Bill De Blasio

A legislative breakfast for a Brooklyn-based educational group, Shema Kolainu, on August 5 will be something of a who’s who of New York politicians.

Amusingly, attendees will hear both “remarks” from State Senator Kevin Parker, and “greetings” from one of the Democrats looking to unseat him, Simcha Felder.

The chairman of the event is possible mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, whose company, Gristedes, is the sponsor.

(Honorary chair status is given to Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, which may help sell a few more tickets.)

The event is paying tribute to, among others, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the State Senate minority leader, Malcolm Smith, comptroller candidate and City Councilman David Weprin, and City Councilman Bill de Blasio, who is also a candidate for Brooklyn borough president.

Yesterday afternoon at City Hall, Congresswomen Yvette Clarke and Nydia Velazquez announced jointly that they are endorsing Bill de Blasio for Brooklyn borough president.

These early endorsements follow announcements of support for de Blasio from UNITE-HERE and The NY Hotel Trades Council. Combined with the campaign's announcement yesterday of having raised "nearly $1 million dollars" ("$177,454 this filing period and $621,891 this cycle"), de Blasio is looking a bit like a foregone thing. (It's unclear at this point exactly who else is running.

The endorsements were announced on the City Hall steps, with about 25 or so supporters standing behind the congresswomen and de Blasio, squinting into the sun and holding "For Brooklyn '09'" signs.  read more »

Yesterday, Councilman Bill de Blasio and his team set up a tent and a ring of multi-colored folding chairs next to the Gowanus Canal in Carroll Gardens for a forum intended to start a conversation between the community and city planners.

It began against the backdrop of several suited elected officials paddling canoes in the waterway.  read more »

Last night, City Councilman and candidate for Brooklyn borough president, Bill de Blasio, called for a moratorium on demolition at the Atlantic Yards footprint until developer Bruce Ratner outlines “what will be built when and confirms affordability,” Brownstoner and Gowanus Lounge reported this morning.

Mr. de Blasio told a meeting of Brooklyn bloggers that he was “livid” about Mr. Ratner’s recent admission in The New York Times that the Miss Brooklyn office tower and residential buildings Mr. Ratner planned to build at Atlantic Yards were stalled due to trouble finding financing, and said he cannot support an “arena-only plan.”  read more »

A congestion pricing measure before the Council just passed, 30 to 20.

Domenic Recchia, who is planning to run for Congress, took a pass on voting the first time around, but eventually voted yes. Eric Gioia, who had told the New York Times on March 8 that he was voting no, also voted for it. Comptroller candidate Melinda Katz voted no, but her likely rival David Yassky voted yes. The two candidates for Brooklyn brough president, Bill De Blasio and Charles Barron, both voted against.  read more »

 

At a press conference just now in City Hall, a reporter asked Christine Quinn if the M.T.A.‘s postponement of promised service improvements impacts the chances of getting City Council members to vote for congestion pricing.

Quinn, a major supporter of the mayor's plan for traffic reduction, said, “I think it is outrageous that a fair increase which I opposed was put in place with a commitment for program enhancements, that a speech was given where program enhancements were touted, and then seemingly, weeks later, that all vanished.”  read more »

The 16 members of the Brooklyn City Council delegation - the Council's largest - are now accepting nominations for the position of delegation leader. The term is up for the current leader, Eric Dilan, although he is not prevented from running for the mostly ceremonial position again.

The position had previously been held simultaneously by Bill de Blasio and Al Vann, back when Brooklyn Democrats were somewhat less cohesive than they are now.

Suggestions?

Before Marty Markowitz gave his State of the Borough last night in Brooklyn, his deputy borough president, Yvonne Graham, gave her own address, which sounds a lot like a kick-off stump speech for her much-discussed, but undeclared, bid to succeed Markowitz.
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Freelancer Caitlin Johnson, who went primary-watch-party-hopping last night, sends in this fun dispatch:

Tom Leger opened up his spacious Tribeca loft last night for gay Clinton supporters to watch the returns. By 9 p.m., only a handful of his friends showed up, but that didn't stop Leger, an English teacher at Hunter, from jumping off his couch each time the preliminary results showed Clinton ahead.

Leger said, "It's a pretty sorry election for queer people – it's a pretty sorry election for the country." He said Clinton rarely discusses gay rights, but he still feels she's the best person for the job. "I wanted Hillary because I love Bill Clinton, and when I went out canvassing for Clinton – when I saw her, it became about Hillary Clinton."

His guests, however, were not so sure. One was torn between Obama and Clinton; another confessed that deep down, he supported fellow vegan Dennis Kucinich.

Almost everyone at a Barack Obama party I went to, by contrast, was drunk off the Kool-Aid. The party, which took place at the Irish Rogue pub in Times Square, was organized by ObamaNYC. It drew a crowd of good-looking young professionals. Organizer Nina Arawal, sporting an "I got a crush on Obama" pin, said more than 200 people attended.

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In a phone interview last night, Council member and Clinton supporter Bill de Blasio gave me his quick take on Hillary Clinton's third-place Iowa finish.

“The real story is Edwards didn’t get his breakthrough,” said de Blasio, who managed Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign in 2000 and campaigned for Edwards in 2004. “It’s questionable whether he can continue. Hillary has the advantage over the long haul.”

As for Hillary, he said that tonight’s results were “fine for what we need to do going forward,” and that it was a “perfectly sufficient result.”