City Hall - March 23, 2009

n No Television After 11, Bloomberg Declares n Brewer Explodes in Curse-Filled Rampage on Council Floor n Rangel Clears Throat

Vol. 3, No. 12

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April Fool’s 2009

Bloomberg Adds Thompson, Weiner to ’09 Effort

Governor Reveals Mysterious Grand Plan

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By John Johnstone

n a move sure to shake up the 2009 mayor’s race, Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) announced the additions of Comptroller William C. Thompson (D) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/ Brooklyn) to his campaign team. The two will serve as senior advisors to Bloomberg’s 2009 re-election run, for a sum that was not disclosed to reporters.

“They are two of the best political minds in the business,” Bloomberg said at a ribbon-cutting at his Staten Island campaign headquarters that his staff insisted should not be construed as a campaign event. “We are lucky to have them on board.”

The mayor deflected further questions concerning the upcoming campaign.

“Look, I have 285 more days as the mayor of this city. If the people want me to lead this city beyond that, well, that will be up for them to decide.”

Bloomberg also bristled when asked if the hiring of two men thought to be his closest rivals was a circumventing of the democratic process.

“Look, there are 2.8 million registered Democrats in New York City,” Bloomberg said, adding that he only expected to put at most half of those on the

campaign payroll before the year is out. “Surely, one of them would like to try to be the mayor. I mean, go ahead, try. Please. Puh-lease.”

Thompson said his experience as comptroller convinced him that signing on to Bloomberg 2009 was the right decision, especially in these tough economic times.

“I know how to count money,” he said.

Weiner, who flashed a broad smile with his new diamond-encrusted grill before taking the microphone, insisted that accepting the position with the campaign did not signal any change in

continued on page 2

‘The ways of the Paterson are strange,’ governor declares

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By Cornelius Van Steenwyk

t a dramatic press conference this week, Gov. David Paterson (D) made the stunning revelation that his bizarre and often mystifying behavior is in fact part of a larger plan that will soon become clear to everyone else.

Recounting the many twists and turns his administration had taken, including the Caroline Kennedy saga and his public waffling on the budget deficit, the governor assured reporters that there was

continued on page 2

With Widening Budget Gap, State to Get Second Job

Applications in at Nathan’s, local movie theater

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By Ebenezer Wilson

n an effort to make up for serious revenue shortfalls this year, Gov. David Paterson (D) today announced plans for the state to get a second job.

“Our first job—serving the needs of millions of New Yorkers—clearly wasn’t paying the bills,” Paterson said in a Red Room press conference. “I mean, damn. We’re seriously strapped for cash right now.”

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D) said the plan was to either secure work at Nathan’s Coney Island or a movie

continued on page 2

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Forgoing Re-Election, DA Morgenthau Announces Run for Town Constable

Democrats and Republican Mugwumps. He also promised to double the city’s Pinkerton brigade, allowing them to step up their efforts in strike breaking and union infiltration.

“No more waving of the bloody shirt!”

Morgenthau bellowed, before doffing a top hat and leaping into a horse-drawn carriage.

Paterson

had been in the job for several months now, Paterson sat down cross-legged on the floor and began to meditate.

“Purged, I have, all distressing thoughts,” he said. “At peace with Gillibrand, I am.”

When a reporter attempted to ask him a question about the state’s $14 billion budget gap, Paterson quietly shook his head and corrected the reporter.

“14 million,” he said.

When the reporter insisted that the budget deficit was indeed $16 billion, and both Silver and Smith agreed, Paterson said, “14 billion? A tax on the wealthy perhaps we will need.”

A reporter then asked Paterson about the specifics of such a plan—whether he

would favor restructuring the personal income tax at the $250,000 level, as some have proposed, or restricting the tax hike to millionaires only.

The governor responded with a quizzical look.

“Millionaires? Opposed to a tax on millionaires, I am,” he said.

Staffers soon began ushering the press corps out of the meeting, saying Paterson had eaten some bad tuna and was feeling nauseous.

As the reporters shuffled out of the room, Paterson began rocking back and forth, and emitting a strange noise.

“Meaningless are polls,” he said quietly. “Threatened by Cuomo, I am not.”

of the fiscal year. The ongoing recession and situation on Wall Street made it clear that the state’s current job would be insufficient if plans to improve roads, shore up education funding and buying new wheels for the state’s 1972 Camaro were to continue, the governor added.

Several states got second jobs during the 1970s fiscal crisis, according to Margaret Holson of the Federal Center for State Budget Policy. By following their lead, Holson said New York could start paying down its debt to neighboring states, and maybe even save up enough for a few new hospitals and those new, awesome Nikes it has been eyeing.

“The taxpayers need to know that they aren’t the only ones paying off the debt,” Holson said. “If New York were to get

a second job, it would help reign in the overall cost of government, which should help it run more efficiently in the long run.”

Besides, she added, free tickets at the movie theater “would totally rule.”

But the financial outlook appears to be worsening daily. Budget experts warned that a second job may not cut it, especially if the Legislature fails to give permission for the job choices the governor eventually presents.

“Of course we want to get a second job,” said Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau). “But we need to ask ourselves: what about upstate? What about Long Island? Why not get a job at Wal-Mart in Nassau County? I hear they need more greeters.”

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continued from page 1 campaign payroll before the year is out.

“Surely, one of them would like to try to be the mayor. I mean, go ahead, try.

Please. Puh-lease.”

Thompson said his experience as comptroller convinced him that signing on to Bloomberg 2009 was the right decision, especially in these tough economic times.

“I know how to count money,” he said.

Weiner, who flashed a broad smile with his new diamond-encrusted grill before taking the microphone, insisted that accepting the position with the campaign did not signal any change in plans for 2009.

“Right now, I’m focused on doing my job in Washington,” the congressman said, “but that gig only pays so much.”

By William Peartree

summer. “But as town constable, you can be sure I’ll go after the robber barons and mudslingers alike. We should no longer have to fear the Carnegies, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Morgans of the world.”

Morgenthau then launched into a 20minute rant about the political system in New York, denouncing both Bourbon

BY WHITEHEAD HICKS

Bloomberg

Gillibrand Reveals Stash of Rifles, Pistols, Other Weapons After liberal downstate New Yorkers criticized Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D) record on guns, the newly-appointed senator announced last week that she has removed all firearms, military-grade weapons and street-fighting paraphernalia from her home and person.

“As the new senator from the State of New York, I will represent the interests of all New Yorkers,” Gillibrand said, removing a 12-gauge shotgun she named “Betsy” from her linen closet.

Gillibrand said she understood the danger of keeping a Taser in the kitchen silverware drawer.

“As a representative for the entire state, I don’t feel it necessary to display a walnutgrip pistol with a hand-engraved brass barrel on the dining room table as the centerpiece,” Gillibrand said while hiking the left leg of her pantsuit to remove a Glock 27 from her ankle holster.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Nassau), a gun-control advocate and potential primary challenger to Gillibrand, criticized her fellow Democrat for giving in to special interests like the National Rifle Association (NRA).

“New York needs a senator to fight for better schools, not better guns,” McCarthy said.

Reached for comment, Gillibrand responded by slowly removing five sharpened throwing stars from her pocket, one by one, and placing them on a table.

Vows to crack down on rapscallionry, scalliwaggery, jack-a-napery

obert Morgenthau (D), who upended Manhattan politics with his announcement that he would not seek a tenth term as district attorney, sent shockwaves around the political world again on Friday with his announcement that he would seek the office of town constable—an office previously not known to exist, but which Morgenthau identified on an original copy of the city charter produced from the top drawer of his desk at 1 Hogan Place.

“For too long have we been held hostage by the tom-foolery of our city’s vagrant class,” said Morgenthau, standing in Foley Square and wielding a stout wooden stick. “I’m here to give all ne’erdo-wells a punch in the nose McGee!” After almost 40 years in office, Morgenthau said recently that he would not seek another term, leading many to assume he would retire to his upstate farm. But the aging prosecutor dashed those assumptions when he literally threw his hat into the ring, according to a tradition he said had been taught to him by John Alden Dix himself.

Vowing not to kowtow to the “tigers of Tammany,” when asked how he planned to respond to the pervasive corruption on Wall Street, Morgenthau banged his cudgel on the podium and demanded the reporter repeat the question.

“I’m no spring dandy,” said Morgenthau, who will turn 90 this

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APRIL FOOL’S 2009

continued from page 1

was nothing to fear.

“The ways of the Paterson are strange,” he said.

Reporters at first had trouble identifying the governor under the oversized hood of the long, flowing black cloak he arrived in.

The governor then announced that he had decided on a choice to replace Senator Hillary Clinton, and that he would soon make his decision public. When a reporter pointed out that he had already appointed Kirsten Gillibrand to the seat, and that she

Second Job continued from page 1 State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D) said the plan was to either secure work at Nathan’s Coney Island or a movie theater.

Mowing lawns for Massachusetts is also an option, but DiNapoli said he was hoping the hot dog job would come through.

“Seriously. Coney Island, all summer?”

DiNapoli said. “How sweet would that be?”

The plan to get a second job became more urgent after budget projections showed the deficit growing to an unprecedented $14 billion over the course

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Garodnick: I Juiced

APRIL FOOL’S 2009

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Kennedy Proposes Amendment to Give Kennedys First Crack at All Vacant Offices

By Caleb Heathcote In her first political appearance since withdrawing from consideration for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat in January, Caroline Kennedy announced her support this week for a constitutional amendment that would radically alter the process of political appointments around the country.

Kennedy’s “Brahmin Dibs” proposal would give right of first refusal to the nearest resident Kennedy family member for any vacated office in the country, from the United State Senate down to sanitation commissioner.

“This bill will make our process fairer and more Democratic,” Kennedy said at a press conference on the steps of City Hall, where she was surrounded by hundreds of supporters waving “Kennedy first” signs. “It would also ensure that no one— excuse me, no Kennedy—ever has to endure the humiliation I went through.”

Expanding the bill to include vacancies for any elected office at any level of government would have far-reaching implications for municipal elections across the country. For example, an open seat on the Tulsa, Okla. City Council that would have triggered a special election in November would now be immediately filled by Ronald Kennedy, 48, an eighthgrade history teacher at Tulsa Middle School and son of Jeff Kennedy, a third cousin once-removed to Caroline.

“I had already raised about $1 million, started campaigning, even printed bumper stickers with my name on them,” said Lisa Miller, a candidate for the vacant Council seat in Tulsa.

“But I can wait. Ron deserves this opportunity.”

So far, Kennedy’s proposal has 90 sponsors in the Senate and 478 in the House (some have put their name on the bill twice).

Council Approves Measure to Do Bloomberg’s Chores

By Charles Lodwik

BY CADWALLADER COLDEN Council Member Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan) admitted that he had used Human Growth Hormone during the 2006 and 2007 legislative years.

“I juiced,” Garodnick—or D-Garod, as he is known to many fans—admitted in a terse two-word statement.

While Garodnick declined to elaborate, several sources indicated that Gardonick’s use of HGH stemmed from a torn rotator cuff sustained during a 2005 subway stop appearance while campaigning for his first term.

Gardonick’s attorney noted, however, that HGH was not banned by the Council until the 2006 season, so the councilman was technically not breaking any rules.

Gardonick is just one of a number of Council members who has been the subject of scrutiny for steroid use, with a list of others wanted for questioning including Council Member Lewis Fidler (D-Brooklyn) and Council Member James Vacca (DBronx).

“It casts suspicion over all of us,” said Brooklyn Democrat Charles Barron. “It’s time for anyone else involved in this to come clean, once and for all.”

HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S

In a tight 28-23 vote, the City Council approved the bill submitted last month by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to have members do his chores, beginning May 1. Council members said the bill’s speedy movement through committee and before the full body was a necessary measure, given the growing to-do list between the mayor’s multiple homes, as well as at Gracie Mansion, which will fall under the purview of the new law even though Bloomberg only uses the official residence for meetings and receptions.

“With this move, the City Council has rightfully put the ‘service’ into ‘public service,’” said Council Member Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), who was one of the bill’s sponsors. “We have our work cut out for us.”

Bloomberg is expected to sign the law within the week.

“The Council acted fairly, reasonably and with the interest of the tidiness,” said the mayor, speaking as he left City Hall for his SUV, which he noted was badly in need of a wax. “Look, the voters know there’s a lot of work to be done, and they know the Council can spit-shine and pick up dry cleaning with the best of them. New Yorkers understand that.”

The sweeping legislation charges the Council with a full slate of duties, from housekeeping at Bloomberg’s 79th Street mansion to reordering his CD collection to walking his companion Diana Taylor’s two dogs. Good performance and behavior will be rewarded with trips to the mayor’s homes in London, and potentially Bermuda, to handle chores there.

Cooking will still be handled by the mayor’s private staff.

NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED

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MARCH 23, 2009

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Quinn, Likely a Lock for Re-Election, Prepares To Mount Strong Defense

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

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n a recent February night, as cold winds blew fiercely down the West Side Highway, Yetta Kurland was keeping warm inside her new campaign office. Standing before a smattering of well-wishers and friends, Kurland officially announced her candidacy for City Council, promising to stick up for struggling small businesses and provide a voice for the community in government.

She did not mention Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), the woman she is trying to unseat who just happens to be the Council speaker.

Perhaps it was a calculated move by Kurland, a civil rights attorney and gay rights activist who is aiming to go toe-to-toe with Quinn, one of the most powerful officials in the city and a local celebrity in the gay community. The less voters are reminded of Quinn, it would seem, the better.

“I wouldn’t have chosen to run against Christine Quinn initially,” Kurland said afterward—she was originally planning to run for what would have been an open seat. “But when term limits were extended, I felt it was more important than ever.”

And Kurland is not alone. Maria Passannante-Derr, an attorney and niece of late Village Assembly Member Bill Passannante (D), is also planning to challenge Quinn. Kurland has already scored a few gay media endorsements and raised significant cash, while PassannanteDerr is reaching out to those business leaders and political powerbrokers that she has met through her involvement on the local community board.

Both are hoping to capitalize on what they believe is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with Quinn in the district.

Some activists in the LGBT community, for example—many of them battlescared veterans of one anti-establishment movement or the other—said they were unsettled by Quinn’s management of the Council and her willingness to cooperate with Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) on controversial issues, including extending term limits.

Whether that leads to the political powers in her district or the city to abandon her, though, seems unlikely.

“Money follows power,” said Doug Ireland, a journalist and political observer whose work appears regularly in The Nation, Gay City News and The Advocate. “She’ll use her incumbency to raise a lot of money, which will make it

tough to displace her.”

Others are saying that the relative inexperience of her challengers should make Quinn’s re-election a cake walk.

“As miffed as I am about the extension of term limits,” said one Democratic operative experienced in gay politics, “I don’t see her opposition as formidable.

They’re both good people and would make decent representatives, but I don’t see them knocking Chris off, especially since there are two of them to split the opposition.”

Even some members of the Stonewall Democratic Club, of which Kurland is a vice president, believe that Quinn’s groundbreaking role in the gay community will be enough for most voters to send her back to office.

Though the district has one of the city’s highest LGBT populations, that will not be the only issue shaping the race. Other interests are likely to play a role as well, including labor leaders, many of whom were strongly in favor of the extension, but some of whom have grumbled privately about her role in the change and overall closeness to Bloomberg.

“She’s damaged her standing. Her camp is in a state of total paralysis,” said one labor source, before adding, “Still, I don’t think she’ll have a tough race.”

Quinn said she does not believe the race will be about term limits or Bloomberg or citywide debates, but about her record on tenant protection and small businesses and senior centers in the district, which runs from the West Village up to Columbus Circle along Manhattan’s West Side.

“Whether they agree or disagree with the term limits decision,” Quinn said, “I think they’ll look at my entire record and all of my opinions and positions.”

The gay community will do the same, Quinn predicted. Even though Kurland is relatively well known among gay and lesbian residents for her activism, Quinn said she doubts there will be any splitting of the gay vote.

“I’m sure Yetta will run a strong and terrific race,” she said. “But I think they will vote for the person they believe will do the best job representing them.”

With the expectation that Quinn will win re-election easily, few would speak candidly about her standing in the district for fear of losing access to her for the next four years. Those that would talk said Quinn’s name recognition, access to wealthy donors and ability to recruit top talent for her campaign should be enough to put her over the top.

George Arzt, a consultant who has

Whether they fail to appeal or split the opposition vote, insiders doubt Yetta Kurland and Maria Passannante-Derr can unseat Christine Quinn in her reelection bid.

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Kurland and Passannante-Derr hit hard on record, speaker hires big

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known Quinn for most of her political career, said that both Kurland and Passannante-Derr are relatively unknown in the district and new to politics, whereas Quinn is a political institution, recognizable for being the first female speaker and the first openly gay one to boot. She has millions squirreled away in her citywide fundraising account, and should have no problems raising hundreds of thousands more for re-election.

But recent campaign finance filings show her campaign fundraising lagging behind both challengers. Quinn reported having raised a total of less than $30,000 for her re-election, while Kurland and Passannante-Derr each have about double that already.

In the past few months alone, Quinn has stepped up her presence in the district— everything from after-work cocktails with Planned Parenthood activists to announcing expanded nursing programs at St. Vincent’s Hospital to doling out medals to the Greenwich Village girls basketball league—in what might be seen as an effort to preempt any possible attacks about being too busy at City Hall to show up in, say, Chelsea or Hell’s Kitchen.

But Passannante-Derr said that the past few months cannot make up for several years of chronic absenteeism.

“Right now, people are telling me we need a full-time Council person representing us,” Passannante-Derr said. “Quinn is not representing the community.”

There are potentially large political implications for the primary results: If her challengers can score enough of a percentage even without winning, they could make her appear vulnerable when she runs for re-election as speaker of the Council.

That means Quinn not only has to win, but she has to win big enough to discourage any potential challengers to her speakership next year. Not leaving anything to chance, her campaign has retained Mark Guma, a media consultant who has worked with Quinn in the past and comes with a fairly hefty price tag (his television and radio work can run a candidate upwards of $100,000), and Josh Isay, a former aide to Sen. Charles Schumer (D) who, as head of Knickerbocker SKD, has worked with practically every big political name in the city, including Bloomberg.

“She is not of the mindset that this is sewn up,” said one Quinn campaign aide.

“Obviously the better she does and the weaker her opponents look in the district, the better for her all around.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

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MARCH 23, 2009

Beginning New Campaign, Liu Denies Existence of Old One At rallies, the CFB and on the Web, signs of stress in switch to comptroller race

BY CHRIS BRAGG xcept for the one on his podium, the “John Liu for Comptroller ’09” signs were hand-drawn.

The rest of the hastilyconvened roll-out of the Queens Council member’s switch from the public advocate race to comptroller looked as if it had been months in the making.

Numerous black and Hispanic elected officials and hundreds of his supporters from Flushing lined up behind him, holding the signs, cheering as he officially announced his switch.

But one person not there was Council Member Leroy Comrie (D-Queens), who had been one of Liu’s prominent backers.

“I was looking to support him in the public advocate race,” Comrie explained. “I haven’t decided who I’m supporting for comptroller.”

Comrie is not the only one.

Transferring into the comptroller race at this point in the year, Liu has missed the opportunity to snag a number of early endorsements from unions and political leaders. He has missed the screenings that most political clubs have held for comptroller candidates.

And he has given his new opponents an easy way to call him an opportunist who entered the comptroller race simply because he could not beat Mark Green in the public advocate race.

“One day he’s running for mayor. The next day he’s running for public advocate.

The next day he’s running for comptroller,” said Hank Sheinkopf, who is serving as an advisor to Council Member David Weprin (DQueens). “What does the guy want?

He doesn’t want the job. He wants the office. He’ll run for anything.”

But that sort of sniping probably amounts to inside baseball, said Democratic consultant George Arzt, who is not affiliated with any of the comptroller campaigns.

“I don’t think that’s really an issue the public cares about,” Arzt said. “It’s still early. The petitions don’t go out until June.”

The city’s larger unions are still ANDREW SCHWARTZ

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up for grabs. Several are believed to favor Liu. Plus, the Working Families Party was expected to endorse Council Member Bill DeBlasio (D-Queens) for public advocate, which it did right after Liu left the race, preventing the WFP from snubbing him. But Liu appears to be very much in the

“I was looking to support him in the public advocate race,” Council Member Leroy Comrie explained.

“I haven’t decided who I’m supporting for comptroller.” running for the party’s nod in the comptroller’s race.

Liu enters a field with three white Jewish opponents who share similar bases, as compared to the coalition with black leaders in Brooklyn and Harlem he had already begun to assemble.

His background in finance, not discussed as much when he was running for public advocate, is now at the center of his campaign trail rhetoric.

He plans to talk about the difficulties minorities face by framing them in economic terms.

“It won’t actually be very different,” Liu said. “I will talk

about my experience with numbers—but, also, with how those numbers impact people on a real-life basis.”

Some aspects of the campaign remain unchanged. The Harlembased Bill Lynch and Associates remains on board. The group signed on to manage Liu’s campaign in January with the understanding that he could run for either office. Now that Liu’s decision is set, Lynch has been approached by several public advocate candidates about working for them, according to a source at the firm.

Not every aspect of the switch has been as smooth. Liu’s public advocate website had been scheduled for rollout after months of user testing, but when Liu informed his Web team at the Manhattan firm InterCreative Media of the switch, the firm’s creative director, Billy James Cobin, told Liu the site would have to be completely redesigned to focus far less on social networking and instead highlight Liu’s economic credentials.

“We said, ‘Uh, John, you can’t just use the site we’ve been working on,’” recalled Cobin. “He was surprised that we couldn’t just change a few things.”

Liu’s campaign also was forced to do a two-step with the New York City Campaign Finance Board, changing from the public advocate race to “Undetermined” on March 5, when reporters began inquiring about a rumor he was switching races, and then switching to the comptroller race after his kickoff press conference.

If Liu’s opponents do continue to argue that switching races shows a lack of integrity, his advisors say they will counter that opponents and City Council Members David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) and Melinda Katz (D-Queens) voted in favor of the City Council’s term limits extension. Liu and Weprin voted against.

But anyway, Liu said, he never was a candidate for public advocate.

“I made my first and only campaign announcement last Sunday,” Liu said. “I wouldn’t think of anything transitioning.” cbragg@cityhallnews.com

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To Win Brownstone Brooklyn, Council Candidates Head to Borough Park Hikind nod could be difference in crowded primary to replace de Blasio

BY DAVID FREEDLANDER

cities function, but political insiders in the area say that he has until recently eschewed much he distance between the of the political world.

Brooklyn neighborhoods of Park “Brad doesn’t come to the Slope and Borough Park is, as the clubs,” said Kenn Lowy, president crow flies, a little over two miles. of the Independent Neighborhood Their distance politically?

Democrats. “He’s done a lot of “Thousands of miles,” according good work in the community, to Assembly Member Dov Hikind (Dbut it’s a question of who knows Brooklyn), who has presided over the that.”

Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in the Lander’s background is in southwestern corner of the district for 26 many ways the mirror opposite of years.

Josh Skaller’s, who is thought to But the two neighborhoods are be his closest competitor. smushed together in the 39th Council Skaller has spent years district, represented these last eight years localizing national political

by Bill de Blasio (D), who is running for campaigns in the city. In 2004, public advocate. he worked on Howard Dean’s De Blasio hails from Park Slope, that presidential run and then cohotbed of progressive politics that has founded a local off-shoot of seen a flood of young families move into Dean’s progressive political the neighborhood’s brownstones in recent years. So do the top three candidates Bob Zuckerman, John Heyer and Brad Lander are just some of the candidates action community, Democracy for New York City. In 2008, he covying to replace him. With the possibility lining up to replace Bill de Blasio in the City Council founded Brooklyn for Barack. He of a split vote in Park Slope, all three will have to trek down on the D train to pay their respects to voters when your name has been associated with one also until recently served as the president of the Central of the best-known political scandals in the city in years Brooklyn Independent Democrats club.

Hikind and his more conservative religious voters.

Skaller’s focus has been more on politics than on Hikind said he does expect to make an endorsement, will be no easy task.

“DiBrienza is dead now,” said Alan Fleishman, a neighborhoods—he is the only top candidate who does but declined to say who or how.

“Borough Park becomes critical, especially if the longtime political player in the neighborhood. “He’s been not serve on the community board—and his focus on the race is more about transforming government than community is united behind one candidate,” he said. “I slushed, and that’s it.”

Fleishman is backing Bob Zuckerman, who heads the making communities livable. He hopes this political do believe that is going to happen. It’s a goal I have—to Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation, network remains in place long enough to catapult him get everyone on board.”

Eight years ago, Hikind backed de Blasio, which which works to clean up and revitalize the area around above his rivals.

“The Obama campaign in Brooklyn was a really provided an entrée for the non-Jewish onetime Hillary the canal that slices through the district.

Zuckerman is vying to be the first openly gay elected unique and wonderful experience,” he said. “It gave me Clinton for Senate campaign manager into the often hope that you could talk about things in a reform kind of official from Brooklyn. insular world of Borough Park.

“I think Brooklyn Democrats value innovation and way and people would respond to it.”

De Blasio’s margin of victory in the primary was a Skaller has endorsed a rival of de Blasio’s, civil rights change and diversity,” he said. “People who consider slim 1,500 votes.

Early speculation this year was that Hikind would themselves progressive or have an open mind about attorney Norman Siegel, in the public advocate’s race, a offer his imprimatur to Steve DiBrienza, an ally who things like that, I think it’s something they would like to fact that may not endear him, however, to many rankand-file voters in the neighborhood who are expected to represented the area for 16 years before making his own see happen.”

All of the endorsements that Zuckerman has so turn out in big numbers on primary day to elect one of run for public advocate in 2001 after being term-limited far received have come from other LGBT elected their own to citywide office. out of the Council.

John Heyer, an aide to Borough President Marty officials. Zuckerman has lagged behind the other firsttier candidates in fundraising. But he does have a solid Markowitz (D), and Gary Reilly, a transit activist, are base among LGBT voters, who are thought to make up both also in the race, as is local community board district around 20 percent of the district, so the question around manager Craig Hammerman, who first ran for the office his candidacy is whether or not that will be enough to in 2001.

For now, though, many see the race—at least the race carry him over the edge in a multi-candidate field.

In a DiBrienza-less field, many believe the frontrunner without DiBrienza—as between Lander, Skaller and becomes Brad Lander, a longtime affordable housing Zuckerman. The three have been going door-to-door in activist in the neighborhood who heads the Pratt Center Park Slope, and then in the other parts of the district, like Cobble Hill and Windsor Terrace and Carroll for Community Development.

Earlier this month, Lander became the first Council Gardens, in the hunt for votes. Zuckerman has taken a But DiBrienza’s comeback candidacy has run into candidate in the city to receive the endorsement of the leave of absence from his job as executive director of the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce Working Families Party. trouble.

Lander has raised over $108,000, more than any other to devote himself full-time to politicking. Skaller brags Earlier this month, published reports linked DiBrienza to the Council slush fund scandal. He has been accused candidate, and has been relying on a network of public that he has already knocked on 1,600 doors. Lander has of taking over a million dollars in city funds over the school parents and allies gained through affordable vowed to knock on more doors than anyone.

But so far, the real effort to win Borough Park has yet last eight years and funneling them toward a phony housing battles over the years.

“Having a consistent record of results on the issues to begin. nonprofit.

“Hikind is going to give whoever gets his endorsement DiBrienza has denied the allegations but has been people care about matters to people,” Lander said. “In a meeting with friends and advisers in recent days to Council race, you can turn your folks out, you can knock immediate legitimacy in Orthodox circles,” said one plot his political future. He declined to comment on the the doors of most of the voters you want to seek—if you Council staffer who has worked closely with the have a very deep volunteer network and community Assembly member. “It’s like a rabbi saying a place situation and did not return several follow-up calls.

If DiBrienza does stay in the race, the conventional leaders in all the election districts in all the schools, then is kosher. It doesn’t mean you have to go there, but it means you can go there.” wisdom is that his name recognition would make him I think you’ll win.”

Lander has the policy wonk’s know-how of the way the immediate frontrunner. But winning over primary dfreedlander@cityhallnews.com

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“DiBrienza is dead now. He’s been slushed, and that’s it,” said Alan Fleishman, local district leader.

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www.cityhallnews.com

MARCH 23, 2009

After Urstadt: the Dreaming and Quibbling Begins Council campaigns for more sway over rent laws, but plans for power unclear

BY SAL GENTILE

much action. Until Democrats in the Senate can muster a more comfortable majority, housing apping annual rent advocates say, the Urstadt Laws increases. Reshuffling the will remain one of the largest Rent Guidelines Board. obstacles to sweeping reform of Sifting through landlords’ books. the city’s rent laws.

These are just three of the many “The repeal of Urstadt would wide-ranging reforms tenants and open up millions of opportunities landlords can expect if the City that we run into all the time,” Council wins control over the city’s said Dina Levy of the Urban rent laws, which it has lacked for Homesteading Assistance Board. close to 40 years.

“I cannot tell you the number of Democratic legislators in conversations I have with City Albany are pushing a bill that Council attorneys … about the would strip out a provision in the brilliant things we could do to state’s so-called Urstadt Laws preserve affordable housing, if it that gives the state, rather than weren’t for the preemption issue at local governments, the power to the state.” strengthen tenant protections and One of those proposals, which rent regulations. The bills have Council Speaker Christine Quinn been passed several times over (D-Manhattan) and many of her the years by the overwhelmingly colleagues have expressed interest Democratic Assembly, but have in, would give the Department been bottled up by the Republicanof Housing Preservation and controlled Senate.

Development the authority to open landlords’ books “I cannot tell you the number of and investigate whether they conversations I have with City Council speculated irresponsibly on attorneys … about the brilliant things projects, assuming they could we could do to preserve affordable convert rent-stabilized units to ones. housing, if it weren’t for the market-rate “The Council and, in preemption issue at the state.” particular, Speaker Quinn has — Dina Levy of the Urban been very interested in what Homesteading Assistance Board she could do, and what the Council can do,” Levy said. more influence “There’s been some issues of When Democrats took control considerably of the Senate, tenant advocates in in the Council than in the state transparency that we would love the city assumed that they would legislature, where landlords have to be able to mandate and require, finally be able to push through the funneled tens of thousands of in terms of financial health of the dollars into the campaign coffers of projects. And that has also run reforms.

Landlords, meanwhile, raised both Republicans and Democrats into problems of, ‘well that might the specter of an unhinged, ultra- over the years. The money and be preempted by state law.’”

The Council has also proposed liberal Council wreaking havoc on support are one reason that State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), a raising the income level at the city’s housing market.

“There’s no balance in terms vocal advocate of rent law reform which units can be decontrolled, of philosophy,” said Frank Ricci, who was in line to chair the Senate preventing landlords from raising director of governmental affairs for Housing Committee, was denied rents after investing in major capital the Rent Stabilization Association, that post by Senate Majority Leader improvements, and giving tenants the right to buy decontrolled units which represents landlords. “I Malcolm Smith (D-Queens).

There was “intensive lobbying” before investors. think you run the risk of having But none of that will be possible many elected officials who are only by real estate interests against going to be here for eight or 12 that appointment, according to without repeal of the Urstadt years, who need to go for the big one Democratic lawmaker. The Laws, which even many housing headline, passing laws that may be post went instead to Sen. Pedro advocates admit is unlikely this detrimental in the long run to the Espada (D-Bronx), who has said he year.

“I don’t think Urstadt’s going opposes a full repeal of the Urstadt housing stock.” to be repealed this year,” said Calling the main proposals Laws.

The number of State Senate Council Member Leroy Comrie (Dfloating around the Council “frightening” and “scary,” landlords Democrats from outside the city in Queens). “Even the advocates here have been fighting in Albany to keep marginal seats who are uneager to don’t believe Urstadt is going to be the now city-dominated Legislature be seen as doing things to help the repealed this year.” from turning over power on these five boroughs seems likely to delay sgentile@cityhallnews.com

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issues to City Hall.

“I want it restructured from head to toe,” said Council Member Letitia James (D-Brooklyn) of the Rent Guidelines Board. “I think right now the board is packed with individuals who are sympathetic to the real estate community. … And I want a more independent board, and an ability to actually look at landlord expenses.”

James says she is “sympathetic” to claims by the landlords that burdensome taxes drive up their operating costs, thus making the units they lease more expensive.

But that caveat has failed to soothe lingering concerns in the real estate industry that the Council, unlike the Legislature, will be too eager to subvert the free-enterprise dynamics of the housing market in favor of far-reaching government intervention.

Tenants groups wield

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CITY HALL

Next Step Unclear for José and the Riveras in Bronx Politics Alliance with Espada floated as possible way to regain influence very difficult. I don’t see that in the future.”

A better use of the former chairman’s time, Peter Rivera said, is to see to the security of his family and allies. Council Member Maria Baez is on the rebel hit list this year, son Joel is facing a well-funded challenge from his former bundler, Radame Perez, and daughter Naomi is struggling in her district after unsuccessfully trying to wrest control of a local political club away from rebelsympathizers.

Of greater interest to those in the Bronx is where State Sen. Pedro Espada (D-Bronx) fits into the party. Nicknamed the “Wascally Wabbit” by reporters for his shifting loyalties—he has feuded with both the Rivera and Diaz families, and sided with Senate Republicans during his previous tenure in the Legislature— Espada is a wild card in the county party.

“Pedro is on both sides of the equation,” said Peter Rivera. “On some issues he’s with José, and on some issues he’s with Carl.”

An alliance between Espada and José Rivera, for instance, could tip some of the balance in Rivera’s favor, observers say. Heastie would have to take him more seriously, especially if Espada’s son, “José has a long history and legacy,” The Rivera camp tells a different story. Pedro G. Espada, follows through with said one person associated with the new According to Rivera loyalists, Heastie a rumored run for Diaz, Jr.’s Assembly Bronx Democratic Party. “I think in terms needs to take the lead and mend the seat (should Diaz win his bid for the of being incumbent, in terms of being an relationship. After all, they say, he is the borough president, for which he is all but elected official, I think he’ll always be re- new chairman. unopposed). elected to his seat if he wanted to be.”

“There’s always opportunities,” said “If Espada and Rivera make an The question in front of him, though, Rivera spokesperson Mike Nieves. alliance, in certain districts, like the West is how to position himself going forward. “Whether the appropriate people take Bronx, that would be very powerful,” This will undoubtedly have an impact on advantage of those opportunities is a said Council Member Oliver Koppel (Dnew chair Carl Heastie’s ability to unify different issue. If you’re a leader, the ball Bronx), who has himself shifted loyalties the fractured borough, especially with is always in your court.” from the Riveras to the Heastie faction. the citywide elections on the But others believe an alliance horizon. between Espada and Rivera seems “If Espada and Rivera make The official line coming unlikely. Heastie earned Espada’s an alliance, in certain districts, trust after negotiating an end to from Rivera’s camp right now like the West Bronx, that the stalemate between the Three is to hunker down and wait for the final court decision. would be very powerful,” said Amigos (née Gang of Three) and But the majority of the Bronx Council Member Oliver Koppel. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm conference is acting as if the Smith (D-Queens). Rivera, on matter is already finished. the other hand, had tepidly Publicly, the rebels speak glowingly Regardless of whose court the ball is supported Espada’s primary opponent, of Rivera, honoring his leadership and in (or what sport is even being played), incumbent State Sen. Efrain Gonzalez, urging him to come back into the fold and Rivera is unlikely to continue to wield the then embraced Espada after he won. accept his role as party elder. Overtures same amount of influence over candidate Espada said he is committed to have been made, they say. selection as he did in the past. working with both factions, no matter “Imagine how strong we would be if “I think that José will concentrate on who is in control. they come back in. I know Carl and all of the people that are there right now,” said “They know that they have to do us want to be inclusive,” said Assembly Assembly Member Peter Rivera, who is not something, but they need a bridge over Member Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx), a related to the former chairman but is loyal troubled waters,” Espada said. “I hope to Heastie ally. “At this point it’s really up to to him. “It’s such a big borough that to float be the bridge over troubled waters and [the Riveras].” candidates for the City Council all over is unite the Bronx if I can.”

INGM C@KX

Now that the family no longer controls Bronx Democratic politics, José, Naomi and Joel may be left stranded.

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS osé Rivera used to be at the top of the heap. Always with his video camera and bearded smirk, Rivera ruled over the Bronx Democratic Party for over five years, helping friends and family get elected to public office and showering those loyal to him with money and organizational support.

And now that he has been deposed— displaced by members he himself once blessed with endorsements—Rivera and his children are looking at a tumultuous political year ahead, several Bronx legislators and party insiders said. His son, Council Member Joel Rivera, has opted not to run against party-backed Ruben Diaz, Jr. for the borough presidency, instead focusing on what some believe will be his own tough re-election fight.

His daughter, Assembly Member Naomi Rivera is facing problems in her own district. Several of Rivera’s allies in the Council and Legislature are being targeted by the new Rainbow Rebel-run party. And his lawsuit against the court ruling that deposed him is seen by many as headed for failure.

In fact, the only sure thing Rivera has left seems to be his own Assembly seat.

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MARCH 23, 2009

With Bloomberg’s Attention, Quiet Hope Spurs in Manhattan GOP

BY CHRIS BRAGG

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ANDREW SCHWARTZ

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e used to win Congressional seats, City Council seats, Assembly seats,” said Nicholas Viest, the Metropolitan Republican Club’s treasurer, wistfully looking at the walls of the small, dusty room known simply as “The Bunker.”

The walls of the room in the basement of the club headquarters are plastered with memorabilia from past winning campaigns and there is a placard from the office of longtime former State Sen. Roy Goodman. There is a broken-down couch with the imprints of sleeping arrangements from nights too late to go home. In one corner lies an old Compaq computer, seemingly unused for years.

Like many members of the club unable to raise enough money to rent campaign offices anywhere else, Viest spent at lot of time in the Bunker while using it as his makeshift campaign headquarters.

Like many members of the club, Viest ran for office and lost.

Things used to be different.

Teddy Roosevelt helped found the Met Club in 1898 as an antiTammany Hall reform club, and the large red brick building on 83rd Street just off Lexington Avenue remained the heart of the GOP stronghold on the Upper East Side for years.

Richard Nixon was once a member. A floor above the bunker, future mayors named La Guardia, Giuliani and Bloomberg have rolled out their candidacies in the club’s posh ballroom, essentially the de facto national center of the party’s moderate wing.

There have not been too many celebrations there recently, though. Aside from being called on for campaign donations, they have largely been forgotten, overlooked.

But now, with Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) tangling to get approval to run on the Republican line, the Manhattan Republicans, who will most likely be the swing vote among the five county parties, are suddenly all the rage.

Bloomberg and two others hoping to get the Republican line will make their cases on May 6 in the ballroom of the Metropolitan Club. Bloomberg, who is a member of the club and a donor (and who has been a regular attendee at club events), would seem to be a natural

Manhattan GOP executive director Jason Weingartner is among those hoping that the new focus Michael Bloomberg has put on the party may spur a revival in the Metropolitan Republican Club’s basement Bunker, once the nerve center of winning campaigns. ideological fit for members, despite his decision to drop his Republican affiliation in 2007. But getting the nod may be more complicated than he had planned, now that county chair Jennifer Saul has said she will defer to the wishes of the 50 members of the New York County Republican Committee in casting her vote either in favor or against giving Bloomberg the Wilson-Pakula allowance to run on the line.

Whether Saul can or will endorse someone remains unclear.

And without any elected official or clear leader, what will guide the decisions of these people in their unexpected moment in the sun appears impossible to gauge.

The vast majority of the county Republican Committee are white, well-educated professionals who work for the party in their free time, in thankless jobs that can result in them being mocked and spat at while struggling to gather signatures to get long-shot Republican candidates on the ballot.

“Every day we have to go fight,” said New York County Republican Party executive director Jason Weingartner. “Every day we’re forced to go defend what we believe.”

Still, as they look forward to the Bloomberg decision, years in the political wilderness seem to have bred a strain of political idealism among Manhattan Republicans largely divorced of the selfinterest, who, unlike Republicans elsewhere around the city, seem to be uninterested in using their power to win political advantage in future local elections or get patronage positions.

After May 6, the party will likely return to obscurity due to a lack of candidates put up for office (in all of last year’s races for Congress, State Senate and Assembly, there were a total of two active candidacies, both for Assembly).

“You get the sense people just aren’t trying anymore,” said Steve Malanga, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute.

“I haven’t seen any evidence that the party is reaching out to anyone new.”

For the time being, the party’s goal seems to be to make the Democrats at least sweat a little when they run for re-election. It is a moral victory if a Democratic candidate is forced to send out a campaign mailer, say party members. A shining moment was forcing veteran Upper West Side incumbent Richard Gottfried onto the campaign trail for the first time in decades, even though 23-year-old candidate Saul Barber was perhaps the ultimate long shot.

Perhaps, some of the true believers hope, the new focus Bloomberg has put on them, combined with the right set of larger circumstances, could return the Manhattan GOP to the glory days and a few more viable candidates to the Bunker.

“Politics has always been cyclical,” said Andrew Eristoff, who served on the City Council from 1993 to 1999 representing the East Side, but lost a 2002 State Senate race in an overlapping district.

“There will come a day when the party is again competitive.” cbragg@cityhallnews.com

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Special Section: UNIONS Unions Take Cautious Approach to New Power Alignment in Albany New coalition gains influence as public employee unions are shut out

BY SAL GENTILE hen Democrats won control of the State Senate for the first time in 40 years, most observers thought the switch in majority would dramatically reshape the political landscape for the city’s labor unions.

Organized labor would ditch its marriage of convenience with Republicans, the logic went, and line up in pursuit of some key union priorities, such as Medicaid reform and paid family leave.

But the budget battle has scuttled many of those plans. In the city, just as in the state, coalitions are taking shape, and some unions find themselves fighting on different fronts than their labor allies.

Even as some of the most powerful unions in the city push hard for a bill that would raise income taxes on those making over $250,000—and gain traction in the Democratic conference—others are keeping their distance.

“We have not signed on to anyone at all,” said Wanda Williams, political and legislative director for DC 37, the city’s largest public-employee union. “We say, start at the top. None of them start at the top. They start at $250,000, and everyone’s affected. But we say, let’s look at it a different way.”

DC 37 is meeting with individual members of the Senate and sizing up which tax proposals, if any, have enough support in the Democratic conference.

The wait-and-see approach is necessary, they say, because of the new dynamic confronting labor unions in the Democratic Senate: Individual members no longer find themselves under the iron rule of an imperious overlord, the majority leader.

The current one, Malcolm Smith (DQueens), has a tenuous hold on power with the Democrats’ two-seat majority.

Even as Gov. David Paterson (D) has taken the public heat for administration infighting, Smith has lagged in putting together a staff and assembling a leadership structure since striking a deal to lead the conference just days before the session began.

“What we have to do is figure out what our relationship is, in coordination with what Malcolm Smith’s strengths and weaknesses are,” said Dennis Hughes, president of the New York AFL-CIO. The shifting political terrain has empowered unions to take their proposals directly to the individual members of the conference, rather than lobby Democratic leaders. If labor unions attract enough rankand-file support in the Senate, they say, they can force Smith’s and Paterson’s hands.

But even as some labor unions sit out

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Leaders of some of the city’s largest municipal employee unions, such as the Teamsters Local 237, have not had the same problem. They have scheduled meetings with Smith and sat down with members of Paterson’s administration to air their concerns about the budget.

Smith and the Democrats may be able to brush off the statewide public employee unions because of their longrunning support for Republicans, but the city’s municipal unions remain a key part of the party’s organizational base, they say—and cannot be taken for granted.

As one senior labor leader from the city put it, “You’re in the majority by a few seats. That doesn’t mean you’re in the majority forever.”

Republicans, meanwhile, have A broad coalition of unions representing public employees and health care workers is pushing for an increase in taxes on those making quietly maintained ties with the state’s public-sector unions, hoping to over $250,000 a year. wrest control of the Senate from the day-to-day wrangling over Democrats in 2010. When the party the budget, others have been fell from power last year, many consolidating their power by Republicans blamed their awkward partnering in ways that would alliance with organized labor and have been impossible under the promised to finally shed those ties Republican majority. once they were in the minority.

“It’s provided a greater But as Paterson’s approval opportunity for us because ratings plummet and Democrats we have the time to spend to hash out what is likely to be one deal more with understanding of the most unpopular budgets in what we all have in common,” decades, Republicans have sought said Dick Iannuzzi, president union support in the belief that of the New York State United they may be able to regain the Teachers, of the cooperation The health care workers’ unions, traditionally majority in 2010. among unions. “And that strong Republican allies, are partnering with Dem“They may be holding back certainly helps you to build a ocratic-aligned unions to protest Gov. Paterson’s now because, if the landscape can strong coalition.” change a little bit more, they can proposed cuts to Medicaid.

NYSUT, which endorsed use [the unions’] money,” said one several Republicans in key races Republican operative of the party’s in 2008, has joined the Working Families the public employee unions has been ties to labor. “They’re not about to make the Party-led coalition to push for higher taxes contentious since Smith declared in decision yet. … And frankly, with Paterson on those making over $250,000 a year. January that “patronage day is over” and taking on all this water, they don’t have to.”

1199/SEIU, the powerful health care union proposed cutting the state workforce in On an ideological level, many and longtime ally of Senate Republicans, half. The statement was widely seen as a Republicans dislike the unions’ push for has been pouring money and resources dig at both the Senate Republicans and the increased taxes. They support cutting into the campaign as well. unions that helped them stay in power. benefits, restructuring the pension system “They bring a huge amount to the table Some of the unions have since mended and slashing the state workforce. here, huge,” said Bob Master, co-chair of fences with Smith and Paterson, both But they may have no choice but to the WFP. “To have [us] working together, of whom have backed off proposals to stomach an uncomfortable relationship which is unprecedented, makes for an cut benefits for public employees. But with organized labor if they want to win extremely potent combination.” even when they do get the chance to back the majority.

But not every union has gained as sit down with the Democratic leaders, That fact is not lost on the unions. much access to the new Senate majority. representatives for the public employee “We’ve supported Republicans, we’ve The public employee unions, among the unions make little headway. endorsed Republicans,” said Williams, Republicans’ strongest allies, have found “We met with the administration last of DC 37, indicating that she does not themselves shut out from the negotiating fall and offered them about a dozen believe the days of alliances between process for the first time in years. recommendations of things that could labor and Republicans are over, even Literally. save hundreds of millions of dollars. And with old dealmaker Joseph Bruno gone “We’ve tried to set up appointments with they’ve done virtually none of them,” from the head of the Senate GOP. “I don’t [Smith], and we’ve been unsuccessful,” said said Stephen Madarasz, communications think that even under the new leadership Arlea Igoe, secretary-treasurer of the Public director for the Civil Service Employees of [Minority Leader] Dean Skelos, and the Employees Federation. “We’re not sure Association. “They seem receptive to members of this conference, that they see where this disconnect is coming from.” what you’re saying, and then nothing that as being any different.” sgentile@cityhallnews.com The relationship between Smith and happens. … We’re baffled.”

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MARCH 23, 2009

Special Section: UNIONS

Martinez Plans To Tackle Layoffs, Pension Costs New Civil Service and Labor Committee chair begins crafting agenda

BY JULIE SOBEL oming in as the new chair of the Civil Service and Labor Committee, Council Member Miguel Martinez (D-Manhattan) inherits the growing chasm between city officials and union leaders against a dire financial backdrop.

“The top, top, top, top agenda,” Martinez said, “is to make sure that Council money that is put towards initiatives is not used to lay off union workers.”

Martinez, who replaces newly elected State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens), cites good relationships within the Council and the Bloomberg administration and his ability to build consensus, as well as his listening skills, as assets that would help him in the new role. He said his experience as chair of the Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee was important preparation for his new position.

“I had the opportunity to work closely with our firefighters union, both officers and firefighters, our Legal Aid Society, which is also a unionized workforce,

@MCQDV RBGV @QSY

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Miguel Martinez inheited some unfinished business when he took over the committee. One item is the controversy over pensions.

and being able to come to the table as a member of a budget negotiating team to advocate on their behalf,” said Martinez. “I think one of the advantages we have now is to bring light to some of the potential threat of cuts in our workforce.”

Martinez said he is planning an agenda of ensuring that money appropriated by the Council is not used to replace unionized workers. He also plans to have the committee examine the impact of the mayor’s proposed budget cuts and potential Fire Department layoffs, taking both the labor perspective and the public safety repercussions into consideration.

Martinez also inherited some unfinished business when he took over the committee. One item is the controversy over pensions. According to recent reports, the city is spending $13 billion a year on benefits for city workers.

But Martinez rejected the uproar over ballooning pension costs.

“The perception now that the papers and even the administration is selling is that part of our crisis is our pension

plans,” he said. “I think that’s unfair and unjust. They’re not part of the financial crisis. They didn’t create this financial crisis.”

His fellow Committee members were optimistic about their new chair.

“Miguel is a sharp, sharp young man,” said Council Member Michael Nelson (DBrooklyn).

But so far, “It’s so in the embryonic stage,” Nelson said of Martinez’s tenure as chair.

He has presided over just one meeting at this point.

“This is going to be an extremely tough year as far as working with the municipal work force because of the cuts the administration is proposing,” said Nelson. “We’re all going to have to show our mettle on this.”

Addabbo said Martinez would have to take the committee in a new direction, in light of the different issues now facing labor in the city.

“He has a tough road ahead of him,” Addabbo said. “I don’t envy the position he’s in.” jsobel@manhattanmedia.com

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Fight Over Fifth Tier as City Tries To Cut Costs Changes in public employee health coverage proposed to fill gap

BY KYLA CALVERT reform to state and city workers’ pensions proposed by Gov. David Paterson (D) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) has left state and municipal employees telling the two to pinch pennies elsewhere.

“City workers didn’t cause the problems we have now,” said Harry Nespoli, president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association and chair of the Municipal Labor Committee. “We totally disagree with Tier Five. There is no room for negotiation about that. We are in negotiations with the city about health coverage, we do want to help out and give the city some relief.”

The proposal from the governor and the mayor would create a fifth tier of government employee that would require state workers to remain 25 years at their state or local agency in order to receive full retirement benefits, five years beyond what current rules mandate. Their plan would also force employees to contribute 3 percent of their salary to the pension fund beyond the ten years mandated of Tier-Four employees, and wait until the age of 62, instead of 55, to be eligible

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for full retirement benefits. Uniformed city employees, such as police and fire fighters, would be eligible for full benefits at 50.

Nespoli has said the proposed pension reforms amount to an attempt to remedy the fiscal crisis caused by Wall Street’s failures by shortchanging municipal employees.

Some labor leaders take issue with the existence of employee tiers at all.

“It is not right and not fair to create different classes of employees based solely on when they are hired,” said Steve Madarasz, communications director for the Civil Service Employees Union, which represents some state and local government workers. “It is the classic divide-and-conquer. We’ve spent the last 30 years trying to undo the inequities of the current tier system. It is all well and good to want to reform the state’s pension systems, but the bottom line is that we are opposed to Tier Five.”

According to State Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), new chair of the Senate’s Civil Service and Pensions Committee, the outcry from labor leaders is about more than changing pension rules for new city and state hires.

“Compromises can be reached,” she said. “People have to feel that they are respected and have a say in decisions affecting them. The governor’s proposals don’t have the level of respect that state employees are entitled to.”

To achieve the level of respect Savino wants for state and city workers, she said, the governor and mayor, who collaborated on writing the proposed pension reforms, would have to enter into negotiations with the state and municipal employees unions.

In February, Bloomberg said pensions could not legally be discussed during the collective bargaining process.

Savino said, however, that discussions to reach agreement about proposed pension changes have precedent in New York City and the state as a whole. She pointed to then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s 1999 pension reform efforts, which resulted in the city employees unions agreeing to reduce the city’s contribution to the pension fund in exchange for concessions such as limiting the number of years employees had to contribute to the pension fund and creating an early retirement option.

According to Marc LaVorgna in the

mayor’s press office, Bloomberg is already in ongoing discussions with the city employees’ unions, but, he said, “We are going to make the case in those discussions for why the new tier is needed. We need a state law that creates a fifth tier. The city cannot afford the system in its current form.”

In the 2009-2013 Financial Plan published on Jan. 30, the Office of Management and Budget identified pensions and health benefits for city workers as areas in which the city’s costs have increased dramatically.

Bloomberg has proposed that city employees pay 10 percent of the cost of their health benefits program in the future, and cited figures that show stretching payments out over a longer period of time would save the city $200 million next year alone.

Savino said health benefit reforms were an area that could save New York City more money than creating a fifth tier of municipal employees.

“That would be a legacy change,” she said, “resulting in savings now and in the future.”

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MARCH 23, 2009

Special Section: UNIONS With Three-Point “New Deal,” 32BJ Presses Agenda in Endorsements

BY CLARK MERREFIELD very candidate wants the backing of labor. But this year, public sector behemoth 32BJ is making them work for it.

Those who want votes and volunteers from the 70,000-member Service Employees International Union local must abide by the union’s new endorsement procedure, which they have modestly titled “The New Deal.”

The three-point plan calls for candidates to, first, use the city’s economic power, including its tax revenue, to create livingwage jobs. Second, candidates must pledge to help create more green jobs. Third, they must position themselves to make the city more livable for the working class through affordable housing and education.

“The goal is to change the dynamic a little bit for us,” said 32BJ president Mike Fishman.

That shift in campaign dynamics, with a focus on “policy and programs for workers” instead of “ego and personality,” Fishman said, could help raise 32BJ’s political clout—something labor experts think has already happened in the nine years since Fishman took over as president and began organizing an active political committee.

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The union went from making no money contributions in the 1997 citywide elections to making almost $50,000 in contributions in 2005. With its New Deal plan, 32BJ appears to be upping the ante even further.

“What 32BJ is doing is much more proactive in saying, ‘Here’s what we want to know and here’s an agenda we’re setting, and we want to know if you’re going to fit into that agenda,’” said Jonathan Tasini, executive director of the Labor Research Association. “I think that is much more aggressive.”

While the endorsement plan is assertive, the equation is not quite as simple as adhering to a bulleted list of demands. Long shot candidates, for instance, have little chance of getting an endorsement.

“It’s really also about who can win, who can raise the most money and who’s going to be the best candidate for our policies—all of them,” Fishman said.

Additionally, empty rhetoric will have consequences, Fishman said. Candidates who get endorsements and then renege on the union’s criteria will lose 32BJ’s backing in subsequent elections.

“They should say what’s important to them and hold politicians’ feet to the fire,” said Council Member Tony Avella (DQueens), who is running for mayor and

received $1,750 from 32BJ in 2005 for his City Council run. “I think that’s a good thing.”

Last month, 32BJ held its first in a series of meetings to determine the union’s endorsements for political offices. In a closed-door meeting, union officials briefed all City Council, borough president and public advocate candidates on the union’s 2009 policy agenda.

Starting March 31, 32BJ will be screening individual candidates.

“It’s really also about who can win, who can raise the most money and who’s going to be the best candidate for our policies—all of them,” —Mike Fishman, 32BJ President Though 32BJ has so far not made any endorsements, it has already made several contributions for the 2009 election cycle, according to public records. The union cut a $500 check for Council Member Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn), who is

running for re-election, and through its political action fund it has given $4,125 to Council Member Melinda Katz (DQueens), who is running for comptroller, and $2,700 to Council Member James Vacca (D-Bronx), who is running for reelection.

Individual 32BJ members have also made campaign contributions to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer (D), who is running for re-election, and Comptroller William Thompson (D), who is running for mayor.

Whether or not 32BJ’s new approach actually prompts a dramatic shift toward purely policy-driven campaigns, there will undoubtedly be some difference, said Joshua Freeman, a labor historian and Queens College professor who occasionally works on a 32BJ scholarship committee but was not involved in the endorsement plan.

“Obviously I don’t think you’re going to have a wholesale reinvention of candidates,” Freeman said. “But I think what it may mean is some candidates may be more attentive rhetorically, or in their programs, to the issues 32BJ cares about.”

With reporting by Andrew J. Hawkins.

Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com

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“BUDGET CUTS could force me to drop out. That’s why I think those at the top should pay a little more. And when I’m at the top, I’ll pay my fair share to help students like me.”

– CUNY student Selah Brown, aspiring doctor

Investing in public higher education is the best way to reinvigorate our economy and build our future.

The Professional Staff Congress/CUNY represents 22,000 CUNY faculty and professional staff, who build New York’s future every day. With our students, we’re calling for an investment in CUNY. In the Great Depression, New York gave three CUNY colleges their start – and tuition was free. That’s the kind of courageous thinking we need today.

PSC/CUNY

Barbara Bowen, President Arthurine DeSola, Secretary Professional Staff Congress

www.psc-cuny.org

Steven London, First Vice President Michael Fabricant, Treasurer

Lisa Quiñones

NYC’s Higher Education Union

Comings and

Goings

Lisa Black, a 14-year veteran of the State Senate GOP conference who is currently director of public affairs in the Republicans’ NYC office, is leaving her position effective March 31.

Mike Casertano, director of legislation policy for Council Member Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), is leaving to work for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (Ind.) office of legislative affairs.

Robert Hallman

, an attorney specializing in national and international environmental law, was named chairman of the board of directors of the New York League of Conservation Voters. He succeeds Charles Warren, who had served as NYLCV’s chairman since 2003.

Katherine Toth

was appointed as Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s new liaison to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community. Before joining the borough president’s office, she worked with the Center on International Cooperation, a university think-tank, focused on post conflict peace building.

Shams Tarek

, press secretary to Council Member Jim Gennaro (D-Queens), will join the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee as communications director.

Matthew Traub, former chief of staff to Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and executive at Dan Klores Communications, has been elected chair of the board of the Planned Parenthood of New York City Action Fund.

Dan Margolis

has been elected chair for the New York State Communist Party, a district of the Communist Party USA. He replaces Libero Della Piana, who has been assigned to lead a renovation of the CPUSA’s internet work.

Wanted:

Comings and goings and weddings, too Let City Hall and The Capitol know about all your official staff changes by e-mailing information about your staff hires, promotions and departures. We’d also like your unofficial changes such as engagements, weddings and anniversaries. Please include photographs when possible.

Please e-mail all submissions to editor@cityhallnews.com and editor@nycapitolnews.com.

Open Letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg Dear Mayor Bloomberg; because it was deemed an advertisement. If As you are well aware, New York City has the same billboard had simply indicated that embarked on a war against the outdoor adver- the sign was for the company’s own business, tising industry. In the last two years, the num- the fine would have been less than $1,000. So ber of fines imposed on outdoor advertisements it is not the material from which the billboard by inspectors working for the Department of is made, or its size, or even its placement that’s Buildings (DOB) has increased more than the problem for inspectors…but its content! one thousand percent. Small business owners Even as they were targeting this business, DOB have been among the hardest hit. Minor infrac- inspectors ignored numerous other signs in the tions often carry staggering fines — $15,000 to same neighborhood that may have also been in $25,000 for failure to have a visible sticker indi- violation of that same law. cating that fire-retardant materials have been The DOB’s aggressive actions against the used. In fact ONLY non-flammable materials industry are particularly puzzling in light of are used! the fact that more than sixty percent of the On top of that, DOB frequently issues as City’s billboards are used by local businesses many as eight separate but similar violations — large and small — to promote their goods for a single sign. One small sign was recently and services. For many local companies, outissued 75 violations for $20,000 each in a single door advertising is the most cost-effective way day (that’s $1.5 Million) because the DOB de- to reach consumers. At a time when companies termined that the site was not grandfathered, are laying off workers, and your administration even though there had been signs on the site is threatening to give pink slips to thousands of since the 1930s. Ironically, developers who ig- City employees, the outdoor advertising indusnore far more serious violations at construction try provides desperately needed employment sites are subject to only a slap on the wrist — for thousands of New Yorkers – marketing di$2,500 for operating a crane without a certifi- rectors, copywriters and illustrators, printers cate of onsite inspection — in spite of past ca- and manufacturers, lighting technicians and tastrophes. Obstruct union workers who a fire-exit door and construct and put up you might have to pay The DOB’s aggressive actions signs. The industry $480; neglect to pro- against the industry are particuis also vitally imporvide adequate pro- larly puzzling in light of the fact tant to landlords and tection for pedestribusiness owners who ans using sidewalks that more than sixty percent of the derive income from while construction is City’s billboards are used by local sign rentals. underway and you’ll would businesses — large and small — to thinkSothatonein a severe have to shell out $2,000. It been said promote their goods and services. recession with tax that the high fines revenues dropping are a deterrent to and unemployment violations by the outdoor advertising industry. way up, the City would be doing everything in That makes sense only when fines are imposed its power to encourage the outdoor advertising fairly on all industries. Consequences are okay industry. Yet, perversely, the Bloomberg adminwhen they are proportionate, not when a single istration seems intent on making it more diffiindustry that is not hazardous is targeted. Con- cult for the industry to operate and survive. struction and building maintenance violations No one disputes the need for the DOB to have resulted in injuries and deaths, but the monitor and inspect the nearly one million fines imposed are minuscule. buildings under its jurisdiction and to fine Let’s address the safety concern of the De- where necessary. But to turn the DOB into a partment of Building spokesman Tony Sclafani, punitive instrument, imposing crippling fines who said “illegal signs can pose a danger to the on the outdoor advertising industry for minor public if not safely installed. The safety of New infractions — even as potentially life-threatenYorkers is the department’s top priority.” Of all ing construction site violations are effectively the industries governed by DOB, the outdoor being swept under the rug — is both senseless advertising industry has one of the best track and irresponsible. records- we have not experienced a serious New York City was once considered the fiaccident in more than 45 years. We use only nancial capital of the world. With the carnage licensed sign hangers who employ union pro- on Wall Street, the City may no longer be able fessionals with many years of experience. If it to make that claim. But New York remains the were in fact a safety issue, which it is not, then advertising capital of the world. Why put its content should not matter. Why is DOB target- reputation on the line? It is high time that your ing only advertising signs and not any other administration seriously rethinks its policies signs, including those installed by the City on and recognizes that the outdoor advertising its own properties? Content is not a safety is- industry is one of the City’s most productive sue. economic engines. We are NOT the enemy.

Regulations governing outdoor advertising are so murky, arbitrary and selectively enforced Sincerely, that even lawyers are confused. The DOB fined The Concerned Members one company in Manhattan $125,000 for a sign of the New York Advertising Industry PAID ADVERTISEMENT

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www.cityhallnews.com

March 23, 2009

CITY HALL

Four More Years of Planning, Waiting and Swinging Hard Deferring BP run to 2013, minority leader backs Katz and de Blasio for 2009

By Dan Rivoli

andr e w s c hw ar tz

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hen Council Minority Leader James Oddo (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) held a fundraiser at the Hilton Hotel on Staten Island to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his first Council victory, there was a certain sense of gloom amidst the adulation and festivities.

Council Member Lew Fidler (DBrooklyn), the only Democrat there who is neither from the Island nor running citywide this year, addressed the problem head-on when he got up to speak.

“I expect to be back here four years later chairing Democrats for Oddo for borough president,” he said, spurring a round of applause from the crowd.

Even after the term limits extension, which Oddo eventually vehemently opposed, there was a distinct possibility that the 77-year-old Borough President James Molinaro (C) would retire and not leave Oddo to set aside his dream of sitting in Borough Hall for at least four years.

Things almost went differently. In November, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) signed the extension—with Molinaro one of the few who appeared to speak on behalf of the bill at the pre-signing public comments period—the borough president took a vacation to Florida to mull his political future. He and Oddo were in frequent contact. When Molinaro returned from his trip still undecided, Oddo said he knew in his gut Molinaro would run again.

Come January, Molinaro announced his candidacy.

“I had to go through the process of embracing that, accepting that,” Oddo said. “I lifted a lot of weights during that stretch.”

But his anger at putting his campaign operation on hold was palpable, though not directed toward Molinaro, according

Council Minority Leader James Oddo will wait another four years before adding his own name plate to those of the former Council members, staffers and other politicians which cover a wall in his office. to several political allies.

“It was probably more like incredulity,” said a senior Staten Island Republican.

“He could not just believe, with everything going on, Molinaro being as old as he is—saying, ‘Jesus Christ, how can this happen?’”

Molinaro was Oddo’s mentor. He was the one who first introduced the young lawyer and Council staffer to the leaders of the borough GOP and managed his first Council campaign, which Oddo won

unexpectedly with 53 percent of the vote.

Given that long congenial history, Oddo refused to run against Molinaro.

But Oddo acknowledges he could have.

“Truth be told, if I wanted the Republican line, I would have gotten the Republican line and it wouldn’t be an issue,” Oddo said. “It wasn’t a matter of winning or losing.”

Oddo’s braggadocio is well-known, but he was indeed the GOP-favored

Staying in the Ranks for Now, Oddo Looks To Expand Them

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ow that James Oddo (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) has revised his plans and will stay as minority leader for another four years, he is hoping to beef up his tiny conference’s ranks. The delegation had been down to two, with Oddo and fellow Staten Islander Vincent Ignizio, but Eric Ulrich’s (R-Queens) special-election victory in February has sparked Oddo’s optimism about possible growth, especially as defeated Council Member Anthony Como (RQueens) begins to talk seriously about running again.

If Como does run and wins, and if Ulrich retains his seat in the regular election, Oddo believes the Council Republicans could have a real hand in determining the power structure at City Hall.

“People say, ‘Gee, you have four of 51.’ Four of 51 going into a speaker’s race—I’ve lived this before. Those four become very influential,” Oddo said, alluding to the 2001 speaker’s race, when there were four Republicans on the Council. “It’s a bloc of four that people want.”

Though having two members to lead is easier than dealing with seven members—the highest level for the Council,

reached in the 1990s—Oddo has been adept at corralling the Republicans he has had to vote as a bloc in passing or quashing contentious legislation.

In terms of his political involvement, however, Oddo has taken an essentially hands-off approach in most races.

However, in the tightly contested rematch election last year between Como and Elizabeth Crowley (D-Queens), Oddo did offer to get involved. Ultimately, he did not, though, since Como assured his help would not be necessary to win.

But Oddo can be most effective in building the GOP ranks in the Council by setting an example as a moderate, pragmatic Republican who can work within a Democratically-dominated chamber, said former Council Member Tom Ognibene (R-Queens), who presided over the seven-member heyday as minority leader.

“Best way to do that is to do what Jimmy does: be a Republican councilman that gets things done,” Ognibene said. “That says, ‘Look, you have no fear in electing a Republican.’”

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—DR

candidate. If Oddo pulled the trigger on a run for borough president, the Conservative Molinaro would likely have been denied the Staten Island Republican Party endorsement and the Wilson-Pakula certificate needed to run in a Republican primary. Indeed, in what might be construed as a fail-safe plan, Molinaro courted the borough’s Democratic Party through the fall.

Even before Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) ditched his anticipated 2009 borough president bid to instead run for Congress, Oddo was the odds-on favorite to win, even among Democrats.

“This was not a race we were looking forward to,” said one local Democratic insider, pointing out Oddo’s popularity in his mid-Island swing district that tends to make or break borough-wide campaigns. “To be honest, it was looking like a tough race.”

Democrats acknowledge the difficulty in taking on Oddo in a borough-wide race: he is a Republican that Democrats like and have voted into office five times, counting his special election and redistricting races.

Oddo is still planning to run for borough president, though that race is now put off until 2013. Giving him a head start, he has $239,000 in a frozen account with the Campaign Finance Board.

Being borough president, he said, is the only office other than his Council seat which appeals to him.

“Without sounding too egotistical,” Oddo said, “if I wanted to be in Albany, I’d be sitting in Albany right now, if I wanted to be in the Congress, I’d be sitting in Washington right now.”

Oddo’s strength has as much to do with his being a party stalwart—an oil painting of Ronald Reagan (of whom Oddo does a spot-on impression) hangs in his district office—as being a pragmatist in an increasingly Democratic city and borough. Though Oddo said he would help his fellow Staten Islander Alex Zablocki, an aide to State Senator Andrew Lanza (RStaten Island), with his long-shot public advocate campaign, Oddo said he plans to line up behind a Democrat he believes most likely to win.

Council Member Bill de Blasio (DBrooklyn), a public advocate contender who attended Oddo’s 10th anniversary celebration, has courted and received the minority leader’s backing, which he plans to proudly tout in search of votes on the island.

Though Oddo said his preference for de Blasio for public advocate and Council Member Melinda Katz (D-Queens) for comptroller is no secret, he characterized the backing as support rather than a public endorsement. However, Oddo said he is willing to get out in his district to convince registered Democrats to vote for de Blasio and Katz on primary days

CITY HALL

www.cityhallnews.com

MARCH 23, 2009

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The Election Lawyer in Winter Connor considers more BoE cases, possible rematch and Bloomberg challenge

BY SAL GENTILE ast fall, Martin Connor (D) was forcibly retired from the State Senate by Daniel Squadron (DBrooklyn/Manhattan), a well-connected 28-year-old upstart who was backed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.).

Now, he longs to return the favor.

“I certainly don’t trust anything Bloomberg says,” said the former Senate minority leader and 31-year veteran of New York politics, sipping coffee on a recent afternoon at Eamonn’s, an Irish pub just down the street from his law office near Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Connor has already been sifting through Bloomberg’s campaign expenditures. And if he gets hired by any of the mayor’s rivals—a strong possibility, considering that Bloomberg himself tried to hire Connor in 2001—he plans on putting that knowledge to use.

“It just came out in The Village Voice, Bloomberg giving $1.2 million to the Independence Party,” Connor said of the recent disclosure that Bloomberg funneled money into the party’s coffers. “I don’t know how he did that. He’s not allowed to make that kind of contribution. That’s illegal. And I’m going to look into that more.”

In his first extended interview since losing last September, Connor made it clear that he still longs for the life of a state senator. And he still seethes about his 8-point loss to Squadron.

On the night of the primary Connor blamed voters in his district for heeding Squadron and Bloomberg (and still does: “It frustrates me that Democrats in my district followed [Bloomberg’s] lead on who the state senator should be.”) The next morning, he walked into his Brooklyn office and unceremoniously fired his chief of staff (“Pack your things,” Connor reportedly told him as he tossed a cardboard box onto his desk, “you’re fired.”)

He has still never called Squadron to formally concede.

Even a question about campaign finance reform, a seemingly unrelated issue, induces a diatribe about Squadron, who was backed by the Working Families Party: “Let’s say you’re running against me for State Senate in the primary,” he said. “You know how much an individual can give to

ODDO continued from previous page

should they ask for his help.

“I get elected in a district that’s still majority Democratic,” Oddo said. “It lends me to believe I think I could help them.”

This bipartisan support makes Oddo the favorite to win a third term against Democratic lawyer James Pocchia, who

@MCQDV RBGV @QSY

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Marty Connor, still simmering over his loss to state Sen. Daniel Squadron last year, is eager to take on Mayor Michael Bloomberg in court this year. a political party, whether it’s Democrat, Republican or Working Families? $85,000.

So that meant, if I’m a well-connected, wealthy candidate running for the State Senate, supported by Working Families, I can get all my wealthy friends to give me up to $6,000. But I can also say, ‘go see [WFP executive director] Dan Cantor,’ and they can write $85,000 checks. You know how much a political party is allowed to spend in your race? Unlimited.”

Aside from his career in Albany, Connor has long established himself as one of the state’s most formidable election lawyers.

That expertise came to bear already this year, as he figured prominently in each of three Feb. 24 special elections for City

Council, knocking one candidate off the ballot for using the word “families” in his party name and catapulting another to the front of the field.

He made close to $10,000 just from those three Council elections over the course of a few days, according to campaign expenditure reports.

“I left office after 31 years, no savings account, no investments, not a share of stock,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to be busy the first couple months of the year, probably made more in law practice in two months, definitely, than I made all last year.”

His knowledge of the inner workings of Albany surpassed that of almost anyone in the Capitol today. That fact is all the more

many say is positioning himself for what could prove a competitive race for an open seat in 2013. Pocchia was already lining up to run before the term limits extension.

Oddo said that he felt comfortable seeking a third term despite voting against the extension.

“If the rule now is that I get to live by the code of my ‘no’ votes, I want my property tax increase returned to me and

I want all the things I voted against to be the law in my universe,” Oddo said.

Oddo is confident his constituents support his vote, given that the term limit extension effectively ended his 2009 borough-wide campaign.

“I voted what I believed to be my conscience,” Oddo said. “I’ll let the public make its decision.” drivoli@cityhallnews.com

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frustrating to Connor, as he finds himself sidelined during one of the most formative periods in the history of the State Senate.

He watched as Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), anxious to gain control of the chamber but inexperienced at pulling the levers of power, struggled with negotiations with three renegade Democrats. Smith weakened himself right out of the gate, Connor says, by granting concessions to the three.

“I wouldn’t have done it, but I had a lot more experience than he did … he was leader for two years,” Connor said. “I would’ve said, ‘do what you’ve got to do.

If we have to wait another two years … you know the demographics of this state.

We’re going to take over, and then you guys will be nowhere.’”

Connor said he is also disappointed with what he sees as a lack of leadership in the conference, which has so far stalled on most of its major campaign promises, ostensibly because of the fiscal crisis.

“I’m really disappointed [that] there doesn’t seem to be anybody in that conference who could hold these things and push them through,” he said.

If he were still leading the conference, Connor said, he would use the knowledge he has of his old Republican colleagues’ personal opinions—collected over the years from drinking sessions in Albany bars and cloak-room schmooze-fests— to facilitate the push for controversial measures, such as legalizing gay marriage.

“I’d be talking to a number of my Republican colleagues who I think might be persuadable,” Connor said. “Over the years I’ve heard, ‘Come on, my nephew’s gay, he and his partner are over our house all the time.’ Little things like that, that people coming in just in the last couple years don’t know, and that those members would never confide in.”

The fact that he could be using his institutional knowledge to steer the Senate through this difficult moment for the conference and state has not escaped Connor, either. Though he says he is concentrating on his law practice—and on beating Bloomberg this year, especially if hired by a client to help—he admits that political life still entices him.

“I miss it,” he said, quietly and without elaboration.

Even after 30 years in a largely powerless minority and a fairly undignified exit, Connor said, he would still consider running for office—even for his old seat, in a rematch against Squadron.

“I wouldn’t rule it out,” he said of taking on Squadron. “If I decide to run for office, it wouldn’t really matter who was there.” sgentile@cityhallnews.com

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March 23, 2009

the

Art

of Politics

www.cityhallnews.com

CITY HALL

Legislators and Actors Unite To Prevent Paterson From Yelling ‘Cut!’

andrew schwartz

Arguing for greater economic benefits, team effort to renew tax credit

By Kate Briquelet

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awmakers are calling it a victim of its own success. The program attracted such a substantial increase in new television shows and movies that it depleted its budget of $460 million for tax credits—meant to last until 2013—in less than 10 months.

Now New York politicians, film studios, production workers and business groups, who fear losing the film and TV industry and its massive returns as the program’s funding stalls, are pushing the governor to replenish the tax incentive. They argue that the program pays for itself and fills the state’s coffers at a time when revenue is scarce.

But faced with the state’s $14 billion budget deficit, Gov. David Paterson (D) is hesitating to restore a program that so rapidly burned through five years worth of funding.

Marisa Lago, president of the Empire State Development Corporation, proposed trimming the refund from 30 to 20 percent on taxes associated with below-the-line costs for filming, and capping it at $100 million a year. Members of the State Senate and Assembly disagreed, arguing that cutting the program would create a ripple effect in the state’s economy.

“The longer we delay, the more we lose,” said State Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn). “People sign contracts today for pilots they’re going to do three years from now.”

Paterson increased the program from a 10- to 30-percent refund on taxes last year in response to increasing competition from neighboring states and loss of revenue. Only effective until the end of the year, the move has already generated $1.8 billion in production spending and 100 applications for movie and television shoots.

Officials in Paterson’s office said the governor

Actor and former Screen Actors Guild national president Richard Masur joined Comptroller Bill Thompson and actors Lorraine Bracco and Bobby Cannavale to call on Gov. David Paterson to extend the Empire State Tax Credit Program. recognizes that the film tax credit must be renewed if the state wants to attract and keep television shows and feature films, but insist that he is bound to be a fiscal realist.

State legislators, however, do not want to reduce a program that profits the state.

“The cultural community is one of the few areas of the New York economy that is working,” said Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D-Manhattan). “We have brought millions of dollars to the state with the film tax credit, and right now it’s a desperately needed source of revenue.”

Bing said he would be open to temporarily eliminating the cap to see how the program fares without it.

More than 30 states from Connecticut to California—which instated a 20-percent tax credit in February—have film tax credit incentives. New York recently lost the Fox show Fringe to Vancouver because tax credit refunds could not be assured. Rumors of Ugly Betty, The Unusuals and Life on Mars (before it was cancelled) relocating have been on the minds of many production workers.

Warren Leight, executive director of In Treatment, said he would move the show to California if New York would not provide the tax credits. And others in the industry are feeling similarly pinched.

Doug Steiner, chairman of Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, has made frequent trips to Albany to urge legislators to continue funding the program. He said “business would fall off a cliff” if the refund is scaled back.

“There is a real time crunch, since there are shows leaving and they can’t live with the uncertainty on whether the credits are available,” Steiner said. “May is when TV season is scheduled, when they’re picked

up for a season or told they’re canceled. Fringe couldn’t wait, and not knowing, it had to move. We would not like to see that with everyone else.”

If the shows leave, the producers and directors based in New York will have to leave too. Joan Bostwick, an assistant director who just finished up working on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, a new show starring Edie Falco as a New York City nurse, said New York is the busiest it has been in years. Everyone who works in the film and TV industry would have to go elsewhere to get work if the tax credit program was lost, she said.

Last year at this time, New York had 19 pilots being shot. This year, the number has been reduced to zero. Hal Rosenbluth, president of Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, said the tax credit saved an industry on the decline.

“The program has been sensational,” Rosenbluth said. “Without any hesitation, I would tell you in 2004, before tax credit, we had nobody to sell to.”

Since the tax credit was instated, films not even written for New York flocked to the state to take advantage of the welcoming business climate. Richard Baratta, of Tenafly, N.J., is unit production manager for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and said without the tax credit, many films would not have come to New York. Baratta said he has been lucky to work during the slow times before the tax credit filming boom, and that he and others within the industry were gearing for a grassroots campaign in Albany.

“We’re worried, but we’re working, so it’s not so bad,” he said. “But when the world gets pulled out from beneath you, that’s when you’re really worried.” kbriquelet@manhattanmedia.com

www.cityhallnews.com

CITY HALL

Little Drummer Girl Fifteen-year-old Rachel Trachtenberg makes Bloomberg, carriage horses face the music

BY JULIE SOBEL

A

t the contentious hearing this January on the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in New York, Rachel Trachtenburg may have been the only person testifying to receive cheers from both sides of the issue. She may have been the only one to testify in song, too.

The 15-year-old, strumming a pink ukulele that matched her fluorescent tights, sang about the inhumanity of the carriage horse industry.

“When the traffic flies,” she sang mournfully, “the horses die.”

My Pick

By Norman Siegel

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Trachtenburg has been in front of an audience most of her life, playing since age six with her parents in a band called the Trachtenburg Family Slide-Show Players. She also stars in her own kid’s television show, Rachel Trachtenburg’s Homemade World, that is running online as her family searches for a station. But Trachtenburg’s interest in New York politics is something new.

She made a splash at the term limits extension hearings, which she said sparked an interest in more involvement, leading to her appearance at the carriage horse hearings.

“It was a really amazing experience, and we met a lot of really cool people, and it was just a whole new world,” said Trachtenberg. “It was very interesting and I thought there were a lot of amazing people trying to change what’s going on. There were also some pretty awful things. So I thought it would be good to be involved with it.”

A vegetarian, Trachtenburg is particularly interested in animal rights and has combined that passion with her songwriting skills before. She has written songs about pigeons (she is against spike deterrents) and black cats (her family tries to find homes for the scores of strays in their Bushwick neighborhood).

gave a speech at Fordham Law School for the public advocate’s race, and I ended it by saying, “If elected, we will have an annual Public Advocate doo-wop concert.” And the reasoning is, doo-wop music is New York street music.

I started singing a cappella on the streets of Brooklyn under the lampposts when I was a teenager, and one of the great things about doo-wop was that so many of the groups were either bi- or multi-racial. It brings all the different racial groups in the city together. I started in the ’50s, used to go to the Allen Freed rock ’n roll shows, New York Paramount, the Brooklyn Paramount, the Brooklyn Fox. And I used to get up and start dancing the Lindy, and I would dance with whatever girl was in the aisle, whether

MARCH 23, 2009

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No fan of Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.), Trachtenburg says she plans to stay involved in the upcoming mayoral campaign.

“I think all of the stuff that Mayor Bloomberg’s doing is really awful, like cutting finances for schools and everything like that,” she said. “I hope that he does not win his third term and yeah, I plan to be out there a lot during this next election.

“My plan is to have a radio show,” she added. “I really want to get it on WBAI or some sort of local channel to get younger people involved, going to public hearings and just knowing what’s going on in their community.”

Trachtenburg supports Council Member Tony Avella (D-Queens) for mayor, mainly for his push for banning horse-drawn carriages. Laughing as he recalls her song at the carriage ban hearing, Avella said he is happy to have Trachtenberg beating the drum for his candidacy.

“It’s always nice to see our younger generation getting involved in issues that concern all New Yorkers,” he said. “I’m certainly pleased that she’s a supporter of my mayoral campaign.”

If Trachtenburg does get that radio show then, she may already have her first guest. jsobel@manhattanmedia.com

she was African-American, Latino, Caucasian. It was a good way to not only feel the beat of doo-wop in New York City, but also begin to connect with people from all over the city across racial lines.

My favorite group is Freddy Parris and the Five Satins. And my favorite song is “In the Still of the Night.” I love the Cleftones, I love the Jive Five, I love the Excellence … since I used to live in West Brighton, they had this great song—You’re my Coney Island baby, doo wop, doo woddy wop—and so that was a great song that I loved as well.

Of course I love the Platters, I love the Drifters, the Impalas, the Elegants.

I was demonstrating outside of WCBS FM, when they took off the doo-wop show on Sunday nights. I would religiously, no matter where I was, make

sure I’d listen to Norm N. Nite and Don K. Reed. But I go back to Jocko, to Murray the K. Today, when I work out in the gym, on my iPod, which my wife got me three or four years ago, I work out to doo-wop music. I’ll play basketball, I’ll work out, I’ll walk around the city, and I’ll take my doo-wop music. Because there’s no challenge I can’t overcome. Even when I have a bad day in the court, which is not too often, I listen to my doo-wop music, and I’m 16 years old again, and I’m standing on the street corner in Brooklyn singing my favorite song. How can life be bad?

Norman Siegel is a civil rights attorney and a New York City Public Advocate candidate.

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CITY HALL

Classifieds DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY OFFICE OF MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT, SCOTT M. STRINGER Responsibilities: Help organize press conferences and other events; Manage media inquiries, press relationships, respond promptly to press requests for information; Draft and distribute press materials including press releases, media advisories, quotes and statements; Occasionally edit position papers and policy briefs; Oversee website postings, monitor and clip daily and weekly publications; manage photo archive, oversee interns and other administrative duties.

Qualifications: Minimum of 3-5 years media relations, public affairs or communications experience, familiarity with the New York City political environment preferred; History of aggressive media outreach and proven ability to effectively manage press events; Excellent verbal and written communications skills; Knowledge of New York City government and experience working for an elected official or a city agency preferred; Knowledge of and experience working with New York City media strongly preferred.

Interested candidates send resume in Word or PDF to resumes@manhattanbp.org. NYC residency is required. The Office of the Manhattan Borough President is an EOE.

SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE DEPUTY BOROUGH PRESIDENT AND SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE BP OFFICE OF MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT, SCOTT M. STRINGER Responsibilities: Assist the DBP/Senior Advisor on special projects and initiatives; Manage the DBP/Senior Advisor’s calendar of events; Handle incoming calls, place calls and communicate on behalf of the DBP/Senior Advisor; Maintain current directories of internal and external contacts; Prepare and disseminate correspondence, reports, and other documentation; Prepare check requests, expense reports, purchase orders and other internal and external forms; Perform other tasks as necessary or required.

Qualifications: Extensive experience as an Executive Assistant, or related job; Bachelor’s degree preferred; Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills; High level of commitment to promote Borough President’s mission; Ability and enthusiasm for working with staff at all levels of the organization; Individual initiative and strong motivation to complete projects and day-to-day tasks.

Interested candidates send resume in Word or PDF to resumes@manhattanbp.org.

NYC residency is required. The Office of the Manhattan Borough President is an EOE.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS OFFICE OF MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT, SCOTT M. STRINGER Responsibilities: Represent Borough President and communicate goals of the office with key stakeholders; Act as an intergovernmental liaison to all elected officials,

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government agencies on city, state, and federal level; Develop outreach strategies for office events and assist in managing large scale events; Monitor legislation, government regulations and conduct research on Borough President’s legislative priorities; and Maintain Borough President’s appointments to various boards and commissions.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree required; at least one year of experience with government, civic and policy/research; Knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Word required; Familiarity with policy and legislative issues facing New Yorkers, inner-workings of government and the legislative process on city, state and federal levels; Flexibility with working long work hours including weekends and evenings.

Salary will be commensurate with experience. Interested candidates send resume in Word or PDF to resumes@manhattanbp. org. NYC residency is required. The Office of the Manhattan Borough President is an EOE.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF BUDGETS AND GRANTS OFFICE OF MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT, SCOTT M. STRINGER Responsibilities: Manage the Office’s grant programs including Borough Needs and Cultural Tourism; oordinate fiscal management of Federal and State grants; Implementation of grant performance review and follow-up programs; Write bi-monthly grants newsletter and plan events to assist non-profits; Generate new policy ideas on budgetary and financial issues; Respond to internal and external requests for information; and Support and spearhead special projects as needed.

Qualifications: Bachelor degree and at least five (5) years of experience with government, civic, policy/research or similar organizations; At least two (2) years of supervisory/management experience with proven motivational methods; Familiar with the City budgeting process and the City’s Financial Management System a plus; Possess strong research, writing, communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills; Flexibility with working long work hours.

Interested candidates send resume in Word or PDF format to resumes@manhattanbp. org. NYC residency is required. The Office of the Manhattan Borough President is an EOE.

ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS OFFICE OF MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT, SCOTT M. STRINGER Responsibilities: Provide administrative support to the Director of External Affairs and the unit; Disseminate correspondences, policy reports, and other documentation to external partners and stakeholders; Assist in the administrative maintenance of all Borough President’s appointments to various boards and commissions; Maintain

office-wide database; Assist in all aspects of executing large scale events, including mailing invitations and other outreach, coordinating vendors, tracking and processing RSVPs, and assisting with day-of event needs; Assist with special projects as identified by the Director.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree required; at least one (1) year of related experience with government, civic, policy/research or similar organizations; Demonstrated commitment to public service with excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills; Individual initiative and strong motivation to complete projects and day-to-day tasks; Flexibility with working long work hours.

Interested candidates send resume in Word or PDF to resumes@manhattanbp.org.

NYC residency is required. The Office of the Manhattan Borough President is an EOE.

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR A NEW YORK DEMOCRAT A New York Democrat is seeking to fill an Office Administrator position. In this capacity the administrative assistant would work with the District Director to develop a strategic scheduling program, including processes and procedures for the district office. He/she would also be responsible for working collaboratively with the elected official’s Executive Assistant/Scheduler and District Director to review and maintain the weekly schedule. Other duties include managing the reception area, ordering and keeping an inventory of all office supplies and maintaining all office equipment.

Minimum 3 years scheduling experience or 5 years of related office experience with an elected official or within a corporate environment with strong organizational skills and a proven capacity to successfully multi-task in a fast-paced environment while adhering to established deadlines.

Willingness and ability to work long hours and weekends is essential. Writing skills and ability to prepare memos and reports is integral to job performance.

Position available immediately. Send cover letter, resume, references, salary requirements and two writing samples to ResumeNY@mail.house.gov. NO WALK-INS OR CALLS PLEASE!

DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR ERIC ADAMS Office of State Senator Eric Adams has opening for position of Deputy Chief of Staff. Please email pvkatona@gmail.com for interview appointment. Attach your resume.

Minimum requirements: • college degree (BA or BS) • minimum 1 year law school experience (law degree not required) • minimum 2 years work experience in NYS Senate or Assembly office • supervisory experience as officer in a major NYC/NYS police department, with minimum 15 years experience in law enforcement with a major police department

• certification as instructor of police science • supervisory experience in emergency management (including emergency communications) for major NYC/NYS police department • certification or experience in internet security/cyber security • experience working with offices of local District Attorneys • licensed to carry firearm • work experience as security officer for elected officials • supervisory experience in not-for-profit agency work (director, field director, etc.)

• work experience as member of political advance team • training/certification in public speaking • experience in supervision of community service programs

PROGRAM ASSOCIATE NON-PROFIT ENERGY COALITION Non-profit energy coalition seeks Program Associate for entry-level role in their White Plains office. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, and the ability to work occa-

sional evenings and weekends required.

Ideal candidate will possess strong communications and research skills, the ability to work as part of a team, and an interest in politics. References and writing samples required. Full health and dental benefits for employee included.

Please send cover letter, salary requirements and resume to energycoalitionposition@gmail.com.

LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR Responsibilities will include but not be limited to writing bill memos, analysis and synthesis of bills, coordinating opinions of our legislative committee to form coherent positions on policy, and researching and updating legislative initiatives.

Must respond well under pressure, turn around writing assignments quickly, and be good at multitasking. This company is a politically active statewide not-for-profit pro-consumer organization of over 4,000 members. We offer competitive salary and excellent benefits.

To apply, submit resume, cover letter, and writing samples to Stephanie Wilson at nysconsumerrights@gmail.com

CLASSIFIED ORDER FORM

In Print and Online Ad Copy: ($30/30 words, $.65 per additional word)

Payment: Check: Credit Card: Name on Card: Expiration Date Category: ❑ Help Wanted ❑ Employment Wanted ❑ Real Estate ❑ Business Opportunity Dates to Run:

Mail:

Steve Blank/Classified Advertising Manhattan Media 79 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor NY, NY 10016

Fax:

212.268.2935

Email:

sblank@manhattanmedia.com

Phone:

212.894.5412

Deadline is Friday at 5 pm.

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Developing Economic Development, Recession or Not conomic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky was the featured speaker at the March 13 On/Off the Record breakfast, held at the flagship location of TD Bank on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue. During the morning, Pinsky discussed what economic development entails in a recession, the lengths to which he believes government should go in getting involved in the private sector and how the prospect of Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) potentially serving another four years in office affects the planning at EDC. What follows are selections from the edited transcript.

Q: You are the president of the Economic Development Corporation. At this moment of recession, general economic turmoil, what do those words even mean?

A: It’s an interesting question and something that I spent some time over the holidays contemplating. What I found is that people between September and the end of the year were coming up to me and saying, “Gee, Economic Development Corporation, economic downturn, you must be extremely busy.” The truth is, I was extremely busy, I am extremely busy, our whole agency was extremely busy. But we were busy on a lot of the same stuff we’d always been busy on.

We weren’t really addressing the economic downturn. And I tried to figure out why that was. What occurred to me was that, really, for much of the last several years, even though we call ourselves the Economic Development Corporation, we’ve been much more the “Real Estate Development Corporation”, and that’s been because the economy has been growing on its own without much need for the city’s interference. We’ve been playing around on the margins but not really trying to increase demand because demand was increasing so quickly on its own. So since that epiphany that I had—that maybe shouldn’t have been such an epiphany— we’ve really been focused since December on trying, of course, to continue our work in real estate development and to make sure that the physical city continues to evolve, but also to try and encourage more growth in the underlying economy. Because what we realize now is that it’s not just about accommodating demand, which for much of the last seven years has been the city’s primary challenge, it’s about creating that demand in the first place.

Q: Can you give a sense of how you make decisions about how far to get involved in private sector growth and where you say, “Wait, that’s too far?”

A: Especially the financial services, some of the decisions are made for us. … We said what, within our power, can we do to address those problems? So for example, taking the issue of the financial services ecosystem. We are working with the financial services industry very closely. We have a monthly roundtable of the leaders of the industry, to try to understand what are the regulatory must-haves and mustnot-haves for New York. … We also are looking at recruiting new international institutions to New York which we hope will fill some of the void that’s been left by the loss of large institutions over the last few months. Similarly, we’re looking to attract new institutions in carbon trading, in credit default swaps, in insurance, which we think will reinforce New York’s role as an international center. On the question of the impact of the declining capital markets, what we’ve done there is we’ve said, okay, we’re not going to be able to bring back them single-handedly, but maybe we can look at other aspects of financial services where New York has been underrepresented in the past, areas like venture capital or angel investing, and maybe there

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

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are things that we, as a city, we can do to encourage those.

So we went out to the industry and we said, “What’s going right, what’s not going right?” And things that we heard were, there’s a huge venture capital industry in New York, we’re probably the third largest center of venture capital investing, but we’re hitting below our weight given the size of the city’s economy. Part of our problem, they told us, is, “We just can’t find one another, we can’t find businesses, the city is too big.” So we’ve an effort to bring people together, we’re launching a website, we’re launching meet-ups to bring these various people together. We’ve also found out that angel investment in the city totals about $40 million a year—it’s not a huge sum. We believe that with a small addition from city government, that we could probably leverage another $10 million, increase angel investment by 25 percent, help hundreds of companies. So that’s something we’re pursuing. We’re not looking to be the investors, we’re not looking to make investment decisions, but we’re looking with our money to direct investments to New York businesses. And then, finally, in the area of trying to keep the talent in New York, this is something we announced with our financial services initiatives—it’s not just geared towards financial services employees, it’s geared towards all of the people in the city who are losing their jobs. We think we need to foster the next generation of innovative businesses in the city, and the way that we’re doing that is we’re encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit of the city. Through our angel investment fund, we’ll give significant funding to new startups. We’re working in partnership with the private sector to set up incubators which will give low-cost space and mentoring to new businesses to help them grow. By bringing together entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, we’re going to make the flow of funds more efficient. What we’re trying to do is create conditions. We’re not trying to pick winners and losers. We’re not trying to interfere directly in the market

but we’re trying to lubricate the market, because at the moment everything is stuck.

Q: When you signed on there were about 700 days left in the Bloomberg administration. Now it could very well be an additional four years on top of that.

How does that affect the way you do what you need to do and what the administration does in terms of development? How does that change the strategy in what you’re thinking of now that it’s not a deadline at the end of the year necessarily, but that you may need to be thinking of a five-year-plan rather than a one-year-plan?

A: At EDC at least, even before the term limits vote was taken in the City Council, making it a possibility, the mayor would stay on for another four years if he wins the election, we were very intentional about not just focusing on the next 700 days. Clearly, we wanted to make sure that we could get as much as possible moving in that time, but we were really focused on the long term because we’ve recognized that the needs of New York are really long-term needs. In some cases we knew that the initiatives we were undertaking if the mayor weren’t in office and isn’t in office won’t be undertaken by us. … Obviously, the fact that we or some subset of us may be there to actually carry these plans out changes some of our thinking, but for the most part we’ve kept to the same strategy since I’ve been at EDC. Q: What thinking does it change?

A: Where you know that you’re not going to be in place, you’re much more focused on putting the plans together.

Where there’s a possibility that you will be in place, you may be thinking not just about the plan, but what are the next steps in implementation? So it’s that sort of thing, but it hasn’t had a dramatic impact on us.

Go online to www.cityhallnews.com to watch the full video of the interview with Pinsky, in which he discusses balancing development with the need to preserve the middle class, the fate of Willets Point and whether new projects will be added to the city’s to-do list over the tough years ahead.

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Bloomberg’s Errant Go Bragh Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (Ind.) Spanish has been improving, but his Irish apparently still has a way to go. Greeted with applause at the annual St. Patrick’s Day reception hosted by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens) and Joseph Crowley (D-Queens/Bronx), Bloomberg returned the admiration in his remarks to the green-clad crowd by thanking the two members of Congress

profusely for their work on behalf of the city with a phrase that is decidedly unGallic: “As they say in the old country,” Bloomberg said, “mazal tov!”

De Blasio’s Dictionary If Council Member Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn) is going to build inroads into the city’s large Latino population for his public advocate bid this year, he’d better brush up on his Spanish.

At a press conference on the City Hall steps on March 18, de Blasio, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum (D) and several other members of the Council called on the Obama administration to recognize samesex couples in the 2010 Census.

When a television reporter asked someone to explain their position in Spanish, everyone looked to Gotbaum, who mastered the language while teaching high school English in South America in the 1960s.

But even Gotbaum couldn’t get past one rather important stumbling block: the word “Census.”

A few seconds in, the word popped up in her otherwise sterling Spanish, and Gotbaum looked flustered, turning her head to the crowd behind her.

“What’s Census?” she laughed.

Everyone looked at each other, baffled. “‘Census’ sounds good to me,” de Blasio laughed, and Gotbaum continued.

For the record, they could have probably gotten it with a guess. The correct translation is “El Censo.”

Kallos’ Cash Reserves Benjamin Kallos is certain that he will not campaign for a seat on the City Council given that Jessica Lappin (D-Manhattan) pulled back her plans to run for public advocate to seek reelection instead.

Yet Kallos, former chief of staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D-Manhattan), is still registered with the Campaign Finance Board as a candidate for Council and actively fundraising in an effort to qualify for public matching funds, if and when the Council seat is open.

“I believe in public finance. I believe in getting as much matching public

donations as I can,” Kallos said.

The CFB decided to allow Council candidates who spent 2008 fundraising for an open seat to hold over their campaign accounts until the seat opens up.

Kallos, however, was never in this category When the term limits extension bill passed, Lappin was in her first term unlike most of her colleagues. The possibility of an open race only emerged when she began flirting with the idea of a citywide run at the end of last year.

Still, Kallos said that there is a loophole in the decision that allows him to raise money to qualify for the public financing program in a future campaign.

“The rule still applies,” Kallos argued.

Eric Friedman, CFB spokesperson, confirmed that the rules indeed do not distinguish between candidates running for seats in which the Council member was term-limited out of office in 2009 or for seats where the incumbent had an extra term, as is Lappin’s case. This will allow Kallos to carry over a campaign account that has already met the threshold to participate in the public financing system—even though if the current term limits hold, Kallos may not have an open seat to run for until 2017.

Weprin’s Facebook Plunge and Pact After months of holding out, Council Member David Weprin (D-Queens) has finally taken the plunge and created a Facebook profile, quickly trying to catch up with his rivals in the race for friends.

“I gave in,” Weprin acknowledged.

Starting to look at another job?

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Weprin previously had expressed doubts about how much Facebook could assist his comptroller campaign. But he said he eventually came to see the value of the social networking tool.

The biggest obstacles to Weprin joining Facebook, he said, ended up being his twin 17-year-old daughters, who felt their father joining the website could lead to violations of their privacy.

“I had a talk with my twins,” Weprin said. “We mutually agreed not to be ‘friends,’ so that I couldn’t access their information.”

Weprin so far has accumulated 91 other “friends” on Facebook who apparently do not mind him perusing their own profiles.

Liu’s Asian Joke John Liu has had some catching up to do with his late-game switch into the comptroller race, but he has been traveling the city actively making his case. At the East Side Democratic Club March 19, he laid it out in full: his biography as an Asian immigrant is key, he said, as is his experience dealing with budgets both in the private sector at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and overseeing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as head of the Council Transportation Committee.

There might be some relation, he suggested to the small crowd.

“I am very comfortable with numbers,” Liu said. “Stereotypes notwithstanding.”

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By Chris Bragg, Edward-Isaac Dovere, Sal Gentile and Dan Rivoli

CITY HALL

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MARCH 23, 2009

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: Small Business Man uccessfully expanding a small business is no easy task during the middle of the recession.

For New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Robert Walsh, the task is even greater: He is charged with growing them across the city. Since 2002, Walsh has been Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (Ind.) head of efforts to revitalize the city’s moribund programs to assist small business owners. During an interview in his office at 110 William Street, Walsh reflected on what his office is doing to help out during the recession, the way the city’s approach to small businesses has evolved and Walsh’s own experience interviewing for a job with the mayor after being called up from Charlotte.

What follows is an edited transcript.

S

CH: Did your family own a small business?

RW: My dad had his own commercial art business. He rented a small office. He had a pull-out couch. We didn’t see him on a number of nights. And artists have a funny lifestyle in that way. If they have work, they’re going to take more work. And they’re going to push until the very end. And I saw some times when he was incredibly busy and overtired and some times where he had some droughts and there was a real struggle. But, you know, he always had this sense that he was going to make it and do something really creative.

CH: When did you start working?

RW: I put myself through college running a summer camp. And at night I stocked shelves in a grocery store.

I was the college boy that the truckers liked to throw the 50-pound bags of dog food at, to see if the college boy from New York City could handle it.

CH: Are there certain types of small businesses that are still hiring?

RW: The whole area of public health—that’s not going away. Our population is aging, there’s always a need in that area. The whole area of hospitality. Our tourism has taken a little bit of a hit, but not much of a hit compared to other states. People are always going to come to New York and see New York. I went out to dinner on Saturday, and I was happy for the first time that I had to wait for 45 minutes. 45 minutes? That’s great! I’ll wait for another hour! Higher education has also gotten stronger.

And those are things you have to focus on—where your strengths are. You have to ensure those areas continue to grow.

CH: How effective has the Business Improvement District (BID) program been? Why does the cleanliness of a street affect shopping habits?

RW: I think it’s subconscious in some ways. I think the whole issue is that how clean and tidy neighborhoods are has an impact on people’s shopping, their comfort zone, and whether they’ll come back or not. If you have bad experience in a neighborhood, and you see a lot of garbage all over the place, and you see graffiti, you’re not going to come back. … I went to one neighborhood not too long ago and the banners said, “Clean, safe, bright,” and they were nice banners. But do you remember the movie Roger and Me in Flint, Michigan? That’s what the neighborhood reminded me of. Nice banners, but then you look at the trashcans overflowing. The tree pits filled with litter. Graffiti on the lampposts. I think for the BIDs—for many of them—the lesson is: Do the basics first.

@MCQDV RBGV @QSY

City Hall: As director of Small Business Services, what do you see as your role when so many small businesses are shutting down?

Robert Walsh: There’s a greater sense of urgency of getting something done. The mayor created the office when he came in, knowing that small businesses are the foundation—the rock—of New York. This agency focuses on the formation of businesses, growing small businesses and providing them the tools to make things happen. I went to a ribbon cutting today in Long Island City. This is a chauffeur company that in 2004 a guy was running from his driveway just outside of Boston. And over the past five years he has grown it into a multimillion dollar operation, in Boston first and then in New York. And he just expanded to where he had up to 150 people. He said to me, “I’m surprised you’re still out here. We’re a small company.” I said, “That’s our bread and butter.” And that’s basically the bread and butter of New York City.

Bowery, we said, “We will save you time and save you money. We will train. We can have people walking to work from everything from public housing projects to brownstones to your companies. Work with us. We can get people prepared.” And we got a lot better at listening and placing people in jobs. I think it’s by far our biggest accomplishment.

Small Business Services Commissioner Robert Walsh says the Bloomberg administration has changed the way New York City approaches helping small businesses.

CH: How does SBS help New Yorkers find jobs?

RW: Four years ago, the mayor ended up eliminating what was the Department of Unemployment and he consolidated it into Small Business Services. So we run the adult work force job training and placement for New York. When we took it over, we were placing 500 people a year through our career centers. Last year we placed over 17,000 people. And I think that we will place over 20,000 people this year. I would like to, quite frankly, double that number in two or three years.

CH: What do you think about the criticism that BIDs are undemocratic or a violation of property rights?

RW: These are property owners who are making a contribution. And collectively they’re contributing over $100 million to the city for services for a defined area.

I don’t know how undemocratic that could be. There’s a bit of self-interest in making these areas better. I think in many ways we are the envy of a lot of other large cities because of the continued decline in crime under this mayor, the quality of life has improved, our neighborhoods are stronger. If you look at a lot of other cities, many of the areas right outside the core of the Central Business Districts are fragile and then it gets better again. We’ve got 300 neighborhoods throughout this city. And many of them are neighborhoods you want to go to.

CH: Based on your 2002 interview with Mayor Bloomberg when you applied for your job, do you have any advice for current job seekers?

RW: The day before that interview, I was with the mayor of Charlotte in his office wondering whether we were going to be keeping the Charlotte Hornets or not.

Anyway, I got a phone call from City Hall, and they asked me if I would be interested in working for Mike Bloomberg. I had been following what he’d been doing. I read about the hiring of Dan Doctoroff and a number of other people. But I had not thought about applying for a job. I got a call Monday and on Tuesday at one o’clock I’m meeting a guy named Mike Bloomberg. At the end of my 59-minute conversation, I went back out onto the steps of City Hall to make a phone call—to tell my wife that I was heading back to North Carolina—and on my trip back up the steps I was summoned back up to the bullpen. And the mayor stuck out his hand and told me, “Say yes.” And I stuck out my hand and said, “Yes.” And he said, “Good, you’re my new commissioner of business services.”

—By Chris Bragg cbragg@cityhallnews.com

“I was the college boy that the truckers liked to throw the 50pound bags of dog food at, to see if the college boy from New York City could handle it.”

CH: What’s caused the growth?

RW: Before, the city had looked at it as if it’s a Save the Children ad—you know, “Please hire a New Yorker”— those infomercials where you contributed 19 cents a day. That’s the way we ran our job programs: “Hire from our career centers because you’ll feel good.” And what we did—and it sounds to some people like it’s a callous thing—but we turned it into something more demand-driven. So when Whole Foods opened up in the

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The FDNY Response Time Myth

By Steve Cassidy The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) remains the busiest fire department in the world. In 2008 New York’s Bravest responded to 473,335 emergencies, the fourth consecutive busiest year in the Department’s 140 year history.

To properly protect the citizenry, all FDNY companies need to be staffed properly. Essential manpower at the scene of a fire enables firefighters to rapidly conduct rescues and extinguish a fire before it gets out of control.

The FDNY leadership has often touted their “response time statistics” as its holy grail of firefighting, although insiders have long known the FDNY’s response time data to be deliberately misleading. Response time “FDNYSTYLE”, is calculated when the first Department vehicle arrives at the address of the emergency.

Firefighting and saving lives requires several units — 2 engines and 2 ladder companies – which are essential to begin fire operations.

The Department’s recent cutbacks and proposed future closings will dramatically increase the time it takes for an adequate FDNY response, putting lives and property in jeopardy.

It is clear the FDNY intends to continue to mislead the public with its response time standard of one single unit in front of the building STOPS THE CLOCK. This policy does not extinguish fire or save lives.

Closing 16 fire companies around the city will surely result in unnecessary fire deaths. The Department’s ability to provide the necessary resources (at least two engine companies and two ladder companies) to effectively fight fires and save lives will be dramatically impacted.

In a vertical city like New York, fires in high rise buildings require even more manpower and it takes longer to reach victims. Shockingly the Department still STOPS THE CLOCK when the first vehicle is at the curb of the building.

How many New Yorkers really believe this is an adequate response to a fire?

What’s even more misleading about the FDNY’s response time statistics is that the Department “cooks the books.” The FDNY has acknowledged before the New York City Council that they throw out certain response time statistics that would otherwise inflate their response time average. This is the equivalent of the Yankees throwing out a box score on day when Derek Jeter goes 0-5.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) has long identified the FDNY’s method of calculating and promoting response time statistics as deliberately dishonest and misleading for all New

Yorkers. The Department’s intent is to lull the public into a false sense of security.

Have you ever watched a house or apartment burn? According to the federal National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST/www.NIST.Gov), it takes just 2 minutes and 30 seconds from the inception of a fire, until a room is completely engulfed in flames, with temperatures reaching 2,000 degrees.

In firefighting every second counts, as fires grow exponentially every minute.

Yet sadly, the leadership of the FDNY is willing to continue to use misleading statistics to justify their plan to close 16 fire companies which certainly will compromise the safety of all New Yorkers.

Steve Cassidy is the President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York.

60 Seconds – The Difference between Life and Death National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST/www.NIST.Gov)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST/www.NIST.Gov)

From a Harmless Flame to a Raging Inferno in Less Than 3 Minutes

In a Test by the National Institute of Standards & Technology, 60 Seconds Later (2 Minutes & 40 Seconds After Ignition) a Living Room Fire Begins to Spread Rapidly Just 1 Minute & the Living Room Fire Fills the Entire Room with Smoke 40 Seconds After Ignition. and Flames and Temperatures Reach 2,000 Degrees.

For more information visit: Uniformed Firefighters Association

WWW.UFANYC.ORG