CHatter
May 12th, 2008
Power Walk
Former Attorney General Janet Reno, who has Parkinson's Disease, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens) joined tens of thousands in Central Park April 26 to raise awareness and funds to find a cure.
Before Fosella Arrest, Recchia Considered Dropping Race
The morning that news broke of Rep. Vito Fossella's (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) DWI arrest in Arlington, Va., two weeks ago, Council Member Domenic Recchia (D-Brooklyn) called at least one elected official from the district about dropping out of his bid to unseat the incumbent, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
However, Recchia denied that he had ever wavered in his interest in going to Congress.
“Domenic Recchia is still in this race. Domenic Recchia is fighting hard and Domenic Recchia is raising money,” he said, describing himself.
With $325,175 in his campaign war chest, Recchia currently has $76,679 more cash on hand than Fossella.
Doubts about Recchia's candidacy have arisen in past weeks as he has not formally declared his candidacy or established a campaign operation and missed several Democratic club debates against his potential primary rival, 2006 nominee Steve Harrison. He missed one such debate due to an illness of his daughter.
Recchia's personal issues, which include his wife being attacked by a mugger in March, led to rumors that he was reconsidering his candidacy.
“Obviously, with the horrible thing that happened to his wife, anyone would wonder how to approach things,” said one prominent Democrat in the district. “It's difficult [to run for Congress]—the fundraising, the scrutiny, the hours.”
Another prominent Democrat said Recchia's initial interest in running for Brooklyn borough president and being absent on Staten Island led to suspicion that he contemplated dropping out.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) targeted Fossella's seat before his DWI arrest, and has regularly indicated its strong preference for Recchia over Harrison.
State Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who recruits candidates for state Democrats, said Democratic gains and displeasure over the Iraq War makes this seat winnable. Democrats are committed to having a candidate with proven fundraising abilities in the race, and Recchia is that candidate, she said.
“When you have resources with many races to run, you have to evaluate each race,” Savino said. “No one wants to throw money against the wall and see what sticks.”
That may be bad news for both Harrison and Recchia. With the GOP likely to push Fossella out of the race in favor of a strong GOP candidate, the DCCC is reportedly pushing to keep the race competitive by having a Staten Island-based Democrat make the race. Savino's name has been mentioned as well as those of Assembly Member Michael Cusick and Council Member Michael McMahon.
No Acts from Acting Gov. Bruno
In a press conference after becoming the new governor in March, David Paterson (D) said he would not be leaving the state. If he did, after all, acting lieutenant governor Joseph Bruno would become acting governor for however long Paterson was out of town.
Paterson stayed put for his first month and a half in office. But on May 1, he traveled to Washington to address the state’s congressional delegation about New York's worsening economic status.
There was no coup in Albany while Paterson was away on his one-day trip.
Paterson spokesperson Errol Cockfield said the governor was only joking about staying in the state to prevent Bruno from being acting governor.
“He was being facetious,” Cockfield said. “The folks who know the governor know he’s an affable guy and jokes from time to time.”
Bruno's office was contacted in advance about Paterson's trip out of New York. Bruno spokesperson Scott Reif said the majority leader was not interested in seizing power on a technicality. He signed no bills or brought any suitcases over to the Executive Mansion while Paterson was away.
“Senator Bruno is interested in working with Governor Paterson to do whatever is necessary and appropriate,” Reif said.
Congestion Pricing Cash on the Move to Chicago, LA
The $354.5 million New York would have gotten for congestion pricing has gone to Chicago and Los Angeles.
Federal Transportation Secretary Mary Peters awarded a total of $848 million in federal funding to New York, Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Chicago last year. New York received the largest share of federal funding but, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan died in Albany last month, the Department of Transportation had to reallocate the funds.
“This was a ‘one-shot deal’ for fiscal year 2007,” said Melissa Delaney, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation. “And, though it is unfortunate that the plan did not succeed in New York, we have to move on.”
Though Chicago and Los Angeles now have $153 million and $213 million in their respective transportation budgets, no one involved in planning has suggested anything as radical as Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. Instead, both cities will create pilot programs to increase the number of buses in service along major expressways.
Marc Littman, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles County (MTA), said that, like Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, he expects the city's pilot program to help Los Angeles residents change their behavior.
“Half of the people on the freeway during rush hour do not need to be there,” Littman said. “Now they will have options beyond driving their own cars and causing more gridlock.”
Neither Chicago nor Los Angeles has received the federal grant money yet. Officials in Chicago have to follow through on their pledge to privatize all metered parking in the city before they can receive the money. And as in New York, California’s state legislature must approve the pilot project before they can use that state's portion of the federal grant. Legislators will not vote on their version of the plan until October.
New York can still apply for grants to improve traffic congestion, but Delaney was unsure that another fund of equal size would be available without conditions placed on it by Congress.
“We had the funding and now they have it,” said Adam Levine, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Transportation. “Things like this happen all the time.”
Lecture Series Named in Honor of Late GOP Manhattanite
The late Bill Green, who represented the East Side of Manhattan in Congress from 1978 to 1992, now has a lecture series named in his honor at the New School for Management and Urban Policy. The first lecture, to be held on May 28, is called “The Hypertension Era in Washington: Can Federal Bipartisanship Be Revived?” Green was elected to Congress in a special election in 1978 to replace Ed Koch. Green was one of the few Republicans in New York to have a long legislative career in a city dominated by Democrats, though he did ultimately lose his seat to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens).
Green sought the Republican nomination for governor in 1994 that eventually went to George Pataki.
The New School named the lecture series for him to honor his “deep commitment to bipartisanship.”
Former Attorney General Janet Reno, who has Parkinson's Disease, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens) joined tens of thousands in Central Park April 26 to raise awareness and funds to find a cure.
Before Fosella Arrest, Recchia Considered Dropping Race
The morning that news broke of Rep. Vito Fossella's (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) DWI arrest in Arlington, Va., two weeks ago, Council Member Domenic Recchia (D-Brooklyn) called at least one elected official from the district about dropping out of his bid to unseat the incumbent, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
However, Recchia denied that he had ever wavered in his interest in going to Congress.
“Domenic Recchia is still in this race. Domenic Recchia is fighting hard and Domenic Recchia is raising money,” he said, describing himself.
With $325,175 in his campaign war chest, Recchia currently has $76,679 more cash on hand than Fossella.
Doubts about Recchia's candidacy have arisen in past weeks as he has not formally declared his candidacy or established a campaign operation and missed several Democratic club debates against his potential primary rival, 2006 nominee Steve Harrison. He missed one such debate due to an illness of his daughter.
Recchia's personal issues, which include his wife being attacked by a mugger in March, led to rumors that he was reconsidering his candidacy.
“Obviously, with the horrible thing that happened to his wife, anyone would wonder how to approach things,” said one prominent Democrat in the district. “It's difficult [to run for Congress]—the fundraising, the scrutiny, the hours.”
Another prominent Democrat said Recchia's initial interest in running for Brooklyn borough president and being absent on Staten Island led to suspicion that he contemplated dropping out.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) targeted Fossella's seat before his DWI arrest, and has regularly indicated its strong preference for Recchia over Harrison.
State Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who recruits candidates for state Democrats, said Democratic gains and displeasure over the Iraq War makes this seat winnable. Democrats are committed to having a candidate with proven fundraising abilities in the race, and Recchia is that candidate, she said.
“When you have resources with many races to run, you have to evaluate each race,” Savino said. “No one wants to throw money against the wall and see what sticks.”
That may be bad news for both Harrison and Recchia. With the GOP likely to push Fossella out of the race in favor of a strong GOP candidate, the DCCC is reportedly pushing to keep the race competitive by having a Staten Island-based Democrat make the race. Savino's name has been mentioned as well as those of Assembly Member Michael Cusick and Council Member Michael McMahon.
No Acts from Acting Gov. Bruno
In a press conference after becoming the new governor in March, David Paterson (D) said he would not be leaving the state. If he did, after all, acting lieutenant governor Joseph Bruno would become acting governor for however long Paterson was out of town.
Paterson stayed put for his first month and a half in office. But on May 1, he traveled to Washington to address the state’s congressional delegation about New York's worsening economic status.
There was no coup in Albany while Paterson was away on his one-day trip.
Paterson spokesperson Errol Cockfield said the governor was only joking about staying in the state to prevent Bruno from being acting governor.
“He was being facetious,” Cockfield said. “The folks who know the governor know he’s an affable guy and jokes from time to time.”
Bruno's office was contacted in advance about Paterson's trip out of New York. Bruno spokesperson Scott Reif said the majority leader was not interested in seizing power on a technicality. He signed no bills or brought any suitcases over to the Executive Mansion while Paterson was away.
“Senator Bruno is interested in working with Governor Paterson to do whatever is necessary and appropriate,” Reif said.
Congestion Pricing Cash on the Move to Chicago, LA
The $354.5 million New York would have gotten for congestion pricing has gone to Chicago and Los Angeles.
Federal Transportation Secretary Mary Peters awarded a total of $848 million in federal funding to New York, Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Chicago last year. New York received the largest share of federal funding but, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan died in Albany last month, the Department of Transportation had to reallocate the funds.
“This was a ‘one-shot deal’ for fiscal year 2007,” said Melissa Delaney, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation. “And, though it is unfortunate that the plan did not succeed in New York, we have to move on.”
Though Chicago and Los Angeles now have $153 million and $213 million in their respective transportation budgets, no one involved in planning has suggested anything as radical as Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. Instead, both cities will create pilot programs to increase the number of buses in service along major expressways.
Marc Littman, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles County (MTA), said that, like Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, he expects the city's pilot program to help Los Angeles residents change their behavior.
“Half of the people on the freeway during rush hour do not need to be there,” Littman said. “Now they will have options beyond driving their own cars and causing more gridlock.”
Neither Chicago nor Los Angeles has received the federal grant money yet. Officials in Chicago have to follow through on their pledge to privatize all metered parking in the city before they can receive the money. And as in New York, California’s state legislature must approve the pilot project before they can use that state's portion of the federal grant. Legislators will not vote on their version of the plan until October.
New York can still apply for grants to improve traffic congestion, but Delaney was unsure that another fund of equal size would be available without conditions placed on it by Congress.
“We had the funding and now they have it,” said Adam Levine, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Transportation. “Things like this happen all the time.”
Lecture Series Named in Honor of Late GOP Manhattanite
The late Bill Green, who represented the East Side of Manhattan in Congress from 1978 to 1992, now has a lecture series named in his honor at the New School for Management and Urban Policy. The first lecture, to be held on May 28, is called “The Hypertension Era in Washington: Can Federal Bipartisanship Be Revived?” Green was elected to Congress in a special election in 1978 to replace Ed Koch. Green was one of the few Republicans in New York to have a long legislative career in a city dominated by Democrats, though he did ultimately lose his seat to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens).
Green sought the Republican nomination for governor in 1994 that eventually went to George Pataki.
The New School named the lecture series for him to honor his “deep commitment to bipartisanship.”
