longterm, some of the work they are doing is detrimental to the bottom line,” he said.

Thompson is the custodian of the five city pension funds, which together hold almost $1 billion worth of shares in a dozen companies with ties to Sudan.

Over the past year, the comptroller’s office has vigorously pursued these companies about their overseas activities, to little tangible result. In a letter last June, Thompson urged PetroChina to fully disclose specific actions taken to provide relief to Darfur, where the state-owned Chinese oil company has numerous financial holdings.

The Nov. 9 deadline for disclosure, which Thompson set in his letter, came and went without any response from PetroChina. The comptroller’s office was unable to provide information on responses to letters sent to more than two dozen other companies.

Thompson’s engagement-overdivestment stance is in direct conflict with the City Council, which is reportedly close to passing a resolution calling for targeted divestments from corporations doing business with Sudan.

Council Member Eric Gioia (D-

Martha Stark about outlining a divestment strategy.

“I think that divestment has to be used rarely and should be taken seriously,” he said. “But for constructive engagement to have teeth, divestment has to be a real option.”

Council Member David Yassky (D“This is something that has a large upside for the Brooklyn) said the resolupolitical people looking for votes, either among the non-binding tion should be the union members or the electorate at large. And there’s first step in a multino downside, because the people you’re going to alienate pronged approach. real goal is are not nearby.” —John Tepper Marlin, former city to “The get a meaningful comptroller chief economist and senior policy adviser. divestiture plan,” said Yassky.

Yassky is campaigning to succeed “In everything we do—in our share- Queens), who co-sponsored the resolu- Thompson, who is term-limited out next holder resolution, in our communica- tion, said that divestment is a way for the year, and he said he would bring a differtions—we look to generate things that city to intervene substantively in an inter- ent approach to divestment if elected.

“I would certainly pursue this issue are good for the bottom line and maintain national humanitarian crisis.

Gioia said he has had discussions with vigorously as comptroller,” he said. our fiduciary responsibility,” Thompson Thompson has not discussed his Thompson and Finance Commissioner said. “We never divest.”

The Nov. 9 deadline for disclosure, which City Comptroller William Thompson set in his letter, came and went without any response from PetroChina. opposition to divestment much. But he laid out his case against withdrawing funds in a little-noticed article published last March in Compact Quarterly, a limited-circulation global investment publication put out by the United Nations.

“Undoubtedly, divestment proponents are sincere,” Thompson wrote in the piece. “However, divestment will not help to address the urgent humanitarian crisis.”

Thompson called the divestment comparison between Sudan and South Africa false: state and local divestments to end apartheid kick-started a broader effort to confront the South African government, whereas the movement to intervene in Sudan already exists.

Meanwhile, New York State is already six months into its divestment plan. Last CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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CITY HALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ver-haired divorcé Bill Kelley, kissing him after stump speeches and bringing the rest of her famous foursome to a fundraiser (“Bill raised six MakeMeMayor09 grand that night,” she intones, “it really got him in the Relationships: Never married mood.”)

Have kids: none Not long after, Bradshaw and Kelley parted ways.

Ethnicity: White, Jewish For Council Member James Oddo (R-Staten Island) and his Hair: Brown girlfriend, Kim Petersen, an assistant district attorney in Job: Congressman Queens, things have played out a little differently since “It’s like the line that Woody Allen uses: ‘He uses oral they reconnected at a Queens contraception—women say no.’ It’s kind of that way with County GOP event in 2004. me.”

Oddo asked his friend and colleague Dennis Gallagher to put e-mail me wink me in a good word for him. Not long after, a inter-borough romance was born, and has survived for four years.

These days, the seniors in Occasionally, Petersen comes with him to political his district are pressing him to get married, State Sen. in the upcoming Sex & the City movie, is part of the last Andrew Lanza is already calling her his fiancée and group. But the man who years ago was known to joke events, though their most consistent dates are salvaged Council Member Vincent Ignizio presses his own new- that there was nothing better than being a single billion- Saturday nights, armed with take-out and the remote born baby into her arms whenever the couple visits. But aire in New York City has never really been a single control.

Those are good, he said. Sunday mornings together, even without all that, Oddo said, dating would be tough. elected official himself. For years, he has shared his life And even though his current relationship is much more and townhouse with former State Banking however, can be more difficult, with his job inevitably Superintendent Diana intruding on their time together.

“Every Sunday morning, we go get bagels and go to Taylor.

Not that being a single the Perspectives section of the Staten Island mayor is anything new, of Advance. And whether it’s letters to the editor, the course. Just months political column,” he said, “my Sunday mornings are before Bloomberg met going to be filled with agita. And if my Sunday mornTaylor in late 2000, his ings are filled with agita, so are hers. And there’s no predecessor, Rudolph escaping it.”

Oddo tries to put up barriers, he said, though he Giuliani, announced his own divorce from Donna knows he is in a losing battle. He is obsessed with his Hanover at a Bryant Park job, and he finds himself constantly relying not only press conference, implic- on his girlfriend’s patience and understanding, but her itly acknowledging his ability to deal with his public arguments and struggles.

Most of the time, they make it work. own track record of datBut there have been problems. ing in office. Then there Of all the legislation Oddo has been behind, nothing was Ed Koch, who made Gracie Mansion his bache- caused as much of a firestorm as his bill to ban metal bats. For months, his life was consumed by wrangling lor pad for three terms.

They are not alone. In over the bill, in public and behind closed doors. Then the Council chamber or last March, the Council approved the ban, and the the Municipal Building, on next day, Oddo took off for his annual trip to Yankees the roads to Albany or the spring training. His friends were with him for the first flights to D.C., New York week. His girlfriend came for the second.

By then the story had gone national, and between has seen its fair share of people sacrifice romance innings, Oddo’s phone and BlackBerry were buzzing for political success, constantly.

She did not complain—at least until the night of her despite the occasional birthday. love connection.

They were out at their favorite Tampa restaurant, Married politicians often say they have it hard Pino’s. His phone rang. He let it go to voicemail, trying to find quality time though as much as he tried to focus on her, his mind for to spend with their kept wandering back to the missed call.

He excused himself from the table to check the solid than ones in his past, life as a single elected official spouses and children. But with Valentine’s Day on the has made dating tougher than most people understand. horizon, single politicians say they have it even harder. message.

“That,” he said, “was a really big mistake.”

They describe a number of obstacles—being knee-deep Oddo spent 15 minutes pacing on the sidewalk, here are more than 3.5 million single men and in constituent concerns, immersed in politicking and going back and forth with a reporter. When he women in New York City. Some have never mar- having raised profiles in their districts.

More than anything else, said Oddo, the problem is returned, the date had soured. ried. Some just have not married yet. Some are “I lost the moment with her,” he recalled. “And she legally barred from getting married. Some are divorced. simply finding enough hours to be together.

“It’s almost impossible to maintain a relationship the was right: birthday, romantic restaurant, beautiful Some are widowed. Some have chosen long-term relaway she works and the way I work,” he said. “It’s not a woman—and I’m arguing with this dingbat.” tionships over anything officiated.

He learned from that experience, he said, though Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who will make a cameo lot of time, relative to other relationships.”

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not enough to leave his BlackBerry at home when they go out to eat. She has come to accept that, he said.

“If Kim took my Blackberry away from me, I would start trembling at the table within like 35 seconds.

There should be rules. God knows that I need rules. But there are no rules,” he said. “I probably don’t exercise a great deal of common sense when it comes to that. But it’s so omnipresent that it’s tough to say ‘I’m not going to let the job impact this moment.’”

Dating someone familiar with the political life helps, Oddo believes. Many political couples and several recent local political marriages seem to back that up: Council Members Eric Gioia (DQueens), Joel Rivera (DBronx) and Erik Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn), all said “I do” to women also working in or around government.

Dating someone familiar with the political life is one thing, said Council Member Helen Foster (DBronx). But for her, dating someone involved in politics himself would be out of the question.

“I’ve never dated anybody in politics,” she said.

“And knowing how headstrong I am, I don’t know how that would work.”

Foster is also in a long term relationship, and has been since 2005, when she began dating an old friend from high school who came back into her life. He has made dealing with the stress of politicking and serving on the Council much easier to bear.

“When I didn’t have that person,” she said, “it could be a little overwhelming.”

But burrowed into the work of the job during her first campaign in 2001 and first term, she stopped paying attention to her dating situation, or lack of one.

“I’d kind of resolved that I had a good life,” she said.

The thought of starting to go on blind dates again, especially with the added attention and pressure of

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Elect-A-Date.com DianeBx09 Relationships: Never married; Seeing someone, three years Have kids: none Ethnicity: African-American Hair: Brown

Job: City Council member “I definitely wouldn’t have done the whole dating circuit as an elected official. The thought of it—no.” e-mail me

being a member of the Council, helped solidify her decision to stay single.

“I definitely wouldn’t have done the whole dating circuit as an elected official,” she said. “The thought of it— no.”

Her free time was spent at home, with a close group of friends or with her sister, or just playing with her dog.

That did not help her love life either.

“I am so not a go out, cool person,” she said. “Unless someone was going to drop a man in, I definitely wasn’t going to run into him.”

When she was at events where she might meet people, she found that introducing herself as a member of the City Council was far from the best conversation opener.

“I look relatively young. So when people hear what I do—they expect that it would be an old white man saying he’s on the New York City Council more so than a relatively young black woman,” she said.

Even mentioning being in Congress, said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens), does not make

Elect-A-Date.com SpeakersSon Relationships: Divorced; not seeing anyone Have kids: two daughters Ethnicity: White, Italian-American Hair: Brown Job: City Council member “I can’t go to a meeting without someone saying, ‘Here’s a picture of my daughter or granddaughter.’” e-mail me

wink me

wink me

the best pick-up line.

“Doesn’t work,” he said, shaking his head.

Weiner, whom rumors have linked to more than one woman over the years, insisted that contrary to the speculation, he finds dating difficult, especially with the commute back and forth to Washington. Though that is not the only reason he has stayed single, he said.

“It’s like the line that Woody Allen uses,” he joked. “‘He uses oral contraception—women say no.’ It’s kind of that way with me.”

Weiner shied away from discussing details. City Council Member Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn) did not.

But that, he said, is because there is nothing to tell.

These days, he said, his romantic life is “pretty boring.”

Between his job on the Council and all the events he goes to in his district, his schedule is constantly packed, “whether it’s January, February, August or November,” he said, “and that includes Friday nights and Saturdays.”

Unlike most of his colleagues on the Council, Gentile is not term limited next year. He plans to run for re-election. Whether that would mean putting off a serious love life until at least 2013, Gentile did not want to speculate.

“What’s the expression?” he said. “‘Hope springs eternal.’” aybe Gentile is right, said Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. (DQueens). But after six years of single life since a divorce which coincided with his first months on the Council, then again, maybe not.

The man whom The Queens Tribune named Queens’ most eligible bachelor is not currently seeing anyone, and has not been for some time. This is the result, he says, of both personal and professional circumstances.

“Not only do I have a very time consuming job, I’m divorced with kids,” he said.

“So I’m sure those are not

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three qualities that any woman has at the top of her list when looking for a date.”

With all the events on his schedule and the responsibility he feels to his two daughters, BayRidgeVinnie available slots to see women are Relationships: Not seeing anyone few and far between. And he knows that he is not at his most Have kids: None enticing when he tells prospective dates, “‘I’m free between 7:36 Ethnicity: White, Italian-American and 8:12 if you want to grab a quick drink,’” he said. “But that’s Hair: Black what ends up happening.”

Perhaps, he admitted, he was Job: City Council member just using that as an excuse.

“I’m sure I’ve been dumped for “What’s the expression? ‘Hope springs eternal.’ just about every reason in the book. But I’ve rationalized to myself that it’s all because of my schedule,” he laughed.

His relationships over the past e-mail me wink me few years have had their fair share of pitfalls, he said. A job that makes him known in the district and constantly at events can be a great way to meet lots of new people with similar interests. The risk, though, is chances for romance, he knows, and campaigning as a single man, without a wife to pose with him at rallies that their interest in him only purports to be romantic.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “It allows you to and on leaflets, may have its downfalls.

“I think typically it helps the candidate to have a meet a certain number of people, but you also have to worry about someone that perceives you have a job that nuclear family behind him or her,” he said. “But unforcarries with it some power. That happens. I’m sure it’s tunately, it doesn’t always work out that way. Being happened to every single Council member. And it’s divorced is never something I intended when I got married. But you have to play with the cards you’re dealt.” something you have to be aware of.”

Like Oddo and Foster and Gentile, Vallone believes Meanwhile, many of his constituents have taken to most voters have no problems pulling the lever for canthe role of matchmaker.

“I can’t go to a meeting without someone saying, didates just because they lack rings on their fingers.

Comptroller William Thompson (D), who has been ‘Here’s a picture of my daughter or granddaughter,’” he divorced twice and won citywide twice, agreed. said.

Thompson is hoping so for his own sake, at least, as He does not think this is the most promising way to meet people he said, and he does his best to politely he prepares for a long-expected run for mayor next year, as an unmarried man. shrug off these offers.

After Koch, Giuliani and Bloomberg, that will not be “I still haven’t figured out the best way,” he said. “I a problem, Thompson said. just usually mumble something.”

“New Yorkers haven’t cared for a while,” he said. “It Vallone, who will be term limited out of office next year, is rapidly raising money in anticipation of a race doesn’t matter like it used to 30, 40, 50 years ago.”

The facts seem to bear him out: like so many milfor Queens borough president. The time that would necessarily go into a campaign will leave him even fewer lions of potential voters, one-fifth of the Council mem-

Elect-A-Date.com

Divestment CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

June, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D) announced a three-phase plan to identify companies with risky investments, encourage those corporations to provide humanitarian aid and develop divestment strategies from those companies that have failed to adequately respond.

While the state has yet to divest any of its pension holdings, DiNapoli’s plan, unlike Thompson’s, keeps divestment on the table.

An analysis by State Sen. Jeff Klein (DBronx/Westchester) found that over $12 billion of state pension dollars are invested in companies that do business with one or all of the nations on the State Department’s watch list.

But DiNapoli’s office says that Klein’s figures are inaccurate.

“In that context, $12 billion does not accurately reflect our holding, or the Common Retirement Fund’s holding, in Sudan and companies in Iran’s energy and defense sectors,” said Robert Whalen, a DiNapoli spokesman.

Klein, who joined with mayoral contender Rep. Anthony Weiner (DBrooklyn/Queens) last year to call for pension divestments, said New York is in the unique position to lead by virtue of having the second largest pension fund in the country.

“I don’t want to see the state pension fund lose money by divesting prematurely,” Klein said. “But I still think you can influence companies as a major shareholder.”

John Tepper Marlin, who before becoming a consultant at CityEconomist served as chief economist and senior policy adviser to Thompson and two previous city comptrollers, said divestment is mainly a tool wielded by politicians to

bers are unmarried, two of the borough presidents and two of the city’s 13 congressional representatives are unmarried, as are many of the city’s representatives in the Assembly and State Senate.

“Right now,” Thompson said, marriage “isn’t one of the prerequisites.”

Thompson is not the only expected mayoral candidate without a spouse in the traditional sense. Neither of his major prospective opponents are married either: not Weiner, and not Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan)—though she is in a seven-year committed relationship with her live-in partner and unable to marry under state law.

Romantically, at least, the three have much more in common with Carrie Bradshaw than Ozzie and Harriet.

But, Thompson said, so do New Yorkers.

“There are states and certain cities where it may matter more. It doesn’t in New York,” he said. “They don’t want to necessarily see the ideal image. They’re interested in who’s going to move things forward.” eidovere@cityhallnews.com

shore up their progressive constituencies more than anything else.

“This is something that has a large upside for the political people looking for votes, either among the union members or the electorate at large. And there’s no downside, because the people you’re going to alienate are not nearby,” Marlin said. “They’re not local.”

Keith Brainard, research director at the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, was more critical, asserting that divestment is purely symbolic.

“If people think they’re going to affect a company by requiring a pension fund to divest its holdings, they don’t understand financial markets,” Brainard said.

Even more problematic, he said, is the risk of lower returns for pension beneficiaries and retirees.

That is not how the Sudan Divestment Taskforce sees things. The Washingtonbased group is collaborating with

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DiNapoli on his divestment strategy and is currently in talks with Thompson’s office in the hopes of changing his mind on divestment.

“We’re very serious about actually negotiating with the companies to come up with ways that they can make sure their operations are not contributing to the Darfur genocide,” said Daniel Millenson, the taskforce’s national advocacy director.

Millenson cites as an example the Canadian mining corporation, La Mancha Resources, which refrained from making a multi-million dollar investment in expanding its gold mine in the eastern part of Sudan because of the threat of municipal divestment if it proceeded.

Ultimately, the company not only canceled these plans, but took the active role of allowing U.N. peacekeepers access to its property in the country.

“That’s not symbolic,” said Millenson.

“That’s effective.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

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IN THE CHAIR Stewart Positions His Committee in National Debate and Himself for Albany Run In advisory role to Bloomberg, Stewart presses for New York to be national leader on immigration

BY CARL WINFIELD CITY HALL, COUNCIL Member Kendall Stewart (DBrooklyn) walks with his head high, taking long, purposeful steps across the white, marble floor. He carries his long, black overcoat over his shoulder like a man used to the midwinter chill. But his necktie—a mini-revolution of lush green palm trees, ripe melons, indigo blue and deep reds—screams out: “This man is not from here.”

A native of the small Caribbean island of St. Vincent, Stewart brings a level of personal expertise to his role as chair of the Council Committee on Immigration.

Through that position, he said, he tries to remind New Yorkers that immigrants have been and remain the city’s strength.

As immigration has become more of a hot button issue, he said, this has become increasingly difficult.

“Immigrants come here, to New York, because it is a symbol of American democracy and of opportunity,” Stewart said. “But it’s gotten harder for immigrants to get into the U.S. than it used to be and you have people who are third- or fourth-generation who forget that they’re immigrants, too.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg supported the creation of the committee in 2002, shortly after Stewart, a podiatrist by training, was first elected. Since then, the seven members, including Haitian-born Council Member Mathieu Eugene (DBrooklyn), has advised the administration on efforts to make the immigration process a bit less rocky.

“What we have done through the committee is bring attention to the issues that affect immigrants no matter where they’re from,” Stewart said. “I’m the kind of person who believes that you can’t just say, ‘I support immigration,’ and do nothing.”

They have reported to the mayor about regulating immigrant services providers, some of which collected thousands of dollars from immigrants without providing the documentation and processing services promised. The committee has also promoted legislation against hate crimes in the city, helped create more English-language programs to better integrate new arrivals, provided vocational training for the children of immigrants and championed opportunities for entrepreneurship among would-be immigrant business owners in the city.

He insists, however, that the support be limited to legal immigrants, pointing out that 1 million estimated illegal immigrants scattered throughout the city are breaking the law.

BTEA UNION CONTRACTORS BUILD SAFELY—AND THAT’S A FACT

L

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

IKE MANY AT

Council Member Kendall Stewart Stewart’s hard-line stance is in some conflict with the mayor’s Executive Order 41, which allows illegal immigrants access to social services without fear of deportation. His views may have more in common with members of the State Senate, where Stewart expects to be in a few years. He has his eyes on the seat of Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn).

Parker, Stewart believes, should run for his Council seat, enabling them to switch positions.

Parker has been lukewarm on this idea.

One way or another, though, Stewart plans to try for Albany.

“Make no mistake,” he said. “I’m running.”

And he is already ramping up his attacks, saying he is disappointed in Parker for failing to maintain close ties to the community.

“I thought that we’d have an open door since a lot of the people I represent are in his district, but he does not communicate,” Stewart said.

For now, though, Stewart remains focused on the Council and his work leading the committee. He sees no specific agenda for what lies ahead. “Our goal is to continue doing what we have done: to bring attention to immigrants and immigrant issues in New York,” he said.

But he believes the city must continue being a leader for the nation in its approach to immigration, especially with the issue remaining a central focus of the presidential candidates.

“New York influences the rest of the country,” he said. “They look to New York to see what we are doing.” cwinfield@manhattanmedia.com

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BTEA UNION CONTRACTORS

NON-UNION

OR CONTRACTORS

BUILD SAFELY WNBC reports that union jobsites are six times safer than non-union jobsites

The U.S. Dept. of Labor reports that 90% of NYC construction fatalities are on non-union jobsites less than 14 stories high

PROVIDE SAFETY TRAINING Train 125,000 project managers, construction superintendents and skilled Building Trades workers

Provide no formal safety or skill training

INVEST IN PUBLIC AND WORKER SAFETY Union contractors invest $50 million per year in safety and skill training programs

BTEA UNION CONTRACTORS ARE SERIOUS ABOUT PUBLIC AND WORKER SAFETY. BTEA: NEW YORK’S ALLIANCE OF UNION CONTRACTORS The BTEA is America’s largest association of 1,200 Building Trades union construction managers, general contractors and subcontractor firms in New York City.

Louis J. Coletti, President & CEO

www.bteany.com

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FEBR UARY 2008

State Sen. Bill Perkins Campaigned for: Obama

Council Speaker Christine Quinn Campaigned for: Clinton

“I started out very, very early with phone calling. We had opened up our operation on Malcolm X Blvd. and 130th Street, and we were flooded all day with volunteers from all over who very were excited and inspired. We sent them out to polling sites; we did phone calls; we did subways. We chanted, “Fire it up! Ready to go!” We recognized that the New York Giants and Barack were very much alike. As underdogs, we exceeded the expectations, and we’re hopeful that the Giants’ victory will be our victory as well.”

“I called my partner’s father, Anthony Catullo, who lives in New Jersey. And I said, ‘You did good.’ And he said, ‘We did. We made sure our voices were heard.’ So I think it was the Catullos that brought New Jersey home."

At the party: “So we’re in the holding room, and it’s me and Rob Reiner and Fran Drescher. I have a big laugh. Me, Rob Reiner and Fran Drescher all start laughing at the same time. It’s like the biggest burst of noise!

Fran Drescher started rubbing Rob Reiner’s head for good luck.”

How I spent Super Tuesday…

Rep. Anthony Weiner Campaigned for: Clinton Council Member Helen Foster Campaigned for: Obama “In my stronghold precinct, I spent the day making sure we had information out. I actually spent the weekend stuffing mailboxes with all my volunteers. And then today, just making sure that literature got out and people were getting to polls. The important thing was we had people showing up because as you know it’s not a winner take all.

The memorable moment for me was, of course, since forever we vote as a family. And all of us going to vote and people saying, ‘Not only did we vote for Obama but we voted for your dad,’ who’s an Obama delegate. So it was really good.”

“I was at a couple of polling places. It’s funny. A lot of people were talking about Obama, but in my neck of the woods, a lot of people weren’t voting for him. … It’s not a difficult sell in a New York audience. I campaigned in Iowa, New Hampshire, and I was in South Carolina and Nevada. A lot of this country has a very twodimensional caricature of Hillary Clinton. And it takes some work to fill that caricature in. … You start out sentences in New York with ‘You know…,’ and you start sentences in Nevada with ‘You might be interested to know….’”

www.cityhallnews.com

Lt. Gov. David Paterson Campaigned for: Clinton “Very inspired Hillary supporters.

Probably more inspired Obama supporters. I tried to tell them all that she’s meant for New York State, but in a situation like this, where I had a pretty good idea that she would win the state and win most of the delegates, what I was trying to make sure is that a lot of enthusiastic people, a lot of people who’ve never voted before, don’t go away in November. … I noticed that half the people called me senator and half the people called me lieutenant governor. So I finally told the other half, ‘It’s okay. This way I can double dip.’”

“At one polling place in Harlem, a bunch of people, as they were going out, they said, ‘It’s our time.’ Since they were leaving and not coming in, I said, ‘Yeah, it’s our time.’ And I’ll be back in a couple of months to tell them, ‘It’s our time to vote for President Clinton.’”

Rep. Jerrold Nadler Campaigned for: Clinton “By the time people are walking in to vote, very few are convince-able. But a few, a few. One guy says to me, ‘I’m leaning to Obama, but I’m convince-able.’ So I spent 10 minutes talking to him. I said, ‘Did I convince you?’

He says, ‘Yeah, but I voted a couple of hours ago.’ I wanted to kill him.”

“I was at a school. All these little kids were in the yard.

I’m right on the other side of the fence. They’re like eight-, nine-years-old, and I hear them talking about the primary. And one says, ‘I’m for Obama, because we need real change.’ And the other kid looks at him, says, ‘Yeah, but Hillary’s better on health care.

She’s got more experience.’”

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Wunderkind or Wonderland?

While some see a political prodigy in Arthur Leopold, others point to spotty record

BY JOHN R.D. CELOCK

A

SIDE

FROM

THE

ELECTED

officials at the Sunday afternoon City Hall rally for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) the week before Super Tuesday, most in the crowd were dressed casually. Not the young guy in the tie, working the crowd, spinning the press. He may have looked like he was just out of high school, but he was acting like he was preparing to run for City Council.

Nineteen-year-old Arthur Leopold transformed an internship with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) in 2006 into a role in New York politics that few his age would even care to achieve. At a time when most of his peers are worrying about term papers, whether or not to pledge a fraternity, or the girls down the hallway in their dorm, Leopold is instead planning fundraising events and making his name known.

Not all of what he has made his name known for, though, is complimentary.

The son of an Upper East Side real estate developer who worked on the Senate Watergate Committee and was an executive assistant to former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Leopold originally set out on the competitive skiing circuit. But after graduating from the Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont, a back injury caused him to rethink his plans to join the U.S. Olympic ski team.

Leopold joined Maloney’s district staff as an intern and then moved over to her 2006 campaign office. After her previous campaign manager went back to college, Maloney asked him to be campaign manager. With Maloney being a virtual shoo-in for re-election, the role of managing the campaign meant helping her plan fundraising events to assist other candidates and organizing grassroots efforts in the district.

Then in December of 2006, Leopold was approached by Obama associates for help planning the Illinois senator’s first New York campaign event last spring. Though advised by some to stick by hometown favorite Sen. Hillary Clinton, Leopold went with Obama.

By his estimate, Leopold raised over $100,000 between that event and others, aided by his father’s connections. He has helped organize the Obama efforts on the Upper East Side, and become a frequent spokesman for the candidate on local political blogs.

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

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Arthur Leopold, the 19-year-old head of Leopold Political Consultants, has been bundling for Obama and attracting other clients in a year off before going to college.

Leopold’s youth has attracted attention from other sources as well. He is the subject of a video profile by a group of Columbia undergraduates, now available on YouTube, and a television masters project by graduate students at the Columbia Journalism School about the Obama campaign is expected to feature Leopold prominently.

Trying to capitalize on this exposure and experience, he delayed his start at Duke for the fall to start his own political consulting firm, which he says is focused on assisting candidates with event management and fundraising. Last year, he helped coordinate a fundraising event for Maloney and another for Rep. Steve Israel (D-Suffolk). He put together a fundraiser for Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D-Manhattan) featuring a celebrity chef.

Bing sings his praises.

“He did a fantastic job,” he said. “He CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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Stark Choices

BY RACHEL BREITMAN

I

F HER FATHER HAD STILL BEEN

alive when she joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration in 2002, City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark jokes, he probably would not have survived the news.

“If he was still alive and knew I was interviewing to work for a Republican, it would have killed him,” she said.

This ability to thrive as a Democrat and as the first African-American woman to hold her job in what was then a Republican administration earned her bipartisan support in her strange bid for state comptroller last year. One of three people recommended by the comptroller screening panel, Stark was the choice of 56 legislators, coming in a distant second to Tom DiNapoli. At the time, she said she might consider entering the 2009 race for comptroller, when Bill Thompson (D) will be termlimited out, but these days she is hesitant to even comment on whether she will throw her hat into the ring.

A corporate and tax attorney by train-

booklet entitled “Got Tickets?” to help navigate the legal process of disputing parking tickets.

By stepping out of the confines of behind-the-scenes bureaucracy, Stark has earned kudos from both politicians and potential voters.

State Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) said he was impressed when Stark joined him at the State Office Building on 125th Street in the winter of 2006 to discuss property tax policy with Harlem homeowners.

“Usually people in her position will just deal with you over the phone,” said Perkins, who later endorsed her for state comptroller. “But she came up to Harlem, into the lion’s den.”

After renovating multi-family homes, these Harlem residents found their property taxes jumping as much as 45 percent of the refurbishing costs.

“It was a cold day, but incredibly warm in the room, packed to the rafters with angry people,” Stark recalls.

After hearing their complaints, Stark, a native of the Brownsville housing projects, helped support tax code changes

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

City finance commissioner is interested in the office, but not in campaigning for it

“I don’t think of myself as a politician,” Martha Stark said, using the term a little warily, and mentioning her unwillingness to “have people digging around in your life.”

ing, Stark previously ran policy and budget operations for then-Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger (D).

While not exactly a household name for everyday voters, she has tried to bring the public into the sometimes wonky workings of her office, publishing a

that reduced the fees on renovating fourto-five-family houses by two-thirds.

But Stark resisted the idea that this will translate into a citywide run next year.

“I am not a candidate for elected office at this time,” she said, “nor do I

anticipate that I will be soon.”

While she admits feeling tempted by the prospect of state comptroller last year, the thought of engaging in a full-out campaign to become city comptroller keeps her timid.

“I don’t think of myself as a politician,” Stark said, using the term a little warily, and mentioning her unwillingness to “have people digging around in your life.”

Despite her prowess with financial figures, she is also concerned about raising money. Declared candidates Council Member Melinda Katz (D-Queens) and Borough President Adolfo Carrión lead the cash race, with almost $2 million and $1.7 million respectively.

Leopold

troller. The Jan. 10 fundraiser set to feature celebrity chef Daniel Boulud at the Carlton Hotel got a lot of hype, but the event was cancelled at the last minute— with some invitees left uninformed of the change until they arrived at the Carlton that evening—and no date has been set for another.

Leopold said the decision to delay the event was because it was coming after several other Weprin events and it was not selling that well. Others have assigned the blame to Leopold.

One Weprin staffer laughed when Leopold’s name was mentioned. The Council member himself, however, refused to discuss Leopold.

“I don’t want to talk about Arthur Leopold or fundraising,” he said when

asked.

Though Leopold continues to claim Weprin as a client, Lisa Hernandez Gioia confirmed that her Esler Group remains Weprin’s official fundraiser.

Leopold admitted that his short career in politics so far has had its pitfalls.

“I’ve definitely made my mistakes and I’ve learned from my mistakes,” he said.

He is continuing to seek out new clients, and does not expect his departure for North Carolina in the fall will keep him from building on the foundation he has created already. He says Jim Neal, the Democratic challenger to North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R), has retained him to coordinate New

While Martha Stark admits feeling tempted by the prospect of state comptroller last year, the thought of engaging in a full-out campaign to become city comptroller keeps her timid.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

had the maturity and confidence of someone many years older.”

Others who have worked with Leopold are less enthusiastic. While he claims continuing relationships with past clients, both Maloney’s office and Israel’s confirmed that there are no plans to use him again. The campaign operation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, for which Leopold volunteered in 2006, has severed ties.

And then there is the experience of City Council Member David Weprin (DQueens), who briefly retained Leopold for help on his campaign for city comp-

A late entrance into an already crowded field, which also includes Council Members David Weprin (D-Queens), David Yassky (D-Brooklyn), Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) and Assembly Member James Brennan (D-Brooklyn)— who may be joined by Council Member John Liu, among others—means that Stark would lag not only in funds, but in endorsements and support.

But as an African-American lesbian, Stark may be able to carve her own niche. However, some politicians who have backed her in the past have already gone to other candidates. Former State Comptroller Carl McCall, a member of the commission that pushed for her nomination in 2007, has thrown his support to Carrión. And Bloomberg has hosted a fundraiser for Felder, though he has made no endorsement.

Others seem receptive to the idea of backing her.

“There are a lot of qualified people who could run,” says State Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx), who supported Stark’s bid for state comptrolle, but has yet made no endorsement in the city race.

“Martha Stark is prepared, but she isn’t a candidate yet.”

Putting together a campaign for next year would require her to move quickly to capitalize on the relationships she has built with other leaders. However, her years spent under a Republican mayor, even one who has since shed his party affiliation, could complicate her prospects in a Democratic primary.

But next to the comptroller contenders who have so far declared their candidacies or indicated their strong interest in running, Stark has the distinction of a career focused purely on finances. This could give her a boost, according to Hank Sheinkopf, Thompson’s 2001 consultant.

“If Martha Stark gets in here, she would be a very formidable candidate,” Sheinkopf said. “She starts out having extraordinary related experience. She would be out of the gate the most interesting one of them all and the most difficult to beat. ” rachellbreitman@yahoo.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com.

York fundraising events this fall, and that he will soon be announcing contracts with other out-of-state clients looking for help in New York.

Keeping up from North Carolina will require some effort. He has requested a single dorm room to make it easier to use his bedroom as an office. A lot of work can be done via phone and e-mail, he said, and if needed, he can always catch a plane back to New York. After all, he pointed out, other students manage to balance their course work with trips to the airport.

“People travel for sports all the time,” he said. johncelock@aol.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com.

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CITY HALL

Sabini-Monserrate Rematch Could Crowd Queens Council Race

Rumors of a deal surface again amid furious fundraising

BY ADAM PINCUS

T

HE MUCH ANTICIPATED REMATCH

between western Queens heavyweights, City Council Member Hiram Monserrate (D) and Sen. John Sabini (D), for the senator’s Albany seat this fall is generating some rumors, early fundraising and uncertainty over a local 2009 Council race.

Monserrate is the unpredictable and feisty legislator representing the heavily Latino Council district which includes Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst and Elmhurst. He has had an uneven relationship with the Queens County Democratic Party, but he remains a district leader in the organization. He has not confirmed he is running for the Senate, but he is furiously raising money. He is term-limited out of his Council seat next year.

Sabini is the reserved and formal threeterm state senator from the area, representing wider pockets of the same Queens neighborhoods as Monserrate, home to many Latinos, but also to AfricanAmericans, Italians, Irish, South Asians and Asians. He has maintained a long and close relationship with the county party, even serving as chairman for a few months in 1986. He said he is in the race to win.

The one central, complex rumor that would have Sabini cede the seat to Monserrate has sparked speculation as to who might be behind it, but has created few, if any, believers.

But the idle chatter has not impacted the fundraising. Monserrate and Sabini have both raised far more than they had by the same period in 2006, when the councilman first challenged Sabini and lost by only 242 votes.

But the rumor—or at least the possibility-- of a loss by Sabini to Monserrate has brought added uncertainty to next year’s race for the neighboring Council district, currently held by Helen Sears (D), who is being forced out by term limits in 2009.

The rumor goes like this: Queens County Democratic leaders would urge Sabini to step aside and let Monserrate take the Senate seat, in exchange for county support for Sabini as a candidate for the Sears’ seat, which he held for 10 years until he was term-limited out in 2001.

But as one skeptical Queens district leader quipped, ”If it was true, you wouldn’t be hearing about it.”

Danny Dromm, a district leader and a candidate for Sears’ seat, said the rumor seemed to be the stuff of cigar-chomping back room dealers. ”That is almost like a conspiracy. You have to get a diverse group of district lead-

Council office Jan. 19, in which a computer and letter-head were reported missing.

If Sabini were defeated by Monserrate, no one doubts he would be a formidable candidate for his old Council seat. But he would add to at least five other people considering the post.

The district has changed remarkably over the past few years. The opening of a Starbucks and other specialty coffee shops on 37th Avenue is an expression of the influx of Brooklyn transplants, and the plans to raise office buildings on 74th Street speak to the growing economic power of South Asians, locals said.

Dromm, a public school teacher for the past 24 years, is positioning himself as the education candidate. ”What this district wants is a change in education. They want someone who knows the educational system,” he said. He has raised $31,666 so far, city campaign finance records show.

Alfonzo Quiroz, a former deputy chief of In addition to raising money, staff to Sears and currently a spokesman ers, like 14 people that would have to agree to that. I don’t know that something like Monserrate has looked to improve his rela- for Con Ed, is another likely candidate. He tionship with the county party over the raised $27,134, according to city records, that could actually occur,” Dromm said.

Monserrate said he may have heard the past two years, appealing to county chair but has not officially declared himself in Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens/Bronx). the race. rumor, but did not know its source. ”There are going to be a lot of candi”I don’t know where it came from, and I Monserrate was tapped in September to be don’t know who is behind it,” he said. ”You a delegate for Hillary Clinton’s presidential dates. It’s going to be a very full race that will boil down to who can bring fresh ideas campaign in Crowley’s district. hear rumors all the time in politics.”

Two legal issues could complicate the and bring positive improvements to the Michael Reich, the executive chairman of the Queens Democrats, brushed this race. The first is the arrest Sept. 27 in neighborhood,” Quiroz said.

Both Quiroz and Dromm are openly gay, speculation aside. He said county support Albany of Sabini, who was charged with came through a vote by district leaders, not driving while his ability was impaired. At yet belong to very different political clubs. a back room deal, and it would most likely the time, he refused a Breathalyzer test, Dromm is a founding member of the New and for that his license was revoked for Visions Democratic Club, a two-year-old go to the incumbent.

The rumor was first floated two years one year. On Feb. 5, he pled guilty to the local club based in Jackson Heights. He is ago when Monserrate took on Sabini in a charge. In a statement, he announced that also co-founder of the Lesbian and Gay rough election battle. Then, the he would pay a $300 fine and attend educa- Democratic Club of Queens.

Quiroz belongs to the John F. Kennedy Democratic hopes of gaining the majority tional classes. ”I have learned from this incident and Regular Democratic Club – the club of seemed somewhat more distant. But with Democratic control now only two seats will continue working hard to maintain the Sears, Sabini and Assembly Member Ivan Lafayette (D) – as well as the away, Sabini seemed intent to remain in Albany. If he wins reThe rumor—or at least the possi- Stonewall Democratic Club based in Manhattan. election and the Democrats bility— of a loss by Sabini to Other candidates eying the take the majority, he would be Monserrate has brought added council seat are Sears’s son Stuart in line for chair of the Transportation Committee. uncertainty to next year’s race for Sears, a consultant. ”We are forming a committee ”I intend to stay in the the neighboring Council district, and moving ahead,” he said.

Senate and see my fellow currently held by Helen Sears.

Immigration attorney Bryan Democrats take the majority Pu-Folkes said he was also conso we can pursue a progressive agenda for New York State,” Sabini confidence and integrity of my role in the sidering a run. He was beaten handily in State Senate,” Sabini said in his statement. 2005 by Sears, despite winning The New wrote in a written statement.

Toward the goal of retaining his seat, he ”I have always been proud and honored to York Times’ endorsement.

And Community Board 3 Chairman has raised $107,090 in the six months end- serve my constituents, the State of New ing Jan. 11, far more than in the same peri- York and the great borough of Queens, and Vasantrai Gandhi was also rumored to be od for the 2006 cycle, when he brought in on their behalf will continue to support and running. When asked, he said, “I would not talk about the issues that matter the most comment either way.” just over a tenth of that. pincus_a@yahoo.com Monserrate, who has raised $70,054 in to them.”

Direct letters to the editor to The second incident was an unsolved the six months ending Jan. 11, raised just editor@cityhallnews.com break-in of Monserrate’s East Elmhurst $15,250 in the same period two years ago.

GRISTEDES … from the Chairman’s desk “Safe streets. When the streets are safe everyone benefits. The good citizens of New York City have seen a dramatic decline in crime over the past years, and we can never go back to the crime rates of the 80’s.

New Yorkers, Gristedes customers, deserve the very best and we have it in the New York City Police Department.

Safe streets mean, safe neighborhoods and safe neighborhoods are the foundation of our City.”

John Catsimatidis February, 2008

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FEBR UARY 2008

After Six Years at NYC & Co., Helping Companies Come to New York City No candidates on their client roster, but many political relationships at Nicholas Lence

BY JOHN R.D. CELOCK HORNBLOWER YACHTS submitted a bid to the National Park Service for the right to ferry passengers to and from the Statue of Liberty, the San Francisco-based company sought out help navigating Gotham political waters.

Like many other companies, they turned to Nicholas Lence.

“They needed to get ingrained in the fabric of the city,” partner George Lence said.

Making introductions, organizing relationships, providing media and government affairs assistance—these are the hallmarks of what Nicholas Lence does.

As they do, Lence and Cristyne Nicholas rely on skills and relationships built up during their six years at the helm of NYC & Co., and other roles in and around New York government.

Before spending six years as the number two at the city’s tourism agency, NYC & Co., Lence worked as an Albany lobbyist for then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and before that as a State Senate staffer. Cristyne Nicholas, who was NYC & Co. president, was Giuliani’s press secretary both on the campaign and at City Hall.

Combined, Nicholas said, they are able to take her communications experience and Lence’s government affairs experience to provide businesses with a way to get into the New York City market.

“New York can be a daunting place

W

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

HEN

Cristyne Nicholas and George Lence have melded their experience in communications, government affairs and tourism to build a firm geared toward helping non-profits and corporate clients. tourism has encouraged them to specialize in the hospitality industry, but they also work with other businesses and groups, like the Greater New York Hospital Association, which turned to the firm for help promoting medical edu-

for someone not from New York,” Nicholas said.

Much of their work includes arranging introductions to local reporters and politicians and arranging meetings with local companies. Their background in

ODDS&Ends

Old Vegas bookmakers have been trumped by new technology, and dozens of websites exist to bet on the outcome of all sorts of things, including who will be the next person to measure drapes in the Oval Office. Intrade lets people buy shares in the candidates’ futures. Ladbrokes gives odds to bet against. Here are this month’s standings, with last month’s included for comparison.

CURRENTLY

DECLARED DEMOCRATS CURRENTLY DECLARED REPUBLICANS Mike Huckabee John McCain Ron Paul

PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

1.8 92.9 1.3

16 to 1 1 to 20 200 to 1

LAST MONTH PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

18 36.9 2.1

3 to 1 6 to 4 25 to1

PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

Hillary Clinton 41.5 Barack Obama 59

POTENTIAL ENTRIES Michael Bloomberg

11 to 10 4 to 6

PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

1

20 to 1

LAST MONTH PRICE ON ODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES

58.9 40.8 PRICE ON INTRADE

2.4

4 to 6 11 to 10 ODDS ON LADBROKES

16 to 1

**DATA AS OF FEBRUARY 7, 2008**

cation.

But they also do work beyond the city. Not only are they involved with the Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau in dealings with New York, but they are helping Boston tourism officials navigate the Japanese tourism market—a pressing need to a city whose Red Sox have signed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzka, and are playing their first game of the 2008 season in Tokyo.

Sports is a part of the Nicholas-Lence practice. Nicholas’ husband, Nick, a veteran golf writer, runs the firm’s sports branch. Nicholas said the sports practice grew out of an interest in sports by both her and Lence, whose father was a boxing promoter.

The pair was involved in the Olympic bid and the West Side Stadium project while at the tourism agency. They are currently representing the World Police and Fire Games which will be played in New York in 2011.

Others at the firm include Natasha Caputo, another NYC & Co. alumna who serves as chief marketing officer, former WNBC anchor Jane Hanson, who advises clients on television media relations, Maria Pignataro, a former spokeswoman for Elizabeth Taylor and Jersey City Mayor Jerry Healy, who works on media relations.

But though they have gotten the firm involved with many different things, and though they have very political backgrounds themselves, Nicholas and Lence have steered clear of politics.

Candidates have approached them for help, but they have declined, citing the trouble this would create for other aspects of their business.

“We do not do politics at all,” Nicholas said. “Once you dabble in politics it will be hard to attract the not-forprofits.”

And that avoidance of politics meant, they said, that the firm would not be impacted by the implosion of their former boss’s presidential campaign.

Instead, they have been able to keep focused on their non-profit and corporate clients, for which all the relationships they have been careful to nurture are a constant boon.

“The thing we do best is throughout networking,” Nicholas said. “We can do introductions.”

Johncelock@aol.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com.

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Tending to the Flock

DANIIEL S. BURNSTEIN

In advance of citywide run, Quinn looks to keep tight grip on her base, critics aside

Council Speaker Christine Quinn worked the room at the Queens Winter Pride and Dance Jan 26.

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS QUEENS Winter Pride Dinner and Dance, Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) is immediately mobbed.

“I voted for you!” one woman shouts excitedly, rushing up to kiss Quinn on the cheek.

“I love your bracelet,” another exclaims, posing with Quinn for the first of seemingly hundreds she would allow throughout the night.

“Is Kim here tonight?” someone asks, referring to Quinn’s long-time partner, Kim Catullo.

“No, she couldn’t make it,” Quinn replies. “She’s got a case that’s going to trial a week from Monday.”

Queens is cold this evening, but inside the Astoria World Manor, where hundreds of New York’s gay establishment have gathered to eat, dance and celebrate the new year, the air is warm, the mood is inviting and Quinn, the city’s top gay official and a likely candidate for mayor next year, is flush with admiration.

“There used to be a time when politicians would think twice about going to an LGBT event,” she says.

But those days are long gone.

“If you’re a prominent elected official in this borough or anywhere in the city,” she says, “this is a have-to stop tonight.”

And indeed, throughout the night Quinn makes small talk with the likes of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens), State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (D) and Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell (DManhattan), among the twenty-one elected officials who have come to speak and socialize.

O

NE STEP INTO THE

Coming to Queens, she says, is like coming home. She recalls a time over a decade ago when, as executive director of the Anti-Violence Project, she and Danny Dromm, now a district leader and an expected candidate for City Council in Jackson Heights, would visit gay bar after gay bar, canvassing for people who needed assistance.

Now, as one of the most powerful officials in the city, she moves confidently through the room. As she does, she comes across a young man with bright green drinks in each hand.

“Double fisting it tonight, eh?” the speaker asks with a grin.

He laughs. “Yeah, a little bit of apple with some gin.”

“It’s very green,” Quinn says, letting off one of her trademark boisterous laughs.

Receiving huge cheers and screams of approval as she takes the stage at the Pride event, Quinn’s support in the gay community seems solid. Yet, as her constituency and appeal broaden in preparation for next year’s mayoral race, certain pockets of the gay community, mostly activists and radical groups, have attacked her for some of the more mainstream positions she has taken over the past few years.

Housing activists, for example, were bewildered by her opposition to a bill last year that would expand services for poor and homeless people living with HIV. Quinn said she opposed the bill for purely financial reasons, saying the program would set an unmanageable precedent for dealing with homeless people with illnesses.

Quinn has also been slammed by crit-

ics for not vocally opposing Noach Dear’s Civil Court candidacy last year, given Dear’s record of homophobic remarks.

And her failure to block New York Police Department rules restricting public gatherings without a permit has riled still others.

She admits to feeling the sting of criticism from her own community. But she says she does not let these feelings influence her approach to policy.

“Human nature is you want everyone to be happy,” she says. “Of course, it’s always a disappointment when people are unhappy. But the bigger disappointment would be if I took a position to make people happy.”

A politician cannot please all the people all the time, she says, especially one who is a high-profile representative of a community hungering for equal rights and wider acceptance.

“I understand that there are some folk in the LGBT community, as in others, who don’t agree with every position I’ve taken,” she says. “I will always listen to what opponents say. I’ll always listen to criticism.”

But as the prospective mayoral candidates jockey for support, some in the community have noted that Quinn, who would be the city’s first openly gay mayoral candidate, may not be able to rely on the gay vote wholesale.

“I understand that there are some folk in the LGBT community, as in others, who don’t agree with every position I’ve taken,” she says. “I will always listen to what opponents say. I’ll always listen to criticism.”

“The community is not monolithic,” says Assembly Member Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan), introduced with cheers at the event as the first openly bisexual elected official in New York. “She’ll have to fight for support.”

City Comptroller Bill Thompson (D), another likely candidate for mayor who once employed Kellner, also enjoys broad support in the LGBT community, he notes.

“The question is can she unite her

majority,” Kellner says, while standing in the middle of the vast banquet hall.

“Politics is never smooth.”

Quinn first entered the rough world of New York politics in 1991 to manage the City Council campaign of Tom Duane, who became the first openly gay member of the Council. After Duane was elected to the state senate in 1998, Quinn ran for, and won, his old seat representing Chelsea and the West Village.

Duane says that while certain pockets of the community may disagree with some of her stances, there remains an overwhelming sense of pride in her accomplishments.

“Any controversy is not going to, in any substantive way, impact the community’s feelings for her,” Duane says. “On the core issues, on full equality and full civil rights, she’s 100 percent.”

Despite recent friction, Quinn’s own activist roots cannot be ignored, her supporters say.

Dromm, for one, remembers the day almost a decade ago when Quinn, Duane and several others were arrested for protesting the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in the Bronx.

“The cops said, ‘Those of you who want to get arrested stay on the street, and if you don’t, get back on the curb’,” Dromm says. “I stepped back on the curb. I didn’t want to get arrested.”

Quinn, however, refused, and was handcuffed and led away.

“When people show that type of guts, the guts that Chris Quinn showed, that’s something that’s not easily forgotten,” Dromm continues. “Maybe she has to funnel it in a different way or use those types of skills to achieve what she wants, but I don’t really believe that Chris Quinn would ever forget, or has ever forgotten, her activist roots.”

Since becoming speaker, the organizers of the Fifth Avenue parade have invited her to march—she is, after all, not just a citywide official, but the first speaker of Irish descent. She has refused, citing the prohibition on gay participation in the parade.

The anti-establishment coterie of the LGBT community accuses Quinn of turning her back on them. But coming to the podium this night, she seems less the speaker of the City Council and more the speaker for her community. She sounds that protest note.

“We’re not going to be ignored by law enforcement!” she shouts into the microphone on the stage of the Pride event, cameras flashing. “We’re not going to have what happens to us denied! We’re going to have a name! We’re going to have justice delivered!” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

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CITY HALL

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FEB RUARY 2008

35

Boxing Bosses Lopez lands some punches while

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS DEMOCRATIC LEADER Vito Lopez’s quest to bring some respectability back to his borough’s political organization has brought him into conflict with fellow New York heavyweight José Rivera, the Bronx Democratic leader.

So far, the score seems Lopez 2, Rivera 0.

“We have a different interest than the Bronx has,” Lopez said simply. “It’s my obligation to advance the interest of Brooklyn, as it is the obligation of José Rivera to advance the Bronx’s interest.”

In mid-January, Lopez successfully persuaded Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) to delay the expected appointment of former assembly member and Bronx county clerk, Hector Diaz, as city clerk. Since retiring clerk Victor Robles was from Brooklyn, Lopez directed his borough’s Council members to block a vote which would have pulled the plum position out of Brooklyn.

Though he acknowledged that Diaz will probably be installed as city clerk eventually, Lopez said that he wanted to ensure that his delegation had a more active role in the

B

ROOKLYN

process, and was eager to flex the borough’s muscle.

The delay seems a defeat, though a temporary one. Rivera believes he weathered it well.

“I didn’t have the votes, so it didn’t happen,” he said. “But did I lose face? No. You’ve got to move on.”

A week later, before Rivera likely had the chance to move on, Lopez struck again, undermining Rivera’s attempt to get a vote on Bronx Democratic Council Member Maria Baez to become deputy director of the city Board of Elections. With the two leaders unable to agree on a Democrat, the Council unanimously voted to appoint Manhattan GOP operative, Marcus Cederqvist, executive director. The Bronx lost its bid to vote on Cederqvist and Baez as a package.

Lopez said he instigated the political dust-up as a way to assert the Brooklyn Democratic delegation’s strength after years of fragmentation and scandal.

“I believe that everyone is now aware that you can’t take Brooklyn for granted,” Lopez said, “and everyone was surprised that Brooklyn stood together.”

MICHELLE DARCY

Rivera prepares for next round

The Bronx’s José Rivera has suffered several recent defeats to Brooklyn’s Vito Lopez.

Lopez has been moving to consolidate his power in the years since taking over for Clarence Norman, the once mighty party boss who was sent to prison along with State Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson. But with his successes in the Council, and Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s (D) appointment of three Brooklyn judges to the State Supreme Court, Lopez said he sees the clouds lifting.

“What we have done is brought Brooklyn back and gained respectability,” he said.

“Are we there totally? No. Are we in the process of getting there? The answer is yes.”

Rivera said his focus now is on empowering the Bronx political operation, which he calls the “step-child” of New York politics.

As for the showdown with Lopez over the city clerk job, Rivera said, “This thing is not over.”

And there may be future scraps between the two boroughs. The 2009 elections will draw a new batch of council members into the fray, as well as an opportunity for Brooklyn and the Bronx to wrangle over the selection of a new Council speaker and committee chairs.

Rivera described the situation in boxing terms, recalling how his upbringing on the hard streets of the South Bronx taught him to take a few punches and still come out on top.

“If I’m going to wear this title,” he said, “I have to have a strong chin.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

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EDITORIAL Making the Campaign Finance Laws Have Meaning www.cityhallnews.com President/CEO: Tom Allon tallon@manhattanmedia.com

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ne has to praise the tenacity of the City Campaign Finance Board, which on January 17, after six-anda-half years, walloped City Council Member Miguel Martinez with a $44,780 fine and an order to repay $128,786 in matching funds for violations in his 2001 campaign. Of course, one also has to acknowledge that the six-and-a-half-years the Board took to get this decision out makes it, and therefore a sizeable part of the CFB’s function, pretty much irrelevant.

The investigations into Martinez’s first winning campaign started just months after he took office in 2002. Strangely similar handwriting and receipt templates submitted for documentation got CFB auditors suspicious. The CFB’s accountants and lawyers waged a long battle with the upperManhattan Democrat to bring to light what they claim as Martinez’s extensive malfea-

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sance in that first campaign. Along the way, the CFB levied tens of thousands of dollars in new fines against Martinez’s 2003 redistricting-forced campaign, one of them assessed in 2005 and another in 2006.

Along the way, Martinez also won the 2001 race, and re-election in 2003 and 2005. During his time in office since these wins, he has built up name recognition, a legislative record and a history of constituent services that will likely serve him well in the expected continuation of his political career, whether that involves a run for State Legislature, Manhattan borough president or anything else.

Aside from requiring him to pay his fines, will the CFB decision further affect Martinez? Probably not. Martinez’s name and reputation are established in his community and elsewhere, and he has already served more than six years on the Council. With term limits already set to end his time at City Hall next year, he may never have to answer to the voters, and even if he did, he would have his accomplishments over his terms to counterbalance these indiscretions.

Martinez is far from the only candidate to be fined long after the races in question have ended. Though the amount of his fines is notably high, the slow work on the part of the CFB, which led to the fines not being announced until coming on seven years after the violations were supposedly

committed, is pretty standard. This case aside, when fines are issued, they are rarely large enough to have any real impact. And they are almost never issued in time to make a difference.

And absent real penalties, what, other than the goodness of their hearts, is to prevent candidates and their campaign treasurers from misbehaving? If a little impropriety in fundraising or campaign spending could make the difference in a close race, and the punishment is sure to come lightly and long after the votes are counted—if it comes at all—why should anyone expect that law breaking will not become more widespread?

The public financing system is a fantastic part of the democratic machinery of New York City, and the CFB staffers must be extremely careful not to act rashly and toss unfounded accusations at candidates.

But the CFB needs to be given the resources to act more quickly, and the potential fines increased, if the system is to stand for much of anything at all. And the CFB should consider holding regular voluntary seminars for campaign staffers to reduce the possibility of error.

With the flood of candidates set to run next year, the time to start acting, whether in passing new legislation or in restructuring the CFB, is now. For the public financing system to work as it should, its regulations need teeth, and the ability to bite.

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OP-ED Stop Nursing Discrimination Against Women in the Pension System

BY NANCY KALEDA he City of New York prides itself on being one of the most progressive employers in the nation. Yet it refuses to end a discriminatory practice that for decades has denied registered nurses equal retirement benefits.

The City Administrative Code includes a list of “physically taxing” occupations that require “heavy duty and extraordinary effort.” City employees who work in those occupations are entitled to retire at an earlier age with full benefits. It’s accepted that the wear and tear of their jobs might force them to retire early.

Nursing positions have never been on that list.

It’s hard to understand why, because the 7,100 RNs employed by the city perform tasks that are physically demanding and strenuous. It’s been estimated that nurses lift an equivalent of 1.8 tons per shift. Moving patients can exert up to 2,000 pounds of force on a nurse’s lumbar spine. The incidence of back injury is higher for nursing professionals than for construction workers, with a startling 38 percent of nurses sustaining significant injuries that require leave from work.

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The reason for this omission may lie in the fact that the “physically taxing” occupations recognized by the city are traditionally held by men. Nursing is a femaledominated profession. When the “physically taxing” provision was established in 1968, the men who wrote the regulations didn’t understand that nurses undergo more physical strain than employees working in predominantly male job titles.

We’ve come a long way since then, but City Hall still doesn’t get it.

When the city refused to correct this injustice through administrative means, the nurses began the long and difficult process of obtaining state legislation to achieve this goal. By the way, the proposal is cost-neutral, so it won’t cost taxpayers a dime.

Action is required by both New York State and the New York City Council.

In 2006, the legislation was vetoed by Governor George Pataki. Last year, the City Council failed to pass the home rule message, even though it had approved it in 2006. The nurses received assurances from many City Council members that the home rule message would pass again, but inexplicably, the Council never voted on the measure.

In their fight for fair treatment by the city, the nurses delivered more than 1,000 gender discrimination complaints last month to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Manhattan office. The nurses, who are represented by the New York State Nurses Association, are hoping the EEOC will investigate these complaints, question the city’s elected leaders, and correct this long-standing injustice.

City officials should examine their consciences. Do they really believe that women who work just as hard as men don’t deserve the same benefits? That’s the message they are sending to nurses and the rest of the community.

It’s time for City Council members to act on their principles and send a home rule message to the state legislature. The State Legislature and the governor also must do the right thing and ensure fairness in the city pension system.

Discrimination shouldn’t tarnish the reputation of the greatest city in the world.

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Nancy Kaleda is the senior associate director of the Economic & General Welfare Program for the New York State Nurses Association.

CITY HALL

www.cityhallnews.com

FEB RUARY 2008

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OP-ED

How City Government Failed the People of West Harlem

BY COUNCIL MEMBER TONY AVELLA hile some are rejoicing at the City Council’s approval of the Columbia expansion with the Manhattanville rezoning applications, many others, including myself, are astonished by the failure of the land use approval process to protect the West Harlem neighborhood, and afford the community true input on the project.

Despite seven hours of public testimony on this application and the 197-a plan submitted by Manhattan Community Board 9, not a single change was made by the City Council on the Columbia proposal. Think about it—Columbia’s idea to forever change 17 acres in West Harlem was not amended in any way shape or form at the City Council level.

Without question, Columbia wields sig-

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nificant political influence extending into the mayoral administration and the City Council. The presence of former mayor, David Dinkins, sitting alongside Columbia’s president, Lee Bollinger, during Columbia’s presentation before my Zoning and Franchises sub-committee public hearing clearly demonstrates the power they enjoy.

Under the Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), a specific timetable for approval is spelled out. The City Council had until January to vote, yet we voted within a week after the public hearing, hardly enough time to consider the seven hours of testimony. Why? Because it was politically advantageous for some to dispose of this controversial project quickly, at a time when most people are focused on the holiday season, so as not to negatively affect future political aspirations.

Let’s not forget the other glaring failure

of the land use process. Under the City Charter, neighborhood organizations, such as community boards, can create a planning document for their area, known as a 197-a plan. Unfortunately, neighborhoods can often take years, sometimes decades, to develop a 197-a plan and obtain city approval only to learn that the plan carries no force of law. In other words, no one has to pay any attention to it.

This absurdity was brought to the forefront during the application process.

Community Board 9, beginning in 1991, sought and developed such a plan. To the dismay of the community, their plan finally underwent the ULURP public review process at the same time as the Columbia expansion application. In a move that defies all logic, the City Council approved both, despite the Columbia plan’s obvious inconsistency with the community 197-a

LETTERS Choice is the Reason to Fight Dear Editor, In “State of the Unions: Ground Zero Fire Fight” (January 2008), much of the story was lost in translation. Members of the FDNY EMS Officers Union and FDNY EMS Retirees Organization want us to fight for their freedom and privacy in health care.

The FDNY compels employees to participate in their World Trade Center Medical Monitoring & Treatment program (WTCMM&T) and eliminates their ability to receive care at any other WTC Medical Monitoring & Treatment center.

FDNY previously required retirees to participate in this program as well. Retired members demanded the freedom to choose their healthcare providers and our organizations fought and won their freedom.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney drafted an extensive piece of legislation seeking funding for monitoring and treatment centers here in New York and throughout the U.S. for first responders that came to help New York, and retired New York responders that moved away. We applaud this bill, and take issue with only one provision: a requirement restricting FDNY employees [firefighters and EMS only] and retirees in the New York area to receive care from the FDNY WTCMM&T program—again, eliminating their ability to seek care at any other approved center anywhere else in the metropolitan area.

While many employees and retirees are happy with their care at FDNY, like retired Lt. Tom Carlstrom, many others are not. Some do not live close to the FDNY WTCMM&T center, while others facing disability or psychological illnesses such as PTSD prefer not to return to

the FDNY for care.

While we appreciate the importance of keeping the FDNY group together, it is of equal importance that members are satisfied with the level of care and comfortable in revealing their personal health information to their employer.

Compassionate medical and psychological treatment and support for our first responders requires choice of health care centers and providers. Under this provision, an FDNY responder dissatisfied with his healthcare in the compelled program does not have the ability to seek care elsewhere. It should be noted that our NYPD counterparts and other city responders are not bound by such restrictions. They are afforded the freedom to choose their healthcare provider.

FDNY employess are the only WTC responders compelled to attend an employer based program. Our members seek freedom and privacy from the FD, and in our opinion it is not simply the right thing to do, but it is also in keeping with state laws and federal regulations.

Our organizations joined together to work on behalf of our members. These members deserve to receive WTC healthcare from any approved program and should not be compelled into an employer based program. If we did not have members supporting this initiative, we would not be on this path. We support those members that are comfortable with their care at the FDNY WTC program, and we support those members who prefer to receive treatment elsewhere.

For some unknown reason, we have met with resistance from labor, FDNY and those who drafted the Zadroga Act. We find it quite ironic that if the honored NYPD Detective Zadroga were with us today, he would have the choice of centers to provide his care.

We are at a loss to understand the motives to restrict care in the FDNY program. After all, there are established “Centers of Excellence” all mandated with the same goal: to help WTC responders and collect data to identify ongoing health needs. There is no compelling reason to force any member into a program that restricts his basic healthcare rights.

Labor needs to unite in amending the Zadroga Act to support medical freedom and privacy while providing the data to drive funding.

THOMAS EPPINGER PRESIDENT OF THE FDNY EMS OFFICERS UNION & MARIANNE PIZZITOLA PRESIDENT OF THE FDNY EMS RETIREES ASSOCIATION

Burst the Bubbles To the Editor: The news that the New York City Department of Education will soon begin using results from students’ standardized tests to measure teacher performance raises a serious concern about how high-stakes testing dominates public schools. Assessing teachers based on students’ standardized test scores will exacerbate the current overemphasis on test-taking techniques and lack of focus on real learning.

Students are learning how best to bubble in the correct answer choices, spending weeks doing practice tests and memorizing test strategies. How much more will teachers focus on test preparation when their jobs are on the line?

Teachers need to be accountable for their job performance, but incessant test prep takes the place of learning when teachers fear losing their jobs.

SINCERELY, ASSEMBLY MEMBER MARK WEPRIN (D-QUEENS)

plan.

In addition, under ULURP, the local community board has authority to conduct a public hearing on land use items and make recommendations. As such, they are part of the official approval process, although their recommendation is not mandatory.

In the case of the Columbia project, Community Board 9 was shut out of any negotiations, because the city set up a local development corporation (LDC).

It was the LDC that negotiated directly with Columbia, arranging the Community Benefits Agreement. As a result, legitimate community issues and concerns presented

by Community Board 9 were not addressed.

In my opinion, not only does this violate the land use approval process, but it makes a mockery of community input.

The failure of the process allowed such important issues as the misuse of eminent domain, the preservation of important historic buildings within the designated development area, and the construction of a level 3 biological laboratory in the midst of a seismically active flood plain in Manhattan, to go unanswered.

The City Council and the administration have now set a dangerous precedent for the use of eminent domain. In the future, any powerful developer or politically connected institution, such as Columbia, can tell the city they have a better use for your property. As a result, no property owner in the city should feel safe.

Indeed, this policy is already being considered or employed in other parts of the city, such as downtown Brooklyn (the Atlantic Yards project) and Willets Point, Queens.

Institutions such as Columbia serve a vital purpose in our city, but they cannot be allowed to destroy the very fabric of the community they serve. The time has come to revisit how we conduct planning in this city. It’s about time we give the citizens of this city a true voice in the planning process.

Let us hope that the Columbia approval will serve as a rallying cry from New Yorkers that this can never happen again.

Government is here to serve the people, not the powerful and influential institutions.

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Tony Avella is a Democrat representing parts of Queens in the Assembly. He is chair of the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee. welcomes submissions to the op-ed page. A piece should be maximum 650 words long, accompanied by the name and address of the author, and submitted via email to cityhall@manhattanmedia.com to be considered.

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FEBR UARY 2008

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner All four remaining lawsuits against British satirist Sacha Baron Cohen are coming to a courthouse near you.

Thanks to a ruling by the State Supreme Court of Alabama, all litigation arising out of Cohen’s movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan must be heard in state court in New York City. The signed contracts Cohen received from all of the participants in his movie designated New York as the only state where he could be sued. The highest

court in Alabama enforced the contract under the interstate commerce clause, a Constitutional argument Alabama courts learned all about during the 1960s.

A source with knowledge of the litigation said that New York was the preferred venue for Mr. Cohen because of the state’s media friendly laws and history protecting First Amendment rights.

Fueling the City Council Fields of Fuel, a documentary featuring New York City Council Member James Gennaro, won the Documentary Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival held over Martin Luther King Day weekend.

The film—about America’s dependency on foreign oil—is a departure from the usual Hollywood films about New York’s interaction with the environment, which generally feature the city being destroyed courtesy of special effects.

Gennaro, chair of the Council Environment and Energy Committee, is featured talking about his legislation which would mandate biodiesel and reduce sulfur in home heating oil. The film stars Julia Roberts and Woody Harrelson, and is directed by Josh Tickell in his directorial debut.

A Taxing Drive Staten Islanders are used to fighting the other four boroughs for their piece of the city and state budget. But now Islanders are getting dragged into a budget battle in New Jersey, and they are kicking and screaming about it.

Assembly Member Michael Cusick (D-Staten Island) is leading the charge against New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s (D) Financial Restructuring and Debt Reduction proposal. Corzine’s revenue enhancements raise tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, the Atlantic City Expressway, and add a new 35-cent toll on Route 440, a four-mile stretch of road that connects the Outerbridge Crossing with the Turnpike.

www.cityhallnews.com Cusick has written a letter to Gov. Corzine—and placed two unreturned phone calls to his office—urging the Garden State governor to rethink his position. Drivers on Route 440 are predominately Staten Island residents, but the road is also used by many New York residents on their way to the Jersey Shore or Atlantic City.

“I really feel that this is a tax on New York residents and was specifically put forward for that reason,” Cusick said.

Cusick said he plans to ask New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) to talk with Corzine and hopefully change his mind. New Jersey’s $30 billion debt, however, might prove more persuasive than Spitzer.

Should neighborly behavior fail to win the day, Cusick is also looking into New York’s legal options against New Jersey for what he believes may be an unconstitutional restriction on interstate commerce, given that Route 440 is a small stretch of road already bracketed by bridge and Turnpike tolls.

Cusick hopes it will not come to that, though, as Corzine considers the economic impact of decreased tourism from New York.

“If you are going to discourage us from going,” he said, “we could stay away from New Jersey.”

Pataki Staying Put in Private Life Former Gov. George Pataki (R) emerged from his political silence the day before Super Tuesday, delivering an enthusiastic endorsement to John McCain (R) at a hastily-convened rally for the Arizona senator in Grand Central Station. Standing next to former mayor, Rudolph Giuliani (R), whose presidential campaign Pataki noticeably skipped endorsing, Pataki praised McCain as the man most likely to be competitive in the November elections.

“As a Republican in New York, we know you win elections by brining in conservatives, but also by having enlightened leadership,” he said, in his brief remarks to the crowd.

Afterward, Pataki discussed his own departure from the political world, and brushed off speculation that he might find a position in Washington which suited him if McCain won the White House.

“I am enjoying private life,” he said, referring to his work as a counsel at Chadbourne & Parke, LLP. And as the crowd dissipated, he reflected on his own presidential campaign which never was. The three-term governor, who in 2000 was being discussed as possible running mate for George W. Bush, said he simply realized over the waning months of his time in office that a presidential election would not work.

“I don’t know that there was ever one point,” he said. “You just kind of make decisions as time goes on.”

CITY HALL

A Crouching Tiger Hiding in Chelsea

The ancient Chinese art of calligraphy requires focus and concentration augmented by a deft and subtle touch. It has been practiced by elite scholars in the Han Dynasty, Chairman Mao Zedong, and for the past 11 years, Assembly Member Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan).

Gottfried, who studied Chinese painting before high school, attends classes at the China Institute on 65th Street every Saturday.

“It certainly focuses my mind on something other than work,” he said. “I find the concentration and the challenge of it very appealing.”

But calligraphy is not the only ancient Asian activity Gottfried practices during his down time. In between battles for state health care reform, the Assembly member finds time to study the teachings of Confucius.

“I read Confucius as arguing for very progressive government and social politics,” Gottfried said.

Confucius does not need to remind Gottfried, who first got elected to the Legislature while still in law school and has remained there for 37 years, to “chose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Parsing Presidential Talk from Bloomberg on Big Blue Those still hoping for a Bloomberg White House run might try to read the tea leaves from the mayor’s comments about the Giants and their come-from-behind Super Bowl victory.

“They did what New Yorkers have always done,” he said, in his role as Monday morning quarterback in the Blue Room. “They said, ‘The next play is the beginning of the rest of the game.’”

He added that he made sure the set-up for the tickertape parade did not start until after the clock had run down on the Giants 17-14 win, lest this lead to some bad luck. But that, he did not expect, would make any difference for how good the celebration could be.

“It’s amazing how quickly you can put these things together,” he said. “Tickets are printed and stands are going up. And we didn’t jinx anything!”

Big Blue may not have had a perfect season, he added, but what mattered is that they won.

“They did it in the most thrilling way,” said the man believed to be plotting a history making, self-funded, independent run for the presidency.

“And to do it on the road is the most impressive thing.”

The Texas primary is March 4. By then, Bloomberg will have to make a final decision on whether to try for the Hail Mary pass, or punt on Kevin Sheekey’s dreams.

—by Edward-Isaac Dovere and Elie Mystal

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CITY HALL

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Merriman says there should be no ‘cap’ on high-performing schools and the Department of Education do that work—which they already are. We also clearly saw a double standard in the treatment of charter schools in this case. Not surprisingly, and as I expected, the usual suspects have tried to portray our lawsuit as a way of escaping accountability.

Charters welcome accountability and have plenty of it; but we don’t want it to be duplicative of already existing monitoring and we also want it to be fair.

Q: Besides advocacy, what else does the Center do for charter schools in the city?

A: The Center provides services to charters, with a focus on those tough technical issues that tend to take them away from the core business that they got into this in the first place -- teaching, and more importantly, learning. Our theory is that if we can relieve schools of some of the burdens of finding facilities, sorting through the maze that is the Department of Education, providing centralized services on teacher certification, fingerprinting, how to deliver special education services, we have then helped school leaders by giving them more time and energy to serving their students. Given how much schools are regulated, even charters, we have to remember always that that’s why we have schools in the first place.

Q: Given the decision last year to increase the cap on the number of charter schools, how would you rate

DANIEL S. BURNSTEIN

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Q: What sort of vision do you have for your tenure at the Center?

A: My hope for the Center is that everything we do is as top flight as the very best charter schools that we were created to serve. We need to be an absolutely relentless advocate for allowing charter schools to flourish in an environment that supports them, but equally make sure that we’re an advocate for charter schools living up to their promises of delivering not just a good but a great education to the children they serve.

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Charting a New Course for Charter Schools

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS ames Merriman, the new CEO of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence, formerly served as Executive Director of the Charter Schools Institute of the State University of New York (SUNY), the nation’s second-largest university-affiliated authorizer of public charter schools.

In his previous role as authorizer of charter schools, Merriman was responsible for holding charter schools to the highest operational and academic standards. As head of the nonprofit Center, he is an advocate for charter schools, overseeing the Center’s efforts to ensure that charter schools have the freedom and resources to provide a public education to the City’s neediest communities.

Merriman touches on the future of charter schools in New York City, the concept of school autonomy and legal action taken by charter advocates against State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D).

What follows is an edited transcript.

FEB RUARY 2008

James Merriman, the new CEO of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence. the State Board of Regents’ approach towards charter schools?

A: I think the Board of Regents has been a thoughtful partner in moving the charter school movement forward. It’s pretty clear that I didn’t always agree with them when I was at SUNY and we won’t always agree now. But it is a constructive dialogue. The one thing I hope the Board fully understands and conveys to the State Education Department is that for charter schools to be successful, the autonomy that allows charter schools the freedom to innovate needs to be jealously protected. At the same time, all of us need to hold charters accountable when they don’t live up to their promises.

Q: Is this idea of autonomy related to your lawsuit against the state comptroller’s office?

A: Yes it is, and I want to be completely clear about this because there’s been a lot of confusion: charter schools and the Center do not oppose the fiscal audits of charter schools by the Comptroller.

Charter schools and district schools have undergone fiscal audits for the past two years after the debacle in Roslyn, and we understand the need for them. We filed our lawsuit only after the Comptroller’s announced that he would conduct “performance” audits on top of the fiscal audits—and then it turned out this additional round of audits was only directed at charter schools, and not a single district school. What got us about these performance audits is that we don’t understand how or why accountants should be judging how teachers and educators are doing their jobs. Let the Board of Regents

Q: Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been very supportive of charter schools, as has Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. Do you see that extending past 2009 with the current crop of mayoral candidates?

A: It would be hard to improve upon the support the Chancellor and Mayor Bloomberg have had for charter schools, but obviously we’re hopeful that anyone who comes into office will be supportive of charter schools. Not because they’re a good idea abstractly, but because of the demonstrable success they’ve had in improving student achievement. In fact, this latest round of progress reports from DOE showed that the number one and number two schools in the entire city were charter schools. If you ask me, that’s an argument for more of those schools, not less.

Q: What about the decision to include charter schools in the city’s grading system? How has that worked out so far?

A: Charter schools already have an extensive accountability structure, so there was some hesitation about whether to add another measure. However, the fact is that charter schools recognize that because this measure is likely to be used by parents to decide where to have their children go to school, and because charter schools do very well on this measure, overall we welcome it.

Q: What has been the relationship between your center and the teachers unions?

A: Cordial and respectful. Again, it is clear that we won’t always agree, but my guess is that there may be more common ground than the conventional wisdom out there has it. We have to remember that there are a number of charter schools that are unionized because they were conversions or have subsequently been unionized and we support the choice of employees to work in the setting that they collectively feel is right for them. And of course, the UFT has its own charter school and is working with a group from California to start more of them.

Q: Are there any sort of noticeable dif-

ferences between charter schools that are managed by for-profit organizations and not-for-profit organizations?

A: First, we don’t have a lot of schools in New York City that are managed by forprofits. With that said, the fact is while the for-profits have had some successes, as a group they have not been outstanding. I think this clearly raises questions in people’s minds fairly or unfairly. After all, while people might not begrudge someone making a profit if they are hitting the ball out of the park, they won’t understand why a company should make a profit from public education if the results aren’t extremely positive. And so far, unfortunately, they just haven’t been.

So it’s a challenge for them.

Q: You talked a lot about maintaining autonomy and having enough transparency so that people feel comfortable. What is sort of the appropriate level of oversight that the government should have over charter schools?

Where do you see the line that up to this point it’s appropriate, but past that you’re encroaching on the school’s autonomy?

A: What I think is appropriate is in fact the system that is laid out in the Charter Schools Act, the legislation that created charter schools. It provides for a comprehensive oversight structure in which charters are overseen not only by the Department of Education or the State University of New York, but also by the State Education Department. The laws and structure in place under which oversight is established and carried out we feel is appropriate. However, where agencies work somehow to change the charter structure to make it look just like the district structure, and all the constraints of that structure, we feel that crosses the line.

Q: Should there be a cap?

A: No. For the life of me, I can’t understand a legislative veto on having more great schools. Let’s take all the energy that we’re spending on fighting more charter schools and make sure that every one that we start has more promise of being a great school.

Q: Do you feel that especially with a lot of public schools being shut down and consolidated into other schools; do you think that charter schools can fill a gap there?

A: I do think that charters will be an important component of creating new schools and more importantly better schools for the students who have been so badly served by the schools that are closing down. But they are only part of the answer.