The Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark shitshow marketing nightmare just keeps racking up wins: the much-maligned musical has been hit with two safety violations from the New York State Department of Labor over the accidents that have befallen the cursed production. But you didn't need your spider sense to tingle to have seen that one coming. more ›

This is why you can't have anything nice, Williamsburg. Seems the residents at 132 North 5th Street (at the corner of Bedford) are all doing their part in keeping the common roof space a catastrophic mess. An inside source tells us emails are frequently sent from building management, which it seems someone is posting on this blog. And now residents have turned on each other! Offline accusations (read: the flyer after the jump) were posted on every floor of the building after a party this weekend. more ›

We thought our old roommate who left behind a used condom in a dust bunny after he moved out was disgusting, but he seems like a paragon of good hygiene compared to these revolting animals, who are competing for "bragging rights" (and $1,000) in a nationwide "Dirtiest Apartment" contest. Two of the finalists hail from right here in Brooklyn, and the Daily News gave one of them, 29-year-old Lisa Henderson, her 15 minutes of shame (photo #3). She wouldn't let the tabloid's photographer shoot inside, however, because her mommy had just arrived from Arkansas to clean up her adult daughter's mess. On the contest's website, Henderson explains the wretched squalor:

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As the State Senate heads towards a special session, all eyes are on dissident democrat State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., who claims he is the rightful Senate president pro tempore and the "acting lieutenant governor." Besides State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) announcing that she "cannot support" Espada, Senator Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) told WCBS 2, "The only thing I can say is Pedro Espada plays by Pedro Espada's rules. The rest of us are here to do the people's business." And why did he say that? Well, it turns out that Espada's planned district office is actually in Klein's district! The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog opines, "Espada’s also funneled a good amount of work to the state’s judicial branch. He holds the distinction of being sued more than most legislators, though so far he’s managed to prevail every time," and runs down his legal troubles. Speaking of, the Daily News reports that Espada finally turned over some information to the Election Board after stalling for months, "Disputed state Senate President Pedro Espada forked over campaign financial forms two days after state election officials threatened to have him criminally prosecuted." more ›

With attempts by the Republicans in the state senate to hold a legislative session continuing to go nowhere, a bipartisan group of senators met behind closed doors today in an attempt to get through the impasse they have found themselves in. That too proved futile. more ›

State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. is sending shivers down the spine of New Yorkers today, with his solution to break the State Senate tie. Espada told the Post, "I can have two votes. We're going to maintain that, as the president pro tempore of the Senate, I am also the acting lieutenant governor, and the lieutenant governor can vote when there's a tie." Hey, is he suggesting that because he was elected to represent the Bronx, but really (allegedly) spends his time living in Westchester?! Democrat-appointed policy adviser and Counsel to the New York State Senate Michael Kink, though, Twittered, "Justice McNamara's decision explicitly says he's not deciding who is the NY Senate Temporary President -- it's up to the Senate to negotiate." At any rate, why we have a 62-member Senate was explored by Newsday's Dan Janison: Maybe-majority leader Dean "Skelos [R-Long Island] in 2002 discovered that a 62-seat redistricting scheme would work best for his party," and managed to create a district in Brooklyn that got Republican Martin Golden elected. more ›

A State Supreme Court judge refused to rule on the State Senate's state of ridiculousness and instead urged (again!) the Senators to work out the matter. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara dismissed Smith vs. Espada (read the decision) and wrote, "A judicially imposed resolution would be an improvident intrusion into the inner workings of a coequal branch of government. The practical effect of having a court decide this issue would be that its decision, if only by perception, would have an influence on the internal workings of the Senate. … To have a court do so would be improper... The failure of the Senate to resolve this issue in an appropriate manner will make them answerable to the electorate." more ›

Sigh, of course, the State Senate Democrats' and Republicans' power-sharing deal talks totally collapsed yesterday, leaving the fate of the State Senate—and important state legislation—in the hands of Judge Thomas McNamara who had all but begged the Senators to get their acts together and work it out themselves. State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx), who helped create this morass after last week's coup, said, "We need judicial intervention." more ›

After being told by a judge to work out their own mess, Senate Democrats claimed to be working on a power-sharing deal with Republicans (here's a letter they sent to the GOP). The Republicans were, after last Monday's coup, in power, but then dissident Democrat Hiram Monserrate decided to side back with the Democrats, splitting the Senate into a 31-31 tie, with no majority. more ›

Now that State Senator Hiram Monserrate has rejoined the Democratic caucus and thrown the Senate into a 31-31 tie, the state Supreme Court judge who was going to hear Democrats' and Republicans' arguments over who should rule the Senate this morning instead said both sides need to resolve it themselves. Justice Thomas McNamara said, "As a matter of public policy, you guys should work this out so I'm directing you to go across the street and do that and report back to me at one o'clock. There are 64 (sic) members over there, who are, in my opinion, hopefully, capable of getting together and working through what I have every understanding and appreciation are very serious and difficult matters, but which can be resolved and can be worked through in a way to be beneficial to the citizens of this state." more ›

Dissident Democratic Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr., who helped the Republican conference overthrow the Democratic majority and gain power of the State Senate, spent their Saturday at Yankee Stadium. The Daily News exclaims, "They've got some nerve!" as they "watched the Subway Series in a pair of plush seats at Yankee Stadium Saturday, taking a leisurely break from the state of shame they created upstate." One fellow spectator wondered, "What are they going to accomplish here except for promoting themselves?" Well, they did get on the cover of the News as "SCREWBALLS"! more ›

To bookend a week that began with a coup in Albany which stripped the Senate Democrats of their majority, Senate Dems met to discuss their leadership and future. And while former Senate majority leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) refused to answer reporters' questions about whether he still headed the Democratic conference, the Democrats apparently told Smith that he's out and that Senator John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) will be the "conference's de facto boss." more ›

The new Republican-led coalition may have been able to finally enter State Senate chambers, but it couldn't hold a session, because one of the two dissident Democrats who helped them take over control of the Senate walked out! Hilarious! It was Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) who put things back into limbo: He remarked that he was a Democrat and wanted more Democrats aboard, then said, "This chamber must not remain divided, so I'm going to excuse myself from this chamber." more ›

Former governor Eliot Spitzer has spoken up about the Republicans-plus-two Democrats' coup of the State Senate. And he says it's actually a good thing in his Slate column, pointing out, "The governor, speaker of the Assembly, and Senate majority leader had almost unilateral power to act and bind their branches" and could make deals in secret. Whereas amid the mess, the Republican Senators did pass some reform measures. Spitzer ends with, "We should not forget that democracy is often an ugly process. The sterile decision-making that was criticized when it was behind closed doors has been replaced for the moment by the crass and ugly sausage-making that is legislative process. Out of this mess may come a legislative branch where legislators actually begin to voice differing views, argue on substantive matters, and finally bring into the open the discussion of issues that should be occurring in public." Is the mention of democracy being ugly a reference to his Troopergate involvement? more ›

PolitickerNY reports that when asked about defected Democrats Hiram Monserrate's and Pedro Espada Jr.'s ethical backgrounds (Monserrate is indicted for slashing his girlfriend; Epada is under investigation for campaign fund misuse and not living in the district he represents), the billionaire retorted with, "Don't talk to me about ethical background in Albany, New York. We have a governor that stood on a podium on national television and said he had extramarital affairs and used cocaine. So, you know, these guys have got some personal issues? I don't think I want--that's just part of the picture." more ›