Results tagged “chuckschumer”

Sigh, as today's weather hints at: summer is nearly over. This means that the outdoor concerts are coming to an end, with the Pool Parties having their last hurrah on the waterfront yesterday afternoon. Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear helped send off the season, providing a soundtrack with sounds from their latest release Veckatimest as well as their previous effort Yellow House.

Senator Chuck Schumer held one of his famous Sunday press conferences yesterday, presumably before spending the rest of the day chilling with Jay-Z and Beyonce at the summer's last Pool Party. The presser was held three days after the National Transportation Safety Board recommended major changes to air traffic over the Hudson River—changes which Schumer says fall short. The senator told reporters that the current regulations are "a mess. There are countless handoffs, gaps and holes in the regulatory authority, and that only leads to trouble." Trouble like the fatal mid-air collision between a single-engine plane and a tour helicopter earlier this month. Schumer is demanding (once again) that the FAA monitor all flights below 1,000 feet (pilots currently use a "see and avoid" strategy), the creation of a pilot training program for commercial sightseeing operations, and fully staffed control towers at Teterboro Airport and at other area airports. Radical, right? The TSB report admitted that the absence of a supervisor from the Teterboro tower at the time of the crash enabled a controller to make a "nonbusiness" cell phone call, which infamously involved joking about barbecuing a dead cat—actually making the genre of dead pet jokes even more inappropriate than ever.

New York investor Hassan Nemazee, whose prolific political fundraising for Democrats like Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Charles Schumer, was released on $25 million bond yesterday. Nemazee is " accused of lying about his assets to obtain a $74 million loan from Citibank." The NY Times further explains, he "orchestrated the fraud by using forged documents showing that he held accounts with collateral worth hundreds of millions of dollars," but the accounts never existed or were closed. Nemazee did end up paying the money back to Citibank on Monday, but was arrested on Tuesday. He is under house arrest—monitoring device plus no computer or Internet access—at his Upper East Side duplex, which the Daily News says is worth $20 million (that plus his $8 million Katonah estate are what's securing his bond). Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Sens. Barbara Boxer, Chris Dodd and Schumer told Politico they plan to return his donations. Time has a 2-minute look at Nemazee.

With it being all but official that Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney will be taking on Kirsten Gillibrand in the Democratic primary for Senate next year, now comes the tough part for Maloney—finding a base of voters while getting little to no support from Democratic big wigs up top. The Times accounts just what a mountain she's up against: receiving an Obama/Steve Israel-like call from Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer scaring away a potential campaign manager and now watching Gillibrand take credit for her WTC workers bill. Maloney said, “Here she takes my bill and introduces it." Maloney's nascent campaign is trying to build some momentum off of the presence of Bill Clinton at an upcoming fundraiser of hers, but it seems that she can't even get any love there. A Clinton spokesperson made it clear the former president was strictly attending to thank Hillary '08 supporters like Maloney and added, "The former president believes that Senator Gillibrand is doing a good job as senator and this type of thank-you event, and any other he may do, should not be read as an endorsement or un-endorsement."

A rep for Congressman Steve Israel is denying a report of ugly backroom politics where White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel laid down the gauntlet and threatened that the Obama administration would essentially squash his campaign if Israel went ahead and challenged Kirsten Gillibrand in the Democratic Senate primary next year. The fascinating article in City Hall News said that Israel was "1,000 percent in" to run until meeting with Emanuel, who allegedly said that Chuck Schumer would steer big donors clear of the congressman and Obama was "prepared to barnstorm through New York’s black neighborhoods hand-in-hand with (Gillibrand)." The report says that the White House was doing a favor for a Democratic Senate trying to maximize 2010 funding in an effort to hold onto their current supermajority with some room to spare. A spokesman for Chuck Schumer admits the senator had "a friendly conversation" with the potential candidate before he called off his campaign last week. City Hall stands behind their piece, which also paints Emanuel and Israel as old friends who share a love of New York bagels.

If a strongly-worded recommendation from Chuck Schumer wasn't enough to discourage Congressman Steve Israel from challenging Kirsten Gillibrand in next year's Democratic primary for Senate, party brass brought in the big boss to make sure he knew how serious the sentiment was. Israel announced that he had decided not to run yesterday shortly after receiving a call from President Obama. Israel said, "When (the president) asked me to take a leadership role in fighting for his agenda, I wasn't about to say no. He believes that at this critical time...that party unity is important." Carolyn Maloney may be next potential challenger pushed to the side, but it doesn't appear that there is any sign of retreat from Gillibrand's most visible foe since entering the Senate, Carolyn McCarthy. She may also have to face labor activist Jonathan Tasini, who told Politico, "Had the party leadership sought to “clear the field” in 2008 and control a vigorous debate about the direction of our party and our country, Barack Obama would not be president today."

After complaints from unsuspecting cellphone users and the very vocal Senator Chuck Schumer, the Federal Trade Commission is suing the telemarketing companies responsible for billions of robocalls selling auto warranty extensions. The Wall Street Journal reports, "In two related complaints filed in federal court on Thursday, the FTC said it was taking action against the promoter of the phony extended auto warranties, as well as the telemarketing company that it hired to carry out its allegedly illegal campaign. The FTC filed complaints against four companies and a handful of individuals related to their operations." FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said, "This is one of the most aggressive telemarketing schemes the FTC has ever encountered. not sure which is worse, the abusive telemarketing tactics of these companies, or the way they try to deceive people once they get them on the phone. Either way, we intend to shut them down.” The FTC also noted that even 911 dispatchers get these calls!

Senator Chuck Schumer said nothing more than "apology accepted" after learning of the apology from the Arkansas Senate candidate who referred to him as "that Jew" last week at a GOP gathering. The apology from Arkansas State Senate Minority Leader Kim Hendren was nothing short of a classic. He said, “I ought not to have referred to it at all. When I referred to him as Jewish, it wasn’t because I don’t like Jewish people...I don’t speak with a TelePrompTer, and if I had, that reference would have never made it in there." He explained that at the time, he was responding against Schumer's claim on The Rachel Maddow Show that traditional values were behind Democrats. Hendren told Arkansas News that he believed in the traditional values that came from Andy Griffith, Aunt Bea, Barney and Opie (who is a child). He added, "I said there was another Jew that I did agree with, and that was Jesus Christ.” We're guessing that Hendren may have missed this video where Andy and Opie articulated some of their current values.

Placing your phone number on the federal "Do Not Call" list was supposed to be the end of unwanted sales calls, but the government's war on telemarketing seems to be going about as well as the war on drugs. But here comes the cavalry! Senator Chuck Schumer says he's "had enough"—after getting a robocall about fraudulent car warranty renewals during a health care meeting on Capitol Hill last week, he held a Sunday press conference to demand a Federal Trade Commission investigation into the businesses behind the calls.

Senators Schumer and Gillibrand were in town yesterday asking President Obama to eliminate the Tiahrt Amendment, which requires the FBI to destroy records of gun buyer's background checks within 24 hours. Gillibrand had co-sponsored the law while she was in Congress and said, "In my previous district, we didn't have gang violence, and we didn't have the gun violence that we have throughout New York." Schumer supported her change in stance because he said that by representing all of New York, "You meet more people, you grow." But potential primary opponent Carolyn McCarthy still sounds unconvinced, telling the News, "I thought it was strange that she signed on, given she was one of the people who wrote that law." One Democratic operative added, "She could hurt your neck, watching her move."

Senators Schumer and Gillibrand held a press conference in Binghamton yesterday to pledge the support of any federal law enforcement resources that could aid local police in their investigation of Friday's shooting massacre. Gillibrand said, "This is a tragedy we're all living together and we're all reflecting on it in our own way." After the pair toured the classroom where the massacre took place, Schumer remarked, "It was so frightening to see that small little room with no place to run, no place to hide." Today the Binghamton chief of police said that gunman Jiverly Wong, who was "an accomplished marksman," fired the 98 shots Friday including the final one at himself, "in just over a minute." And while being interviewed on Today show yesterday, Wong's sister said that she didn't believe the foreboding letter sent to a TV news station was by her brother, claiming his handwriting was more like "chicken scratch" and his vocabulary too limited to have written such a letter.

At a dinner event last night with gay activists, Senator Charles Schumer—a longtime supporter of civil unions, but not gay marriage—officially endorsed gay marriage and promised to work to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed by Bill Clinton in 1996. In a statement released after the event, Schumer said, "It's time. Equality is something that has always been a hallmark of America and no group should be deprived of it."

The cost of maple syrup has skyrocketed due to increased demand and depleted supply. Last year, a warm April shortened the tapping season in Quebec to 3 days, instead of the normal 20; now the retail cost of syrup has soared to over $100 a gallon. Quebec, "the OPEC of maple syrup," produced 5.35 million gallons last year, more than 70 percent of the global supply. (By comparison, Vermont produced just 500,000 gallons, and New York produced a pitiful 322,000 gallons.) Quebec produces more because it taps over a third of its trees, and Senator Chuck Schumer would like to see New York State and the rest of the nation get a bigger share of the maple syrup riches. This week he co-sponsored a bill to help small American producers get access to trees on private land and to create centralized storage and bottling plants. Schumer tells the Times, "Listen to this, we have 289 million maple trees in New York, but we tap less than one-half of 1 percent of them. It's a large, untapped resource, shall we say." Something tells us the only reason Schumer sponsored this bill is so he could make with the goofy puns.

Senator Charles Schumer said yesterday that the large chunk of stimulus money that will go to New York should be arriving by the end of this month. Local schools will be able to factor the stimulus money into next year's budgets when they're put together in late March. Schumer said, “These are difficult times for our school boards and this aid is critical to avoid layoffs and higher taxes." Schools will have to obligate 85 percent of their stimulus money by the end of 2010, with the remainder needing to be allocated by the end of September 2011. Albany will also get a good chunk of its stimulus money in the weeks ahead, with Governor Paterson and legislators expected to tangle on how to divvy it up to address various budget needs. Schumer is credited for bringing the state a good piece of the stimulus pie with one Democrat recently saying after the final bill went though, "Whatever Chuck wants, Chuck gets."

The congresswoman whose last name begins with a soft "g" may have to become the senator who reconsiders her hard-lined history against gun control control advocates. That seems to be the one thing we've learned in the less than 48 hours since it was revealed that Representative Kirsten Gillibrand would be named to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate following the Caroline Kennedy fiasco.

Senator Charles Schumer said yesterday that comedian turned Senate candidate Al Franken won the Minnesota Senate race against Norm Coleman—with a 200+ vote lead—and should be seated. Minnesota's canvassing board is expected to name Franken the winner and the senior Senator from New York issued a statement, "While there are still possible legal issues that will run their course, there is no longer any doubt who will be the next Senator from Minnesota. With the Senate set to begin meeting on Tuesday to address the important issues facing the nation, it is crucial that Minnesota's seat not remain empty, and I hope this process will resolve itself as soon as possible." Yeah—the Senate needs to figure out what to do with Illinois Senate appointee Roland Burris! Still, the Coleman campaign refuses to succumb to "stinkin' thinkin'" and will petition to have 650 ballots included.

The FAA made immediate changes to the take off and landing procedures at JFK Airport, after two jets came within 600 feet of crashing into each other yesterday afternoon. The incident was the second near collision at the airport in a week, and personnel from the National Transportation Safety Board were at JFK investigating the circumstances of the first incident when the second occurred.

After outcry over the Justice Department's denial of benefits for the families of two auxiliary cops killed last year, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey will reportedly review the decision. Senator Chuck Schumer, who co-wrote legislation to give benefits to families of first-responders who die in the line of duty, said Mukasey "seemed sympathetic. He said he would review it personally. He's a legal eagle, and the fact that the law is on our side should matter."

After the NY Times story revealed how NYC votes for Barack Obama appear to have been undercounted for the unofficial (yet official enough to be sent to the AP and other news outlets) results on primary night, State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem spoke out. Perkins, who supports Obama, told the Post

: "Every election has problems, but in this case, all the problems seem to have been his," said state Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem). "He got all the zeroes and undercounting.

Continue reading "Pol: NYC's Unofficial Count of Primary Votes Contributed to Clinton's "False Momentum""

An estimated three million people assembled along Broadway during yesterday's ticker tape parade to celebrate the Giants' 17-14 Super Bowl XLII win over the New England Patriots.

Ah, there's nothing like the having a local team in a championship game. That's when the mayor breaks out the big guns and bets items of food against the mayor of an opposing team's city. Mayor Bloomberg announced a friendly wager today with Green Bay Mayor James Schmitt, as the Giants and the Packers face off Sunday in the NFC Championship game.

Come next year, when you're flying in and out of JFK, your flight may be slightly less delayed than it's been in the past. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced a plan today to reduce the number of hourly flights at JFK International Airport to 82 or 83 flights, depending on the time of day. That would be down from 95 this past summer and what would have been 104 an hour next summer. Secretary Peters' agreement with the major airlines flying out of JFK will start on March 15th, 2008 and be in place for 2008 and 2009. By shifting flights from peak times of day to off-peak times, the number of daily flights at the airport would actually increase by 50. Currently, there are nearly 100 flights an hour, causing delays that affect the rest of the nation's air traffic.

Who knew thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers would agree with presidential hopeful Fred Thompson on something? In this case, the former Senator and former Law & Order District Attorney was talking about Rudy Giuliani's reliance on touting his New York City credentials during a campaign stop in New Hampshire today. Thompson told a crowd at a gun store, Giuliani "relates everything to New York City. Well, New York City is not emblematic of...

While they certainly spent time criticizing each other, the Republican presidential hopefuls devoted much time to criticize the Democratic frontrunner Senator Hillary Clinton. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said, "she hasn't run a corner store. She hasn't run a state. She hasn't run a city. She has never run anything. And the idea that she could learn to be President, you know, as an internship just doesn't make any sense." And Senator John McCain got a big round of applause for blasting Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer's $1 million funding of a Woodstock memorial:

"Now, my friends, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. (LAUGHTER) I was tied up at the time."

After receiving a dispensation from city officials last month to remain open until the end of their traditional season, the Red Hook Ball Field vendors are serving up their South and Central American and Mexican fare today and tomorrow for the last time this year. Whether they will return next spring is an open question. This summer the Parks Dept. proposed opening bidding for vending concessions at the fields, which would push most of the present vendors from the scene. Offering indigenous Latin American fare at low prices, there is little chance any of the vendors would be able to outbid a better capitalized organization.

Now that cell phone service in the city's subway platforms seems like it will really will happen, the Post reveals that the service will also help authorities track down 911 callers underground. Since the subway system's amplifiers installed underground will be covering a much smaller area than, say, abovegruond amplifiers, callers can be located to the exact platform and end of platform!

In the wake of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's resignation last month, President Bush will nominate former U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mukasey for the position. Mukasey, who was born in the Bronx and educated at Columbia and Yale Law School, was "appointed to the federal bench" by Ronald Reagan and has presided over terrorism trials, such as the trial of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman.

As Grub Street and others reported yesterday, a letter written last Thursday by Senator Chuck Schumer to Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Friedman may have prevented the forcible closure of the Red Hook Ball Field food vendors this past weekend. While this seems to be a small victory for the food purveyors, doubt remains whether the operating season for the newly food safety-certified vendors will end just after Labor Day, or at the end of October, the date observed by the vendors for the last few decades.