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]

Former New York City Councilwoman Melinda Katz picked up endorsements from two prominent preachers in the Rockaway section of the borough in her bid for Queens borough president. Revs. Evan Gray Sr. and Dr. Dwayne Sleet of Pastor Macedonia Baptist and First Baptist Church, respectively, announced their support for Katz yesterday, part of a strategy by Katz to reach across demographic groups. African-Americans make up roughly 30 percent of the borough and are a key constituency in winning a borough-wide… [More]

  The state budget did not go into overtime, but there were a number of buzzer beaters this week. Top-seeded Gov. Andrew Cuomo outpaced 16th-seeded David Paterson’s legacy in the first round, but trailed eighth-seeded gun rights advocates at halftime due to sloppy turnovers. The ninth-seeded minimum wage hike ran away from the eighth-seeded small business employers, who sought to limit its scoring to under $9 an hour, and barely slipped by top-seeded Senate Republicans, who forced the wage’s restaurant workers to foul out. But 420th-seed Assemblyman… [More]

Bruce Gyory handicaps the Queens borough president race. … [More]

Democratic Senators are pushing to include the DREAM Act and DREAM Fund legislation in the budget in order to help the children of immigrants pay for higher education, but they have gained little traction. The Assembly included $25 million for an immigrants’ college fund in its budget proposal, but the Republican-controlled chamber left the item out. Sen. Adriano Espaillat said he was “optimistic” Gov. Andrew Cuomo would help pass immigration reform. “I think that it requires a push from the second floor, a leadership shown by… [More]

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

The only thing that isn’t frozen in Albany is the budget. Temperatures plummeted in the Capitol Region this week with highs barely cresting above 10 degrees and lows bottoming out at one degree Fahrenheit. Legislators are reaching for their thermal gloves, scarves, and overcoats to combat the frigid conditions, which are starting to bother them. “The Albany cold has gotten the better of me and given me a bug of some sort,” said state Sen. Daniel Squadron. “It was inevitable.”… [More]

Politically, the year ahead will offer the usual crop of indicted pols, unpopular policies and heart-stopping surprises. … [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]

The already packed field for Queens borough president could be getting even more crowded. So far the diverse array of candidates includes Councilmen Leroy Comrie and Peter Vallone, Jr., former Councilwoman Melinda Katz, and state Sen. Jose Peralta, with Deputy Borough President Barry Grodenchik also rumored to enter the race. Now it appears that state Sen. Tony Avella might jump into the fray. Asked about the possibility, Avella insisted that his focus at the moment was on his current re-election… [More]