As Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration probes oversized salaries for nonprofit executives whose organizations receive state funds, one group with a special relationship to the governor no longer has its highly paid chief executive – who is married to Cuomo’s cousin. Laurence Belinsky, the CEO and president of HELP USA, resigned from the homeless housing and … Read more
The first New York politician imperiled by voting for same-sex marriage isn’t an upstate Republican senator – it’s a Democratic Assemblyman from New York City scrambling to hold his support in a special election. Insiders say Assemblyman David Weprin, running in the special election for Anthony Weiner’s congressional seat, is facing a revolt among Orthodox … Read more
Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s leadership of the city’s education system has been flawed in many ways, but mayoral control of the public school system has helped the city overall, a number of education advocates said at a panel discussion yesterday. The change during Bloomberg’s first term did away with a bureaucratic quagmire and brought more attention … Read more
In the three-way race to replace Brooklyn Assembly man Darryl Towns, Rafael Espinal’s campaign has spent about a third of the amount expended by his two rivals, Jesus Gonzalez and Deidra Towns. Maybe that’s because he’s getting so much free help: the lion’s share of the people working for Espinal are getting paid by elected … Read more
The race to build a top-tier science and engineering school in New York will rev up this week. Mayor Michael Bloomberg will convene a private breakfast meeting of business and civic leaders Tuesday at Google’s Manhattan headquarters to present the city’s blueprint for the future tech campus, first announced late last year. Later that day, … Read more
Since September 2010, Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s campaign committee has cut nearly $46,000 in checks to a top white-collar criminal defense attorney, Gerald Lefcourt. Both the city and federal governments are investigating the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which Lopez founded. Lefcourt warned the Brooklyn Paper in October he was considering a libel case, but has not pursued one. … Read more
A living wage mandate for New York employers would stifle development, cost tens of thousands of jobs, and sacrifice billions of dollars worth of private investment in the decades to come, a controversial new study claims. The long-awaited report from the city’s Economic Development Corporation shows the City Council is pushing for the country’s most … Read more
While Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn made the rounds in Albany yesterday to drum up Republican support for gay marriage, some Capitol insiders wondered why Gov. Andrew Cuomo wasn’t there to lobby for it himself. The governor was out touring the state on behalf of his top three issues – same-sex … Read more
He doesn’t roam City Hall anymore with his cellphone earpiece and his red appointment book. He doesn’t exhort reporters to cover his press conferences. He doesn’t blast out email about his latest blog posts. But indicted lobbyist Richard Lipsky is quietly edging back into the game. Lobbying reports on file with the city and state … Read more
In the U.S. Attorney’s press room at the federal courthouse in White Plains on Dec. 3, Preet Bharara kept saying no. Yes, Vinnie Leibell, the longtime state senator and Putnam County executive-elect, had just pled guilty to obstruction of justice and tax evasion charges. Leibell had sensed he might be under investigation in the spring, … Read more