Over the weekend, the Boston Globe published an opinion piece by former governor Mario Cuomo. He said to avoid "a Democratic disaster in November," Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should put aside their bitter rivalry and form a ticket together, so their supporters will be relatively happier (and less divisive). Otherwise, "the 2008 primary may be the story of a painfully botched grand opportunity to return our nation to the upward path, and leave us......

A dwarf bowling tournament planned for Staten Island bar Big Nose Kate’s has been cancelled after an unidentified scold alerted the media to the event, which was to be hosted Saturday by d-list celebrity dwarf minstrel Beetlejuice (pictured), an occasional guest on the Howard Stern show. In dwarf bowling, players take turns rolling a dwarf (wearing protective gear) on a skateboard down makeshift bowling alleys toward small pins. In exchange for his dignity, the dwarf/bowling......

While they certainly spent time criticizing each other, the Republican presidential hopefuls devoted much time to criticize the Democratic frontrunner Senator Hillary Clinton. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said, "she hasn't run a corner store. She hasn't run a state. She hasn't run a city. She has never run anything. And the idea that she could learn to be President, you know, as an internship just doesn't make any sense." And Senator John McCain......

Former District Attorney Arthur Branch - a.k.a. former Senator Fred Thompson - came back to New York City to speak at a NY State Conservative Party event. He made clear he's really conservative, saying, "Some think the way to beat the Democrats next year is to be more like them. I could not disagree more. My friends, I suggest it's not time for psychological flexibilities in terms of our principles. That's the surefire way of......

Okay, we give up. The whole Governor Spitzer-Senate Republican animosity thing has become totally and utterly insane. Someone left a crazy message for Spitzer's father, the wealthy (and 83-year-old) real estate developer Bernard Spitzer. And call has been traced to the apartment of a GOP adviser to State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno! This is a message for Bernard Spitzer. You will be subpoenaed to testify in front of the Senate committee on investigation on......

An interesting legal ruling, with a special guest appearance by former Governor Mario Cuomo. Manhattan Judge Renee Roth ruled that two children, conceived by in vitro fertilization using sperm from their father after his death, were eligible for a share of their paternal grandfather's estate. The Post reported that a man, only identified as James B., saved some of his sperm when he was diagnosed with Hodgkins' lymphoma. He died in 2001, and his widow......

Governor Eliot Spitzer think the State Senate's idea to have Attorney General Andrew Cuomo appointed "special prosecutor" - to investigate misdeeds in Spitzer's office - is "pointless." Spitzer told the Sun, "It seems to me that the attorney general already issued a report that he called complete, and Joe Bruno already called it a complete report. We have the Ethics Commission doing its thing." Um, State Senate majority leader Bruno actually wants Cuomo to be......

Thirty years ago tonight, New York City lost electricity when a Con Ed substation was hit by lightning strikes and a "cascading effect" caused the system to shut down around 9PM. And NYC, as well as parts of Westchester County, were powerless for over a day in the sweltering heart of the summer. Subways were stuck, mobs set fires and stores were looted. It was also the summer that other dramas gripped the city......

In October 1977, Howard Cosell leaned into his announcer's microphone and intoned to the worldwide audience watching the World Series, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." He was reporting yet another burning building marring the NYC skyline from his vantage point at Yankee Stadium. His line would eventually become the partial title of a superb book written by Jonathan Mahler: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle......

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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! McCain also appeared at the Irish-American 10th Annual Awards last night, where former Governor George Pataki introduced him. The......

A day after the Daily News reported that City College had allowed a campus center to be named after two controversial figures on its cover, complete with scorching editorial criticizing the school, City College's chancellor Matthew Goldstein had the sign taken down. The center was called the Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Community Center. Guillermo Morales was a radical for Puerto Rico's independence and made bombs, including one that killed four people at Fraunces Tavern in 1975.......

At the MTA board meeting, Chairman Peter Kalikow said there "probably" won't be a monthly Metrocard fare hike next year. But the "probably not" is contingent on the MTA having another surplus year, which could be possible, if they played their real estate cards right. The MTA has assumed fare increases for next year (and other years), and while Gothamist would hate an increase, we do understand that it might have to happen, what with......

Politics is definitely a weird thing when Peter Kalikow gets another term as MTA Chairman. Stupid State Senate, for reconfirming him! Kalikow wants to see some big projects finished (the 7 line extension, LIRR connection to Grand Central, South Ferry station's rebulid, the Fulton Street Transit Center, and the Second Avenue subway), and told the State Senate:I work for the people of the State of New York. That's who I believe are my bosses -......

A few days ago, 1010 WINS had a story about how New York state has the leading 2008 Presidential contenders, with Hillary Clinton currently leading the Democrats and Rudy Giuliani leading the Republicans at this very early stage. But what was more interesting was the commentary about the NY political scene from former Governor Mario Cuomo. Cuomo told 1010 WINS that he wasn't surprised by Clinton's or Giuliani's popularity...BUT:If you were Merlin and you had......

The Mayor of New York has always been a player on the national stage. And when it comes to political theatre, the Constitution requires that the show must go on. The right of the public to view debates and other political events is central to democracy. You have a none other than New York politicos Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch to thank when televised debates or election coverage interrupts your favorite shows. It was a......

NY State will no longer impose the death penalty as State Assembly Democrats have killed a bill that would have brought it to the whole Assembly for a vote. NY State started to impose the death penalty in 1995, after Governor Pataki used the issue as part of his campaign platform when he ran against Mario Cuomo in 1994. However, last year, the death penalty was found unconstitutional by an appeals court. The AP notes......

Updated: Reader Meatstreets emails a photo of the Beasties performing (well, it's Mike D and MCA) for tonight's Letterman. Tuesday is the big album release day, and the Beastie Boys are celebrating their new album, To the Five Boroughs, with a live performance at 53rd and Broadway this afternoon. The performance will air on the Late Show with David Letterman, but since the show is taped, BeastieBoys.com suggests getting there around 5PM to "Check It......

Former governor Mario Cuomo says that Rudy Giuliani will be played like a violin at the Republican National Convention this summer. As in, why not pimp the most beloved Republican in NYC during the convention? The Post reports Cuomo as saying, "They'll probably play Rudy heavier than any other part of the convention...So Rudy will go up and people will start talking about him replacing [Vice President Dick] Cheney or him running for president...It'll be......

With the end of Sex and the City tonight, we can welcome the end of thousands of articles spectulating what kind of impact the show had on our lives (Men will drink pink drinks!) and fashion and New York. Don't get us wrong - Gothamist has enjoyed Sex and the City ever since the first time we saw the bus splash Sarah Jessica Parker in her crazy pink outfit during the opening credits. But we......

The recent move by Governor Pataki to block the city's, and Mayor Bloombergs's, attempt at refinancing the city's $2.5 billion debt - which was approved by the state legislature - is the latest in the the ongoing fractious that is the New City Mayor-New York Governor relationship. The Times describes it as "not unlike a bad marriage in which one partner keeps up appearances even when the whole world is predicting divorce behind their......