Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver accused Paterson of dragging his feet with the budget (gee, ya think?) because he's worried he'll be a lame duck when it goes through. He said at an Alliance for Downtown New York meeting, "Some have suggested that, given that his remaining time in office is running out, the governor's unwilling to do a budget now for fear that he will become irrelevant in the public arena." Though he later specified that this is just what "some people think," he said, "I'm meeting with [Paterson] today in an attempt to break an impasse and trying to move forward in the budget process." So he does admit it...a bit! more ›

Guess who wasn't a fan of Eliot Spitzer's underminer-y interview with the NY Times about Andrew Cuomo and Cuomo's potential as governor? Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver! The powerful lawmaker told the Daily News, "I think Eliot Spitzer, for one reason or another, walked away, and he should refrain from being critical of other people who have his job and are looking to aspire to be governor." BURN! more ›

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver won't approve the controversial selection of a politically-linked casino company to operate slot machines at the Aqueduct Racetrack until state officials conclude their investigation of the deal. Without Silver's signature, the project is on hold. "[E]verything should wait until that information is available," he told the Daily News. "[W]hat's important is we know we're signing on to something that's appropriate, and if not, we're not going to." It's unclear when the state inspector general will finish his probe of the Aqueduct deal, which is also being investigated by federal authorities. Any delays could cause the state to miss out on $300 million needed to close the growing budget gap. more ›

Albany's plan to help out the MTA is stuck in the State Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has questioned whether the March 25 deadline is a real deadline. The MTA has previously said it would pass a series of severe fare hikes and service cuts if it didn't get aid but Smith said yesterday, "We’re just not sure if those deadlines are one that they put for the sake of getting a vote." more ›

During an address at a Center for Working Families conference yesterday, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that Gov. Spitzer may consider delaying a fare hike. Spitzer already changed his mind about raising the base fare above $2 a ride and limiting any hikes to multi-ride metrocards. Only 15% of riders actually use the $2-a-ride cards though. Silver told the Daily News that he's been urging the governor to postpone any fare hike until next year, when budget deliberations have ended, and that Spitzer hasn't ruled that out as a possibility. more ›

A storefront at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 43rd Street (across from Grand Central) may be a window into the future of the West Side Rail Yards. The MTA unveiled an exhibition of the five proposals to redevelop the rail yards on the Far West Side of Manhattan, and the public will get a chance to see the models every day (except Thanksgiving) through December 3. And what's more, the MTA wants the... more ›

Even though speculation is running high/wistful on a Michael Bloomberg presidential candidacy (maybe because all the other confirmed candidates are boring - or reporters are bored of covering the other candidates), the Post resurrects a rumor from earlier this year: Bloomberg wanting to run for governor against Spitzer in 2010. Back in May, the Post claimed the Mayor had discussed running for governor on two occasions, but the Mayor said the reports were completely made... more ›

After many attempts by World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein and state officials to keep brokerage Merrill Lynch downtown, the NY Times reports the firm "appears ready" to move to a new, yet-to-be built skyscraper on Seventh Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets. more ›

Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola is unhappy with Gov. Spitzer's plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. As an employee of the State, he has no legal discretion over whether he can ignore the plan once it's enacted, so he's filed a lawsuit to block the initiative in state Supreme Court in Albany. In a statement explaining his lawsuit. County Clerk Frank Merola alluded to a recent public opinion poll that showed widespread opposition to Spitzer's plan licensing plan.

“New York residents have stated loudly and clearly that we are not in favor of giving license to illegal aliens and all we get from the Governor are lectures on how we are wrong, and that if we were as smart as he was, we would understand and support this policy. Well, 72% of New York residents, including myself and a vast majority of County Clerks are not as smart as the Governor and I am filing suit to prevent this travesty of a policy from being implemented.”

NY state officials are expected to release the draft scope for the Moynihan Station's environmental impact statement today, which the NY Sun calls the "Spitzer administration's first public display of forward progress" on the project. more ›

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver made a public plea to Gov. Eliot Spitzer to cool down his feud with State Senate Leader Joseph Bruno. The so-called Troopergate scandal began when the Governor allegedly sicced State Police on Bruno to monitor his business travel practices. In the aftermath, Spitzer lost some of his long-time aides when he claimed he knew nothing about the surveillance and they resigned. Darren Dopp recently was hired as a lobbyist after losing his job. more ›

Darren Dopp, Governor Spitzer's communications director who was suspended after it was discovered he and other aides were plotting against a Spitzer rival (the State Senate majority leader), may be leaving state government for the warmer shores of...political lobbying. Dopp allegedly accepted a job at Patricia Lynch Associates, which was formed at a former aide of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, according to its website, occupies "the number two spot among all lobbying firms in New York State." more ›

Back in March of 2003, Mayor Bloomberg opened up the City Hall Academy at the Tweed Courthouse. The school offered two-weeks "residencies" for students, giving them an "inter-disciplinary approach" to learn about NYC and its history. Mayor Bloomberg, who made education reform one of the cornerstone of his mayoral platform (it's a big part of his "national" persona, too!), had said, "The opening of City Hall Academy demonstrates our commitment to excellence, achievement, and innovation in the public school system. City Hall Academy will provide New York City children and their teachers a unique opportunity to study and participate in the cultural and historical fabric of the City.” more ›

It's turns out that a dirty tricks campaign - even if it's not quite criminal - can be pretty damaging. A new Quinnipiac poll shows that Governor Spitzer's approval rating has dropped to a new low of 47%. Of course, that's the low after nine months in office, so there's still room for improvement - or to find a new low. more ›

Governor Spitzer's plan to allow illegal residents of U.S. to get New York State drivers licenses by producing a valid foreign passport is generating widespread opposition. More than 80% of New York's DMV offices are supervised by county clerks and The New York Times reports that many oppose Spitzer's license plan and will resist processing applications that don't include proof of legal residence. Clerks in NYC, Westchester, and Long Island are agents of New York State, and have little autonomy to resist Spitzer's wishes, but the county clerk in Rensselaer County near Albany told the Times he will simply refuse to comply, although he doesn't know the ramifications of butting heads with the governor. more ›

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting Columbia University today to give a speech for the World Leaders Forum. And he continued to get a big New York-style welcome: The Daily News has its "The Evil Has Landed" cover while Assemblyman Dov Hikind told protesters outside Columbia's gates yesterday, “He should be arrested when he comes to Columbia University, not speak at the university, for God’s sake. I call on New Yorkers to make the life of Ahmadinejad as he is in New York miserable.” more ›

Gov. Spitzer announced yesterday that illegal immigrants will be able to get valid New York State drivers licenses if they provide a valid and verifiable foreign passport. Spitzer hopes that the change, which reverses a four-year-old Pataki-era decision, will legitimize the 500,000-1 million undocumented immigrants who are driving in New York. In a repudiation of the federal government's stance, the governor said "We will not become part of what is propagated on the federal level that if we don't admit they are here then we can somehow not provide services. That is bad policy." more ›

As part of the deal to advance congestion pricing (and nab the $354 million the feds are offering), the city and state have announced their appointees to a panel to, ur, study congestion pricing and develop a recommendation. The Mayor, Governor, City Council, State Senate Majority Leader, and State Assembly Speaker each get to select three appointees, while the Senate minority leader and Assembly minority leader each select one. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg took to the streets and held a rally to beg Albany to hurry up and make a decision on NYC's congestion pricing plan. CityRoom reports that "Dozens of supporters watched the event...clad in green PlaNYC t-shirts" with signs like "I take a ferry, and I vote." And from the center of Times Square, Bloomberg said, "No state action, no federal funding — it’s that simple. We’ve got to have the state do something by July 16, or we will walk away from an enormous amount of money that would be spent to improve mass transit, which in turn would improve the air that we and our children breathe.” more ›

A number of politicians offered their support (though not 100%) of Mayor Bloomberg's Voldemort, aka congestion pricing, today. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters appeared with Governor Eliot Spitzer and Bloomberg at a press conference today, with Peters saying, "This plan will keep the city that never sleeps from becoming the city that never moves." She also put some pressure on the state Legislature to approve the just submitted S. 6068, the NY State Senate's congestion pricing legislation, by saying that in order for the city to continue to qualify for federal transportation grants, it needs to pass congestion pricing. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A large fight at Heritage High School in Manhattan, a trench rescue in Queens, and a suspicious substance at Canal & 6th Avenue
• Aw, Hakan Yalincak, the NYU student who conned people out of millions, filed an ethics complaint against his lawyer; his lawyer's lawyer told Yalincak (who faces prison time), "You are the ultimate evil person. Have a good time in jail. Watch out for the bathrooms."
• Peter Rivera, assemblyman from the Bronx, wants to make "An Inconvenient Truth" required viewing for k-12 students, but there are many questions from the Empire Zone, like will kindergarteners understand and does this mean kids will have to see it every year for 13 years?
• Christopher Street at night is a "hell hole," according to Curbed readers hashing out what to do when youths hang out in and around the building
• Awesome: The NY Post Photoshops McGreevey into a priest's outfit as news that the former NJ governor may be headed to a seminary catches on
• State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver censured a Republican assemblyman from Buffalo after it turned out the married-with-two-kids Michael Cole spent the night in an intern's bedroom; Cole says he slept on her floor because he walked her home from a sports bar and felt too drunk to drive home
• Chinese authorities have arrested the head of a company that added melamine to wheat gluten that eventually ended up in pet food
• Spider-Man sold out? Go see Barbara Stanwyck at BAM!
• Staten Island police say that a man exposed himself to a woman in Silver Lake Park earlier this week, but the suspect, Russell Farriola, who happens to be the "number one graffiti vandal" on SI denies it

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver joined Sen. Schumer and said that the legislation was necessary to prevent the city from becoming too expensive for the firefighters, police, teachers, and nurses who work in New York, skillfully ingratiating himself with four unions in a single sentence. more ›

The top judge in New York State, Court of Appeals Chief Justice Judith Kaye, has threatned to sue the state if judges don't get raises by the summer. And according to the NY Times, a proposal to give them raises seems to have been a victim of the last minute deal-making for the state budget - Governor Spitzer did include a retroactive pay raise for judges, but lawmakers proposed a raise for both judges AND legislators. Then both were "dropped during closed-door budget negotiations." Ya gotta love bureaucracy - especially when Governor Spitzer, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver say they are all for a judicial pay raise. more ›

In keeping with the earlier report this week, the planned conversion of the James A. Farley Post Office into a new transit center, the Moynihan Station, moved a step closer to reality. Yesterday, the Public Authorities Control Board voted to approve spending $230 million to buy the post office. more ›

Get ready for even more intense campaigning in NY State: The State Legislature has approved moving its presidential primary to February 5 from March. Many believe a March primary is pointless, since the most influential ones are earlier in the year. more ›

- Sources say Bruno said, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens; is “so far up (the governor’s a**) he can’t see." (Bruno may have also included Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver with Smith in Spitzer's a**.) Both Bruno's and Spitzer's confirmed the fight, which also included Bruno lashing out when Spitzer told him to "get serious" about the budget (Spitzer is making big cuts, Bruno and Silver wants to add more funding). The Post says lots of swears were used and that one of Spitzer's secretaries ran out of the room! more ›

Governor Eliot Spitzer announced a new plan to overhaul the state's workers' compensation program. Joined by smiling Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Leader Joseph Bruno, Spitzer called the deal "a remarkable win-win situation for both workers and employers." more ›

Newly anointed State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli may be a "nice guy" who finished first, but the State Legislature's dealings to put him in place makes our head spin. The Legislature, and more importantly the Assembly, had agreed to select someone an outside panel would find qualified. The thing is, no one on the shortlist was an Assembly member, so the Democratic-run Assembly which calls the shots in Comptroller selection, decided to pick Assemblyman DiNapoli of Nassau County. Check out these editorials from the region:

NY Times "A Member of the Club": "The choice is a setback for a legislature that is already considered one of the worst in the nation — and a further sign that its members are not listening to the public’s demands for reform." more ›

After Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver blocked Governor Pataki's Moynihan Station plans last October, we wondered how Governor Spitzer would take up the task and spar with Silver. To refresh your memory, Spitzer's problem with Pataki's Moynihan Station plans was that they were incomplete, given that developers had more extensive ideas about a Farley Post Office and Madison Square Garden revitalization (known as "plan B"); Pataki, on the other hand, wanted to get the plan A moving to take advantage of federal funds. more ›