For an avowed non-presidential candidate, Mayor Bloomberg certainly gets more attention than some of the actual candidates. Newsweek devotes its cover story to "Mike" Bloomberg, "The Billion Dollar Wild Card," a reference to the billion dollars Mayor B has at his disposal, should be decide to run for president next year. That is so much more flattering than the "Lazy Like a Fox" cover Newsweek had of Fred Thompson! Newsweek editor-in-chief Jon Meacham got to......

Yesterday, the NY Post revealed that the dingy Manhattan Marriage Bureau would be getting a deluxe makeover. First of all, the City Clerk's Office will move from 1 Centre Street at the Municipal Building to 80 Centre Street. Second, Mayor Bloomberg's personal decorator, Jamie Drake, will be overseeing the redesign - at a discount (we doubt the new bureau will have the touches that Mayor B's swank townhouses do), but the budget is still......

Mayor Bloomberg has been in Sun Valley, Idaho, for the annual Allen & Company conference (it's where media movers and shakers wheel and deal). And Governor Spitzer snarked, "I hear the congestion in Sun Valley is tougher than the congestion in Manhattan right now," referring to the critical juncture the Mayor's congestion pricing program faces in Albany. Still, Mayor Bloomberg has been going about his media mogul/mayoral duties - he participated in his weekly......

We love scurrilous political gossip! The NY Post's Fred Dicker says that Mayor Bloomberg wants to run for Governor in 2010! For some reason, Mayor Mike thinks that Albany might be his kind of town. A "senior" Republican source spills the beans:"On two occasions in recent weeks, the mayor brought up the possibility of running for governor, of running against Spitzer in 2010. "He's saying he can do for the state what he did for......

It's fun with poll numbers time! Quinnipiac University released results of a poll that shows Senator Hillary Clinton besting former Mayor Rudy Giuliani 50-42 in New York State. Here are the match-ups Quinnipiac asked about:- Clinton beats Sen. John McCain 55-34 percent - Giuliani ties Illinois Sen. Barack Obama 44 - 44 percent - 2004 vice presidential candidate John Edwards tops Giuliani 47 - 43 percent; - Clinton over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 61......

We image Mayor Bloomberg had some talking-to with the new governor! A few days ago, Governor Eliot Spitzer dipped his toe into the dispute about how victims' names would be arrange at the World Trade Center Memorial. Spitzer said a "very public discussion" should be had to satisfy still-lingering unhappiness from some victims' families about the WTC Memorial Foundation's plans. The foundation, led by its chairman, Mayor Bloomberg, decided not to signify civilian victims' names......

In an effort to keep the United Nations in NYC, Mayor Bloomberg may revive an old plan to create more office space that could benefit both the U.N. and other city developers. The NY Sun reports that the plan would involve building "swing space" for the U.N. during the renovation of the Secretariat building. One possible place for the swing space: Long Island City. Picture it, ferries of U.N. employees across the East River! The......

For Yankee Stadium's last year - before a new park - Major League Baseball will be having the 2008 All Star Game in The House that Babe Built. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said, "One of the biggest factors was George Steinbrenner. He has made wonderful contributions to this city and to the Yankees. Clearly one of the primary factors was to honor the city, the franchise and George Steinbrenner." Man, Selig makes it sound......

In the wake of a judge dismissing charges daredevil Jeb Corliss for his attempted jump off the Empire State Building, Mayor Bloomberg is very upset. "If I understand the ruling, just from reading the headlines, the judge said the guy did nothing wrong and should be able to jump off buildings with a single bound or whatever - I don't know where the judge is coming from. Whether it's legal, that's up to the court......

This morning, Mayor Bloomberg did a meet-and-greet commuters, but it was at a Metro-North train station in Connecticut! He was in Stamford to help Senator Joe Lieberman's re-election campaign. Mayor B said, ''I think the voters of Connecticut understand they need proven independent leadership. Joe Lieberman provides that. I think people of all parties are just tired of the political bickering.'' You have to be impressed with Bloomberg's faith in Joe: He's stumped for......

If you're the Republican mayor of New York City, who do you have breakfast with? Why, the Democratic candidate for Mayor of DC, of course! DC City Council member Adrian Fenty met up with Hizzoner this morning to discuss the Mayor's overhaul of the NYC public school system. Apparently Fenty may be interested in taking over the DC school system when he's elected (Fenty's the presumptive mayor), although Bloomberg's education record is decidedly mixed. Note......

We always knew Mayor Bloomberg was a busy guy, but a NY Times article today makes him seem especially crunched for time. The article's first sentence says it all: New York City’s bid to land the 2008 Democratic National Convention is in jeopardy because Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is spread so thin with fund-raising commitments that he may not be able to raise the money from private donors needed to pay for it, an official......

Is it any surprise that money speaks to Mayor Bloomberg? During his radio hour with John Gambling on WABC, Mayor B said that in spite of the hassle - and vitriol - that the United Nations generates (diplomats' reckless driving! world leaders calling the President a devil! gridlock!), they do bring a lot of money to the city:"This is a good business for us. What is said in the UN, I find most of it......

Interesting - the Post has a sorta followup to yesterday's Daily News story about Fashion Week being tents non grata at Bryant Park next February. Though yesterday's Daily News article had Vogue editor Anna Wintour saying that Mayor Bloomberg would support fashion - and tents in Bryant Park - in spite of the park's desire to keep the ice rink up, the Post says Diane Von Furstenberg couldn't convince Bloomberg to keep the tents......

A week after mentioning the lack of development at the World Trade Center when being questioned about the lack of development in post-Katrina New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin is in New York City to bring attention to his city's redevelopment needs. But first, Nagin had to apologize for his remarks on 60 Minutes ("You guys in New York can’t get a hole in the ground fixed and it’s five years later."). From the AP:"I......

Last night, the two Democrats interesting in becoming the next Governor of NY State had their only debate. Underdog Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the expected winner during this fall's general election, actually had a pretty lively discussion. Here are some notable things:- On Con Ed during the Queens blackout: Spitzer was "stunned" Bloomberg supported Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke while Suozzi said he wouldn't second guess Mayor B -......

If you're going to do an issue about the 100 People Who Shape Our World, you might as well have a big party, right? Time magazine rolled out the red carpet last night for people on its list, their friends, and the press. Gothamist stopped by the party just ahead of Stephen Colbert. We were not wearing a bear costume, so he wasn't that afraid of us. And perennial favorite, Rachael Ray, showed up......

Those fancy shirt sleeves were rolled up as officials met over the crazy costs for the World Trade Center Memorial. And if there's anyone to speak about money, it's our billionaire Mayor Bloomberg, who the NY Times says gave the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation a "verbal spanking":He chastised the foundation, saying the group had become obsessed with the design and construction of the memorial. "The foundation should be focusing on fund-raising," he said. "The agreement......

If you think Mayor Michael Bloomberg is an enigma wrapped in a riddle cloaked in a mystery that happens to have a billion or so dollars, here's another thing to keep you guessing. Our mayor donated $44,600, the maximum allowed, to California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election bid. And Bloomberg explained it by saying, "I think that Schwarzenegger - while I probably don't agree with him on a lot of things - he's trying new things.......

- When Bin Laden speaks, everyone listens...but Mayor B says there's no threat to NYC - The NY Sun's problems with the Governor's budget plan - The city is cleaning up after yesterday's windy mess - a man was killed by a tree that fell in his yard - Bryce Dallas Howard will be Gwen Stacy in the new Spiderman movie, which is interesting to us because Gwen is a blond, so it'll be......

The Mayor finally gets his noise code! Well, sort of. After a year and a half since Mayor B proposed a noise code for Better Quality Of Life, the city council unanimously passed the final version of the code. Now nightclubs and bars must "keep their sound level below 42 decibels instead of the current standard of 45 decibels when measured inside a nearby residence," as explained by the Times. And the NYPD will be......

The MTA says their current offer is their "final offer" to the Transit Workers Union. And what's the offer? Three percent each year over a three year contract; the union wants 8% more. And benefits-wise, the MTA would ask new hires to pay 1% of their pay to go towards their health plans (workers do not do this now). Finally, the MTA wants to increase the retirement age from 55 to 62 after 30 years......

Given that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's victory had been predicted for a few weeks, Gothamist would have thought that the NY Post might have put a little more thought into its post-election cover. But, instead, it's a poorly Photoshopped (as is keeping with the Post's tradition) and terrible that it could be an instant classic - we'll need to sit with this one. Anyway, the billiionaire mayor was reelected resoundingly, beating opponent Fernando Ferrer by......

11:24PM: Mayor B is done with his speech - so far, winning by 19%. 11:21PM: He says he'll go back to New Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn to visit Anthony Santa Maria; he had met Santa Maria in 2001 during his campaign, and the Brooklynite said that politicians only visit when they need votes. Last year, the Mayor said the Mayor's Campaign Accountability Statement was inspired by Santa Maria. 11:18PM: Mayor Bloomberg thanks his mom, Charlotte.......

Bad news for Fernando Ferrer: He's trailing Mayor Bloomberg by a whopping 31 points according to a Quinnipiac poll. And this poll, unlike earlier ones where Bloomberg enjoyed a 27 point lead, is after fears about the subway terror threat on October 7, which might mean that New Yorkers, despite their grousing, might really love Mayor Bloomberg! The Mayor introduced a new health plan to insure children, which Ferrer's campaign says is the second instance......

Because we're fascinated by bets with an elected official whose last name is a snack food brand, Gothamist wants to take a moment ot consider Mayor Bloomberg's "friendly wager" during the Angels-Yankees series with Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle. Mayor Bloomberg announced what NYC will send over if (IF!) the Yankees lose: I hear Anaheim is lovely this time of year, but is there anything better than October baseball at Yankee Stadium? This year's team is......

Okay, Mayor Bloomberg is really not actually punk at heart, as he's a stickler for the "rules" or making up rules when it comes to smoking or being noisy or graffiti... but Gothamist got a kick out of the mayor holding up this Save CBGB's shirt. It's like he didn't want to put it on because suits are much more comfy! But Mayor B did say, "CBGB, it's a great New York City institution --......

- Downtown take-out joints rejoice: The Weinstein brothers lease thousands of square feet at 345 Hudson Street for their new company - Pedestrian death on 6th Avenue and 14th Street - Rising rents strike favorite gay pick up joint, Big Cup; Gothamist cries with you, as we've put in our share of faghag time there - Police don't think that Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's "stalker" is that much of a threat - Critical Mass has......

The first official Democratic candidate mayoral debate took place last night with all four candidates, including Congressman Anthony Weiner who had been passed a kidney stone earlier in the day. After that, we can only imagine the debate was a walk in the park! The NY Times has a transcript of the debate, but there's nothing like seeing City Council Speaker Gifford Miller get all pissy when asked if he would send his kids......

Yesterday's building collapse at Broadway and 100th Street is believed to have been caused by the demolition company, which put a backhoe on the structure it was tearing down, causing stress and the building to buckle. The collapse occured at 9:23AM, and many residents and shop owners in the neighborhood rushed to help firefighters and police officers with rescue efforts. Five people (waiting for a bus, walking down the street) and five firefighters were......