Though Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's opponents have warned him his bid against Gov. Paterson will be "racially divisive," a new poll shows most voters don't think so. 80 percent of respondents in a Quinnipiac Univeristy poll said a run-off between the two Democrats would not upset racial relations, reports the NY Post. Among black voters, 73 percent said there'd be no racial split. This week Paterson and Republican candidate Rick Lazio both chastised Cuomo for waiting to officially declare his candidacy, but the poll showed 78 percent of voters aren't impatient for the announcement. It also confirmed that, among Democratic voters, the attorney general is still twice as popular as the state's first-ever black governor, reports NY1. more ›

The state's budget might be the least of Governor Paterson's monetary woes. New filings reveal that Paterson has just $620,000 in available cash to spend on the upcoming Democratic primary, while his likely rival Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has a whopping $12 million on hand. With Cuomo sitting on nearly 20 times as much money as Paterson, insiders are already saying the Governor doesn't stand a chance. "A governor with $600,000 on hand less than a year before the general election is a dead duck," said Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. more ›

Sources are divulging that at a private Saturday night meeting, a majority of upstate Democratic leaders voiced support for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as the party’s nominee for governor, and some even called for Gov. Paterson to drop out of the race. According to one report, 15 of the 17 Dems present said they either supported Cuomo outright, or will support him when he officially declares his candidacy. "It's not working. Paterson's a decent man, but there's a question as to whether the leadership qualities are there," one attendee, Vincent Monte, chairman of the Rockland County Democratic Committee, told the Times Union. "With Cuomo, there's no question. I'm very supportive of his candidacy." more ›

In his latest bust of online foul play, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has issued subpoenas to Pizza Hut, Orbitz, Barns & Noble and other big online retailers that give sketchy discount clubs easy access to their customers' billing info. Three marketing companies pay for space on the sites, and then trick visitors into sharing their stored credit card information through a single mouse click. "We want it stopped. We believe it is a classic consumer fraud,'' said Cuomo. Over the course of a decade Affinion, Vertue and Webroyalty have taken $1.4 billion from customers, and reports show they knew full well what they were doing. more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo—who's widely believed to be ramping up to challenge Gov. Paterson in a September primary—has been seen all over town shaking the hands of black civic leaders and clergymen. Taking on New York's first black governor, Cuomo is building a defense against critics who'll say he's derailing the career of a prominent African American politician. more ›

Sources say popular Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is set to run for governor, but is “playing it smart” by waiting to announce his intentions. "He will make an announcement at the end of March. And what he will say is that he intends to run for governor. ... He thinks there are a lot of problems in the state and he thinks he can help solve them," one insider told the NY Daily News. more ›

NYC's drinking water is touted as some of the cleanest in the nation, and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants to keep it that way. He's reached "groundbreaking" settlements with five facilities who were dumping and flushing their unused painkillers, antibiotics, anti-depressants and hormones down sinks and toilets that led to the NY City watershed. Two hospitals and three nursing homes are now being forced to dispose of their pharmaceutical waste properly, and pay to increase public awareness on the issue of water contamination. more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo just keeps rolling along; between going after State Sen. Pedro Espada and considering a run for the Governorship, he also helped shut down United Homeless Organization's scam operation last month. Now, he's filing suit against two nonprofit immigrant services organizations—International Immigrants Foundation and International Professional Association—for allegedly scamming immigrants by making false promises of citizenship and charging exorbitant fees. Cuomo said, ""People don't want to come forward. Well, we have an executive order. I know, technically we have an executive order. People feel—my luck, I'll be the one, I'll call, I'll get into trouble. Because it's remarkable: years and years, thousands of people victimized. Nobody came forward." more ›

So what if Governor Paterson is trailing in the polls by dozens of points in a hypothetical matchup against Attorney General Cuomo—the governor was at Cuomo's birthday fund-raiser (for something) last night. Paterson told the Post, "I'm just here to wish Andrew a merry Christmas and a happy birthday... [He] thanked me for being here... I hope he raised as much money as he wants to...There's no reason we shouldn't be wishing him well." But an onlooker said, "Andrew looked shocked. The governor bum-rushed him. They greeted each other. It was stiff and cordial. It was like seeing your old girlfriend at the prom." more ›

Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner in all the gubernatorial matchups even though he won't say whether he's running, is having a fundraiser next Tuesday. PolitickerNY has the invite, which says, "Andrew Cuomo is having extraordinary success as Attorney General, and his insights into this year’s elections (and next year's) will be very interesting," and notes that since it takes place during voting hours, it's "Not exactly a shot in the arm for Democrat Bill Thompson's effort that day." more ›

Perhaps trying to tweak his rumored 2010 rival Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Governor Paterson said yesterday that maybe Wall Street bonuses aren't so bad. The Daily News reports that over the past few days, the governor has said things like "At the end of the day, when they shut those bonuses down, they were shutting New York State down... That's where we got our taxes," "I understand why the President is mad, but there are actually New York State officials screaming about the bonuses [and] they're killing our tax money...I'll bet if they knew that, they'd stop saying it," and "I'm not saying that anyone did or didn't deserve those bonuses, I'm saying New York State deserves its taxes." Of course, Cuomo has delivered blistering criticism of executive compensation over the past half year. Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf tells the News that if this is Paterson's way of winning support, it's a terrible idea: "If you said to the average New Yorker, 'Let's have pity for Wall Street guys,' they'd say: 'Are you kidding? Let's hang 'em.' Going after AIG and Wall Street is a lot more popular than worrying about state tax dollars." more ›

NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, in his quest to get to the bottom of Merrill Lynch's extravagant bonuses right before announcing a $13.8 billion 4th quarter loss, told a judge, "We respectfully request that the court reject Bank of America’s continued efforts to stymie the attorney general’s investigation." Bank of America, which bought Merrill, has allegedly threatened to sue an employee for cooperating with Cuomo's investigation. The bank says it "has continually offered to provide the information the attorney general is seeking if he would agree to an appropriate confidentiality agreement. He has continually declined," (Cuomo wants to air all the dirty laundry). Additionally, the AG's office says it has found signs of "trading irregularity"; per Bloomberg News, a London-based Merrill trader who "recorded a trading profit of $120 million for the fourth quarter may instead have lost a large amount." Bank of America and Merrill Lynch have received a combined $45 billion in bailout funds. more ›

Attorney Andrew Cuomo joined Police Commissioner Ray Kelly yesterday to announce that a $2.5 million vehicle theft ring was busted. According to the AG's Office, a "Bronx-based criminal enterprise... stole and exported millions of dollars worth of construction equipment and luxury vehicles." Authorities arrested 12 people who targeted Hummers, Porsches, Caterpillar Excavators and more at construction sites, car dealerships, garages, and even on the streets. more ›

During a press conference where he was discussing consolidation of local governments (there are 10,521!), NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was bombarded with questions about his interest in replacing Senator Hillary Clinton. He told reporters, "There is no one else involved besides the governor, nor should there be. I have total confidence in the decision that he’s going to make. And I also respect his point that there’s been so much media frenzy on this over the past few days it’s almost turned into a reality TV show.” more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was unsparing in his criticism of radio ratings measuring company Arbitron, which just rolled out new measuring devices. Cuomo's statement reads, "Arbitron's decision to release its unreliable and unaccredited radio ratings system is an affront to racial and ethnic minorities in New York and around the country... Arbitron's unwillingness to defend the validity of their system on its merits proves it places its own economic incentives over the interests of minority broadcasting," and warns radio broadcasters and advertisers against using the devices. The NY Times reports the AG's office doesn't think the new system "adequately account[s] for young African-Americans and Hispanics, people who do not speak English, and cellphone-only households" and will sue Arbitron later this week. more ›

The mere act of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo hosting a community forum on the Upper West Side raises the question about whether he may be eying a run for mayor next year. The Sun reports that the "forum provides an opportunity to raise his profile in the city and make inroads with elected officials whose support would be invaluable in a mayoral campaign," especially when "critics have expressed frustration with the current field of likely Democratic candidates, which includes Rep. Anthony Weiner, Ms. Quinn, and Comptroller William Thompson Jr." However, the AG's office says he's hosted forums in other communities across the state. Cuomo would only say, "I'm happy doing what I'm doing, and that's what we're focused on." more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced an investigation that found Rite Aid and CVS drugstore chains selling expired goods, like medicine, milk, eggs, and baby formula. Cuomo called it a "double whammy for the consumer." more ›

Did you venture to the South Street Seaport to see the Bodies Exhibit any time over the past three-plus years? If so, you're entitled to a refund because Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and exhibitor Premier agreed to a settlement after a disturbing 20/20 report suggested the bodies used were from executed Chinese prisoners who may have been tortured. more ›

It's on! MTA chairman Dale Hemmerdinger says the agency will go to court in order to have the option of giving free E-Z Passes to retired and current board members--many of whom are wealthy. more ›

Faced with reports that MTA board members get E-ZPass for free, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo thinks the policy should end. His office's letter to the MTA was even titled, "Illegal Compensation of Board Members." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg spoke out about the unofficial results from NYC's primary night undercounted votes in 78 districts. These districts' unofficial results raised eyebrows because no votes at all were recorded Barack Obama. more ›

Well if it's not the driver's license issue that's plaguing Governor Spitzer, it's Troopergate and its fallout. Spitzer's former communications director Darren Dopp (pictured), who was faulted for at least co-devising a plan to smear Spitzer rival State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, may have perjured himself during an investigation and now the Albany County DA's office has opened an inquiry. Back in July, Dopp gave a sworn written statement to Attorney General Cuomo. But... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An unstable building on Jewlett Avenue in Staten Island, a jumper down in Brooklyn and a double bank robbery (Commerce and Bank of NY) at 80 Broadway in Manhattan.
• Four winning MegaMillions tickets were sold, but in NJ, Maryland, Texas and Virginia. The numbers were 8-18-22-40-44 (with MegaBall 11), and a lump sum payment would be about $48 million.
• The fugitive businessman who donated thousands to politicians, including Senator Clinton, Governor Spitzer, Attorney General Cuomo, Representative Weiner, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, City Councilman Liu, Comptroller Thompson, has finally turned himself in after 16 years
• Former NJ governor James McGreevery is headed to the General Theological Seminary on Tuesday as a student in a non-degree program.
• Also, if it's back-to-school for students, it's back-to-finding good fake ids for college students.
• onNYTurf is demanding that the MTA offer schedule data as a public feed. We'd be surprised if the MTA can wrangle that much data, but given that they're interested in collaborating with Google...
• Musician Patti Smith posted a poem for CBGB's founder Hilly Kristal on her website
• And in Minneapolis, 19 bicyclists were arrested during Critical Mass (see photographs here) - how was last night's ride?

It's an Albany power play! During a State Senate meeting about the whole Troopergate mess, it turns out the state inspector general could have given Attorney General Cuomo the power to subpoena Spitzer aides, but didn't. The State Inspector General's office had been conducting its own investigation into the various allegations about the state police being used to discredit State Majority leader Joseph Bruno, but ended it, because the inspector general reports to Spitzer's chief of staff - a conflict of interest. more ›

After Attorney General Cuomo found that Governor Spitzer's staffers were using state police records to attack rival Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, everyone agrees on one thing: It's very bad for Governor Spitzer. 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 ›

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Yesterday, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced that the State will sue ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Keyspan and Phelps Dodge over a 17-million-gallon oil spill in Newtown Creek that has spread underneath Greenpoint over 100 acres. The spill was detected in 1978, when a Coast Guard pilot noticed an oil plume; oil seeped underground from ExxonMobil refinery and storage operations since the 1950s. Attorney General Cuomo said:

This is one of the worst environmental disasters in the nation, larger than the Exxon Valdez and slower in the cleanup. ExxonMobil must and will be held accountable. The toxic footprint of ExxonMobil is found all over this area. It is ExxonMobil’s oil that remains under the homes and businesses. And it is ExxonMobil that has dragged its feet and done as little as possible to address the dangers that it created.”

At any rate, it seems that Spitzer's no-nonsense, desire for ethical politics (ha!) is what most the state needs, the wake of a various revelations and scandals. At least, until the first Spitzer era screw-up. But you have to hand it to a Governor who runs a 2-mile mile in under 14 minutes to start off his term. The NY Times' Clyde Haberman looks at how Pataki's first inaugural speech 12 years ago sounded a lot like Spitzer's call for change and the Daily News' Errol Louis notices the display of diversity at the inaugural. more ›