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]

There are some Brooklyn Democrats who might rejoice to know that Assemblyman Vito Lopez retired. Because he did, on December 31, 2010,  but then re-joined the state’s workforce in order to become one of the lucky Albany lawmakers who benefits from a loophole in the state’s employee retirement system that allows sitting lawmakers to start collecting retirement benefits while they are still working. This phenomenon, known as ”double-dipping,” is a good thing when you are buying a soft-serve ice cream cone… [More]

On Oct. 28, 2010, Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. allegedly collected a $3,800 bribe from an undercover FBI agent at a fundraiser in Brooklyn. But state records show Boyland was collecting from the taxpayers, too – by claiming travel, food and lodging expenses as if he were on state business in Albany. The latest federal charges against Boyland unsealed yesterday, barely three weeks after he beat an earlier corruption case, shine a spotlight on what prosecutors claim is a brazen pattern… [More]

Assembly Member Vivian Cook has not attended session in Albany in three months, apparently felled by illness. She has emerged as a top target of the group of Southeast Queens insurgents preparing to run primaries this year against incumbents. And according to a New York Post report last Sunday, she is the latest legislator to have a charity tied to her become the target of federal investigators’ attention.… [More]