What does Mayor Michael Bloomberg do on his birthday, which also happens to be Valentine’s Day and the day he addressed the city in his 12th and final State of the City talk? Does he put on a tuxedo and throw himself a classy yet staid black tie party at the Waldorf Astoria like Jack Donaghy did once? Does he pop a copy of Annie Hall into his 90-inch television and curl up on his animal print sofa with… [More]

Minority Leader Brian Kolb is looking forward to a banner year in the Assembly.… [More]

Stephanie Miner is not looking for a handout. But while she insists she has done everything she can to balance the $300 million budget, there is still a roughly $30 million gap, and little more she can do, she says, without changes from Albany.… [More]

Sent 10:58 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16 from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press office Do you have a press release to submit for The Footnote? Email editor@cityandstateny.com with “Footnote” in the subject line.… [More]

Fiscal crises afflicting local governments are cascading from Stockton in California through Detroit, Syracuse and Yonkers, on to Suffolk on Long Island. The problem is rooted in simple math with compound policy implications. The public’s demand for services, exacerbated by mandated costs (e.g., pensions), has become unsustainable, given the revenue streams currently available to localities. I will leave the substance to public finance experts like Dick Ravitch and Paul Volcker. Here, let’s address the political challenges facing mayors like Stephanie… [More]

The word “jobs” appeared over 20 times in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State speech, underscoring the importance the governor places on growing New York’s economy in his second year in office. “Our challenge for 2012 is this: How does government spur job creation in a down economy while limiting spending and maintaining fiscal discipline?” Cuomo said. In his speech, Cuomo laid the groundwork for his jobs agenda, calling for another round of public grants to be doled out… [More]

By Pei Shan Hoe Not in his native Queens—or most other boroughs Franklin Delano Roosevelt made several stops in the Bronx during his time as New York’s governor. So did Nelson Rockefeller. George Pataki frequented the borough for work and pleasure—one of his favorite eateries is said to be in Belmont. Bronx Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan can’t recall any governor—much less a Democratic governor—serving a term without making a single stop in “the most Democratic county in the whole country,”… [More]