At midnight, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was sworn in as the 54th Governor of New York. The NY Times reports that during the private ceremony (the public inauguration will be today at 1PM, pushed back an hour because of the weather) that federal judge Robert W. Sweet swore in his former clerk, that guests cheered, "Go get 'em, Eliot!" after he took the oath, and that a 12-liter bottle of Veuve-Clicquot was very difficult......

Just because Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is set to become Governor in a few days doesn't mean he's slacking on the old job. The AG's office says that SoHo store Yellow Rat Bastard has cheated employees out of $1 million. According to the NY Times, Spitzer says that the store and its affiliates have paid less than minimum wage, failed to pay overtime, and fired or demoted employees for complaining to the AG's office. And......

Despite of a record victory, Governor-elect Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has to face a big problem: What do to with State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who was found guilty of violating state law by the State Ethics Commission. The NY Times speaks with people involved with Spitzer's discussions (they are anonymous, of course) about the matter:“While a personally painful decision, it’s an easy decision because the facts are clear,” said one person with knowledge of the......

To no one's surprise, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was elected the next Governor, Senator Hillary Clinton was re-elected, and Andrew Cuomo was elected Attorney General. (Democrat Alan Hevesi was re-elected Comptroller, but more on that later.) But the dynamics are interesting: Spitzer won in a "historic landslide" and Clinton managed to take votes of 20-25% of Republican voters. After a victory speech that included a reference to Ali G, Spitzer will have to make......

Hilarious: The NY Times' election blog, The Empire Zone, reports that Chelsea Clinton's name wasn't found in the book of registered voters at the West 20th Street polling place: "The book containing her name was apparently forwarded to the wrong district, denying her the ability to enter a polling booth." D'oh! So she - and probably the other people in that book - had to fill out an "affidavit vote," ensuring that she would be......

The NY State Ethics Commission said that State Comtroller Alan Hevesi did violate state law by having a state driver chauffeur his wife. And now it seems that Hevesi is more likely to resign now with this finding. The ethics panel report also found that Hevesi underestimated how much he owed back for the driver and lied about his wife needing a driver because of security concerns - and that the state driver Hevesi hired......

In a little more than two weeks, the ING NYC Marathon will take place. It's a little too late to sign up to run (unless you run for a charity - more here), but there are ways to get involved. One is to volunteer at the start of the race. Since the race starts early, volunteers are needed to help out at the start of the race in Staten Island - they will "help set......

Sweet fancy Moses, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow might leave the MTA to take a job as the head of the Real Estate Board of New York, the big real estate lobbying group! Sources tell the Daily News that Kalikow, a real estate developer in his own right (his MTA salary si $1), would only leave after securing Second Avenue Subway funding. Someone in the federal government - fund that project! Likely future governor, Attorney General......

Finally! After realizing that a city offer of $500 million for the West Side Railyards is too low when the railyards are worth $1.5 billion (at least!), the MTA has come up with a plan to develop the West Side. They are selling rights to the eastern part of yards to the city for $200 million, while putting the other western part (as of yet not zoned for development use) up for sale via......

Last night, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and former State Assembly Republican minority leader John Faso had their first gubernatorial debate. Both promised not to tax New York residents, though Faso wonder how Spitzer would be able to do that, with Spitzer's ambitious plans to cut taxes, give people more health coverage, and help school financing. Faso pointed out that Spitzer uses the private plane of a developer interested in bringing a casino to NY......

After yesterday's announcement that federal and state agencies will lease 1 million of Freedom Tower's 2.6 million square feet, the candidates for NY Governor have backed the plan as well. The NY Times reports that Democratic nominee Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Republican nominee John Faso both threw their support behind the plan, which now "signals that whoever wins the general election in November is likely to continue Gov. George E. Pataki’s plans for......

With just 55 days left, the dance cards are set for the general election. As expected, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Senator Hillary Clinton won their respectives primaries for governor and Senate. The NY Times noted that Clinton's reosounding win showed that her support of the Iraq war did not affect voter sentiment:“Clinton’s work ethic, her lack of enemies, and her fund-raising help for other Democrats have insulated her from party criticism, including on......

If you're a registered Democrat or Republican, get your primary shoes out. Here's a list of candidates (PDF), but the shortlist of primaries is: - Governor: For the Democrats, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer vs. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi - Attorney General: For the Democrats, Andrew Cuomo vs. Mark Green - Senate: For the Democrats, Senator Hillary Clinton vs. Jonathan Tasini; for the Repubilcans, John Spencer vs. Kathlen T. McFarland - Congress, 11th District in......

The NY Times doled out two big endorsements for the upcoming Democratic primaries this weekend: One for Attorney General and the other for Governor. And Mark Green, the former city Public Advocate, gets the nod, even though the editoral starts out, "If there are excellent Democratic candidates for governor this year, the race to succeed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is a lot more contentious and a lot less promising." Green's "prickly personality" is noted, as......

Oh, Bloomie, Bloomie, Bloomie. Mayor Mike shot an arrow at State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer yesterday on his weekly WABC radio address. After Spitzer has moved to slow/stop/co-opt a number of his and Pataki's larger projects (read: The city's planned purchase of the West Side Rail Yards from the MTA and Moynihan Station) Bloomberg made it very clear that he thinks Spitzer needs to just let elected officials do their job: "The tendency when......

The heated fight for Major Owens' Congressional seat gets hotter as City Council member Yvette Clarke has landed three important endorsements - two from big unions and the other from Congressman Anthony Weiner. Brooklyn's 11th District covers Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, and Park Slope, and the race has already attracted four would-be candidates (who would likely be elected to the seat in November): City Council members Clarke and David Yassky, State Senator Carl......

Gothamist was happily in the middle of watching four hours of The Dog Whisperer (Will and Jada's dog Luigi hangs out with Cesar and the dogs when the movie stars are out of town!) over the weekend when we saw this horrible ad: The 2001-2006 World Trade Center Gold and Silver Clad Commemorative Coin. Oh, yes, a coin claiming to be mined from silver "found under tons" of Ground Zero debris is being hawked yet......

Last night, the two Democrats interesting in becoming the next Governor of NY State had their only debate. Underdog Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the expected winner during this fall's general election, actually had a pretty lively discussion. Here are some notable things:- On Con Ed during the Queens blackout: Spitzer was "stunned" Bloomberg supported Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke while Suozzi said he wouldn't second guess Mayor B -......

Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, who lost the NY State Republican party's support to be the Republican nominee for the governor's race this fall, is being pressured to drop out of the race. Weld, who can still force a primary after earning more than a third of the NYS Republican party's votes, has lost support from both the current and former NY State Republican Party chairmen, who are urging him to quit, probably in order......

Today, the Court of Appeals will be hearing from lawyers about gay marriage in NYC today. Back in February 2005, a State Supreme Court judge ruled that gay and lesbian couples have equal access to marriage, but the city appealed and an appellate court reversed the decision. Which brings the case to the Court of Appeals. And though Mayor Blooomberg supports gay marriage, he does hope the city's lawyers will win, "I would never want......

The NY State Democratic Convention is taking place in Buffalo today and tomorrow (the NY State Republican Convention is in Long Island on Wednesday and Thursday), and the gloves are coming off as the Democrats are looking to grab the Governor's house. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic frontrunner for the gubernatorial nomination, called the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation "an abject failure". Well, of course he would say that - didn't recently resigned LMDC......

...but what does that really mean? Sure, the Mayor announced that if NY State's Court of Appeal decides that gay marriages are legal, then NYC will perform them, but the Mayor has always felt that way. Back in 2004, when the issue got hot with gay marriages being performed in San Franciso and New Paltz, NY, Mayor Bloomberg refused to go along, saying that he would follow NY State law. (Attorney General Eliot Spitzer didn't......

Once upon a time, St. Patrick's Day was a day simply full of pageantry and feasting. But those days are over, as most St. Patrick's Days seem to be full of controversy, and this year even features some really classy (or is that assy?) remarks by the parade organizer. The big hullabaloo is about how City Council Speaker Christine Quinn - an Irish City Council Speaker!! - is not marching in the parade because she......

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has found his 2006 gubernatorial running mate: Harlem's State Senator, David Patterson. While cynics might think that Spitzer was trying to solidify his base with black voters, Spitzer has actually succeeded in annoying some influential black leaders, as some, including Patterson's father, as The Politicker pointed out, have been supporting Leecia Eve, a former Hillary Clinton staffer, for Lieutenant Governor. The NY Times' story about the selection of Patterson is more......

Will the wackiness at Ground Zero never end? Granted, it's not exactly about Ground Zero, but given that Lower Manhattan Development Corporation chairman John Whitehead has claimed that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer threatened him, we still think it counts as Ground Zero hijinks. Whitehead wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that Spitzer said to him earlier this year, "I will be coming after you. You will pay the price," after Whtiehead had defended......

It's times like these when the newspapers go into a frenzy and give their opinions about the transit strike today. Here's our take on them: Daily News: For sheer bravado, Gothamist gives points for the title, Throw Roger From the Train. As you'd expect, it's high on the melodrama ("Toussaint, meanwhile, betrayed his members and the city in an act of madness."), and there is an interesting take on what the negotiations were between the......

This is awesome and more dangerous than Jack McCoy sleeping with Claire Kincaid: A disgruntled ex-secretary's complaint that a judge was having an affair with an assistant district attorney now may have repercussions for the judge's rulings. Defense lawyer Ron Kuby now claims that Supreme Court Justice Jaime Rios' "improper sexual relationship" with former ADA Meryl Lutsky and is asking for a new trial for Tyrone Johnson, who was convicted in 2003. Former secretary Judith......

With an article about many local Democrats' support of Mayor Bloomberg, Gothamist started to think about the power of big name Democrats. Yes, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Senator Clinton are campaigning for Fernando Ferrer, and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson stumped for him yesterday, but they still don't seem to add up to enough. Sharpton and Jackson are probably the most effective at trying to tip the balance of black voters, who, according to......

It's official: Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld is going to run for governor of New York. We can thank Rudy Giuliani and Karl Rove for encouraging Weld to run; according to the NY Times, people have said Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the early Democratic frontrunner, is "beatable." Weld himself told the NY Times "juices are really flowing for this race." Okay, first things first, dude: No one wants to know about your juices, okay? Didn't......

There are rumors that former Massachusetts Governor William Weld is considering to run for NY State Governor on the Republican ticket, since it seems like Governor George Pataki is on his way out, with bigger political ambitions in mind and a state that really hates him. Weld is an interesting Republican, as he believes drugs like marijuana should be legalized (that stance basically killed his attempt to be Ambassador to Mexico), is pro-choice and has......