If you're a registered Democrat or Republican, you can vote in tomorrow's primary. Besides getting a chance to participate in the democratic (small d) process, you'll also get a chance to come face-to-face with one of the new voting machines—no more old-fashioned lever machines, it's now time for newfangled scanners (time for our own Lizard People vote?). more ›

A day after getting praise (but not an endorsement) from the NY Times, Eric Dinallo has received the Daily News editorial board's endorsement for the Democratic nomination for NY State Attorney General. A former prosecutor in the Manhattan DA's office as well as State AG's office (under Spitzer), Dinallo is described by the News as having a "blend of first-rate legal, executive and regulatory experience that is unique among the contenders and equips him best to lead New York's top law office amid rising challenges." more ›

Yesterday, Newsday reported that Nassau County DA and NY Attorney General candidate Kathleen Rice has only voted eight times since first registering to vote in 1984: "Rice, who faces four challengers in a Sept. 14 primary contest for the Democratic nomination, cast the first vote of her life in November 2002. All told through 2009, she voted in eight of the 26 years since she first registered to vote as a Republican in 1984." Rice explained, "It was my mistake. During that period of my life, I did not vote. Unfortunately, like a lot of young adults early in their professional lives, I failed to see the political significance of casting a ballot." more ›

">allowed legalized scalping to take place over the past three years is due to run out this Saturday, and it is looking more and more unlikely that it'll get renewed. Back in 2007, the bill was introduced to try to bring the scalping market into the open and regulate it more easily. But the hold up now is because of paperless tickets, which is favored by Ticketmaster because it boxes out brokers by requiring a ticket's original buyer to verify his or her identity at the box office. Paperless ticketing gives more control over to companies like Ticketmaster, while making it harder for consumers to resell tickets. Pols such as Richard Brodsky want more control over ticket prices, and are against the measure: “Proponents of this often call it a free market. But permitting unfettered resale is an attack on the free market.” more ›

New York State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky almost lost his daughter, Willie, at 4 years old when she needed a kidney transplant, and again a decade later when her other kidney failed. Her struggle to find a donor was hardly unusual; some 10,000 New Yorkers are currently waiting on a list for donors, and part of the reason finding them is so challenging is because many people don't consent to organ donation on their licenses. So this week Brodsky introduced a bill that would automatically enroll all New Yorkers as organ donors, unless they opt out. Such a "presumed consent" law would be the first of its kind in the U.S. more ›

After much to-do, the MTA will most likely continue to offer kids free rides to school. A lawmaker with oversight of the MTA predicted today that they'll not cut student fares and that the city will take over paying for the program to support the city's youngsters. more ›

With an extensive list of maintenance problems stemming from faulty wiring, falling signs, crumbling concrete and collapsing pipes, insiders are apparently referring to the Mets' new stadium as "Shitty Field." Even Jerry Seinfeld must be scratching his head and asking himself who the ad wizards are behind that one with word that Seinfeld's luxury suite was one of a handful of $500,000 boxes that had to have the walls knocked down because water damage created molding in them. more ›

The Yankees have done all right for themselves with politicians when they've needed officials to sign off on financial assistance for their new stadium. But when team brass has had to come in and answer to some representatives who have been more than skeptical of the deals the team has received, their treatment hasn't been quite so cushy. more ›

It appears that various members of local and state government have lost their cool with the Yankees and their struggles to finance their soon to open new stadium without the additional financial assistance. City Comptroller William Thompson came out swinging with the harshest rhetoric yesterday when discussing the ongoing state of the project stating, "Costs don't go up that dramatically in that period of time. Either someone did that intentionally or it is the worst job of management that I have ever seen." more ›

After the city has been taken to task in recent months for its dealings with the Yankees in the process of financing the team's new stadium--so far as being accused that it served no public interest--it can't be good PR for the Bloomberg administration for everyone to know just how strongly they pushed to get the best luxury box possible for themselves. Well new e-mails made public do just that in revealing how the mayor's office put on a full court press in its attempts to obtain a luxury box at the new Yankee Stadium. more ›

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky had strong words--and a damning report--for the new Yankee Stadium yesterday. Brodsky believes the Yankees got too good a deal from the city, "This stadium is being built by the people of the city and the state of New York. In return, they’re getting almost nothing. This deal does not serve the public’s interest. It serves the Yankees’ interest.” more ›

Thank you, Governor David Paterson because now we have the long-awaited NY Post Photoshop job of Sheldon Silver as Count Dracula. The Governor caused a commotion after telling advocates for the disabled, "I used to sit in my legislative office and think about how difficult it is to travel 150 miles to Albany on a bus...and how there were legislators who I used to think practiced their own versions of being Count Dracula. They would be very nice to the advocates when they came to Albany and then...the sun would go down and they'd go back to who they really are, a bunch of bloodsuckers." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg stood up for rich New Yorkers when he advised against the state raising income taxes on the wealthy. Why? He said, "I think at this point, where we're in competition with other cities around the world for entrepreneurs and the best and the brightest, it's not the time to be raising taxes." more ›

A New York State Assemblyman ticked off about congestion pricing for suburban drivers is retaliating by proposing a $4-per-ride surcharge for taxi riders, rather than the congestion fee of $8 for motorists entering Manhattan below 60th St. That taxis are another form of mass transit that allow New Yorkers to get around without owning a car escapes Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, whose district includes parts of Westchester County. more ›

The Independent Budget Office released a report examining who might be affected by congestion pricing. The report, "Behind the Wheel: Who Drives Into The Proposed 'Congestion Zone'" can be read here (PDF) but the topline is that drivers are middle-class and over half are from Nassau County, Westchester, NJ, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The report states, "Looking at the extremes of the earnings distribution for all congestion zone commuters, motor vehicle users were less likely... more ›