Lorenzo Fertitta, the 46-year-old chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has become a billionaire thanks to his foresight in turning a fringe athletic league into one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. There are mixed-martial-arts matches in 48 states as well as in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, but the sport has not been sanctioned in New York State. Fertitta has been lobbying the state Legislature for six years to legalize mixed martial arts, arguing that it… [More]

Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s abrupt resignation from office leaves a vacuum of power in North Brooklyn with no obvious successor. Lopez’s departure could be an opportunity for Jason Otaño, a former state Senate candidate and former counsel for Borough President Marty Markowitz. Otaño lost to state Sen. Martin Dilan last year, but is expected to announce his intentions to run for Lopez’s seat in coming weeks. Democratic District Leader Maritza Davila, who narrowly lost to Councilwoman Diana Reyna four years ago, may… [More]

Assemblyman Vito Lopez announced he would resign from office at the end of the legislative session next month—but he could still pick his successor. Lopez has the power to select a candidate to replace him if a special election is held later this year thanks to an arcane state law empowering district leaders to choose candidates for office in the event of a vacancy. Under state election law, a party’s state committee leaders can pick a candidate to run, who is then approved by… [More]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment scandal a “sad and disturbing episode” and urged lawmakers to expel him from the chamber. “They should make the statement that we should not tolerate this in our house,” Cuomo said at a press conference. “The state Legislature does not tolerate this behavior and we want him expelled from our house.” But Cuomo would not call on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to step down despite rumblings for his removal based on his handling of the case. “The… [More]

Lawmakers renewed calls for Assemblyman Vito Lopez to resign after the release of an explosive ethics report that detailed years of abusive behavior but stopped short of guaranteeing his ouster from the chamber this year. Lopez allegedly groped, goaded and gawked at eight female employees, creating a hostile work environment over a two-year period. Four of the women brought complaints to the state Assembly, and all eight shared their testimony with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which released its findings… [More]

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at City Hall on Wednesday, but he had a few things to say about Gov. Andrew Cuomo too. “I think he’s doing a great job,” Malloy said. “He’s working very hard, he’s assembled a good team on the gun control stuff. He shot out pretty quickly and did a lot of good work. I support him.” Malloy, a Democrat, also got a gun control bill through the state legislature this year but has dealt with far less corruption… [More]

Brooklyn Democratic leaders are uneasy at the possibility that the Brooklyn borough president frontrunner, state Sen. Eric Adams, may become entangled in a federal dragnet that has already ensnared former state Sen. Shirley Huntley, who secretly recorded Adams, and they are making calls urging more candidates to step into the race, according to sources. Power brokers are urging Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carlo Scissura, Markowitz’s former chief of staff, to challenge Adams, but Scissura said he’s staying put for now. “I love… [More]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo hosted a state tourism summit in Albany on Wednesday that brought together business leaders, tourism marketers and museum directors from across the state. Transit executives attended too, but there was little discussion about how to transport tens of millions of New York City tourists to other parts of the state beyond making the city’s airports more welcoming. Cuomo sidestepped a question about transportation and said that the reason more international travelers don’t visit other parts of the… [More]

Assembly Democrats on Tuesday passed the Fair Elections Act, which includes partial public financing of election campaigns, but the bill is not expected to get much traction in the Senate, where Republicans oppose the measure. It does not help matters that the previous lead sponsor of a public financing bill was state Sen. John Sampson, who was indicted on Monday for allegedly embezzling $440,000 from an escrow account to fund his failed 2005 campaign for Brooklyn district attorney. State Sen. Malcolm Smith,… [More]

Legislators were shocked and saddened when federal officials indicted another one of their colleagues, former minority leader state Sen. John Sampson on Monday. But some in Albany think that U.S. Attorneys are targeting legislators of color in their latest round of investigative probes. “The sentiment of conspiracy would come from people on the ground, when you see case after case,” said state Sen. James Sanders, who is organizing an event on Friday discussing the recent spate of arrests. “If there… [More]