Adolfo Carrion

Since everyone is talking about the presidential primary today, it seemed like an opportunity to pull out one more thing David Paterson said at a Times forum this past weekend.  read more »

Assemblyman Jim Brennan of Brooklyn, who is also running for city comptroller, introduced his own congestion pricing bill today. A spokesman, when asked, did not say whether he will support the plan as it is currently presented to lawmakers.

Brennan's new bill would ensure the program comes up for renewal in three years, and wouldn't allow the state to issue bonds against the program's future earning. Critics say allowing the bonds means the current congestion pricing plan wouldn't be temporary enough because it would last for the life of the bonds.
 read more »

A reader sent along this invitation for a May 1 awards dinner hosted by the Independent Neighborhood Democrats, a political club in Brooklyn. Among the honorees is the organization's councilman, David Yassky, who is also a candidate for city comptroller.  read more »

Here’s a shot from the breakfast hosted Sunday morning by the Council of Orthodox Jewish Organizations on the West Side, which, as Grace Rauh noted, attracted nearly every 2009 candidate for citywide office.  read more »

During an interview on The Perez Notes last night, Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf delivered a hypothetical negative ad against Councilwoman Melinda Katz, one of the leading candidates for comptroller in 2009.

“I haven’t written it yet," said Sheinkopf. "I’m going to write it write now. Somebody can steal this and do what they want with it:

"‘Melinda Katz wants to be comptroller of the city of New York. Her credentials? Well, she was the Land Use Chair of the City Council. Here are some facts. During her Land Use [Committee] chairmanship, New Yorkers lost more affordable housing than in any other time in history. Rents skyrocketed. She’s taken millions from land lords. Some of those landlords'--lets do it this way--

"'She’s taken hundreds of thousands from landlords, slumlords, the worst kind of people. Those who want to jack up our rents and throw us on the street. So there you have it. Melinda Katz, for the landlords. Think she ought to be comptroller? Ha. Absolutely not.'

Response from Katz's office after the jump.  read more »

Only after Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion named Elizabeth Holtzman a co-chair of his city comptroller campaign did I realize that she is an outspoken proponent of impeaching George W. Bush--a movement that hasn't gained much traction even in heavily Democratic New York State (although it's slightly more popular in Vermont).  read more »

Adolfo Carrion just announced two more co-chairs for his city comptroller campaign: former city comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman and Merryl H. Tisch, chairperson of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.

Last month, Carrion rolled out two others: former state comptroller Carl McCall and business executive Leo Hindrey Jr.

Locking up the support of two former comptrollers gives Carrion, at least, a distinction among a field that also includes Melinda Katz, David Yassky, David Weprin, Simcha Felder and James Brennan.

The official statement is after the jump.  read more »

Helen Foster, who is contemplating a run for Bronx Borough President, said the last two people who have held that job have divided the borough’s black and Puerto Rican communities.

A story in the Riverdale Review (still not online!) this week quoted Foster’s father, the former Councilman in the area, at a February 7 meeting saying, “The last two borough presidents we've had were not and are not sympathetic to the black community.”  read more »

The co-chairs for Adolfo Carrion’s comptroller campaign will be former state comptroller H. Carl McCall and business executive Leo Hindrey Jr. of InterMedia Partners, the campaign announced this morning.

Hindrey, the former C.E.O. of the YES Network (which broadcasts Yankees games) also helped raise money for another Bronx politician seeking citywide office: Fernando Ferrer, who ran for mayor in 2005.  read more »

Adolfo Carrion's communications director, Mike Murphy, is leaving for a job with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

While it's a loss for Carrion, it's something of a win that Murphy wasn't hired by another city comptroller candidate.

That's more or less what happened with John Collins, who was hired by Anthony Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate.

Collins had recently worked for two possible mayoral candidates before going to Weiner: Christine Quinn and Betsy Gotbaum (who had been considered a longshot candidate until this interview put that notion to rest).

Murphy's email after the jump.  read more »

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama weren’t in New York today, but their supporters were.

A rally for Obama at Columbus Circle this afternoon was billed as a show of strength among women, but the theme, judging from at least one speaker, was a changing of the guard in New York politics.

“County leaders don’t run me—other elected officials don’t run me," City Council member Helen Diane Foster of the Bronx told the crowd of about 500 people. "The people run me.”

Foster went on to say, “I say we get rid of Bushes. I say we get rid of the name we won't mention [because] this isn't her state."  read more »

Barack Obama’s campaign will hold a women’s rally at Columbus circle at noon tomorrow.

An hour later, Hillary Clinton supporters gather for a rally at Union Square.

And then there's the "Latinos for Hillary" rally tomorrow night, in Inwood, hosted by Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez.  read more »

To the fund-raising numbers for comptroller candidates Adolfo Carrion, Melinda Katz, David Yassky, and David Weprin -- all hovering around the million dollar mark -- add a total for one more candidate.

Jim Brennan’s campaign announced just now that he’s raised $144,000 in this most recent fund-raising period, bringing his total amount of contributions up to $405,000, they said. That leaves him with $280,000 on hand, according to spokeswoman Linda Gross.

Brennan’s campaign estimates they are also eligible for about $670,000 in matching funds from the city’s Campaign Finance Board.

Bronx borough president and one-time mayoral hopeful Adolfo Carrion Jr. said in his annual development report, released today, that $1.5 billion was invested in residential, commercial and institutional development projects in the Bronx from November 2006 through November 2007. During that period, 914 new addresses were added and over $1.3 billion invested in the borough, according to the report. A total of $453 million was invested in June, more than double the amount of any other month in 2007.  read more »

Adolfo Carrion's fellow comptroller candidate, David Weprin, welcomed Carrion to the race yesterday by way of some remarks on his own qualifications:

“I still stand on my financial credentials, and in the end, I think that‘ll be very significant," he told me. "I served as Deputy Superintendent of Banks under Cuomo. I was in senior positions in municipal finance on Wall Street. I chaired the Security Industry Association’s New York district. And I’ve been head of the Finance Committee in the City Council for the last six years. So, I think those credentials can stand on their own.”

He went on, “I think in the position of comptroller, there’s less ethnic politics involved than, say, the office of mayor where ethnicity plays a bigger role. So, I don’t think it’s going to breakdown along those lines.”

Also running for comptroller: Melinda Katz, David Yassky, Jim Brennan, and (all but announced) Simcha Felder. Other than Carrion, all of them are from Brooklyn or Queens and except for Brennan and Carrion, all are Jewish.

A reader pointed out that Adolfo Carrion’s absence from the mayor's race alters the landscape for Anthony Weiner's candidacy.

In the Democratic primary, a candidate must get 40 percent of the vote to win the nomination and prevent a run-off. Without Carrion in the race, it’s more likely that Bill Thompson, the only black candidate, will earn at least that number.

Assuming that if Carrion had run, Thompson and Carrion would have split support from the black and Latino communities, Weiner then would have been in a run-off with one of them, and earned a second chance at capturing the nomination.

More after the jump.  read more »

Not that long ago, Adolfo Carrion and his supporters were indulging speculation he would run for mayor, even sending out a video that looked a lot like a mayoral campaign ad.

Today a reader pointed me to this 2005 New York Times interview with Carrion, headlined “Another Bronx Borough President Weighs Mayoral Bid,” in which he says, “If I were to make a decision right now, today, I would say that the top job is the right job for a leader like me. For me, it's too early to get into those specifics."

What changed?

Here’s Bronx County Democratic Leader Jose Rivera talking about his effort to elect the city’s first Hispanic mayor. Despite today's announcement, he's optimistic.  read more »

Some reactions from the 2009 circuit to Adolfo Carrion’s entry into the comptroller’s race:

Fernando Ferrer, the most recent Hispanic candidate to run for mayor, told me via cell phone, “Well look, I think that he’s staked out for himself a race where he’s going to be a dominant figure.”

Asked if he was disappointed that Carrion would not be seeking the mayor's office, Ferrer replied, “I’ve just given you my comments.”

More after the jump.  read more »

Adolfo Carrion is entering the city comptroller's race, according to prepared remarks of his speech to ABNY, a business and civic group which is hosting a breakfast for Mr. Carrion in midtown this morning.

Money from Carrion's citywide 2009 committee will be eligible for his comptroller bid.

Today's announcement is great news for Bill Thompson, the current city comptroller and the only minority candidate seriously eyeing a mayoral bid. Thompson's presumed ethnic base of support could have been split by a Carrion candidacy.  read more »

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. endorses Hillary Clinton. [CNN]  read more »

Here's Adolfo Carrion at the Stonewall Democratic Club last night, leading a discussion about President Bush that drew laughs from the crowd when a woman suggested that the president is a "drunk, drug addict."

Carrion jokes, "She said it, not me."

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is hiring a director of operations to oversee tax programs.

The city Parks Department is looking for a program manager.

Adolfo Carrion is hiring a deputy director of policy.

Tony Avella is looking for a community liaison.

And 32BJ/SEIU is hiring a Latino media relations coordinator.

Scott Stringer is looking for interns to help with campaign fund-raising.

Adolfo Carrion is hiring a research analyst.

And an Assembly member in Queens is looking for a community liaison.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion (pictured above with Andrew McCarthy) will play himself in an episode of Law & Order, which was filming by the Bronx County Courthouse this morning.

In an emailed comment, his spokesman assured me that it's a temporary gig: "Contrary to popular demand the BP won’t be replacing Fred Thompson."

Another 2009 mayoral hopeful has weighed in on Eliot Spitzer's plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain a New York State driver's licenses.

Here's a statement the office of Representative Anthony Weiner just sent over to me:

 

“Governor Spitzer is right to try and solve the problem of thousands of drivers without documentation or insurance. While the opposition to the plan has often been hyperbolic and unnecessarily divisive, there are legitimate problems that the Governor’s plan presents. I’m going to work on the immigration subcommittee in Congress to solve them.”

More after the jump.  read more »

So, where do the 2009 mayoral candidates stand on Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain a New York State driver’s license?

When asked for a position, a spokesman for Christine Quinn emailed me to say, “She supports it.”

A spokesman for Bill Thompson said he was "supportive" of the issue.

I'm not sure from his answer what Adolfo Carrion thinks:

“Pretending that a whole segment of the population does not exist lacks integrity of thought and response. However, this is not without risk, given the seriousness of a state sanctioned identification and how it can be used. Unfortunately, the burden of finding appropriate and reasonable solutions to this complex challenge has been transferred to the states once again, just as was recently done by Congressional failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. On national issues of this nature, it is the federal government's solemn responsibility to act in the interest of all the states of the union. Anything less is an abrogation of that awesome responsibility.”

I’m still waiting to hear back from Anthony Weiner.

A spokesman for John Catsimatidis said he opposes the plan, explaining, “He agrees 100 percent with Mayor Bloomberg.” The mayor raised some questions about the plan but said it’s the governor’s call.

UDPATE: Marty Markowitz's office just sent me this statement: "Brooklyn and New York City's cultural and economic vibrancy is due in large part to our immigrant communities—therefore, as long as we ensure security loopholes are not inadvertently opened to our nation's real enemies, I believe the Governor's plan has great merit as a way to ensure more safety on the roads and get a much more reliable assessment of the hard work we know those in our immigrant community
are already doing every day."  read more »

During this relatively quiet time locally, some officials, at least, are in the political job market. A quick search over the weekend turned up the following openings:

Research analyst for Adolfo Carrion.

Constituent liaison for a Council member.

Chief of Staff to a Brooklyn Assemblyman.

Who else is hiring?  read more »

It's official: David Yassky is running for comptroller.

He filed paperwork with the Campaign Finance Board late last week and it just popped up on the CFB’s web site a few minutes ago.

Earlier, I noted the strategy will likely be to pick up support in his vote-rich section of Brooklyn and, since the race is full of outer borough candidates, scoop up the largely unclaimed votes in Manhattan. The other candidates in the race are David Weprin, Melinda Katz and possibly John Liu, all from Queens, plus Simcha Felder and James Brennan from Brooklyn. There's low-level grumbling about Adolfo Carrion getting into that race (although Carrion indicates he'd prefer to run for mayor).

When I spoke with Yassky on Friday, he didn’t confirm or deny he was entering the race. Instead, he said, “I still feel like it’s a long time away. And when given that we still have a city that is almost entirely reliant on diesel fuel to heat itself, when there is biofuels that would make so much of a difference, in terms of carbon emission, and we’re still spending all this money on tax breaks that would happen anyway, which we shouldn’t be doing. I feel like those are the things to be focusing on. Over and above atoning for my sins.”

He added, “It seems too far away to be talking about 2009.”

UPDATE: Just to clarify, Yassky's statement about atoning for sins was a eference was to Yom Kippur, which started on Friday, the day we spoke.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion is campaigning with Hillary Clinton this weekend in Manchester, New Hampshire, according to this item in the Union Leader [second from bottom].

Hillary and Carrion, who is president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, will be attending an event called "Latino Fest." A small bit of evidence, perhaps, in favor of the notion that the Clinton campaign will be ramping up outreach to Hispanic voters in order to "offset black defections." (Or maybe she's just campaigning. Your call.)

UPDATE: According to these Census figures, the Latino vote in New Hampshire has room to grow.

Here's a shot of potential mayoral rivals Adolfo Carrion and Bill Thompson at the start of a very crowded Dominican Day Parade in Manhattan yesterday. Also attending the event were Michael Bloomberg, Christine Quinn, Anthony Weiner, Tom DiNapoli, David Weprin, Keith Wright, Hiram Monserrate and Jose Peralta, among other electeds.

And if you're interested, I have a few more pictures from the parade randomly scattered over here.

The city Campaign Finance Board just announced its latest round of fines, with Virginia Fields leading the pack.

Fields' 2005 mayoral campaign was fined $70,567, mostly for not responding to a draft audit in a timely fashion (112 days late!). She was also fined $5,727 for spending $57,272 on “non-campaign related and impermissible post-election expenditures.”

Other notable fines: Adolfo Carrion’s 2005 campaign for Bronx Borough President was fined $6,875, mostly for accepting over-the-limit contributions. Eric Gioia was fined $5,050, mostly for the same reason.

Bill Thomson and Adolfo Carrion had a friendly chat during last night’s dinner for the Bronx Democratic County Organization at the Marina Del Rey.

At one point, I and two other reporters ran into Denny Farrell, who was hanging out with his daughter. He cheerily noted that earlier in the day he’d gotten another pro-congestion price mailing, making it three so far. “It must be good to be a billionaire,” he said. (The mayor, about whom Farrell was referring, has denied that he's providing any direct funding for the effort.) Then, Farrell rhetorically asked how many phone calls he’s gotten, smiled, and made a big zero with his fingers.

In introducing Christine Quinn, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, the county leader, said, “If I decide to go back to the City Council in ‘09, I want her to be my speaker again.”

Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz told me he won’t be in town when Sheldon Silver convenes his conference meeting in Manhattan on July 16.

Non-Bronx officials who made their way to the dinner include David Weprin, Melinda Katz and Simcha Felder - all comptroller candidates in 2009, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Also floating around the room were former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (no tie!) and Democratic Mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer.

And state Senator Efrain Gonzalez, who was indicted last year for misusing public money, was at the dinner before I arrived and stayed after I left, seemingly having a good time.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion was recently named president of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, and takes control at the organization’s annual convention in Orlando this weekend. This year’s convention will feature—in addition to Carrion’s ascension to his vaunted office—a Saturday debate of the major Democratic candidates for president, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. The Latino organization invited all the Republican candidates to come as well, but none of them accepted the invitation, despite the fact that the outgoing president of the organization is a Republican. All of which prompted Carrion to make the first of what is sure to be many, many official statements on behalf of Latino officeholders everywhere:

"It's outrageous that Republican candidates would ignore such a large and growing voting population. Not two years ago Republicans were banging at our doors and now for reasons unknown, they have decided to skip an extremely important event. These candidates have made a major miscalculation. Discounting this population will not go unnoticed."

The Democratic County Leader in the Bronx, Jose Rivera, and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carion were among the lawmakers from that borough who endorsed the mayor's environmental plans today.

In a public statement, Carrion said he was "proud to announce [his] support for the congestion pricing plan."

I got my hands on some of the recent tourism ads featuring Adolfo Carrrion that will soon be airing in the Bronx and Westchester, and promptly handed them over to Observer super-intern Andrew Mangino, who watched them and filed this dispatch while heading to Connecticut to cover another story.

Here's Mangino:

If Adolfo Carrion is not running for mayor, he at least has 5 minutes and 20 seconds' worth of slickly produced footage that's worthy of just about any political campaign.

I'm watching the spots now on a train to New Haven, but I almost wish I had taken the 4 line to the Bronx Zoo instead, where I'm told I would see "animals from butterflies to rhinos, frogs to gorillas."

Over and over again Carrion and others say, "We're talking the Bronx," or some variant.

"We're talkin' stats," he says from Yankee Stadium. "Bronx rated higher than any other borough in the creation of jobs, with the greatest growth of personal income. More than 5 million dollars was invested right here."

"And we're just warming up," he adds, the shot zooming in until his face engulfs the screen. "We're talkin' the Bronx."

• 0 comments

Here's an example of why it helps to be in office when you're looking to run for a higher one. Adolfo Carrion, the Bronx Borough president and likely 2009 mayoral candidate, will be among the people staring in nine (yes, nine) television ads "extolling the virtues of his borough, according to an announcement from his office."

I only wonder how they'll compare to the video Carrion sent to contributors earlier.

UPDATE: A spokesman for Carrion emailed to say that the ads are a natural growth from an ongoing effort to promote the borough, and will only air in the Bronx and Westchester.

"One of the Borough President's many tasks is to promote the Bronx. The campaign, launched three years ago with print ads was met with a fantastic response and the next logical steps were to grow from print, to radio in the second year and TV this year.  The campaign will be airing in the Bronx and Westchester as way to continue to tell the
incredible story of the revitalization of the Bronx and attract more people into our great Borough.  In the last 6 years almost 5 billion dollars have been invested in developments in the borough, with ½ billion this year alone."

 

 

Yesterday, one of the quirkiest traditions returned to a major Memorial Day Parade that starts a few blocks inside Nassau County before winding its way through the Little Neck-Douglaston section of Queens.

“I refused to march on the Nassau side,” Weiner told me. He stood on the border, next to the 'Welcome to Nassau' sign and waited for the parade to get into New York City territory before joining in. A person who has been marching in that parade for a couple of years told me that the most notable politician to do that in the past was Rudy Giuliani.

Also attending the parade were regular marchers Mike Bloomberg Frank Padavan, Chuck Schumer, Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, Adolfo Carrion, Eric Gioia, Melinda Katz, David and Mark Weprin, and Peter Vallone, Sr.

How will the 2009 Democratic mayoral candidates relate to Mike Bloomberg, who is term-limited but also popular and rich?

The answer for Adolfo Carrion seems to be to stay as close as possible to the mayor.

Speaking at his fund-raiser at Tribeca Grill last night, Carrion offered the following comparison, according to an attendee who was taking notes:

 read more »

In a weirdly early head-to-head test of political attractiveness, two of the possible 2009 Democratic mayoral candidates, Bill Thompson and Adolfo Carrion, are both having fund-raisers this Thursday evening in the city.

Thompson's "Spring Event" is taking place at the New York Hilton on the evening of May 17 and is $1,000 a ticket. 

I don't have money details yet on the Carrion event, which is taking place at almost precisely the same time, I'm told. (Email me, please!)

Details from the Thompson invitation are after the jump.

   read more »

Likely Democratic citywide candidates Anthony Weiner, Adolfo Carrion and John Liu were all on the same panel yesterday at a Drum Major Institute-Baruch School of Public Affairs event, where they were asked which mayor would they look to as a model for how to make the middle class in New York thrive.

Liu picked Koch. Weiner picked LaGuardia. And Carrion went with... Mike Bloomberg.

-- Azi Paybarah

For anyone still in need of a clue that the 2009 Mayoral race is already underway, the top of a thre  read more »

At last night's Bill Richardson event, the honor of introducing the first Hispanic to run for President in a major party was supposed to go to Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, according to an advisory from Carrion's office.

But then, it seems, things got complicated. Carrion has already endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. A photo of him next to Richardson, presumably, would have made a statement that the Clinton campaign might not have appreciated just now.

(Carrion, it should be noted, has acted very aggressively in the past to bat down rumors of dalliances with other candidates).

For whatever reason, Carrion cancelled, leaving Richardson to be introduced by one of the event's organizers.

A spokeswoman for Carrion emailed to explain: "He had a family issue that he needed to deal with." -- Azi Paybarah

10 a.m. The American Heart Association launches its Infant CPR Anytime Personal Learning Program at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, 212 West 83rd Street.

10 a.m. Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, will discuss results of a Quinnipiac University Poll of New York City voters, asking their opinions about Mayor Bloomberg and his handling of snow and school buses at City Hall.

10 a.m. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion attends the opening of the Montefiore Medical Center's umbilical cord blood collection site at The Jack D. Weiler Hospital, a Division of Montefiore Medical Center, 1825 Eastchester Road in the Bronx.

10:15 a.m. The General Welfare Committee considers a bill relating to amendments to domestic partnerships at City Hall.

10:15 a.m. Sen. Hillary Clinton, along with Representative John D. Dingell of Michigan will announce an initiative in both chambers of Congress to provide access to healthcare coverage for all children in Washington, D.C..

10:30 a.m. The Transportation Committee considers a bill requiring safety measures for bicycle delivery workers at City Hall.

10:30 a.m. Council Member Rosie Mendez introduces a bill to prevent developers from destroying landmarked buildings on the City Hall steps.

10:30 a.m. Immigrants and advocates hold a march and rally for immigration reforms. The march begins at Battery Park, near State and Pearl streets, and proceeds up Trinity Place and then Church Street to rally at City Hall Park on Broadway.

10:45 The Health Committee considers an amendment to the artificial trans fat ban legislation at City Hall.

11 a.m. The Governmental Operations Committee considers a bill urging the Board of Elections to certify precinct based-optical scan voting systems at City Hall.

11:10 a.m. Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern visits the Tribute WTC Visitors Center at 120 Liberty Street, between Church and Greenwich streets.

Noon. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. will host the 2nd Annual Woman's Power Lunch, in honor of Women's History Month, featuring author Karenna Gore-Schiff and New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes Vazquez. Both woman will address the crowd and Gore-Schiff will autograph copies of her book "Lighting the Way: Nine Woman Who Changed Modern America" at the Metro Cafe, 1200 Waters Place in the Bronx.

12:30 p.m. Waterford Crystal presents a sculpture honoring 9/11 victims at a pre-St. Patrick's Day ceremony at Engine 1, Ladder 24, 142 West 31st Street.

1 p.m. Supporters of paper ballot/optical scan voting systems legislation make a public statement on the City Hall steps.

1 p.m. The Council on Foreign Relations hosts discussion a with Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern at 58 East 68th Street.

1:30 p.m. The City Council will vote on the Education Committee's recommendation to rescind the Board of Education's decision to limit students to fat-free and one percent milk cho