As Senator Hillary Clinton ignores calls to drop out and gets ready for a likely West Virginia primary victory, Politico's Ben Smith reveals one funny suggestion from a NYC politician: Clinton should run for mayor in 2009. The politician's reasoning is that though it's not being leader of freed world, "it's a big executive job, comes with a media spotlight and a mansion." Smith asked Koch for a comment (Koch yelled at Smith for "wasting......

RepresentativeDarrell Issa, a Republican from California, played the spoiler during the city's attempt to get federal money for sick first responders. Issa said the planes that flew into the World Trade Center weren't weapons like a dirty bomb, "It simply was an aircraft, residue of two aircraft, and residue from the materials used to build this building." To which NYC counsel Michael Cardozo said, "Congressman, this was I believe an attack on the United States......

If you're a politician who has opposed Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, watch out! At a Crain's business breakfast, Bloomberg said, regarding Representative Anthony Weiner's suggestion that congestion pricing would mean less federal funding (did Weiner forget the feds are offering $354 million), "That is one of the stupider things I’ve ever heard said." He said NJ Governor Jon Corzine's congestion fee opposition was hypocritical, given recent toll fee hike from the Port Authority (run......

If you're one of those people that think the FBI has better things to do than investigate Roger Clemens, you have an ally in Washington DC. Congressman Anthony Weiner voiced his opinion on the investigation into Clemens. Weiner sent a letter to the Attorney General questioning the benefit of continuing the investigation into Clemens’ testimony to Congress, saying "Whether or not Roger Clemens may have committed perjury should not compete with real national security threats......

The announcement that six detainees in Guantanamo would be charged and tried for the September 11, 2001 attacks was welcomed by a number of parties, including the families of people who died on September 11. However, some would like to see a trial in New York and not in Gitmo. The Sun found some different reactions. Jim Riches a fire chief whose son died in the World Trade Center, said, "[T]hese people should be brought......

Take a good, long look New York: You could be staring into the squinty eyes of your future mayor. (Yes, the white dude on the right.) Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who describes himself as “somewhat comical” [emphasis added] is on the verge of announcing his candidacy for mayor. Fuhgeddaboutit? The Crown Heights native, who earned a B.A. at Brooklyn College after nine years of night school, has loudly occupied the largely ceremonial position......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an explosion at Linden Blvd. and 220th St. in Queens, a homicide on Sedgewick Ave. in the Bronx, and a water main break on Prospect Place in Brooklyn Santa may have to bypass coalition troops stationed around the world today, but holiday presents will be appreciated even if they do arrive a few weeks into 2008. Newsday has a nice piece on gift-giving to troops and how to do......

Just because the 2009 elections are over 22 months away doesn't mean some interesting moves can't happen. Adolfo Carrion Jr. (pictured, on left), the Bronx Borough President, has decided to run for City Comptroller in 2009, making it a tough field and shedding light on the mayoral contest. Carrion, born in Lower Manhattan and a former city planner, Community Board district manager, and City Council member (here's his bio), was seen as a likely candidate......

Two years after asking various companies to bid to bring cellphone service to the subways, the MTA has finally picked a vendor to wire all stations. Here are the details:Transit Wireless will pay the MTA at least $4.6 million each year over 10 years; Transit Wireless is made up of four communications and constructions companies. Subway stations will be wired for cellular and wireless service. Subway tunnels will not be wired, which means cellphone use......

Will there ever be a point when there are stories about the Greenpoint oil spill cleanup, instead of stories about how big and dangerous the spill is? Representatives Anthony Weiner and Nydia Velazquez released the results of the first EPA study (first study ever after, what, 29 years!) of the Greenpoint oil spill, and they are pretty ugly. Here some excerpts from the press release: The original estimated size of the spill of 17 million......

Thought Governor Eliot Spitzer and Senator Hilary Clinton appeared at a press conference to discuss health coverage of New York children, they had to answer questions about campaign donations they accepted from fugitive apparel executive Norman Hsu. Clinton received $23,000 from Hsu and announced that she would donate the money to charity after revelations that Hsu has been wanted in California for defrauding California investors since 1991. Hsu has fled to Hong Kong but......

We all knew the real estate bubble was causing insanity, but we should have known it's encouraged people to divorce. There's a NY Times Styles section article about some who wait until the market's at its peak to divorce - that way, they can benefit from an even bigger profit when selling their homes. There are quotes from Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker, who showed that couples with a drastic rise in net worth were......

Representatives Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler announced that they are introducing legislation to block a $20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The Sun reports the pair stood in front of the Saudi Consulate, questioning the logic of the Bush administration's plan. Nadler said, "The folly of this arms deal is beyond belief. Saudi Arabia is the no. 1 exporter of terrorism in the world today." Supporters of the deal, which includes advanced weaponry, "say......

Because September 8, 2009 is 776 days away, let's talk the 2009 mayoral race. The Post reports that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly met with a "political guru" about his chances in the 2009 mayoral race. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne explained that Kelly was at a meeting that was also attended by Republican strategist Scott Reed, but politics weren't discussed. Still, Kelly's seems to be the name mentioned most often these days when speaking of......

After reviewing a number of bids, the National Park Service ended Circle Line's contract to provide ferry service between lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The new ferry service provider will be Hornblower Yachts of California, which offers service between San Francisco and Alcatraz. Hornblower: Taking you to Liberty and lock-up. The 10-year contract, worth $350 million, must be approved by Congress and one requirement is that Hornblower buy Circle......

Former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (and former NJ Governor) Christie Todd Whitman testified in front of Congress yesterday about the EPA's September 11 response. With critics like Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Anthony Weiner of New York and Representative Bill Pascrell of NJ questioning her, Whitman called statements made about her leadership "misinformation, innuendo and downright falsehoods." The Daily News, which made Whitman its cover girl yesterday, called her a woman of "many......

Representative Anthony Weiner, he of 2009 mayoral ambitions, wants to introduce legislation to ban helicopters flying over Manhattan. While the bill would allow "police, medical and other authorized helicopter traffic" (probably news choppers), Weiner said, "We are taking a common-sense step to make New York safer" by restricting all other helicopters to fly over water only. He also said, "I am concerned about helicopters flying over a densely populated city. I think it's dangerous, and......

New York City could be considered the Big Green Apple for the rest of the week. Bill Clinton and Mayor Bloomberg are hosting an international climate summit this week, beginning today and running through Thursday. And as part of other environmentally friendly festivities, Matt Dillon was on hand for the issuance of a challenge from Yahoo! to see which U.S. city was the most green. The winning city, that will be announced following the......

The Drum Major Institute released a study titled "Saving Our Middle Class," which suggests that NYC's middle class continues to be under more and more strain. DMI surveyed a number of city leaders and found: It's harder to enter the middle class: 92% "agree that it is harder to enter the middle class today than it was ten years ago." - They believe middle-class income is now between $75,000 and $135,000 for families of......

The next mayoral election may be more than two years off, but it's never too soon to start courting the union vote, especially when it's the Transit Workers Union. The men and women who make sure the trains run on time have the ability to derail any politician's campaign, so Democratic hopefuls took turns addressing the rank and file at a TWU "Save Our Union" meeting yesterday. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn spoke of her......

Representative Anthony Weiner released a report, along with City Councilman Michael McMahon of Staten Island, that shows the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost NYC taxpayers over $57 million. How? Weiner's press release explains what many people probably don't realize:Typically, when city employees are called up for active duty, they forfeit their regular paychecks, and take their new paychecks from the military. Under most circumstances, this amounts to taking a pay cut. To honor......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An unusual odor in the Bronx, two pedestrians struck (one in Manhattan, a fatal one in the Bronx), and three alarm fire at a tire yard in Brooklyn The Department of Education will reinstate 17 bus routes, finally realizing that giving 5-year-olds MetroCards is a very mean lesson We're so with East Village Idiot on this one: Dear Two Girls Who Work in My Building, Why did you feel......

It's not surprising news, but it's a reminder why people don't live in New York City. A report from the Independent Budget Office showed that New York City has the biggest tax burden than eight other big cities. In fact, NYC's tax burden is practically 50% higher than the average of cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix and San Diego. (We don't know where San Francisco, Boston, or Seattle......

Last month, Representative Anthony Weiner released a report showing that 85% of registered sex offenders live within 5 blocks of NYC schools (here's a PDF of the report). Included in the report was a map illustrating this point; the report says, "Cartographers at the Library of Congress have plotted the location of every school and every sex offender in New York City on a map. Every sex offender is represented by a red dot,......

A cop killer Ronell Wilson goes through his penalty phase, we're learning a lot about him like how he sucked his thumb at 15 and how a kid he robbed 10 years ago (he stole his calculator and bus pass) is doing fine these days. Elmhurst residents will not only get new green parkland from a lot where gas tanks are - that boulder from Fort Greene will be added there too! A funeral......

After a 13 year old Queens boy running across LIRR tracks was killed by a train, there had been much criticism about the poor state of the fences that surround the tracks. Yesterday, the MTA announced it would try to address track access issues. The MTA will survey tracks and try to "fix the most glaring deficiencies in a system requiring nearly 3,000 miles of fencing to secure," according to Newsday. MTA Executive Director Elliot......

While we're dealing with knowing that a lot of city traffic is caused by regular ol' New Yorkers, politicians are still concerned with truck traffic. Congressman Anthony Weiner released a study showing that truck traffic will increase by 83% by 2020, with truck traffic in Staten Island and Brooklyn doubling. Since 1998, truck traffic has increased by 30%, while car traffic has only increased by 8%. (On Staten Island alone, the number of trucks has......

Yesterday, thousands of people walked down Fifth Avenue in to protest a police shooting against three unarmed men. Sean Bell was shot to death just hours before his wedding while his two friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, were wounded in a barrage of 50 bullets in less than a minute; undercover police claimed they saw a fourth man with a gun. The march was organized by the Reverend Al Sharpton, with the theme......

Remember how this summer, the Department of Homeland Security reduced the amount of anti-terror funding NYC would get? Sure, NYC was still getting most of the funding, but funds were being increased in less risky areas with, well, influential politicians. And then the press had a field day with how Homeland Security didn't think there were any national monuments or major buildings at risk? And then Homeland Security claimed that NY State and NYC didn't......

The Intrepid Air & Space Museum will be moved from its Manhattan pier to Bayonne for repair work tomorrow. Well, it'll head to Jersey if it can even move. The Daily News reports that even though more than "16,000 cubic yards of mud have been dredged from the Hudson and 500 tons of water released from the ballast tanks to lift the ship just 2 feet off the Hudson floor," one part of the aircraft......