After longtime Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio's arrest on bribery charges, the State Assembly apparently held a secret meeting to discuss, per the AP, "tougher rules over disclosure of outside income by lawmakers." more ›

">accused by the feds of taking over $500,000 in bribes. Or, as Seminerio allegedly called it, "consulting" payments. more ›

The NY State Legislature has long been considered the most dysfunctional state government in the country, and NY Sun has a great article giving weight to that statement: "The Empire State's Legislature employs more people than any other state legislature in the nation." Well, all that dysfunction has to be enabled from someone - or many someones! more ›

NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon has done it again: NY1 reports that Silver has delayed ruling on the Atlantic Yards project because "he still has financial questions." The NY Sun had a story today about growing pressure for Silver to delay the vote, given outcry from not just civic groups like the Municipal Art Society, Regional Plan Association, Citizen's Union, and National Resources Defense Council, but other politicians as well. Brooklyn Papers also adds that the AY is a "$4-billion project would require hundreds of millions in direct and indirect public subsidies, but the actual size of the taxpayer contribution to the project has never been released." So there are big questions, and it's not just Silver showing off his power. more ›

Almost two years ago, the cornerstone at Ground Zero was placed at the World Trade Center site. But now it's been moved to Hauppague, NY! The NY Times reports that the largely symbolic slab of granite was moved in order to accomodate the new designs for the space, as there's been a new Freedom Tower design in the meantime. Developer Silverstein Properties said the cornerstone "needs to be repositioned to make sense in the new building." But don't fear: It will be on display at Innovative Stone where it was made - you need to make an appointment though. Well, at least people will be able to see it (we're trying to find the silver lining, because it's too easy to complain about anything to do with the WTC rebuilding process). more ›

NY State Assembly Sheldon Silver told NY1 that he doesn't see a "great need" for the West Side Stadium. And as one of the the three votes on the state committee to approve the financing plan for the stadium plan, this is not sounding good for Mayor Bloomberg or anyone hoping for a NYC 2012 Olympics. What more, Silver thinks that NYC's chances for the Olympics are a "long shot." Gah! As you may remember, the okay to build a West Side Stadium is a big part of what will influence the IOC to truly consider NYC as an Olympics city. Now, not that being a NYC 2012 flunky has to be part of every NYC politician's agenda, but Gothamist is surprised he'd have so little faith in an effort that has tied many people, both Republicans and Democrats, together. At any rate, the slow pace of rulings to greenlight the West Side Stadium has left the NY Jets to do some contingency planning to the tune of staying in NJ. more ›

...FOR DOING THEIR JOBS. The NY State Assembly has passed a budget on time for the first time in 20 years. This is big news, because these politicians have been called the most dyfunctional in the nation, which is no small task. The NY Post calls it a miracle, but Governor Pataki will be trying to renegotiate the budget because he thinks it spends too much (and, as many people have noted, it does not include $300 million that the state is supposed to put aside for a Jets Stadium). Some things for NYC: An additional $325 million for public schools; an increase of .125% in the sales tax (for a sales tax of 8.5%) to supplement mass transit; and $17.9 billion for the MTA. more ›

Here's the text of Pataki's State of the State. Mayor Bloomberg attended the State of the State; he was there with a "laundry list" of NYC's budgetary needs; these needs figure in the billions, what with education and MTA budgets at stake.
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Pooh-poohing the idea that being in a blue state meant their votes wouldn't count, New Yorkers were determined to vote yesterday, overwhelming voting centers and frustrating many. Our readers reported both frustrating and easy voting experiences yesterday, which makes us realize a couple things: 1) Voting on the way to work may make you late to work; 2) Voting at the crack of dawn is ideal, except at 45 Wall Street where election officials arrived an hour late; 3) There are varying rules about taking pictures of your ballot; 4) NYC children enjoy voting, so much so that they'll ask any ol' stranger if they can vote with 'em, making us believe the children really are the future. And the City's Board of Elections website had been inaccessible since Monday, due to the public's demand to find out more about where they needed to vote, which makes Gothamist wonder why the City didn't anticipate the need for more bandwidth - it's only the biggest city in the U.S., with a very high number of people Internet enabled. Department of Information and Telecommunications Technology, wake up! Gothamist has learned that the DoITT has nothing to do with the Board of Elections site or phonelines, so we're sorry we assumed you did; but maybe you need to help the BoE revamp their systems! more ›

Gothamist is also very proud of the New Yorkers who went to swing states to rally voters. There's also a NYT piece on Democrats eying the State Senate. The NY State Assembly and Senate are pretty ineffective, so Gothamist is guessing that the NYT will advocate for voting for the challenger again. more ›

- The man who stabbed three people in Midtown had a history of violence (he stabbed an uncle), and the rookie cop - and Lower East Side resident - who shot the stabbing "maniac" at Horace Greeley talks to the Post (see Gothamist's Herald Square Stabbing) more ›

For more evidence that the world of politics may not be very sensical: Wonkette more ›