Everybody gets a bribe! You get a bribe! And you get a bribe! And you get a bribe! That, at least, seems to be the attitude over at the offices of Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., who was arrested earlier this week on a second set of corruption charges after being acquitted of the first earlier this year. See, it wasn't just Boyland taking money. According to the FBI his chief of staff, Ry-Ann Hermon, was in on the take too. And it made her hot. more ›

Assemblyman William F. Boyland Jr. was indicted for a second time yesterday, accused by federal prosecutors of soliciting $250,000 in bribes in exchange for political favors. Earlier this month Boyland Jr. was acquitted on other corruption charges, and he used court-appointed attorneys in his defense, which cost taxpayers $125 an hour. They got him off that time, and so why mess with perfection? Boyland Jr. will once again be passing along the costs of his alleged corruption to his constituents. Cut him some slack, he's broke! more ›

April Fools Day can be a stressful day for many, between the Improv Everywhere faux-attack videos and the actually-not-so-ridiculous dog highchairs. It must be especially tough for politicians, who are used to receiving lots of strange mail on a good day. Assembly Democratic Speaker Sheldon Silver was one of a handful of politicians to receive one such rambling, threatening email today, and as with everything today, police weren't sure how seriously to take it. more ›

Just what we needed this election season—former State Senator and convicted girlfriend slasher Hiram Monserrate! Monserrate is running for the 39th District seat, which was vacated by Jose Peralta when Peralta beat Monserrate in a special State Senate election in March. The Daily News says the disgraced pol's petition had 823 valid signatures and got this quote: "I am extremely humbled by the tremendous amount of support that we received from the community during the petition drive. I look forward to making them and everyone in my community proud." He will be running against Francisco Moya, who says Monserrate and his supporters have harassed his. Hey, at least they weren't wielding broken glasses! more ›

Veto-palooza is over—for now. Yesterday, Governor David Paterson completed his marathon of vetoing 6,709 line items that the Assembly and Senate added to his budget. The madness began on Thursday, with Paterson offering his initials to veto over 4,000 porky items; yesterday's session was at the Governor's Mansion, with Paterson knocking out about 2,000 items. According to the Daily Politics, "That's more than $500 million in additional spending he slashed as well as nearly $200 milliion more in member items approved in previous years but still not paid by the state." more ›

The five Democratic hopefuls for Attorney General will have some sparring ahead in their future endeavors to replace current AG Andrew Cuomo, but at least there is one thing right now that unites them all, beyond party lines and policies: a distinct disdain for one Hiram Monserrate. more ›

Today, Governor Paterson is calling for a special Sunday session for the Assembly and Senate to discuss the NY State budget, which was due on April 1, because the Assembly and Senate have struck a budget agreement that ignores many of Paterson's proposals to close a $9.2 billion budget gap. According to NY1, "The agreement reached by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson restores $600 million to state school aid. Another $683 million in health care cuts that were proposed by Governor David Paterson were also restored, including $46.8 million in Medicaid cuts... The agreement does not address how the state will raise revenue for the restored aid, but Democratic sources said that does not need to be immediately figured out." more ›

Our favorite girlfriend-slashing former State Senator, Hiram Monserrate, the first member of the Senate expelled by a vote of his own colleagues since 1861, has recently suggested that he's gearing up to run for an Assembly seat. And it wouldn't be classic, classy Monserrate were there no report of him doing something mildly repugnant, like say, screaming obscenities outside of a Church. more ›

NY1 was on the scene when students and their parents protested cuts to the free student MetroCard program at Mayor Bloomberg's subway station (Lexington and 59th Street)—the mayor didn't show up, though "members of his security detail appeared and then left." more ›

It's been too long since we've had any Hiram Monserrate news, so here we go. The former State Senator, whom you may remember from such incidents as slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass and the coup that crippled Albany last summer, may really be considering an Assembly run. While there were rumors of this possibility in March, now that Bryan Pu-Folkes has dropped out of running for Jose Peralta's old Assembly seat, Monserrate's name is once again in the mix of possible contenders. more ›

Now that the Assembly has agreed to raise the cap on charter schools, perpetual charter opponent Bill Perkins is singing a different tune! He said yesterday that "this bill makes important progress in providing independent auditing making charter schools more accountable [and improves New York's chances of obtaining federal aid] at a time when . . . our budget situation is worse than ever." But charter-school parent Karl Willingham says it's all an act, and that "It would've been political suicide for him to continue on the path he was on." more ›

The State Assembly has reportedly agreed to lift the cap on charter schools from 200 to 460 over four years, which would enable NY to compete for "Race to the Top" funds. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says the Assembly will vote on the contentious issue this morning (well, the Senate had passed raising the cap, while the Assembly opposed it). The Daily News reports, "Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) met with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at about 2 a.m. to discuss the measure and afterward said only 'we’re working on it.'" Wow, lawmakers actually working! How's that budget coming along? more ›

In the battle between legislators and teachers' unions over federal Race to the Top funding, hedge funds' executives are becoming powerful proponents of charter school reform. A new proposal for federal school funding would require the Assembly to pass legislation that would raise the cap on charter schools, and many managers have contributed millions in funds to lobby for the bill. “A lot of hedge fund and finance people in New York had decided state politics was too dirty and focused on their philanthropy.” said Eagle Capital Management partner Boykin Curry, “I think there’s an awakening now that we can be a force in Albany, but we’ve got to play a tougher game than before.” more ›

In an effort to become more attractive for federal funding from the Race to the Top program, the state senate voted 45-15 to raise the cap on charter schools to 460 from 200. The low cap was just one of the many reasons New York lost out on funding during the first round of allocations (that and the weird furniture requests), but the vote may be the first step in getting the state almost $700 million for public schools. Senate Majority Conference Leader John Sampson told the Daily News, "Nothing is more important than investing in our children's education and our future. We need to improve our score for Race to the Top." more ›

By far the best thing we've read all day is Jeremy W. Peters's funny/galling article in the NY Times about a back hallway in the State Assembly building that's always crowded with lobbyists mingling with lawmakers, despite a sign prohibiting their presence. "'The policy is not one of those that is strictly enforced,' said Ron Canestrari, the Assembly majority leader, managing a blithe grin as he defended the open-door policy as an example of direct democracy. 'A lot of times you need information or you need an analysis.'" The kicker? "When a reporter pointed out to one lobbyist standing in the back hallway last week that a sign near the west entrance marked the area off-limits to lobbyists, the lobbyist responded earnestly, 'There’s a sign?'" more ›

A Queens assemblywoman who, according to mortgage documents, doesn’t actually live in Queens says she won’t seek a eighth term. Ann-Margaret Carrozza wrote Friday that it was "a profound honor to have represented the people of the 26th Assembly District for the past 14 years," but that a reelection bid wasn’t in the cards, reports the News. On top of an ongoing residency investigation by the attorney general, it’s possible that she’s just lost interest. According Albany watchdogs, she’s often failed to show up at legislative sessions “for days on end.” more ›

New York State's tax on cigarettes could soar to a national high of $3.75 per pack, under one proposal being considered by the Assembly. The $1-per-pack increase in the state's cigarette tax is likely to be included in the budget resolution Democrats plan to unveil soon; one lawmaker tells the Daily News, "It's the least bad choice among all the revenues." The added tax could generate more than $200 million in revenue, which would help restore about $600 million of the $1.1 billion in school aid cuts that Governor Paterson proposed. And speaking of the budget, the Senate included a resolution in their bill legalizing medical marijuana. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says they don't "look at [medical marijuana] as revenue-raiser." more ›

A Queens nonprofit connected to Assemblywoman Vivian Cook spent $560,500 in cash to buy a vacant lot containing nothing but "a decrepit shed, a beat-up picnic table and a dirty paint can"—even though the property's value was only estimated at $287,000, according to the Post. Using money from the Port Authority intended to win community support for the construction of the AirTrain line, the nonprofit purchased the over-priced lot and spent $255,625 on "street cleaning" and "street maintenance," even though the city already provides street sweeping. more ›

Members of the state Assembly called the MTA "disgusting and immoral" for planning to eliminate free student MetroCards as part of a package of transit cuts intended to plug a major budget shortfall. "Simply stated, we ask that you immediately withdraw the threat to student fares," wrote Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) and 18 other politicians in a letter sent to the MTA board. more ›

A Queens Democrat has sent out mailings illustrated with a swastika that label his rival for an open Assembly seat as an "extremist" who is "out of touch with our community's values." Just days before a special election for a northeastern Queens seat, former Councilman David Weprin attacked Republican and Conservative party candidate Bob Friedrich with literature showing the Nazi symbol and text accusing his foe of not taking a tough enough stance against hate crimes. more ›

A former Queens Assemblyman who resigned after being indicted for accepting bribes in the form of "consulting" fees was sentenced to six years in prison. Anthony Seminerio, 74, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud after investigators alleged that he had taken up to $2 million in bribes, established a shell company to handle the "consulting" money, and was caught on tape accepting $25,000 from an FBI agent posing as a real estate developer. more ›

Following allegations that a convicted child rapist has used his job as an Upper West Side building superintendent to pressure tenants into having sex with him, a state assemblyman has proposed legislation that would keep high-risk sex offenders from getting jobs as supers. "To have someone who has done such monstrous things to have the key to your apartment—it would strike fear in me," said Assemblyman Micah Kellner (D-Upper East Side). more ›

Following New Jersey's decision to legalize medical marijuana, New York cannabis activists say now is the time to push for similar legislation in the Empire State. Though New York City might be the marijuana arrest capital of the world, the state has "relatively liberal possession laws and actually passed a medical-marijuana law in 1980 but never put it to use," according to the Times. And considering the fact that 14 other states have already given medical marijuana the greenlight, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) says there's no reason why it shouldn't be New York's turn. more ›

Albany lawmakers missed the 4:30 deadline today to agree on a plan that would allow more charter schools in New York, hurting the state's chances to win up to $700 million in federal education funds, the Post reports. "It's dead in the state Assembly," said pro-charter Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (D-Bronx). more ›

New Jersey will become one of a small batch of East Coast states to legalize medical use of marijuana. The measure has made it through both state houses of legislature and awaits Gov. Corzine's signature. Just nine months from now patients who suffer from chronic illnesses like AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis will be able to get their hands on the green stuff at one of six locations, says the Times. According to the NY Post, ID cards will be handed out to patients with "debilitating medical conditions." The cards can be used to collect marijuana and to ward off suspicious cops. And though they call it the Garden State there won't be any home growing or toking up in public; New Jersey's medical marijuana practices are set to be some of the most stringent in the nation. more ›

Just weeks after New York State Senate voted down a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry, a similar piece of legislation is on the rocks in New Jersey, the Times reports. Though Garden State supporters of gay marriage were optimistic of their chances as recently as last month, the legislation has "become bogged down in both chambers" before the looming Jan. 19 deadline, when Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who supports gay marriage, is replaced by Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who opposes it. more ›

Staten Island Assemblyman Lou Tobacco was driving to Mayor Bloomberg's inauguration yesterday morning when he was stopped by a woman in pajamas who jumped in front of his car begging for help. The woman told him a man in a black hoodie had broken into several cars nearby, and Tobacco tells the Daily News, "I wasn't having that. Not in my assembly district... I didn't think twice. I threw the car in reverse." Tobacco recalled driving past a "suspicious-looking man" several blocks back, and he quickly caught up with the perp. more ›

Bowing to pressure from families of drunk driving victims, state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has thrown his support behind a bill that would make it a felony to drive with a blood alcohol content of .08 while a passenger 15 years old or under is in the car. The legislation is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who recently died in a crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway while riding with her friend's allegedly drunk mother. more ›

At least four Albany legislators are collecting sweet pensions on top of their annual salaries, including one Assemblyman who sponsored legislation last year to crack down on state workers for the same practice, known as "double dipping." Seventy-five-year-old Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Island) technically "retired" last year but continues to "work" at the state capital, where you're paying him $101,500 in salary plus a pension of about $72,000. Forget it Jake, it's Albany, where it's perfectly legal for veteran lawmakers to "retire" at 65 and start collecting pensions, but without actually leaving their jobs, giving up their salaries or even telling their constituents. more ›