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]

  Just when you thought Albany couldn’t get any more disgusting, Vito Lopez’s ethics-bending sexual harassment report became public. The findings eviscerate Lopez for his lecherous behavior toward eight former staff members and taint Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as his enabler. The report’s slimy details made us so uncomfortable that we’ll go take another shower while you take a look at our winners and losers.   Ray Halbritter – The Oneida Nation’s representative extolled this week’s catchall agreement between his people, the state and two… [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]

  Springtime arrived across the state, bringing with it radiant sunlight, tulips in full bloom, the calming buzz of honeybees and a publishing war between the governor and perhaps his fiercest critic. Cuomo’s newly announced memoir, which he vowed to write himself, will trump Fred Dicker’s deal for a book that the columnist hoped to write with the governor. They say history is written by winners, so here are our Winners and Losers: Can’t get enough of our winners and… [More]

The rainy weather and a group of 20 protesters didn’t keep scores of politicos from attending Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s City Council fund-raiser in Brooklyn on Thursday. Nearly 100 guests sampled the red sauce specialties of Giando’s on the Water, one of Lopez’s favorite restaurants, while Lopez touted his record on housing, youth services and senior services, according to sources at the event. Lopez, the target of criminal and ethics probes into sexual harassment allegations made by his former staff members, opened a… [More]

Assemblyman Vito Lopez has a new campaign treasurer for his upcoming City Council run – and just in the nick of time. His former campaign treasurer, Christiana Fisher, avoided jail time but got a year of probation. … [More]

Election Day in 2012 was one of the bleakest in the history of the New York State Republican Party. Propelled by an Obama landslide in New York—the president’s best showing in any state except Vermont and Hawaii—the Democrats trounced their opposition all the way down the ballot. Kirsten Gillibrand, once considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the U.S. Senate, amassed a startling 72 percent of the vote, the highest percent total of any statewide candidate in New York… [More]

A Brooklyn nonprofit under investigation by the city and the federal government for its ties to Assemblyman Vito Lopez received $63,337 from the state in this year’s budget – but it wasn’t a new member item. Lawmakers stopped getting discretionary funding for their districts in 2009, but a residual pot of money remains. The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council obtained a $1.9 million grant in 2004 to construct its youth center. The last of the grant is trickling through this year, according… [More]