Most Assembly members asked to be reimbursed for their travel expenses this year, according to a report released by the Assembly last month. But there was one notable exception: Indicted Assemblyman William F. Boyland, Jr., who despite having appeared in Albany for at least some of the session days, asked for no reimbursements for his travel for the time period from October 2011 to March 2012. Boyland got in hot water last year for claiming expenses on days when he was… [More]

At a Citizens’ Union forum on issues related to the 2013 mayoral election, one of the only things the panelists seemed to agree on was the fact that the city is facing a potential budget crisis sometime in the near future. David Jones of Community Service Society, NYU Professor Pedro Noguera, former Lt. Gov. Dick Ravitch and Partnership for New York City President Kathy Wylde were asked by an audience member at the CUNY graduate school to explain how they… [More]

On Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo took his staff, Cabinet members and the Capitol press corps for a field trip to a piece of newly-acquired land in the Adirondacks, about two hours north of Albany. For several hours, on the grounds of a hunting lodge formerly used as an executive retreat for the lumber company Finch Pruyn, reporters were granted an unusual amount of access to roughly two dozen cabinet members and the Governor himself in a largely unstructured “hang.” The… [More]

Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer’s press secretary Audrey Gelman is in Vogue this month. Gelman,25, joins the ranks of other well-suited New York politicos who’ve graced the style magazine’s pages such as Huma Abedin,  aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,  and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Gelman uses her single-page spread in the glossy magazine to promote Stringer, who’s almost certainly running for mayor although he’s never officially announced it. “He’s a real guy,” she says. “And he just understands… [More]

City Councilman and Manhattan Borough President candidate Robert Jackson is getting an endorsement today from the Local 147 Sandhogs Union, a group of tunnel diggers. It’s the second union endorsement for Jackson in the 2013 race. He’s already been endorsed by former Mayor David Dinkins and by IATSE Local One, the Stagehands Union. The second union endorsement comes after City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin rolled out her first union endorsement for the 2013 borough president’s race. Jackson is expected to face not only Lappin, but… [More]

Democrats in the state Senate, who’ve had a string of unhappy political losses over the past several years and face an uphill battle to retake the majority, had a stronger showing during their softball season.… [More]

Elected officials have been slow to respond to the prescription drug abuse epidemic, but New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has made it a priority and sees the fight as a chance to undo the state’s legacy of regressive drug policies.… [More]

Of the three Republican senators who voted yes on same-sex marriage on this year’s ballot, only one, Erie County Sen. Mark Grisanti, remained safe as results rolled in Thursday night. Sen. Steve Saland, generally considered to be in no danger in his race against Neil Di Carlo, led his opponent by only 43 votes at the end of the night, with more than a thousand absentee ballots left to be counted. Sen. Roy McDonald trailed his challenger, Kathy Marchione, by about… [More]

In a letter dated yesterday to New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, mayoral candidate Bill Thompson asked the city to table a vote on the Bloomberg Administration’s proposed soda ban. The vote, which was scheduled to happen today following a board of health meeting scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., is expected to approve the ban, which would limit sales of sugary drinks in sizes larger than 16 ounces. Bill Thompson Ask DOH to Table Soda Ban Vote… [More]

UFCW Local 1500 is endorsing Jessica Lappin in her race for Manhattan Borough president in 2013, giving the candidate her first union endorsement in the campaign.  “Jessica Lappin has not just been a great friend to this union but to workers and working families all across New York—whether it’s fighting for fair wages, preserving vital services like child care in the city budget, or protecting seniors as chair of the City Council’s Committee on Aging,” said Pat Purcell, the assistant to the… [More]