Jason Horowitz | The New York Observer

Baldies Booker, Bloomberg, Klein Covet Larry Harvey's 'Fro

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:25:32 -0400

In the summer, a mature man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of good hair.

Or maybe it’s just that the heat gets to them. But in recent days, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his political allies have been talking a lot about their lack of locks.

It started, at 9:25 a.m. on July 14, when Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has endorsed Mr. Bloomberg and thinks of him as a mentor, tweeted this inane...

The Anti-Gun Schumer Returns

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:38:00 -0400

In the minutes before the Senate barely voted down an amendment that would have allowed gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines, Chuck Schumer delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor urging his colleagues not to back the measure. "This amendment will incite a dangerous race to the bottom in our nation's gun laws," he said. It was like watching the Ghost of Schumer Past. As a member of the House of...

Bloomberg, Into the Albany Muck

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:50:00 -0400

In his second and final campaign event of the evening of July 20, Michael Bloomberg visited a steaming hot volunteer headquarters in Riverdale, where he talked about his attempts to narrow the achievement gap between minority and white students. He was troubled. “People said you couldn’t do anything about it in the last seven years,” he said, sweating in a monogrammed white shirt. “And I think in the next four years, assuming we get mayoral control...

Obama's Speech, as Seen From The Bridges Bar at the Hilton

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:55:00 -0400

Not all the attendees of the NAACP's national conference, held at the Hilton Hotel in midtown this week, got into the third floor ballroom to hear President Barack Obama's highly anticipated speech last night. By the northeast entrance of the Hilton's lobby, across from a sign directing participants of the Korea Global Healthcare Conference to the hotel's second floor, a crowd gathered in front of a flat screen television sponsored by AT&T and promoting NAACP Webcast.com ("Text,...

In Preparation for Possible Race Against Andrew, Rudy Echoes Mario

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:05:00 -0400

Rudy Giuliani's Op-Ed in today's Times is being read as a clear indication that he still has a run for governor on his mind. So it's interesting that the substance of his argument, that New York needs a constitutional convention to fix Albany, is also the favorite topic of Mario Cuomo, who Giuliani crossed party lines to endorse in 1994 and who is the father of the man Giuliani might very well face in...

The Swift, Brutal Primary Strategy of Kirsten Gillibrand

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0400

Earlier this month, Kirsten Gillibrand stood in front of the steps of City Hall to accept the endorsements of two more members of Congress and repeated her standard response to all inquiries related to her facing a potential primary challenge. "For my part, I am very focused on being the best senator I can be," Gillibrand told The Observer. "And I really do leave the politics to themselves. I think they will take care of...

Paterson on Governing Amid Senate Chaos, Circling 'Sharks'

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:30:00 -0400

Ask David Paterson about Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and he will respond, without naming names, by talking about people who are “half-governing.” He does not mean this in a good way. “I am the only one who is governing the people of this state. Others, who comment, half-govern,” said the governor, in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview on June 15. “Let’s take this crisis,” he continued. “You haven’t heard anybody other than the governor suggest...

Senator Working Mom Keeps Working

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:24:00 -0400

Earlier today, Kirsten Gillibrand announced yet another family-friendly legislative proposal, this time to reduce the costs of child care for New York families. "The bottom line is that day care and early childhood education is very expensive," she said. The call introduced a six-part plan, part of which has been introduced by some of her colleagues and part which is original, to make child care better, more affordable and closer to home. "I am co-sponsoring Senator Barbara...

Isay Supports Maloney, But Not in a Paid Way

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:36:00 -0400

Did Carolyn Maloney jump the gun in rolling Josh Isay out as a campaign consultant? Last week, when I called Maloney's office with a question about her possibly-maybe Senate campaign, I was referred to Isay, the influential consultant to Michael Bloomberg who, according to a report in City Hall News, Maloney had signed up to work on her prospective bid. At that point, a source with knowledge of the arrangement between Maloney and Isay said that...

Weiner Thinks Aid To Gaza Could Be the Wedge Issue Among Pro-Israel Democrats

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:00:00 -0400

In an interview for a story I wrote about Barack Obama's impact on Israel politics in America, Anthony Weiner suggested that the president's attention-getting statements about settlements weren't the real issue. The main point of contention among local Israel supporters, he said, may end up being Obama's position on aide to Gaza. "He says something in the [Cairo] speech about the United States has to respect elections. Now that's either Hamas or Lebanon," said Weiner....

Tasini, At Least, Isn't Dawdling

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:08:00 -0400

While some members continue to toy with the possibility of challenging Kirsten Gillibrand for the Democratic nomination for Senate, Jonathan Tasini, the labor advocate, announced his candidacy on a conference call just now. Tasini, who took on Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for Senate in 2006, said that he would not be intimidated by "party insiders clearing the field for a favored candidate" and called himself the "only progressive in the race." He also tried...

Obama Redefines the Debate for New York's Israel Boosters

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:59:00 -0400

Barack Obama is changing what it means to be a pro-Israel politician in America. That much is obvious from the unusually thoughtful, nuanced and varied reactions by officials in New York—the world capital of Israel-boosterism—to his criticisms of the Netanyahu government’s settlement policies. “I think Obama feels that this type of shock therapy will have an effect on Netanyahu and also cause some American Jews to rally to his side,” said Representative Pete King, a staunchly...

Trippi Confirms He's In Talks With Maloney

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:28:00 -0400

In a brief telephone interview this morning, Joe Trippi confirmed a report in yesterday's City Hall News that he is in talks with Representative Carolyn Maloney about potentially working for her possible challenge to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "Yes we've talked," said Trippi. "And she hasn't decide to run yet. But if she does, I think she'll win and I'd want to be part of it." The talks with Trippi come as a poll taken by Doug...

Rangel: Senate Flip Is a 'Real Embarrassment' to New York

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:15:00 -0400

The Republican takeover of the State Senate does not make Charlie Rangel feel good about himself, his fellow New York congressmembers, or his state. "It's been a real embarrassment to the New York delegation—both Republican and Democrat—to believe that people who have been indicted can be welcomed into the Republican Party," said Rangel, referring to Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr. "This is a coup that is not based on principles of politics but merely...

Nadler Mourns the (Temporary?) Death of the Progressive Agenda in Albany

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:28:00 -0400

Representative Jerry Nadler said late yesterday, optimistically, that it is entirely possible that the two Democrats who enabled the Republican takeover of the State Senate will be gone from the chamber by the time new congressional districts are drawn. But either way, he said, he feared that the progressive Democratic agenda that was supposed to be in the works in Albany is likely to be a casualty of Tuesday's coup. "As I get this story...

With an Eye on Redistricting, Steve Israel Says Republican Takeover 'Complicates Things'

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:12:00 -0400

Representative Steve Israel, who handles recruiting for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said that the Republican takeover of the State Senate makes life more difficult in terms of the redistricting process, which will be hashed out by the governor and legislative leaders next year. "Of course it complicates things from a Democratic perspective," said Israel in a phone interview. But Israel expressed confidence that things could change in two years. "It's entirely a local function," he...

Lowey 'Can't Believe' the Republican Takeover of the State Senate

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:24:00 -0400

The Republican takeover of the State Senate has taken the state's Democratic establishment completely by surprise. I mentioned the development to Representative Nita Lowey as I was interviewing her for a different story. "What?!" said Lowey, a former chairwoman of the DCCC. "Who flipped now?" "I can't believe that," she said. Asked for a reaction to the news, Lowey said that analyzing the inner workings of the Senate was above "my pay grade," but said, "I...

Gillibrand Consolidates, Maloney Denies That Biden Asked Her to Desist

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:52:00 -0400

As part of her continuing effort to become primary-proof, Kirsten Gillibrand announced on the steps of City Hall today the support of two more Democratic members of Congress, Ed Towns and Nydia Velazquez. "I'm extremely grateful," said Gillibrand, as she stood flanked by the two representatives in front of four reporters and one television camera. She called Towns a leader in the House and said that Velazquez introduced her to Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia...

Weiner Says 'Momentous' Obama Went Too Far on Israeli Settlements

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:02:00 -0400

The reaction of Israel supporters to President Obama's Cairo speech has been closely monitored for signs of increasing tolerance for criticism of the Israeli government's policy on settlements, which the Obama administration has explicitly opposed in recent weeks. While some veteran Middle East analysts have suggested Obama did not go far enough in his criticism of Israeli policy, Representative Anthony Weiner of New York said that he went "too far." Weiner called the speech "big and...

Gillibrand Adviser: Sharpton Endorsement Part of Accelerated Rollout

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:17:00 -0400

A close adviser to Kirsten Gillibrand said that her endorsement this morning by Al Sharpton and Representative Gregory Meeks reflected a broad effort on the senator's part to accelerate the endorsement process with the goal of demonstrating irreproachable strength to stave off potential challengers. "All the endorsements have been pushed out to show momentum," said the adviser. "And Sharpton is a big catch, for sure." The announcement comes a day after reports that Vice President Joe...

Carolyn Maloney Works It

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:30:00 -0400

City Hall News, which is fast becoming the go-to outlet for politicians who threaten to run primary campaigns against Kirsten Gillibrand, reported today that Representative Carolyn Maloney had made yet another serious-looking gesture about her own possible Senate bid by hiring consultant Josh Isay. Isay managed Caroline Kennedy's bid to win appointment to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, and more recently advised the Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer on his publicity-winning non-challenge to Gillibrand. One fun passage...

Paterson Blows a Whistle on the Stealth Candidacy of Andrew Cuomo

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:43:00 -0400

RYE, N.Y.—Andrew Cuomo was on his way out. It was 9:30 on the morning of a state Democratic Party gathering at the Rye Hilton on May 31, and Mr. Cuomo, whose official job is attorney general, had delivered another confident speech about his plan to overhaul state government. It was the latest and most ambitious component of his undeclared, unacknowledged campaign for governor of New York. As he left, a couple of reporters asked him about...

Gillibrand Keeps Selling Senator Mom

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:30:00 -0400

In the latest installment of Kirsten Gillibrand's effort to rebrand herself as Senator Working Mom in the wake of a messy Senate selection process, she is today announcing a "three-point plan to address autism," according to a release from her Senate office. "With autism affecting more American children than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined and with insurance companies not covering necessary autism treatment, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will announce her three-point plan to help improve the lives...

Dr. Ruth Likes Kirsten Gillibrand's Acumen

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

During the Israel Day Parade on Sunday, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand walked a good distance up Fifth Avenue hand-in-hand with Governor David Paterson (on her left) and Dr. Ruth Westheimer (on her right). When I called Dr. Ruth to ask her about the experience. "I was impressed with her because she did a whole fund-raising campaign during the walk of a couple of blocks," said Westheimer, 80, referring to the senator. "She talked to them about what...

Rangel: Cuomo Promised Me He Will Not Run Against Paterson

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:52:00 -0400

Andrew Cuomo called Representative Charlie Rangel last week assuring the dean of the New York congressional delegation that he would not run against Governor David Paterson, according to Rangel. "He told me in no uncertain terms that he did not want rumors to lead me to believe that he was not in complete support of the governor," Rangel told me in a phone interview just now. Rangel said that full support for the governor seemed...

The Selling of Kirsten Gillibrand

Tue, 26 May 2009 20:05:00 -0400

Meet Senator Working Mom. “What I have been trying to do is really be a voice for New York families,” said Kirsten Gillibrand in an interview on May 26. She also said, “It’s very much a kids-first agenda. That is at the heart of all people’s concerns. “When you are talking about tax policy, you are talking about parents having more money at home to provide for their kids,” said Ms. Gillibrand, who has two young...

The Many Rabbis of Sonia Sotomayor

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:38:00 -0400

During a recruiting trip to Yale in 1979, District Attorney Robert Morgenthau ran into his friend José Alberto Cabranes in the hallway. “You have any good students?” Mr. Morgenthau remembered asking Mr. Cabranes, a prominent Puerto Rican lawyer from New York who was then teaching at Yale and who is now a federal judge on the Second Circuit. “I have one student who has never thought of being an assistant district attorney,” Mr. Morgenthau remembered Mr....

Schumer and Gillibrand Take Their Bows for Sotomayor

Tue, 26 May 2009 11:05:00 -0400

President Barack Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as his first Supreme Court appointment amounts to another victory for Chuck Schumer, who has pushed for Sotomayor for weeks. And he is taking his credit. A statement just issued by Schumer's office points out that he, along with Kirsten Gillibrand, recommended Sotomayer back in April. In the statement, Schumer said that it was an especially wise choice because it met "three very important standards... excellence, moderation and diversity." Schumer...

Representative: Is Obama Going to Do Something About Paterson, Too?

Fri, 22 May 2009 14:12:00 -0400

At least one member of the New York congressional delegation thinks Barack Obama may have set himself an untenable precedent when he pressured Steve Israel not to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand in a primary. The representative, a Democrat, said the delegation did not take kindly to the White House's intrusion into local matters anyway. But now that Obama, through the strong-arming of Israel by Rahm Emanuel, has demonstrated a willingness to involve himself in a New York race,...

A Delegation Divided: Serrano and the Gillibrand Holdouts Await Their Due

Fri, 22 May 2009 10:19:00 -0400

According to Jose Serrano, Kirsten Gillibrand is going after the low-hanging fruit first. In the days since Representative Steve Israel decided not to consider a primary against Gillibrand, following calls from President Barack Obama and Senator Chuck Schumer, other members of the New York Congressional delegation have quickly lined up in support of Gillibrand: Nita Lowey, Maurice Hinchey, Brian Higgins, Michael McMahon, Yvette Clarke, John Hall, Michael Arcuri. Soon Nydia Velasquez and Ed Towns...

Hochberg an Obama Guy, Officially

Thu, 21 May 2009 10:17:00 -0400

Fred Hochberg, long a big New York bundler and political match-maker, will officially be appointed the Obama administration's Export-Import Bank chairman today, 11 years after he became the Clinton administration's highest-ranking openly gay official when he was appointed deputy of the Small Business Administration. In the interim years, the oft-quoted Hochberg served as dean of the annoyingly named Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy and then as a commissioner of the Port...

Welcome to Camp Bloomberg

Tue, 19 May 2009 19:52:00 -0400

Hank Sheinkopf was working for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s reelection from the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. “I’m in Florida for the weekend,” said Mr. Sheinkopf, one of a number of prominent Democratic consultants now working for the mayor, in a recent phone interview. He was there for a speaking engagement. “I’m not taking a vacation,” he said. “Until the summer. When my kids go to camp.” It must be sorely tempting...

Israel Thanks Chuck Schumer for Helping Him Decide Not to Run

Fri, 15 May 2009 17:19:00 -0400

Chuck Schumer wins again. In Steve Israel's statement announcing his decision not to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand for U.S. Senate next year, the Long Island representative specifically thanks "Senator Schumer for his friendship and guidance during this process." Last week, an article in The New York Times quoted Schumer telling Democratic donors "There is not going to be a primary!" Schumer's cooperation with the Times story, which was about how he had taken Gillibrand under his wing, was...

Source: Israel Will Not Challenge Gillibrand

Fri, 15 May 2009 16:34:00 -0400

Representative Steve Israel will momentarily announce his decision not to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand for the U.S. Senate seat, said a source close to Israel. "He is doing it for party unity," said the source. Israel, in choosing not to run for a seat he terribly coveted, is apparently yielding to the pressure exerted by the Democratic establishment, and especially Chuck Schumer, which made its opposition to a potentially damaging Democratic primary clear in recent days. Israel, a four-term...

This Time, Schumer Doesn't Side With Wall Street

Fri, 15 May 2009 11:01:00 -0400

Pending more details, Chuck Schumer is supporting the Obama administration's proposals to provide greater oversight of the derivatives, credit-default swaps, and other complicated financial instruments that helped cause the present economic crisis. "We need to regulate derivatives and Obama's outline is strong and sensible and I look forward to seeing the details," Schumer said in a statement sent to The Observer. It might seem to be a no-brainer for a Democratic Senator to support his party...

Attention, U.F.T.: Eva Moskowitz Still Wants to Fight You

Tue, 12 May 2009 20:10:00 -0400

As an ambitious, abrasive young councilwoman from the Upper East Side with a zeal for education reform, Eva Moskowitz presided over hearings scrutinizing the contracts of the teachers union and excoriating its officials for putting the interests of teachers ahead of students. Those hearings, on everything from the union's use of tenure to protect bad teachers to the bureaucracies behind longstanding public school mysteries—the lack of toilet paper, the flickering classroom lights—made her a marked...

In the Mayoral-Control Fight, Bloomberg Tries Acting Like a Politician

Tue, 12 May 2009 19:49:00 -0400

On the afternoon of May 12, Deputy Mayor for Education Dennis Walcott visited State Senator Kevin Parker in his Albany office to try to get him to support Michael Bloomberg’s agenda for mayoral control of city schools. This—the visit, the dialogue—was something new. “They are trying to make the case, and they are listening to concerns,” said Mr. Parker in an interview. “Had he done this with everything he’s had in the past, he’d already...

Tony Avella Looks Forward to Running Against Bloomberg

Mon, 11 May 2009 15:58:00 -0400

Tony Avella, a councilman from Queens who is unknown to most New York voters, is delighted by the decreasingly ridiculous-sounding prospect of being the unchallenged Democratic nominee to take on Mike Bloomberg for mayor. "I made a prediction some time ago that I thought either Weiner or Thompson, one of them would decide not to do it," said Avella. "Whether or not they both get out, well, you'll have to ask them. But the rumors...

The Meaning of Chuck's Public Defense of Kirsten

Fri, 08 May 2009 16:28:00 -0400

The way people who know Chuck Schumer see it, that story on the front page of today’s Times about how the senator has grown defensive of Kirsten Gillibrand was part of a clear, don’t-even-think-about-it message to the handful of Democratic elected officials contemplating a run for Senate. According to two former Schumer aides I talked to, the message that the senior senator is throwing his weight behind Gillibrand should have an impact on her challengers' calculations because...

'I Would Be Shocked If Barack Obama Didn't Endorse Bill Thompson'

Fri, 08 May 2009 13:24:00 -0400

The Bill Thompson campaign may be playing down the significance of Barack Obama's apparent disinclination to help out in the mayor's race—they have to, of course—but yesterday's developments will have taken at least some New York Democrats by surprise. When I interviewed Democratic comptroller candidate David Weprin last month for this story about the Thompson campaign, he told me, “I would be shocked if Barack Obama didn't endorse Bill Thompson. I think we will eventually...

Albany Amok: Whose Bailout Is This, Anyway?

Tue, 05 May 2009 21:02:00 -0400

ALBANY—The Three Men in a Room model of government in Albany left much to be desired. It was characterized by partisan gridlock and opacity, as dictatorial legislative leaders and the governor decided the state's business behind closed doors. Now, what we're seeing is what happens if a handful of other men—ones you've never heard of, with parochial agendas and an unfamiliarity with the consequential exercise of power—get into the room, too. It has been...

The Bloomberg Campaign Picks a Democrat, and It's Not Anthony Weiner

Mon, 04 May 2009 12:30:00 -0400

Publicly, Michael Bloomberg does not have a position on which candidate he would prefer to see nominated by the Democratic Party. Privately, though, the mayor's campaign aides have a definite preference, admitting that they would much rather run against the likable but unthreatening city comptroller, Bill Thompson, than against the exquisitely pesky Anthony Weiner. According to Bloomberg campaign sources—who are not at all convinced that the voluble congressman from Brooklyn is really out of the running,...

Now Sharpton Raises Suspicions of Cuomo Sabotage Against Paterson

Fri, 01 May 2009 16:06:00 -0400

Last week, David Paterson's campaign accused Andrew Cuomo of attempting to undermine the governor in the press. Now, Al Sharpton also has raised the possibility that the attorney general's office is tryinging to damage the governor. In a statement emailed to reporters, he called for an investigation into how today's New York Post front-page story on a settlement between the State Senate and a former Senate photographer "clearly appears to be unethical and aimed at...

Bill Thompson Believes

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:36:00 -0400

According to City Comptroller Bill Thompson, he is running for mayor. “Everybody is saying, ‘I’m seeing you everywhere around the city of New York,’” Mr. Thompson said on April 27 as he sat in a conference room upstairs from his Broadway campaign headquarters, which shares space with state court offices and a dentist. “I think as people start to see more from the campaign, that will have an impact on people.” Soft-spoken and unfailingly polite, Mr....

Paterson Camp Accuses Cuomo of Sabotage

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:58:00 -0400

David Paterson's campaign and supporters are accusing Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of deliberately undermining the governor in the press. Last week, The New York Times reported that the state's ethics panel had been reviewing a request from three good-government groups to investigate the Paterson administration for leaking the confidential information Caroline Kennedy provided during the Senate vetting process early this year. Keith Wright, a strong supporter of David Paterson, expressed a suspicion that Blair...

O'Hanlon: Don't Blame New Iraq Violence on Obama's Drawdown

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:55:00 -0400

The spate of deadly bombings in Iraq this week has prompted concerns that the fragile stability that had started to take hold in Baghdad is coming apart, and that the coming drawdown of U.S. troops in June will result in the widespread chaos and bloodshed predicted by Republican opponents of withdrawal during the presidential campaign. But Brookings Institution fellow and Iraq expert Michael O'Hanlon, who challenged the Democratic orthodoxy during the presidential campaign by positing...

The Mayor Who Ate the Democratic Party

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:53:00 -0400

Michael Bloomberg is planning to run for reelection as the candidate of the Republican Party, and of the Independence Party. He is also running, for all intents and purposes, as the candidate of the Democratic Party. Take the mayor’s apparently successful pre-election quest for the favor of Barack Obama. In recent days and weeks, he has defended embattled Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Meet the Press, lambasted critics wishing failure on the president, enthusiastically endorsed the president’s...

Rattner, Judged by His Peers

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:02:00 -0400

For most of the country, news of the involvement of Barack Obama's recently named car czar in an alleged pay-to-play scandal has merely been surprising. For New York's Democratic fund-raisers and bundlers, it was the day their rarified world fell off its axis. "We are stunned," said one prominent Democratic donor. Steven Rattner, the appointee in question, is not just any government bureaucrat. He is about as lofty a star as there is in the New York—and,...

Now, Cuomo Picks Up a Schumer Fund-Raiser

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:23:00 -0400

Andrew Cuomo has added another high-powered fund-raiser to his campaign as he gears up for 2010, prompting even more skepticism that the attorney general, whose reelection would be a laugher, is gearing up to run for anything but governor. According to sources with knowledge of the hire, Cuomo has now brought on Jennifer Bayer Michaels, Chuck Schumer's longtime chief fund-raiser and then a senior fund-raiser at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. She joins an already-crowded...

Bloomberg Basks in a Booker Endorsement

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:29:00 -0400

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had an efficient campaign outing this afternoon, receiving the endorsement of Newark Democratic mayor Cory Booker and then visiting with firefighters at a blaze that broke out down the block from his press conference. Standing before red, green and black "African Americans for Bloomberg" signs in front of a public school on 140th Street, Booker called Bloomberg a "wise elder" and "leader in mayors." The change Bloomberg had brought to New York,...