State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) will not be going to jail. Instead the misdemeanor criminal mischief charges he was found guilty of in December (you might recall him roughing up a Post photog and breaking their camerain May 2009) will be sending the hot-tempered senator to anger management classes. He also has to pay a $1,000 fine, pay another $672 in equipment costs to the Post, and spend the next three years on probation. more ›

Last year State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) got in some hot water after he assaulted a Post photographer who was trying to get a photo of his house. And today a Brooklyn Supreme Court jury found him guilty of misdemeanor charges in the case but not of felony charges. Which means that the recently re-elected Parker will not be automatically removed from his seat. Of course, as we learned from the case of Hiram Monserrate, misdemeanor charges can still get you booted from the Senate. Considering Parker's reputation for a hot head, this should get interesting. more ›

What happens when one controversial State Senator accuses another controversial State Senator of swearing at him? Well, it's just confirmation that Albany is where insanity reigns. State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx) wants the State Senate to censure Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), for Parker's colorful language to convince Diaz to vote for a bill. Diaz said, “Senator Parker was saying eff this, eff that. In front of the ladies. It’s uncalled for. If I want to vote no on something nobody is going to tell me to eff me. What are we, babies?" more ›

State Senator Kevin Parker, who shocked pretty much everyone when he called his Republican colleagues "racists" and "white supremacists" last week (and stood by those remarks), decided to apologize yesterday. Sort of. The Brooklyn Democrat started, "To the extent that my words last week brought commotion and emotion to this house in ways that may distract or divert us from the important work of the people of New York State, work that’s so important for all of us. I offer my sincerest apologies for my zealous advocacy." more ›

There's political upside to having a bad temper and calling some of your State Senate colleagues "racists" and "white supremacists"—you get invited to speak on political public affairs programs! State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) said during an interview for WCBS 2's Eye on New York (which airs tomorrow morning), "It got me on this show. I've been in the senate for eight years and no one's ever invited me here." Here's some of the exchange:

CBS 2 HD: "What about the specific charge that they are … that the Republicans are white supremacists? Do you back off of that? Do you apologize?" more ›

State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) did not back down from his "hyperbolic" outburst on Tuesday, where he accused Republican colleague State Senator John DeFrancisco of racism. On a radio show, he said, "You have these ... long-term white supremacists ... Republican senators, who you know have been in the majority for a long time. They've lost the majority. You now have a number of African-Americans and Latinos and women and gays running the Senate and they have a real problem with that." more ›

State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) is known for his outbursts—for instance, he was arrested last year for allegedly assaulting a NY Post photographer staked outside Parker's house (the Post was doing a story about Parker's house being close to repossession)—but yesterday was a new chapter, when he, as Daily Politics put it, "went aggro after getting the sense that [Republican] colleague John DeFrancisco was 'berating' Power Authority nominee Mark O'Luck" during a State Senate Finance Committee meeting. In fact, Parker yelled "How dare you? You racist people in here!" and "I've never seen a white appointee be treated like this, in such rude fashion!" more ›

According to the Post, yes—one lawmaker says, "A lot of black and Hispanic legislators are saying privately they've had it with Paterson, especially after the Senate breakdown, and they want to go with Cuomo." While Attorney Andrew Cuomo, who has been besting Governor Paterson in the past few months of 2010 gubernatorial polls, has publicly claimed he's not running, the Post reports, "he has told friends privately he's gearing up to run for governor." Another Democrat opines, "The best-case scenario for Andrew is for David to recognize he can't win election and just get out of the race, avoiding the whole racial thing." The Post adds that one likely pro-Cuomo Democrat is Senator Kevin Parker, who recently called Paterson a "coke-snorting, staff-banging governor" and who was arrested for attacking a Post photographer. more ›

State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), who was arrested three weeks ago for allegedly assaulting a NY Post photographer, was indicted yesterday. The Daily News detailed the charges: "Second- and third-degree assault, third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief, third-degree menacing and second-degree harassment." Naturally, the Post reminds us how photog William Lopez, who was waiting to take a picture for a story about foreclosure proceedings on Parker's home, got injured: "Parker chased after Lopez, who jumped into his car in an attempt to flee. Parker allegedly forced his way inside the car and managed to sprain the photographer's finger and break a camera flash." Parker's lawyer Lonnie Hart previously said that Parker is "eager to defend himself" (and sort of compared Parker to Kiefer Sutherland) but had no comment about the indictment, more ›

State Senator Kevin Parker, who faces felony charges after assaulting a NY Post photographer, breaking his camera and bashing his car in, told reporters yesterday, "I don't think I have an anger issue. Hopefully this will be a bad memory." However, the State Police were aware of Parker's testy behavior last week when he "got out of his car at an entrance to a parking garage beneath the state Capitol complex and angrily confronted a security guard" because a gate wasn't raised, according to the Post. Parker was stripped of his leadership position as the Democrats' whip by Majority Leader Malcolm Smith; Parker said he backed Smith's decision, "It was the right thing to do. My personal problems cannot be a distraction to the Senate. We have a lot of work to do between now and the end of session." The Brooklyn lawmaker has previously attended anger management class for punching a traffic agent and was accused of choking and breaking the glasses of a female staffer. more ›

When you're an elected official facing felony charges for assaulting a photographer, breaking his camera and bashing his car in, the best way to proclaim your innocence and garner sympathy from the public might not be to have your lawyer compare your case to another tabloid headline assault of the moment involving a TV star. State Senator Kevin Parker's attorney felt otherwise. more ›

State Senator Kevin Parker was arrested last night outside his parents' home in Flatbush and charged with third degree criminal mischief after allegedly attacking a New York Post photographer. The photographer, William Lopez, claims that Parker flipped out when the senator realized his picture was being taken as he was leaving the house. Parker then came at Lopez and is accused of tearing out his flash and ripping out a panel on Lopez's car door. The photographer says that his finger may also be sprained. The Post was apparently working on a story about the Parker's home being in jeopardy of repossession; the senator is an advocate for foreclosure relief. Parker (no relation) also has a reputation of having a violent temper—in 2005, he was ordered to undergo an anger-management course after he was charged with punching a traffic agent and just last year a female staffer accused him of choking her and breaking her glasses. more ›

Today isn't the best news day in Bloomberg '09 headquarters. The mayor met the GOP's borough chairs and didn't leave with anything close to the stamp of approval—aka three of five votes—to get back on the Republican line on the November ballot. Bloomberg told reporters after, "We talked about elections and politics obviously, and I said the last two times I ran, I ran on the Republican line and I’d be honored to run again. We’ll see what they decide to do." more ›

In order for one of the most controversial suggestions of Thursday's Ravitch Commission report--tolls at all of the now-free East River crossings--to become a reality, it appears right there may be too many political tolls for them to become a reality. more ›

NY1 reports that State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) introduced legislation preventing "city officials from running for a third term without the approval of voters." He said, "To brazenly push them aside and attempt to silence their voices is not what we should do as elected officials. For this, I am sponsoring a bill on the state level that will change term limits for the entire state." Last week, Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries also introduced a bill that would require a public referendum fora term limits extension; Jeffries' stance: "A few dozen politicians should not determine the fate of term limits in a city of eight million when the public has spoken – not once but twice." more ›

How far will Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn go in order to get term limits legislation passed through City Council? One source tells the Post that next year Quinn is considering "significant reorganizing of everything, including the Finance Comittee." Such a reshuffling might give the Speaker a convenient way give a push out the door to Finance Committee Chairman David Weprin, one of the most vocal critics of the term limit bill. That would cost Weprin $18,000 of annual salary he receives from his chairmanship. more ›