The fate of the controversial plan to charge drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street lies with Albany, as state legislators must decide whether to approve the plan by midnight tonight. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said last night, "There isn't a groundswell of support for it" among other Assembly members. But most papers are saying the plan is effectively dead. If Albany can approve congestion pricing today, then the city is eligible for $354 million......

After his $500,000 donation to NY State Republicans was revealed, Mayor Bloomberg explained why he did it to reporters while attending a Mayors Against Illegal Guns conference, "I've said repeatedly, I will help those who help us. They have stood up for the city a number of times — when we needed to have a voice in Albany and we didn't have that voice from the Assembly or from the governor, whether it was the......

Photograph by forklift on Flickr An estimated three million people assembled along Broadway during yesterday's ticker tape parade to celebrate the Giants' 17-14 Super Bowl XLII win over the New England Patriots. After the many floats with Giants players (and cars with some dignitaries, like Governor Spitzer, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver) rolled up the Canyon of Heroes, Mayor Bloomberg presented the team with keys to the city. When David Tyree,......

Weighing in on the modified congestion pricing plan the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission recommended, Mayor Bloomberg said:"The Commission has done a thorough and thoughtful job. They've taken testimony from hundreds of residents, community leaders and civic organizations. They've held dozens of public meetings and have analyzed mountains of data. Although the final recommendation varies from our original proposal, I accept it. "We will work with our partners in the Council and the State Legislature, and......

The City Council voted 40-3 to end the tax breaks Madison Square Garden has enjoyed since 1982. It's estimated that the city has lost almost $300 million in potential revenue in subsidies to the "World's Most Famous Arena." Although the City Council wants the tax breaks to end (our favorite quote is from Councilman Lew Fidler: "I have spent my entire life as as Knicks fan, and I doubt if there's anyone who loves the......

In spite of the presence of a new governor, Albany politics has been as insanely frustrating as usual. And the NY Sun's year-end interviews with the top three lawmakers - Governor Eliot Spitzer, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver - demonstrate why pretty much everyone sighs when they think of the capitol and state politicians. Bruno, the lone Republican, tells the Sun that Silver needs to deals with insults better,......

The MTA has released details for its subway and bus fare hike. While the base fare will still stay at $2, there will be increases for unlimited cards - plus a new two-week unlimited: 1-Day Fun Pass: Increases from $7 to $7.50 7-Day Pass: Increases from $24 to $25* New 14-Day Pass: $47* (*Current 7-Day Pass users who switch to the new 14-Day Pass will actually enjoy a fare reduction.) 30-Day Pass: Increases from......

When Governor Spitzer announced he was dropping his controversial plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants yesterday, he was praised by his fellow Democrats. The NY Times notes that the decision won Spitzer "the kind of wide acclaim from elected officials that he could not win for the proposal itself." And that's gotta sting a little. Spitzer had first introduced a broad plan to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses, which caused outcry from......

Yesterday evening, Bovis Lend Lease, the contractor charged with dismantling the WTC-dust contaminated Deutsche Bank building, faced an angry group of residents and lawmakers during a crowded community meeting. The seven-alarm fire on August 18, which claimed the lives of two firefighters, was likely started by construction workers smoking, which is against the rules in the highly flammable environment. Investigation after the fire found that the demolition site was essentially a "deathtrap," with a standpipe,......

How did we miss this? Last week, City Hall News had an interview with State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and it included this photograph of Bruno boxing! Bruno is, of course, riding relatively high as Governor Spitzer's reputation is tainted in the wake of Troopergate, and Bruno can play the unwitting victim of Spitzer's aides dirty tricks plotting. According to the City Hall News article, Bruno still works with a speed bag "five times......

Governor Eliot Spitzer think the State Senate's idea to have Attorney General Andrew Cuomo appointed "special prosecutor" - to investigate misdeeds in Spitzer's office - is "pointless." Spitzer told the Sun, "It seems to me that the attorney general already issued a report that he called complete, and Joe Bruno already called it a complete report. We have the Ethics Commission doing its thing." Um, State Senate majority leader Bruno actually wants Cuomo to be......

Earlier this month, the NY Times had an article about how Governor Spitzer seemed "defiant and chastened" about the battles he was having with State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Now, after the Attorney General's office found that Spitzer's aides had been involved in a dirty-tricks attempt to smear Bruno by using State Police records, the NY Times reports the Spitzer is "at a loss for words" and that he will try to rebuild his......

Senate Majority Joseph Bruno's and Governor Eliot Spitzer's epic Choppergate fight grows each and every day. Yesterday, Bruno demanded that investigations be opened to focus on Spitzer's administration and whether Spitzer staffers were engaged in trying to sabotage him. Bruno said, "A lot of people in authority think there was criminality in the executive branch... I want to know how much the governor knew ... This is not going to go away, not going to......

While everyone else was busy trying to find someone to blame in the congestion pricing gridlock, it turns out that lawmakers have been actually trying to work out a plan. Of course, this may come too late for the city to qualify for federal funding, but progress is progress. The NY Sun reports that Albany Democrats "were close to agreeing to a deal in which they would authorize the city to begin implementing the infrastructure......

The failure of congestion pricing (at least for this legislative session) has cast a pall on NYC-Albany relations. Not least because Mayor Bloomberg spent some time yesterday slamming state lawmakers. He said:New York City is today poorer because of Albany's inaction yesterday, and I think, sadly, it appears that we jeopardized, at best, and probably lost, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something with someone else's money. "And [we] demonstrated once again that Albany just......

Mayor Bloomberg returned from Sun Valley's media mogul conference to stump for his congestion pricing program at three churches yesterday. And today he's headed to Albany, as the congestion pricing program will be discussed by the Legislature. The Bloomberg administration has pointed out that the federal Department of Transportation is pretty willing to give $537 million in funding to NYC if the concept of congestion pricing is passed by Albany lawmakers, but the deadline for......

Today, Dexter Bostick and Robert Ellis will be arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on charges related to the Monday shooting of two police officers during a traffic stop. Bostick and Ellis had fled NYC after the shooting, only to be captured days later in Pennsylvania. Yesterday, they were extradited from Pennsylvania, and lines of police officers watched them as they were escorted to and from the 71st Precinct in Brooklyn. Police officers are expected......

Something is happening with congestion pricing in Albany, but we're not exactly sure what. It's not put-a-fork-in-it dead yet, but it might be close to it. Or not! WCBS said the plan was "dealt [a] crippling blow", but Spitzer's staff is looking to create a commission that would give Albany the power to scale the plan back. The Daily News said that Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver won't bring his members back to vote on it......

Yesterday, The Politicker reported that Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver "quietly" met with Governor Spitzer and Senate Leader Bruno (separately) and that congestion pricing was one of the topics discussed. Silver has publicly doubted the feasibility of Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, leading the Mayor to go on the offensive and try to shame Silver and other lawmakers for holding up the legislation - especially when there's $500 million in federal funds for the taking.......

Okay, this might be the official nadir of the Governor Eliot Spitzer-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno fight. The Post exclusively reports that a furious Spitzer called Bruno an "old, senile piece of s---t". Swear words and ageism! Spitzer had offered to make peace with Bruno after a week of various accusations and recriminations, but Bruno refused, so Spitzer allegedly used colorful language to describe Bruno while speaking with another Republican senator. From the Post: "I......

The fight between Governor Eliot Spitzer and Senate Majority Joseph Bruno gets more and more unbelievable. Yesterday, Bruno claimed that the Times Union, the Albany newspaper, tried to shake him down for money and today the Post says Spitzer had Bruno tailed by the state police! Hopefully the next news will be that the Legislature is selling tickets to a fight in the boxing ring. Over the weekend, the Times Union reported that Spitzer was......

Having fun yet, Governor Spitzer? The new governor slogged through his first Legislative session by having a fight with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno stall many possible deals. Spitzer said that Bruno's was blocking many issues, such as congestion pricing, campaign reform, and expanding the criminal DNA database, because Bruno wanted a half-billion dollar package for capital projects. Spitzer said, "much of [the package], if not most of it, [was] pork. It was dripping fat;......

Though the Partnership for New York City's Kathryn Wylde told the NY Times that she finds Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver "quite the opposite" of the "dark Darth Vader figure of Albany" that many people think him to be, we're betting that Mayor Bloomberg thinks Silver is quite Vaderish. A number of lawmakers confirmed to the Post that the many people hate Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan for the city, offering comments like "It sucks, it does......

Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver is putting his mark on the Mayor's congestion pricing plan by not doing anything. Today he said on the radio, "It's unlikely we [the Legislature] can take action within the next week," and then most of Albany has a recess starting June 21. Silver did suggest that the Assembly could discuss the matter when they come back in August,which is when a plan would need to be approved so the city......

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg got some more political support for his congestion pricing plan. Joseph Crowley, a representative for parts of Queens and the Bronx and head of the Queens Democratic party, appeared with Bloomberg at Grand Central Terminal's subway station together. They announced that major mass transit improvements could be made in the Bronx and Queens with funding from congestion pricing. Two Metro-North stations would be opened in the Bronx (Parkchester and Co-op City) while......

Some wrap-up about Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing legislation making its way to the state senate. The controversial and innovative (for the U.S.) plan which would charge vehicles to enter Manhattan below 86th Street (between 6AM and 6PM) received support from Governor Spitzer and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters yesterday, but it looks like Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver may once again be the Mayor's bete noir. How so? Silver has a number of concerns (privacy......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A stabbing at Canal and Broadway, a naked EDP in Brooklyn, and a car into scaffolding at 54th and 8th in Manhattan Interesting story about the state NOW endorsement for the Democratic candidate and the city NOW endorsement for the Republican candidate in today's special election for an Upper East Side Assembly seat The soaking NYC got from tropical storm Barry may have caused a wall collapse in Staten......

Governor Spitzer has proposed to expand NY State's DNA database by collecting samples from every convicted criminal, including those guilty of misdemeanors, like harassment or unauthorized use of a credit card. Spitzer also wants to streamline DNA collection in order for defendants to use it to clear their names. Currently, the state collects DNA from half of its convicted criminals. Governor Pataki had attempted to create a state DNA database - which Spitzer supported -......

Looks like we may avoid an Albany shutdown after all. Even though our steamrolling governor threatened to shut down the state government if the Legislature wouldn't agree to his budget by April 1, Governor Eliot Spitzer and the Legislature's leaders have tentatively agreed to a budget. The Sun says the compromise "puts the brakes on but does not completely stop Mr. Spitzer's plans to redistribute more education funding to less wealthy, urban school districts such......

The first battle is over, and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver has dealt Governor Eliot Spitzer his first defeat. The Democratic-led Assembly selected one of its own, Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, to be State Comptroller. Spitzer had recommended three non-lawmaker candidates in the past weeks, but Silver and other Democrats were upset that the panel didn't include their choices. So, proving that politics is beyond any sort of rhyme or reason, the Assembly reneged on a deal......