David Paterson

David Paterson will be fielding questions at 4 p.m. today Wednesday from readers over at The Albany Project, according to blogger/activist Phil Anderson, one of the founders of the site.

When I asked Anderson how the legally blind governor was going to respond to inquiries, Anderson emailed to explain, "He'll be dictating to an assistant."

Speaking to reporters after Al Sharpton’s birthday luncheon, David Paterson said the state is (still) facing a fiscal crisis, but that tax hikes “are not on the table.” He also said that for the first time, all four Democratic and Republican legislative leaders agree on that point.  read more »

Michael Bloomberg's press office just announced he'll have a media availability at noon inside City Hall, where the mayor is expected to announce his support for changing the term limits law (but not actually announce he's running, because, that's technically campaigning and not allowed to be done on government time).

Also, Bloomberg will be joining Governor David Paterson at 1:30 in midtown for an announcement about the World Trade Center.  read more »

In the first weeks of 2007, the two new state officials responsible for Lower Manhattan’s redevelopment were called to a downtown meeting on risks regarding the World Trade Center rebuilding. In the final months of the Pataki administration, the city- and state-run Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center had undertaken an analysis to highlight potential roadblocks at the World Trade Center site, and with new officials at the helm, a briefing seemed in order.

The officials—the eventual chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Avi Schick, and the Port Authority’s executive director, Tony Shorris, along with Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff from the city—arrived at the 29th floor, LMCCC’s headquarters, and sat to watch a PowerPoint with a less than optimistic theme.  read more »

A spokesman for David Paterson issued a lengthy statement late yesterday about Michael Bloomberg's plan to sue Indian tribes for not collecting taxes on cigarettes.

According to the statement, the governor and the mayor spoke yesterday and were cooperating to find a solution.

But it goes to say the answer "will not be found in a courtroom."

Here's the statement:

From Press Secretary Errol Cockfield:

The Mayor's frustration on this issue is understandable and it has been a vexing challenge for state government for decades. Four previous Governors, all with good intentions, tried their best but were unable to reach a resolution. This is a priority for Governor Paterson and he is currently in serious discussions with representatives of all of New York's federally and state recognized Indian Nations to try and reach a resolution to preclude the need for more endless litigation.

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In a departure from the Spitzer-precedent, David Paterson said he’s not going to endorse in next year’s Democratic primary for mayor.

During an African-American Day parade in Harlem yesterday, Paterson made several references to City Comptroller Bill Thompson possibly being the next mayor of the city (as he does in the clip above).

After the parade, I asked Paterson what role he might play in the primary.

“I think everybody knows Bill’s a good friend of mine. Our fathers served in the State Senate together. But I think Bill Thompson is perfectly capable of winning on his own. He doesn’t need me, and the other candidates have been very supportive me.  read more »

Bob McManus, editorial page editor of the New York Post, offered some insight into Michael Bloomberg’s thinking with respect to whether or not to try seeking a third term as mayor amid a financial meltdown on Wall Street, an issue that is getting some attention lately.

Speaking on Fred Dicker’s radio show this morning, McManus said he’d been talking with people for the last few days about whether they thought Bloomberg would seek to change term limits in order to run again, and help steer the city through this financial crisis.

Mcmanus said, “There’s some real ambivalence in his mind about what to do.  read more »

The list of mayors, governors and U.S. senators who have championed and supported the plans to expand Pennsylvania Station across the street into the Farley Post Office is a lengthy one. Daniel Moynihan, David Dinkins, Mario Cuomo, George Pataki, Rudolph Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, Charles Schumer, Eliot Spitzer.

The project, now named Moynihan Station, has existed on paper since the early 1990s, gradually morphing from one enthusiastic administration to the next as it has consistently eluded execution. 

Now Governor David Paterson, whose administration has generally been defined by cuts and parsimony amid anemic revenues, wants his own turn with the project, and last week he pledged to succeed where prior governors have failed.  read more »

Why has David Paterson sounded so much more alarmed over the grim news about Lehman and AIG than Michael Bloomberg?

Paterson has said he may call another special session of the legislature to make further cuts to the budget, and earlier today he compared this crisis to the 1930s. By contrast, at a press conference yesterday, Bloomberg said, “The world is not coming to an end here.”

There are two reasons the governor sounds more pessimistic, according to Doug Turetsky of the Independent Budget Office.

Turetsky said the state is more reliant on taxes that are sensitive to the business cycle (like business income taxes, personal income taxes, property transfer tax, and sales tax).  read more »

Speaking on Fox Business News this morning, David Paterson said that in response to the Wall Street collapse, lawmakers may have to cut more from the state budget.

Noting he brought the legislature back to Albany to do that once already, Paterson said, “We may just have to come back again. We may have to cut spending and we may have to go into areas we never thought we would because we’re in an unprecedented time in our financial history. This is almost like the financial reorganization in the ‘30s. It‘s actually that serious.”

Which is different than Michael Bloomberg's message to the public yesterday. "We cannot balance the budget just by cutting more," the mayor said.