Today's update on Alan Rosenfeld, the ex-teacher who landed in a Department of Education teacher reassignment center (aka Rubber Room) nearly a decade ago for lewd behavior towards students, features weird and outlandish quotes from some of his victims. We also get more info on how the educator ogled students, some as young a 13, at his school, a neighboring school and from the women's bathroom. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg thinks that he could strong-arm local Republican state senators into voting for a gay marriage bill, but he doesn't seem to believe that the Democrats have the cajones to bring Governor Paterson's same-sex marriage legislation to the floor. Asked why he thought he could change the minds of some pretty staunch GOP gay marriage opponents, Bloomberg said, “I’m the main funder. You know, you can’t dictate every piece of legislation, and I don’t want to say that they’re bribable. But they know where I stand, and they want me to be a supporter.” more ›

It's been 23 days since the coup that upturned the State Senate and where are we? Oh, yeah, nothing's happening, except the Democrats and Republicans are still fighting. The Democrats still claim that State Senator Frank Padavan's saunter through the chambers means he should be counted towards a quorum during their (Democrats-only) session, while the Queens Republican insists, "My only motive was to get in the lounge and get a Coke or cup of coffee. I was not in there when the session began. To say otherwise is totally untrue." Padavan told Newsday that he had "a Coke, a V-8 and a tuna fish sandwich." Hilariously, Padavan's affidavit states that he was looking for a coffee, but the Post says, "He later told reporters he'd actually gone to get a Coke, but didn't want to say that because he would be seen to be endorsing a product." Yeah, isn't Pepsi in Purchase? more ›

The Albany soap opera continues: This morning, due to a judge's ruling that the State Senate Democrats and Republicans must meet (and, uh, do their jobs), both sides did just that. But then they adjourned soon after! The Daily Politics says the two sides were "fighting - albeit calmly - over who is supposed to be presiding over the chamber." more ›

We have our own protracted election drama in the city: The Board of Elections is still counting ballots in the State Senate race between incumbent Frank Padavan (R) and City Councilman James Gennaro (D). Padavan leads by over 500 votes now, but now over 8,000 absentee and emergency paper ballots are being tallied amid charges from the Democratic Party like how the Republicans are only challenging votes of minority voters. (A judge will eventually decided what happens with the ballot.) Well, at least our BOE doesn't have to deal with the Senate recount in Minnesota--they use Scantron-style voting forms and some voters were messy-- or wrote in "Lizard People" while still filling in a circle for Al Franken. See the zany ballots here. more ›