Just a days before the Florida primary, someone gave the New York Times a 1998 NYPD memorandum advising Mayor Giuliani that the department felt locating the city's emergency command center in 7 World Trade Center was not a very good idea. The eight page memo was written by a panel of police experts with help from the Secret Service. Its conclusions were overruled by Giuliani and the command center was destroyed on September 11 as......

Governor Spitzer may have identified himself as a steamroller in his attempts to accomplish certain executive tasks, but he's got nothing on the former federal prosecutor and Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. The NY Times has a colorful profile of the the former Mayor as a man who used his offices as bludgeons, crushing anyone who crossed him. When a chauffeur called into the Mayor's weekly radio show in 1997, saying that the cops had established......

It appears that Judith Nathan, the current Mrs. Giuliani, may have been enjoying taxpayer-funded car service provided by the police while her affair with former Mayor Giuliani was unknown. Giuliani's admitted that he gave his girlfriend a security detail once their relationship became public because of possible threats against her, but it appears that Nathan was enjoying New York's Finest as a taxi service months before anyone even knew the two were involved with each......

Just in time for last night's Republican debate, political website Politico broke a story claiming that former mayor Rudy Giuliani billed "obscured city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses" for extra-marital Hamptons trips with future wife Judith Nathan. When Giuliani would travel outside the city, he would be accompanied by a police detail. And if he stayed overnight, the police would also need lodging and other expenses taken care of. Politico......

A study of data concerning NYPD stop and frisk practices was released by the Rand Corporation last Tuesday. Reactions to the report were so varied that it's difficult to say if Rand came to any conclusive findings whatsoever. The New York Times lede indicates that police are biased against blacks and Hispanics. "Whites and members of minorities have a roughly equal chance of being stopped by police officers and questioned on the street in New......

First, some fire fighters' unions spoke out against presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. Now a police officers' union is totally anti-Rudy. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch issued a statement blaming the former mayor for not giving cops raises ("zeroes for heroes" contract) and essentially creating the recruiting/retainment problems the NYPD has. And then there's what the PBA thinks about Giuliani's 9/11 record: Giuliani has wrapped himself firmly in the cloak of 9/11 for his......

Mayor David Dinkins, who preceded Mayor Giuliani in office from 1990 to 1993, had his appendix removed in an emergency surgery Friday when it was determined that he was suffering from appendicitis. Dinkins was actually visiting his doctor for a routine flu shot, when he complained that he had a sharp pain in his side. A CAT scan revealed the inflamed and infected appendix--a condition that can be lethal if the vestigial organ bursts. Dinkins......

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......

The anti-war organization MoveOn.org stated that it will pay The New York Times an additional $77,083 for an ad that ran earlier this month alleging that General Petraeus was betraying the country by mischaracterizing the state of progress of the war in Iraq. The additional payment comes after some raised objections to what was portrayed as preferential pricing offered to MoveOn and accompanying accusations of political bias against the Times. The ad, its pricing, and......

While no one is questioning the fiscal stability of New York City the way they were during the 1970s, municipal spending has nonetheless exploded during Mayor Bloomberg's five years in office, far in excess of anything his predecessors accomplished over the last three decades. Thanks to swelling city revenues from the booming stock and real estate markets, New York remains on firm budgetary footing. The New York Times reports, however, that Mayor Bloomberg has overseen......

Jim Riches is the Deputy Chief of the FDNY. He is one of the producers of Urban Legend, a video that doggedly questions the supposedly heroic actions of Mayor Giuliani on 9/11. We recently asked him a few questions about that, today's anniversary and the future of the WTC. How long have you been in the FDNY? 30 years experience in some of the busiest firehouses in NYC. Which firehouse are you working at now?......

If you rely on taxis, you may want to adjust your transportation plans: The Taxi Workers Alliance says that drivers it represents will strike on September 5 and 6 to protest the Taxi and Limousine Commission's decision to add GPS systems to all yellow cabs. But then the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, another advocacy group, said that there would be no strike (with spokesman Fernando Mateo saying, "Read my lips: There......

One use for the Rudolph Giuliani mayoral archives: Figuring out how much time he actually spent at Ground Zero. Giuliani has referred to his Ground Zero presence a number of times, saying things like: - “I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. I was there working with them. I was there guiding things. I was there bringing people there. But I was exposed to exactly the......

Improper construction that posed a serious safety threat to pedestrians led to the adjustment of three modillions from the Tweed Courthouse. The building just underwent an $89 million renovation six years ago, but someone forgot to properly glue the architectural ornamentation to the building's cornice. The safety problems on one of the city's most prominent landmarks went unnoticed until a city Buildings Department manager gazed at Tweed while walking to his office on Chambers St.......

Mayor Bloomberg will walk across the street from City Hall tomorrow morning to report for jury duty at Manhattan Supreme Court. It won't be his first stint in the jurors' box. Bloomberg reportedly has served state jury duty five times since 1981. The Daily News reports that he served in 2001 on his 59th birthday "when he was openly flirting with running for mayor but was not an official candidate." The Manhattan Supreme Court handles......

The Post visited with Abner Louima, one of the city's most famous symbols of police brutality, ten years after the infamous incident at Brooklyn 70th Precinct. Louima had been arrested on August 9, 1997, after a scuffle outside a Brooklyn club. He claimed he was beaten by police officers on the way to the precinct, and later at the precinct, he was further beaten and sodomized with a toilet plunger while handcuffed. Louima had a......

Former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (and former NJ Governor) Christie Todd Whitman testified in front of Congress yesterday about the EPA's September 11 response. With critics like Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Anthony Weiner of New York and Representative Bill Pascrell of NJ questioning her, Whitman called statements made about her leadership "misinformation, innuendo and downright falsehoods." The Daily News, which made Whitman its cover girl yesterday, called her a woman of "many......

Former NJ Governor and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christie Todd Whitman is alleging that in the days after the 9/11 attacks, she urged the city to get rescue workers and first responders to wear respirators, but was rebuffed by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. If true, the allegations would seem to severely damage Giuliani's Presidential aspirations, as he is running on the perceived strength of his leadership in the days following 9/11/01. Whitman also......

Presidential hopeful John Edwards targeted New York son Rudy Giuliani during a speech. The Democratic candidate had earlier called President Bush's "war on terror" a "bumper sticker," which prompted Giuliani to say, "This is not a bumper sticker; the war is a real war." Yesterday, Edwards laid into Rudy by saying, "If Mayor Giuliani believes what President Bush has done is good and wants to embrace it and run a campaign for the presidency saying,......

The dust-up over Rudy Giuliani's waffling over abortion is small political beans in comparison to a liability he cannot possibly shrug off. Rudy Giuliani is an unapologetic Yankees fan, and people outside of NYC (and some within the confines of the city) HATE the Yankees. With a passion. There's a fabled Broadway musical called "Damn Yankees!" and it's not about Paul Revere or George Washington. To the hometown fan and natural supporter, Giuliani's support......

This is why no one-time NYC mayor has ever managed to reach the office of the President. New York leads the way, but the rest of the country is, more often than not, a reluctant follower. The political baggage former New York mayors are saddled with as the excecutive head of the Big Apple becomes an albatross that most men are unable to shrug off as they make their plays for higher office. Observe......

Last week, Rudy Giuliani ruffled some Italian-American feathers when he did an impersonation of Don Corleone during a California campaign stop. Newsday reports that the former Mayor "recycled" an "old New York gag" by saying, "Thank youse all very much for invitin' me here tuh-day, to this meeting of the families from different parts'a California." The reaction from Italian-Americans is mixed: The president of the Italian American Museum and Coalition of Italian American Associations,......

Yet another intriguing chapter in the life of former police commissioner Bernard Kerik: WNBC reports that he rejected a plea deal from the feds. The deal would have allowed Kerik to plead guilty to tax fraud and illegal eavesdropping - plus serve jail time - and in return, the feds would have dropped their criminal probe. And the probe includes quite a laundry list: "allegations of mortgage fraud, tax fraud, conspiracy to eavesdrop and making......

The city's desire to keep closer tabs on taxi drivers may prompt the drivers to strike. The city wants to install a GPS-tracking video monitor in cabs, which the city claims will help passengers retrieve lost items (even if they don't have receipts or medallion numbers) because the Taxi and Limousine Commission will be able to find the taxi that dropped them off at a certain location. While that sounds good to taxi riders, drivers......

As more restaurants are being closed as the city's health department tries to improve its inspection procedures, questions remain. First: As many of rodent problems are due to garbage pickup issues, will the city allow commercial businesses to have garbage disposals? Though residents are now allowed to have garbage disposals (thanks to Mayor Giuliani), business still aren't. The NY Sun reports that restaurant groups, like the National Restaurant Association and the Latino Restaurant Association, believe......

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani got good and bad news from the Quinnipiac Poll. The good news: He beats Senator Hillary Clinton, 48% to her 43% in a national poll conducted last week. The bad news: It's still over 18 months to go until Election 2008. Quinnipiac drilled down to the red, blue and purple state level: Giuliani beats Clinton 55-38 in states that voted Republican in the 2004 election. Interestingly, he ties her 46-46 in......

- The goings-on at Rudy Giuliani's own company were the focus of two articles this past weekend. The Daily News wondered how his client list at Giuliani Partners will stack up to scrutiny, as there are gambling associations and polluters on it. Well, there are benefits to him being a Republican. And the NY Times looked at how Giuliani's campaigning might affect his company - it's questionable how successful the company has been. How did......

While the city is working on plans to keep the Big Apple sustainable through 2030, reading the NY Times article about how the city "fails to collect millions in unpaid water bills" is a funny counterpoint. It's like a trip down the rabbit hole, with various tales of insanity. For instance, there's the Niger's U.N. mission, which hasn't paid $120,000 in bills since 1998! The city still asks companies that have been bankrupt for 30......

The fiancee of Sean Bell officially changed her surname to "Bell". Nicole Paultre was supposed to marry Bell on November 25, but Bell was killed when police opened fire on him and two friends after his bachelor party. Paultre revealed that a civil court judge signed an order for Paultre to change her name to Nicole Paultre Bell in an exclusive interview with Essence.com. ESSENCE: How does it feel to suddenly become the face......