Governor David Paterson will meet with state leaders later this morning to address the $2 billion budget deficit that the governor says is worsening. Paterson says he wants to fill the budget gap by cutting spending, not by increasing taxes or fees. The governor yesterday spoke about his encounter Monday with President Barack Obama and [...]
Both candidates for city controller have taken campaign contributions from bankers whose firms manage city pension funds – though one returned some of the cash this month. The next controller – likely to be the winner of next week’s Democratic runoff between Councilmen John Liu and David Yassky – will oversee the five public pension [...]
Former Brookhaven Supervisor John Jay LaValle made a political comeback last night, winning the post of Suffolk Republican chairman after his two foes dropped out in the midst of a controversial roll call vote in a heated standing room only convention in East Islip. Acknowledging the intense battle, LaValle told the more than 300 party [...]
City Councilman John Liu received the backing of a former rival in his bid to become city comptroller Tuesday. City Councilman David Weprin, who came in last in the primary for comptroller, said his endorsement of Liu was an easy decision. “We have very tough fiscal times now,” said Weprin. “The city is really hurting, [...]
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has leveled a rare attack on the Democrat aiming to unseat him, comparing their records on education. At his regular news conference Tuesday – not a campaign event – Bloomberg was asked about City Comptroller William Thompson Jr.’s education plan. The billionaire mayor said he hadn’t seen it, but said that [...]
Surveillance video released today during the assault trial of Queens State Senator Hiram Monserrate shows the lawmaker dragging his girlfriend through the hallway of his apartment building. The video, which was shown in a Kew Gardens court today, shows Monserrate’s girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, attempting to ring a neighbor’s doorbell, when she is pulled away by [...]
A new study finds the city’s charter school students are outperforming their public school peers. The report says students who entered lotteries and won spots in charter schools performed better on state exams than students who entered the same lotteries, but did not enter charter schools. It also found the gap between charter school and [...]
The primary election may be over, but the battle for several City Council seats in Queens is just getting started. Republicans are hoping to hang onto their one seat and gain another two. Democrats, still recovering from a bruising primary, want to regroup and keep their overwhelming majority. Three races in particular will be in [...]
County executives Steve Levy of Suffolk and Thomas Suozzi of Nassau are seeking to position themselves for runs at statewide office should Paterson step aside, political observers said Monday. If Attorney General Andrew Cuomo chooses to run for governor, he would leave his current post open for ambitious local politicians – such as Levy and [...]
Long Island lawmakers want high-level sex offenders to wear a GPS monitor while on probation. A proposal by Nassau County legislators David Denenberg and Joseph Scannell also would prohibit convicted sex criminals from living within 2,000 feet of their victim’s home or workplace. Nassau already bans sex offenders from living near schools or parks. The [...]
