Yesterday, allegations were bandied about that the city's Sanitation Department conducted a massive slowdown during the Blizzard clean-up as revenge for budget cuts. Today, many of those allegations are being reported as true: City Councilman Dan Halloran claims that a group of guilty Sanitation workers confessed the whole slowdown scheme to him. "They were told [by supervisors] to take off routes [and] not do the plowing of some of the major arteries in a timely manner. They were told to make the mayor pay for the layoffs, the reductions in rank for the supervisors, shrinking the rolls of the rank-and-file," Halloran told the Post. more ›

The Long Island man who was convicted of killing a teenager in a racially-charged 2006 incident had his sentence commuted by Gov. Paterson today. John White, 56, had served only seven months of his two-to-four year prison sentence for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro Jr. when Paterson released him from prison. "While the incident and Mr. White's trial engendered much controversy and comment, and varying assessments of justice were perceived, its most common feature was heartbreak. My decision today may be an affront to some and a joy to others, but my objective is only to seek to ameliorate the profound suffering that occurred as a result of this tragic event," Paterson said today. more ›

Governor Paterson and the state Senate reached a deal at about 4 a.m. this morning to reopen the 55 shuttered state parks and historic sites in time for the holiday weekend. However, the deal requires taking $74 million from the Environmental Protection Fund's budget—substantially more than the initially proposed $6 million. Paterson said, "The Legislature has made the tough choices to my satisfaction that will enable us to open the parks." The deal must still be passed by both houses of the Legislature later today. more ›

Assemblywoman Annette Robinson (D-Brooklyn), who introduced a bill that would require cops to shoot to wound rather than shoot to kill, is facing outrage from cops who say it could put police lives in danger. But it turns out that Robinson herself believes she is not qualified to assess the dangers of police shoot outs. She just wants them to stop, and tells the Post, "Not being a police officer, I would not be able to discuss the instance or the time that happens, but I do know that it happens, most often in the communities that I represent, and it happens too often." more ›

Despite approving an ethics bill that would have required them to reveal how much they make in outside income, nearly two-thirds of state lawmakers refused to reveal the information when pressed. The Daily News decided to try some legislators at their word, and most either refused or just didn't get back to them. Any outside income is not supposed to get in the way of a lawmaker's job, and violations can result in jail time. Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group said, "Everyone should disclose this information. The public has a right to know it." more ›

Just a few days after a ribbon cutting for a new park in Chelsea, Governor David Paterson will introduce a bill later today that would keep all the state's parks and historic sites open with regular hours until next March. Pols and residents alike are happy about the news, with Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari saying, "It's great. He's listening to the public, which has been outraged over the park closing. I give him credit for acknowledging it." However, the bill does come with a catch: to fund the parks, the Legislature would have to cut $6 million from the Environmental Protection Fund. more ›

In the wake of yesterday's Staten Island Ferry crash, many are wondering why the Andrew J. Barbieri—the ship also responsible for a crash in 2003 that killed 11—is still in commission. The second-oldest ship in the Staten Island Ferry fleet, the Barbieri had engine failure problems on its christening in 1981. The ship was named for a Curtis High School coach who died in 1979, but yesterday his son told the Times, "Papa would be concerned about the ferry. He’d say, ‘If the boat has safety problems, get rid of it.’ ” more ›

Mayor Bloomberg wants Gov. Paterson to veto a bill that would let low-income people getting housing assistance from the H.I.V./AIDS Services Administration pay no more than 30% of their incom e on rent. Bloomberg says the bill would cost the city an extra $15 million it doesn't have. (Besides, he's already committed $41.5 million in taxpayer money to make Governors Island pretty!) "As sympathetic as we are to the people who this would help, this nevertheless is yet another unfunded mandate from Albany, and one that will have significant immediate and long-term costs," Bloomberg spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti told the Times. State Senator Tom Duane said the bill could actually save the city money by reducing the number of evictions and placements in emergency housing. more ›

Though he's facing scandal after scandal, Gov. Paterson says his plight is just the plight of every person in that office. He told the Wall Street Journal recently that he's merely a scapegoat for the state's problems, and that all the issues were really the Legislature's fault. Ok, valid point, but he takes the pity party a little too far. "Whether the governor is David Paterson or Rick Lazio or Andrew Cuomo or Superman, we don't have a structure that empowers a single leader to get his or her state out of a major conflict." Superman? C'mon, he would totally have paid for his own Yankees tickets. more ›

A day before its death sentence, the city's Off Track Betting Corporation voted to keep the bankrupt gambling agency open for another year. After thinking the OTB was dead, Gov. Paterson came to the rescue and agreed to a temporary plan that would "share the burden" of the OTBs debts and allow gamblers to place bets online. Over 1,300 jobs were at risk if the organization had closed as planned, and all OTB locations would have been shut down. Staten Island should be thrilled. more ›

Gov. Paterson is planning to offer legislation today to bail out the Off Track Betting Corp. for one year. The Post reports the proposal would keep the OTB from having to make some payments to tracks, while requiring them to cut management and create new revenue sources. Paterson said, "It will address the problems for some period of time, but the feasibility of the program working, we have not found the solution. Basically what it does is it shares the burden." more ›

Now that former Gov. Eliot Spitzer may be eyeing a comeback, Gov. Paterson is ready to support his former boss despite the hooker scandal. Paterson prides himself on having an administration—whatever's left of it—full of people with checkered pasts looking for a shot at redemption. He told Kiss-FM, "I've dedicated myself to hiring people who have had infractions when they were younger but had talent. I hope the same standard will be extended to Gov. Spitzer, who had tremendous talent and I hope will be able to exercise it." Nice words for someone who wasn't even Spitzer's first pick. more ›

The investigation over Gov. Paterson's free World Series tickets is not over, and now the Yankees may face a $25,000 fine. According to the Daily News, Public Integrity Commission executive director Barry Ginsberg said they haven't yet ruled out sanctioning the team. Though they have not been charged yet, Ginsberg said, "We've said publicly ... this investigation is not over." more ›

Who needs enemies when you have political allies! Several allies of Gov. Paterson and Sen. Charlie Rangel are gearing up to challenge and oust Sen. Bill Perkins, another fellow Democrat. Perkins, who currently holds Paterson's former senate seat, drew the ire of local party bosses because he turned on Paterson during the Sherr-una Booker domestic violence scandal, saying he didn't think Paterson should run for re-election (Perkins also spoke of "scandal fatigue," and questioned the fairness of the reporting on Paterson). more ›

Legislative Democrats are fed up with Gov. Paterson's chief of staff, who's allegedly attempting a power grab from his embattled and "disengaged" boss. One top official told the Post's Fred Dicker that the governor's highest-ranking staffer Larry Schwartz "has become the Alexander Haig of state government, saying, 'I'm in charge,'" referring to Ronald Reagan's former secretary of state, who made the presumptuous claim after Reagan was shot in 1981. Some go so far as to accuse Schwartz of sabotaging Paterson's already plodding budget proceedings (Dicker estimates a final budget won't be done before the end of the month.) "Larry is calling up Wall Street bankers, telling them not to sign on to a legislative borrowing plan," said a leading Democrat. "He's working against his own lieutenant governor." more ›

Gov. Paterson has given unions representing state workers an ultimatum. After taking emergency measures like delaying school aid and state construction projects he’s asked them to hold off on 4 percent raises that are part of their contracts, or face “massive layoffs”, reports the Times Union. This despite a no-layoff agreement he signed last year, in exchange for more affordable pension plans for new state employees. Facing a $9 billion deficit, Paterson says he’s not going back on his word, adding that now "everything's on the table." "I never promised I would not lay anyone off," said the governor. "I let them know that would be the plan, based on what they said (that) the economy is coming back.” more ›

In the past the city's Off-Track Betting board has been accused of making "hollow threats," but yesterday it followed through, laying off 1,300 employees. It says that if Albany doesn’t come through with financial aid, it will be forced to board up all of its 66 gambling parlors. Gov. Paterson is in favor of deferring its $3.7 million in debt, reports the News, but legislators—mired in their own battle to close the state’s $9 billion budget gap—seemed ready to let OTB sink, criticizing it for poor management and “unconscionable delays” in handing over financial records. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver sounded final in his condemnation of the betting institution and its employees: "We cannot reach a three-way agreement on it to keep them afloat," he said, speaking of talks with the state Senate and the governor. more ›

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says state budget cuts might force the city layoff 8,500 teachers. "These cuts would bring tremendous instability to our schools and students," Klein told NY1. The city would fire 15 percent of math, English, science and social studies teachers, starting with educators who have the least experience. All school districts would face cuts, but the Upper East Side and South Bronx would have the largest staff reductions, losing about 20 percent of teachers. According to the Daily News, some of the cuts could be averted under an Assembly spending plan that would restore about $600 million of the $1.4 billion of school aid that Gov. Paterson wants to cut—giving the city an extra $193 million. more ›

Things got nasty yesterday between Republican rivals in the gubernatorial primary, starting with an appearance by each on Fox 5's "Good Day New York." When the show's host read aloud from Rick Lazio's list of "top 10" reasons not to vote for his opponent, volatile Steve Levy got worked up, the Post reports. "Hey Rick, how 'bout one reason why people should vote for you?" he taunted, adding that Lazio "has no traction in the polls." Despite having switched from the Democratic party just a week ago, Levy called his Conservative record "unparalleled." more ›

In Albany, Gov. Paterson's slash-happy budget proposal has squeaked by the State Senate. Democrats banded together to pass the $136.2 billion resolution despite earlier objections to its $1.4 billion in cuts to education. All 29 Republicans present (one was out sick) voted it; according to Minority Leader Dean Skelos, Paterson's spending wasn't justified and his budget didn't do enough to restructure state spending. "This is just a sham and a gimmick," he said before his vote. more ›

As Attorney General Andrew Cuomo slowly moves toward announcing his candidacy for governor—sources swear he'll come out with it no later than April 25—is he scared of new Republican candidate Steve Levy, who's reportedly "a little crazy" and "something of a nut"? That's what the Post's Fred Dicker says, even after Rick Lazio won an important endorsement Saturday. According to the columnist, Cuomo's camp thinks the "Suffolk County executive is a far more dangerous GOP opponent than former Rep. Rick Lazio, the undistinguished current Conservative favorite." more ›

David “DJ” Johnson the former Paterson aide and close buddy at the center of a domestic abuse scandal, says he’s not about to end his career in politics. "I continue to work hard for my area," he told NBC news. "And I want to continue to do that. So that is what I hope after the vindication that I can just go back to work as a public servant for the people of New York City and New York State." (Video after the break.) Still, before he gets back into City Hall, he has a few hurdles to clear. more ›

In the wake of the scandal involving a former aide, Gov. Paterson was accused of soliciting tickets to the World Series and then lying about it under oath, but today his lawyer handed over emails that may prove he was invited. Theodore Wells sent a letter to the commission that's investigating the incident as a possible ethics violation, reports the News. He says the office correspondences contained within "unequivocally demonstrate a good faith belief on the part of the governor's staff that an invitation had indeed been extended." more ›

With a $9.2 billion state deficit on his hands, Gov Paterson says he's "not optimistic at all" about getting a budget out by April 1st. The governor said recently that in order to avoid raising taxes (a proposed tax on sugary beverages like soda doesn't seem like it will succeed) he'll most likely make massive cuts to the school system, health care and government agencies. But some lawmakers say the delay should be attributed not to the tough economy or a ten day break for Passover and Easter, but to Paterson's infamous "laziness." more ›

A year after trying to slap regulations on yoga teacher training courses, the city is retreating, and the army of free spirits prepares to claim victory. Last April officials made the mistake of lumping yoga in with a host of other activities—hair dressing and truck driving among them—whose vocational schools would be required to undergo a long and arduous licensing process. But as the Times reports, the yoga community just wouldn't bend to those rules. more ›

It’s come out that another top aide to Gov. Paterson was involved in a domestic dispute, serious enough that officials were alerted. The Times Union reports that in 1995 Clemmie Harris, who at the time was a state trooper, got in a heated argument with his then-girlfriend Lori Ann Guzman. No punches were thrown allegedly, but she was “nervous” enough that she called the cops. Guzman never pressed charges, but seven months later her boyfriend quit his job with the state police, because of what police sources call "a mental disability." Harris is currently special gubernatorial assistant, and like former-aide David Johnson, he works very closely with Paterson. According to the Post, he frequently sleeps over at the governor’s mansion. more ›

Is this a weekday? Then there must be a new Paterson scandal to report! This time, Gov. Paterson allegedly used a State airplane for non-State activities last month, including campaigning in Hempstead and Rochester, the Voice reports. Paterson took the trip north on Feb. 20 to attend an outdoors hockey game in Syracuse. Paterson left the game quickly (after being booed during his introductory speech), and spent the rest of the time upstate campaigning, days before testifying about obtaining World Series tickets. more ›

Pedro Perez, the acting superintendent of the NY State Police, resigned yesterday amid an investigation into his intervening role in the domestic violence case of former Paterson aide David Johnson. He took over as chief just a week ago after Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt, also implicated in the scandal, stepped down. Perez claims he’s leaving not because he acted wrongly, but because he lacks support from the administration and his fellow officers. But Joseph Barrett, the president of the New York State Police Investigators Association, which represents detectives, says, "The position that the State Police find themselves in now is the result of the actions of a few high-ranking officers in management positions, and Acting Superintendent Perez was one of them." more ›

Just a week after State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt resigned amid charges Gov. Paterson used state troopers to intimidate a woman involved in a domestic violence case with a top aide, the man appointed to the position has stepped down. In a letter to the governor First Deputy Supt. Pedro Perez said “that continuing in my position as acting superintendent may be an obstacle to progress of the New York State Police, an agency I love.’’ It's still unclear whether Perez, who the Post says is currently under investigation by Attorney General Cuomo, resigned fearing the consequences of his own role in the scandal, or if working for Gov. Paterson is just that bad. more ›