Some other notable expenditures from city candidates, courtesy of intern Bharat Ayyar:

John Liu--whose reluctance to specify his intention for 2009 is keeping Grace Rauh busy--paid $29,340 to the Washington, D.C.-based Lake Research Partners for polling on February 22. He paid an additional $10,366.80 for a “voter survey” from the same company on March 31.

Scott Stringer, who isn’t term-limited in 2009 and whose intentions for the next election are not clear, paid Global Strategy Group $13,7000 for polling on June 27.

Dan Gardonick, a possible City Council speaker candidate, paid $1,020 in rent to State Senator Liz Krueger’s campaign.

Scott Stringer, the Manhattan borough president whose possible entry into the 2009 races has colleagues and political experts guessing, just sent out a call for contributions toward an unspecified "2009 campaign."

“Each dollar is so important in finishing this filing strong and in making sure that I have the necessary resources to build a successful 2009 campaign,” Stringer said in an e-mail to supporters just before 1 p.m.

“The first $175 donated by each New York City resident is matched 6 to 1 by the New York City Campaign Finance matching program. This means that your $50 contribution is actually worth $350 and your $100 contribution is actually worth $600 to us after the magic of matching!”

UPDATE: It's probably worth pointing out that on Stringer's web site, he's soliciting contributions of up to $3,850, the maximum allowed for a borough president's race, and not $4,950, the maximum allowed for a citywide race.  read more »

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and another reigning populist in city government, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, joined the media circus outside Cooper Union on Thursday evening to denounce the Rent Guidelines Board, right before the nine-member panel voted 5 to 4 in favor of one of the steepest rent hikes in years.

As of October, rents will increase by 4.5 percent for one-year leases and 8.5 percent for two-year leases. Tenant advocates and proponents of RGB reform claim the annual vote is little more than what Ms. Quinn called "a rubber stamp to rent increases every year," and have urged the board to come up with creative solutions.  read more »

Here's an invitation for a David Yassky fund-raiser tonight on the Upper West Side.

One of the event's hosts is Andrew Tomback, a long-time Yassky contributor who has also given some money to Eric Gioia and, once, back in the day, to Alan Hevesi.

Other notable names include John Alschuler, who has contributed to progressive Democrats like Mark Green and Ruth Messinger. Alschuler has also given money to another comptroller candidate, Melinda Katz ($250 on July 7, 2007).

And there's also Charles Simon, who ran in a special election for an Assembly seat, but was defeated by Linda Rosenthal.  read more »

On the top of this invitation for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's June 5 fund-raiser is a name I haven’t seen associated with his campaign before: Patricia Lynch.

She’s a major Albany lobbyist who most recently was charged with getting congestion pricing passed in the capitol. Lynch is also an experienced fund-raiser--last year, Bill Clinton headlined one of her events.  read more »

In the latest in a string of outer-borough events, one of which recently took Scott Stringer to Queens, today the Manhattan borough president was in Brooklyn filming an appearance on Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT), a public affairs channel that serves viewers outside Stringer's home turf.  read more »

Protesters and politicans plan to rally in Chelsea on Saturday against the displacement of a handful of small businesses on Ninth Avenue by landlord Morris Monian.

Eight stores along what organizers are calling “the last ungentrified block in Chelsea” —including Chelsea Liquors, the Ninth Avenue Gift Shop, Sweet Banana Candy Store, New Barber Shop and Famous Deli—have between three months and two years before their lease expires.

Organizers said the shops cater directly to residents of the Fulton Houses affordable housing complex across the street.  read more »

The Queens County Line Democratic Club just announced that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who has not said whether he will seek higher office in 2009, will be speaking to the organization tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Temple Sholom in Glen Oaks.

A quote from Democratic District Leader Henry McCoy included in the release reads, "Scott Stringer has visited our organization several times including during his prior service as a Member of the Assembly and our members and friends look forward to learning about his possible plans for citywide office."

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, Councilman Dan Garodnick, and assorted community groups are hosting a town hall meeting on Thursday evening to discuss the issues facing Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village residents.

The non-renewal notices from landlord Tishman Speyer that are allegedly flooding the mailboxes of both legal and illegal rent-stabilized tenants will be on the agenda; so will rent protection for market-rate tenants, roof improvements, and development concerns for the Con Edison site along First Avenue, according to a release issued today.  read more »

Speaking at the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats club last night, public advocate candidate Norman Siegel said he doesn't plan to use the office of public advocate as a stepping stone.

The civil rights lawyer has said before that he is interested in protecting citizens' civil liberties, but he doesn't want to make the painful decisions that an executive has to make. According to one attendee, Siegel said, as an example, that he couldn't bring himself to close libraries on Sundays as a cost-saving measure.  read more »