Legislators returned to Albany on Monday  and booted state Sen. Malcolm Smith from the Independent Democratic Conference two weeks after federal agents arrested him on bribery charges. “If [the Democrats] are willing to take him on, if they want to make him a part of their conference, they’re free to do so,” IDC spokesman Eric Soufer said. But the Democrats didn’t seem to want him either. “I don’t foresee that happening,” Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said at a… [More]

Andrea Stewart-Cousins has already made history, but can she rescue the Democrats from themselves? … [More]

A divided state Senate spent its first day of session debating the merits of a package of new gun laws that would tighten restrictions on assault weapons, before passing it late Monday night in a 43-18 vote. It was the first bill passed under the body’s new power sharing agreement, though it was unclear to some lawmakers who was actually in charge. “It doesn’t matter,” said Temporary Co-President Jeff Klein, a Democrat who shares control of the Senate with Republican… [More]

A flurry of fundraising emails were sent today by New York City elected officials and candidates as the filing deadline for campaign finance disclosure statements approaches. With the fundraising period ending tomorrow and the statements due on January 15th, messages were sent out to supporters of various candidates encouraging last minute donations, with some candidates using language that strayed from the usual generic attempts at persuasion. City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito sent an email on behalf of Council candidate Ede Fox,… [More]

Tumult in Harlem underscores storied neighborhood’s generational and ethnic divide Harlem is in turmoil. Again. Three Democratic candidates are lining up to run against Rep. Charlie Rangel, who himself is gearing up for his 21st reelection campaign. The Latino community in Northern Manhattan is up in arms over the possibility it might not get its own congressional district. And the Manhattan and Bronx Democratic parties are feuding over how best to divide the spoils of redistricting. In other words, more… [More]

Once again this week, one bold man proved he can accomplish great things despite the timeworn bureaucracy of New York. We speak, of course, of Nik Wallenda. But amazing as it was for him to win permission to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope, we’re not jinxing him by calling him a winner until he makes it to the other side. For the rest of this week’s Winners & Losers, the only death they had to defy was political:… [More]

* Senate Democrats are beginning a concerted push today for passage of the DREAM Act, which would provide state education funding and scholarships to undocumented immigrants. The issue will be a main focus of the annual Black, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus Conference this weekend. Sen. Bill Perkins is featured in a video the Dems will roll out today that highlights the benefits of passing the DREAM Act and calls on Senate Republicans to bring it to the floor. “As… [More]

The library was full of guns. Leather-bound law volumes, potted plants, a well-trod carpet—in the middle of this understated display of institutional sobriety lay 13 semiautomatic weapons on a folding card table. <img src=”http://www.cityhallnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/cyrus2.jpg” alt=”" width=”333″ height=”400″ />Cyrus Vance Jr., in a dark pinstriped suit and tortoiseshell glasses, stood behind a podium next to the gun display, shoulder-to-shoulder with a pack of black-clad, thick-necked cops and investigators. “We believe we have dismantled one of central Harlem’s most violent and destructive… [More]

The library was full of guns. Leather-bound law volumes, potted plants, a well-trod carpet—in the middle of this understated display of institutional sobriety lay 13 semiautomatic weapons on a folding card table. Cyrus Vance Jr., in a dark pinstriped suit and tortoiseshell glasses, stood behind a podium next to the gun display, shoulder-to-shoulder with a pack of black-clad, thick-necked cops and investigators. “We believe we have dismantled one of central Harlem’s most violent and destructive criminal street gangs,” he told… [More]

*  The defendants are starting to fight among themselves in the upcoming trials for the broad-based conspiracy and fraud case that snagged Sen. Carl Kruger and Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. Kruger’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman has already filed for a separate trial for his client, on grounds it would allow co-defendant Solomon Kalish to “completely exonerate Sen. Kruger with his testimony.” On Tuesday, Kalish’s lawyer Adrian DiLuzio also petitioned for a separate trial to avoid “spillover prejudice” from the other alleged… [More]