MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow announced that he is stepping down from his position as chairman of the MTA. Kalikow, who was appointed by then Governor George Pataki back in 2001, was reappointed to a 6-year term last summer, which suggested there might be battles ahead between him and new governor Eliot Spitzer. But at the end of 2006, Kalikow said he would step down during the second quarter of this year, after finishing up some projects, like the Second Avenue Subway. Here are some quotes from the MTA press release:

“I am a firm believer in setting aggressive goals, accomplishing those goals and then giving others the opportunity to both expand upon those initiatives and create new ones with fresh vision and new energy,” said Kalikow. “As both a longtime public servant and an avid supporter of term limits as a means to maintain healthy and effective government leadership, I believe the public will be best served by my decision.” more ›

Yesterday, Arizona Senator John McCain announced he was running for president in 2008. It was shocking only because we thought that was a given all this time. McCain revealed the news on the Late Show with David Letterman, and said he'd give a formal speech in April to explain that. Any opportunity to stump, we suppose! more ›

- Critics are still unhappy with the plan - including other real estate developers and building owners whose downtown buildings aren't getting $59/footStay tuned - there will probably be some sniping to come. more ›

After surveying flood damage around the region, Governor George Pataki came to Manhattan with good news: The U.S. Customs and Border Protection office will lease 600,000 square feet in Freedom Tower. At a rate of $40-50 per square foot, this is considerably less than midtown rents which are around $75 per square foot (the agency has a few offices around town), but they won't be able to move in for five or so years. However, this news did encourage Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia, who had hinted that the tower would need to be scaled back if government groups didn't take 1 million of the tower's 2.8 million square feet. more ›

Almost two years ago, Governor George Pataki helped to lay the 20-ton, Adirondack granite cornerstone for the Freedom Tower. And it wasn't until just this past month that the financial bickering between Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority were finally sorted out so construction could begin in earnest. more ›

Senator John McCain is facing a very tough crowd outside of the Beltway. Students and professors alike at the New School are upset over his selection as the commencement speaker. New School president, fellow Vietnam vet, and former McCain colleague Bob Kerrey selected McCain as a commencement speaker because he's "one of the world's most important leaders," as Kerrey explained to the Times. But a lot of the student and faculty population feels differently, as hundreds of people signed a petition arguing that McCain shouldn't speak, noting that his positions on the war and a woman's right to choose, and a bunch of people protested outside the New School office yesterday. However, Kerrey is sticking to the plan and keeping McCain on the speaking list. more ›

Over the weekend, Governor George Pataki had to stay an extra day at a Peekskill hospital, which made him miss a New Hampshire political event, but doctors said that was normal for anyone who had appendectomy surgery. But now the truth is out: A doctor said, "His bowels have not started moving as we expect them to — and as we would like them to. So we are going to have to keep him." Dr. Wiji Ratnathicam, you can keep him! Apparently the poo-a-stasis is normal after this kind of surgery, if too much information for the people of New York. more ›

It was a day many New Yorkers have been waiting for: Governor George Pataki gave his last state of the state address. There were a couple of proposals that sound good - tax cuts, more focus on stopping crime, more support for education, some environmental initiatives, eliminating CUNY and SUNY tuitions for math/science majors who will teach in NY - thanks in part to a projected $2 billion budget surplus. The big thing is that the speech seemed tailor-made for primary voters in Iowa, with a mention of cutting down on NY state's dependence on "foreign oil" and bringing ethanol refineries. Gothamist just wants Pataki to ramp up development at the World Trade Center site (or let Bloomberg take the reins) and to support more of the city's plans. We're dreamers, we know. more ›

Just days after trouncing Fernando Ferrer in the mayoral election, Mike Bloomberg's approval rating is at an all time high. A new Quinnipiac poll has Mayor Bloomberg's approval rating at 75%! 3 in 4 New Yorkers approve of Bloomberg, we wouldn't have known by reading reader comments on this site. The approval rating is close to the high of 79% set by Rudy Giuliani after 9/11. Clearly, a lot of the feelings can be attributed to a post-election bounce especially considering all the advertisements he ran before the election touting his record. This rating comes two and a half years after getting the lowest rating ever for a mayor, with only 31% of the city approving his performance. The poll also revealed that 4 out of 5 voters believe that Bloomberg and not Governor George Pataki should control Ground Zero. more ›

. Well, Mayor Bloomberg can chalk up this new tune to "The Result of the Weeks-Before-Election Brainstorming Session on Visionary Ideas." Senator Schumer did fault Silverstein for not being aggressive enough in getting tenants into 7 World Trade Center. more ›

Quelling the controversy simmering over the museum's intentions, Governor George Pataki officially evicted the International Freedom Center from the World Trade Center site. His statement read, "Since June, we have offered the International Freedom Center (IFC) the time they needed to clarify their intentions and work with stakeholders to reach a consensus There remains too much opposition, too much controversy over the programming of the I.F.C., and we must move forward with our first priority, the creation of an inspiring memorial." And while Governor Pataki offered to helop the IFC find another location in Manhattan, the museum issued a statement saying, "We are deeply disappointed that the will could not be found to continue the development of the International Freedom Center at this hallowed site. We do not believe there is a viable alternative place for the IFC at the World Trade Center site." So there will be no IFC anywhere! more ›

announce he is not running for another term, according to reports. And, along with many others, Gothamist is relieved as Pataki hit the wall in during his third term and seemed more and more unhelpful to New York City's needs. Of course, now this means Pataki will probably pursue a run for the Presidency in 2008, and we're personally not too convinced tall, hulking, kind of charmless guy can go that far in national politics these days, we're not going to think too much about it for now. Bring on Spitzer. more ›

Governor George Pataki, realizing even in the waning months as a potential lame duck governor that he needs to take action with the rebuilding of the World Trade Center, has installed one of his aides to lead the effort. Other aides say that yesterday's announcement that John P. Cahill would be moving from Albany to help jumpstart the rebuilding, which has taken its fair share of knocks in the past year, from Goldman Sachs deciding not to move to the site and the NYPD's criticism of Freedom Tower's safety, was meant to restore confidence. Cahill will also be drumming up more fundraising efforts to attract money to the project. Gothamist would like Cahill to know that we wish him luck - you better get everything straightened out before Pataki's term is over. more ›

There are rumors that former Massachusetts Governor William Weld is considering to run for NY State Governor on the Republican ticket, since it seems like Governor George Pataki is on his way out, with bigger political ambitions in mind and a state that really hates him. Weld is an interesting Republican, as he believes drugs like marijuana should be legalized (that stance basically killed his attempt to be Ambassador to Mexico), is pro-choice and has relatively more liberal views. That could make him interesting and compelling matchup against Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Gothamist imagines that the attack on Weld would be that he's a carpetbagger politician, just trying to shore up the Republican party's hold on governorships. Weld has been working in a NYC law firm since his resignation as Governor in 1997, so he's not a total carpetbagger, but still, Gothamist wonderes if this phenomenon will continue of well-known politicians retrenching in areas they haven't really lived before in order to help the party (think any number of Senators, such as Hillary Clinton or even Elizabeth Dole who did return to her homestate). more ›

Governor George Pataki also spoke last night, which could set up an interesting battle between him and Giuliani for the ticket in 2008. Meh. more ›

The Times' Alex Kuczynski gives the local color, calling it an event in a "Federico Fellini-meets-Michael Bloomberg kind of way," which, as Gothamist understands it, means the night involved lots of adulterous men, hookers, clowns, and billionaires turned civil servants. Cool! more ›

After all the drama of their issues working together, Libeskind and Childs will no longer be working together, as they will respectively focus on master planning and tower building. Yes, until the engineering says the tower cannot be built that way. more ›

Naturally, the NRDC is excited about the prospect of a wind farm atop the tower. But considering the sticky relationship between master planner Libeskind and tower architect Childs, all bets are off as to what will actually be the final design. Dunlap also points out that Libeskind's skinny, assymetrical design is still on WTC developer Larry Silverstein's website.
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Gothamist saw funeral mourners starting to gather outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral today, to remember David Bloom. We were surprised that the police were setting up barricades, as David Bloom, while a popular journalist, was not the most famous. But, as parts of his funeral was covered on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News, it's clear that he symbolizes something bigger than just journalism: a passion for his work, rapport with the audience, the public's desire to connect with an event... more ›