Great N.Y. Noodletown is a long-established restaurant on Bayard and the Bowery that seats about forty and has brown glazed ducks in the windows.

Sunday, which began bright and cold after a long and rainy Saturday, seemed perfectly suited to a bowl of Seaweed Noodle Soup, so I put on my shoes and began walking east. I had forgotten it was Chinese New Year: the sidewalks of central Chinatown were packed from storefront to street as people gathered to celebrate the Year of the Earth Rat.  read more »

I just got off a somewhat contentious conference call with Hillary Clinton surrogates for New York reporters , who proved somewhat resistant to the pro-Hillary Clinton message coming from Chuck Schumer.

Referring to her primary win in New York yesterday, Schumer told reporters, “This was all Hillary. There was no big party machine in operation. There was no, you know, kind of things like that. It was Hillary.”

I asked him to explain that, given that virtually the entire party establishment was in her corner.  read more »

If you’re following where everybody stands on Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain a New York State driver’s license, update your score cards.

Adolfo Carrion supports it. Speaking on NY1 News last night, Carrion said, “I support this initiative until there is a national, rational response to this, which I think we need to deal with.” Earlier, Carrion had gone with a statement that was less specific.

On the show, Carrion described Spitzer plan as a “limited response” and a “practical solution,” which Democrats are grappling with. Carrion said Spitzer “is going to take a hit, and he’s taking a hit. And there are Democrats in this town, in this very city and across the state, who feel now that they’re painted into a corner.”

Among the Democrats who, as far as I'm aware, still haven't taken a position on the issue: Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Representatives John Hall, Mike Arcuri and Tim Bishop.

If anyone knows anything about where they stand, please let me know.

A number of conservatives have tried to make the argument that there's an obvious parallel between Alberto Gonzales, who was criticized for his lack of candor when testifying before congress, and Eliot Spitzer, whose top aides came under fire for their lack of cooperation when questioned by the state Attorney General.

Yesterday, Chuck Schumer tried turning around that analogy, saying people have begun to ease up on Gonzales now that he resigned his job as the U.S. Attorney General, and that people should do likewise when it comes to Spitzer.

At a community meeting in Manhattan last night, I asked Sheldon Silver if comparing Spitzer and Gonzales was fair. Here's what he said.

"I don't think it's a fair comparison. Number one, in the Spitzer case, the Spitzer-Bruno case, both matters were referred to the attorney general for determinations of legality. After an examination by the attorney general, who is the highest ranking legal officer in the state, he determined there were no laws broken.

"Second, the Ethics Commission, lead by Dean Feerick, who has an outstanding reputation for honesty and fairness, has undertaken to examine the issue. Third, the Albany County District Attorney has undertaken to examine the issue for points of legality, and whether any criminal laws [were broken]. That was only the Spitzer aspect of it.

"For me, I accept the determination of the attorney general. There were no illegalities. I accept that. And, you know, that should be the final word. In that respect, I believe we should move on, governing the state of New York and forget the political aspect of it.

"I mean, these hearings that the Senate thinks they want to do in addition to eveything that's been done by the ethics comission and the Albany County district attorney, I think, is superfluous. And I think its an attempt to politicize the situation, rather than deal with the issues that affect people..."

Chuck Schumer defended Eliot Spitzer and said everyone should move forward and "point to the future."

Someone at New York 1 News sent over a clip of the yet-to-be-aired interview with Schumer. In it, Schumer said:

I find him to be hands on, I find him to be smart. People make mistakes. No question about it. What his administration did, as he said, was a mistake. But he’s moving forward. And I hope everyone will move forward with him. Just as I said with the US Attorneys, now that Gonzales is gone, I hope we can wrap that up quickly and point to the future. I think the same thing would apply to the state.

One major difference there, of course, is that Gonzales resigned and the Spitzer aides involved in the scandal haven't.

In the same interview, Schumer was asked about the troubles surrounding Hank Morris, a political consultant who helped elect Schumer to the Senate. "Well, Hank has been an outstanding political consultant," he said. "He’s a man of great, great intelligence and perception and I find him to be a person of integrity." He added, "But as for this investigation, I don’t know the details."

The interview with Schumer will air tonight at 10.

In a move akin to firing Bobby Knight and replacing him with Woody Hayes, CBS Radio has at last settled on Don Imus's successor: Craig Carton.  read more »

MASSIVE CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post led with an account from an attendee of a cordial meeting between Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo wasn't there.

If it’s true that Orrin Hatch is “campaigning” to succeed Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, then he surely helped his cause on Sunday.  read more »

I was one a few reporters who hiked out to Red Hook on Saturday to watch the ubiquitous Chuck Schumer... eat lunch.

It was part of a press conference at which he and others urged the city not to kick out 13 local food vendors from a park that's become a destination for foodies from all over the city. Watching Schumer scarf down a taco and corn on the cob (with cheese and hot sauce!) surrounded by a watchful pack of journalists was also a useful reminder that for all the constant attention garnered by the junior senator here, Schumer's no slouch.

After two and a half years in the hardest job in New York politics, Risa Heller is leaving government to work for Pollock, Silvan and company at the Global Strategy Group.

Which should give her a decent opportunity to put the skills she learned from her ubiquitous boss to good use.