The mayor won't be winning over many public school parents with his latest comments: “Unfortunately there are some parents who just come from—they never had a formal education, and they don’t understand the value of education...the old Norman Rockwell family is gone." more ›

At an Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development conference earlier today, Mayor Bloomberg admitted our city has problem. But they're not as bad as they are in Buffalo, amirite?! Bloomberg said, “Our city's problems are problems of success. We don't have enough classrooms. We don't have enough roads. We don't have enough housing. If you go to other cities, they don't have those problems. There's an awful lot of free space up in Buffalo, New York, if you want to go there. I don't think you do. Buffalo would love to have our problems." And his attempts to backtrack have just driven his foot deeper in his mouth. more ›

After Bravo's Andy Cohen (pictured here as a cartoon) railed against the PS 22 chorus's performance at the Oscars yesterday, seemingly all of America has turned against him. He's been sending one-off apologies to a few people on Twitter, but where's his apology to the 10-year-old kids he insulted on national television? more ›

A state appellate court ruled that a convicted carjacker can get a new trial because a Bronx judge called his lawyer a "clown." The Post reports, "The panel of appellate judges did not dispute the evidence against Damian Leggett, who attempted to steal a driver's car at gunpoint," but they didn't like was how Bronx Supreme Court Judge Robert Neary constantly insulted Leggett's court-appointed lawyer. For instance, "During the prosecutor's summation, the judge snapped at Levine: 'Would you behave like a professional, please, and not a clown?" Instead, the panel said Neary should have insulted Levine in a sidebar and not in front of jurors. more ›

If the increasingly hostile tone between Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign and possible candidate Harold Ford Jr.'s campaign is any indication, New York voters are in for an ugly Democratic primary. After Ford criticized Gillibrand for holding a fundraiser with "party bosses" including President Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe, the Paterson appointee told the Daily News: "Harold Ford's attacks on President Obama and his agenda sound much more like [they are] coming from Sarah Palin than from a New York Democrat who is proud of his President." Awwwwww snap! more ›

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Harold Ford Jr., her likely opponent for the Democratic seat, have engaged in unrestrained bad-mouthing and name-calling, yet at a dinner for Black and Puerto Rican lawmakers yesterday they were able to act like adults for once. The two shook hands warmly, as Gillibrand whispered "Welcome" and "Good to see you," into Ford's ear. Ford thanked her, and came close to giving a hug to the woman who he's previously called a "parakeet," “the unelected senator” and a “tobacco lawyer” (referring to her work as a corporate lawyer). For her part, a ruffled Gillibrand twittered recently: “I wouldn’t let my 6-year-old to engage in this kind of name-calling. And HF thinks he should be senator?” more ›

The Bloomberg camp is hoping some offensive remarks made by a disgruntled restaurateur about Council Speaker Christine Quinn will do some damage to city Comptroller Bill Thompson, a mayoral hopeful. Thompson—not Quinn—was present during an intimate meeting with small business owners at a Village restaurant on Wednesday morning. According to audiotape provided by the Bloomberg campaign to Politicker, Sean Kavanagh-Dowsett, the co-owner of the restaurant Tea and Sympathy, called Quinn "a whore, and you can quote me on that!" Okay! And during the ensuing laughter, Kavanagh-Dowsett added, "I'll drop my trousers, and she can kiss my ass." The tape does not record Thompson saying anything to denounce the remarks, and one witness tells the Post that "Thompson laughed with discomfort and shook his head while looking at an aide, and covered his ears for a brief moment." Kavanagh-Dowsett insists he won't apologize because he thinks Quinn, who works closely with Bloomberg, is anti-small business (and pro-prostitution?). Thompson's campaign issued a statement saying, "Bill has great respect for Speaker Quinn and believes the comments made yesterday—at a forum open to the public—were inappropriate and offensive." more ›