Sheldon Silver

The Assembly rules. Or, more specifically, the Democratic majority in the Assembly does.

As expected, the signature component of Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC program, congestion pricing, was killed this week by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his Democratic caucus.  read more »

After he delivered a speech this morning in Washington, a reporter asked Michael Bloomberg if he agreed with top political aide Kevin Sheekey that Sheldon Silver lacked "courage" on congestion pricing.

‘Well, I didn’t hear what Kevin said last night,” Bloomberg said, according to audio provided by his office. “I suggest you talk to Kevin.”  read more »

Delivering the keynote to Newsweek’s Second Annual Global Environmental Leadership, the day after the pillar of his sustainability plan failed, Michael Bloomberg briefly chastised the New York State Assembly before reminding the conference that there are more components to PlaNYC than congestion pricing.

Here’s an excerpt:

“But unfortunately, as most of you know, yesterday the majority caucus in the Assembly chose not to bring the governor’s congestion pricing bill to a vote – effectively killing it.

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“That’s not leadership.

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Congestion pricing was important; it was new; and it was controversial, because we would have been the first city in the nation to implement it.

“But let me make something crystal clear this morning. It was one of only 127 items in the PlaNYC agenda. The other 126 initiatives are important too. Many of which can be achieved administratively. They require no approval by any other level or branch of government.

Full speech after the jump.  read more »

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Michael Bloomberg and his aides have presented the demise of their congestion pricing plan, which occurred without a floor vote in the Assembly, as an example of Albany’s well-noted dysfunction.

Not surprisingly, the view from within the Democratic-held Assembly is different.  read more »

"Shelly just came out of our conference and said our conference does not have the support to bring this to the floor,” Democratic Assemblyman Mark Weprin yesterday told reporters after a meeting with Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly democrats about Mayor Bloomberg's congestion-pricing bill. “I want to be clear that the conference was overwhelmingly against it,” he further said.

To say that congestion pricing died because the Assembly members were against it is of course true, but not the point. When items are important to Speaker Silver he has this habit of “leading” his conference. He will maintain that his style is to engage his members and compromise, and his ability to bully the legislature is overstated. That is, of course, ridiculous—the Speaker usually gets what he wants. The bottom line is that Shelly Silver killed congestion pricing.  read more »

“I don’t see how anyone can use support of congestion pricing against somebody politically,” Christine Quinn just told reporters at a brief availability inside City Hall, where she reacted to the Assembly’s decision not to vote on the plan the City Council urged them to adopt.  read more »

Speaking on New York 1 News just now, Michael Bloomberg political aide, and architect of his non-campaign for president, Kevin Sheekey said, “I don’t see any courage in Albany.”

When asked if the mayor wants Sheldon Silver to remain as Speaker, Sheekey talked around the issue. When challenged that he wasn't answering the question, Sheekey said, "No I didn't, did I?" He went on to say, "It's not a question I've asked the mayor so it's not a question that I'm going to answer tonight."  read more »

Anthony Weiner, who opposed congestion pricing before Michael Bloomberg officially unveiled it, is (again!) taking the high road today.

Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate, released a statement saying, "Today may close a chapter on congestion pricing, but hopefully not the book on improving New York City's environment, reducing congestion, and raising additional revenue for mass transit. While the sides were clearly drawn, it's now time to come together to find solutions to these important challenges.”

Marty Markowitz, who might also run for mayor, was a less emphatic opponent. In the wake of its near-certain failure, the characteristically outspoken Brooklyn borough president links himself to Bloomberg and notes that he had several proposals that, he says, would have made the plan better:  read more »

I just got off the phone with Sheldon Silver spokesman Dan Weiller, who tried to explain his boss's decision not to bring congestion pricing legislation to a vote in the Assembly today.

“There was not enough support for this legislation in the Assembly majority -- not nearly enough support to bring this to the floor,” Weiller said.

Unlike Michael Bloomberg, Weiller doesn't think there needed to be a vote to find out where Assembly members stand on the legislation.  read more »

Here is Christine Quinn’s statement on the death of congestion pricing, which says she is “disappointed that we missed an opportunity” and describes today as a “setback.”

Neither Quinn's statement nor the statement from Michael Bloomberg aide John Gallagher mention Sheldon Silver by name.

Here’s the full statement:  read more »

Michael Bloomberg’s spokesman John Gallagher is releasing, upon request, a statement blasting the legislative process that killed his boss’ plans for congestion pricing.

“What we are witnessing today is one of the biggest cop-outs in New York’s history. After insisting on the formation of a commission to make recommendations for a bill, and then for the City Council to vote to endorse that bill, the Assembly needs to stand up and be counted.  They owe it to the majority of New Yorkers who support this plan, the scores of environmental groups, public health organizations, business leaders, unions, and the public at large, to put this proposal to a public vote.”

Mary Peters, the U.S. Transportation Secretary also released a statement thanking by name everyone but Sheldon Silver for their “leadership” on the issue.

“Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson, Majority Leader Bruno, the City Council and many other state and local officials and civic, environmental, business and labor organizations, New York has engaged in one of the most vigorous and significant debates about transportation policy in modern U.S. history. While today's announcement, if accurate, is deeply disappointing, New York’s mounting traffic and environmental woes point to congestion pricing as an inevitable solution, even if not in the next few months or with the assistance of federal Urban Partnership dollars. Starting tomorrow, we will engage with many of the largest cities in the United States that have put forward ambitious traffic fighting plans to discuss how they could use this money to cut traffic, improve transit and reduce pollution.”

More reactions after the jump.  read more »

Now that the State Assembly has killed Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, do its members fear any potential electoral consequences (as Kevin Sheekey suggested they should) from opposing a mayor with billions of dollars at his disposal?

They say no.

Democratic Assemblyman Jose Peralta of Queens said he thinks the mayor’s decisions on whether or not to contribute to candidates running against congestion pricing opponents would be based more on his own political plans than anything else.

“I think he starts funding insurgents if he is going to be running for governor,” Peralta told me just now. “If not, then he worries about his business and his philanthropy.”

There would, Peralta, be no retribution. “He’s a big boy. He’s beyond that.”

It's not unimaginable that the mayor might back candidates at least in part on their stances on the congestion issue. This is, after all, the the same mayor who donated $500,000 to Senate Republicans, whose leader then supported congestion pricing.  read more »

Thanks in large part to Sheldon Silver, congestion pricing is dead. Now, Silver's Democratic primary opponent, Paul Newell, wants to make sure the Assembly speaker gets credit.

“This is a perfect example of how the broken system in Albany fails New Yorkers, and lower Manhattanites [are] included in that category,” Newell said.

“What is the point of being represented by the speaker of the State Assembly if he can’t even go to bat for us when it counts?”

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State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and allies have effectively doomed Mayor Bloomberg's congestion-pricing plan for Manhattan. More from The Politicker.

Congestion pricing is dead in the Assembly.

“Shelly just came out of our conference and said our conference does not have the support to bring this to the floor,” said Democratic Assemblyman Mark Weprin.

“I want to be clear that the conference was overwhelmingly against it,” he said, dispelling the notion that Silver, personally, blocked the plan. Weprin, who opposed the plan, said the program’s biggest supporter, Michael Bloomberg, should not be blamed for the failure, but rather, commended for making it an issue.  read more »

Midnight tonight is the deadline for state lawmakers to approve the mayor’s congestion pricing program in order to qualify for $354 million in federal transportation funds. It’s still not clear that there are enough votes to get it passed in either house of the legislature.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Joe Bruno supports it, but may not have enough votes on his side of the aisle to get it through. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been typically lukewarm and has consistently suggested that his members are not inclined to be in favor.

But Michael Bloomberg’s top aid, Kevin Sheekey, still thinks it’s less about cobbling votes behind closed doors and more about forcing legislators to vote on the issue publicly.  read more »

From Downtown Express:

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told Downtown Express Wednesday he is likely to support congestion pricing, but the Albany power broker also said passage is still in doubt.  read more »

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Once again, Michael Bloomberg has defied public opinion polls and noisy skeptics, lined up bipartisan support from the Democratic governor and the Republican State Senate and won over city lawmakers in support of an idea that would have a profound impact in New York City.

And once again, his big plan—this time, to impose a toll on cars driving into midtown Manhattan—faces a immovable obstacle in Sheldon Silver, who often seems to be the most powerful politician in New York. (It was Mr.  read more »

Last month, a market-research firm called my Lower East Side apartment to gauge my support for Paul Newell.

I admitted that I had never heard Newell’s name before, and the caller quickly explained that Newell will challenge my state assemblyman–Speaker Sheldon Silver–in the Democratic primary in September.  read more »

The politics of congestion pricing is nearing a boiling point and opponents continue to make the case for a different approach to traffic reduction.

There are, of course other ways of reducing congestion, but Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal has the advantage of generating new resources for mass transit.

On Friday, our new Governor, David Paterson, demonstrated political courage and came out in favor of the plan to charge drivers for entering New York’s Central Business district during the work day. He joins City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno in support of the bill. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has yet to be heard from.

However, lots of prominent politicians are opposing all or part of the Mayor’s plan.

Today, New York's City Council begins formal consideration of the proposal.  read more »

Last month, a market-research firm called my apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to gauge support for Paul Newell. I admitted that I had never heard Newell’s name, but the caller quickly told me that Newell will challenge my state assembly representative – Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver – in the Democratic primary in September.

The caller continued and told me that Newell was 32, worked as a community organizer, lived on the Lower East Side and would be a Democratic candidate for state assembly against Silver.  read more »

In case you missed it yesterday, David Paterson spoke about the budget process yesterday on Fred Dicker's radio show. Due April 1, the looming budget deadline means that Paterson comes into his new office under the pressure of needing to get a major task accomplished. Here's what he said:

“I’m coming into a budget process where I have not been innately involved. The governor, while he has been working on it, has basically used me to take care of some other tasks...So I kind of feel like the student getting ready for the final exam, but they haven’t attended any classes.  read more »

On the agenda for David Paterson today…a lot of smiling.

From his schedule, which the governor's office just sent out:  read more »

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has worked both with and against Eliot Spitzer, just told reporters repeatedly that he thinks incoming governor David Paterson has the intellect, charisma and experience to governor immediately.

Silver called him “an ideal leader to guide us through the difficult days ahead." Referring to Spitzer and Paterson, the Speaker said, “There’s clearly different personalities involved” and added that Paterson is “best suited to pick up those pieces and move forward.”  read more »

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is troubled by the pace of a Frank Gehry-designed development by Bruce Ratner. And it’s not Atlantic Yards.

Downtown Express reported today that Mr. Silver sent a letter to Mr. Ratner expressing concern about the construction schedule of Forest City Ratner’s Beekman Tower at 8 Spruce Street downtown, a planned 75-story mostly residential tower that has a school in the base. Mr. Silver wrote that because the school is slated to open in 2009 and construction has been minimal, he wants an update on the anticipated completion.

A spokesman for Mr. Silver said his office hasn’t yet received a response to the letter, which is dated Feb. 25.

In the Downtown Express article, a Forest City spokesman said the firm understands Mr. Silver’s and the community’s concerns about the site. Forest City tells us they'll have a response shortly.  read more »

Lots of political activity in the city tonight, for anyone interested. 

Both Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver will be raising money, Bruno at a low-dollar fund-raiser for young professionals at Honey on West 14th Street, and Silver and the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee at the Grand Hyatt, 42nd Street and Lexington.

And City Council members will be heading to dinner at Gracie Mansion with Michael Bloomberg. 

Assemblyman Sheldon Silver is being challenged to disclose more information about his outside sources of income, something the Democratic Speaker has  read more »

Eliot Spitzer, whose ally Malcolm Smith is now one Republican defection away from taking power in the State Senate, unveiled a new theme this morning at a breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York: unity.

During a speech entitled “one budget for one New York,” the governor displayed two maps of the state: one, solid green, showed the topography of the state; the other, multi-colored, was an "overlay" of every state Assembly and Senate district.  read more »

This morning, the New School hosted a panel discussion on whether Eliot Spitzer can regain his political capital. (The answer is already looking quite different in light of yesterday's special election.)

Some highlights:

Panelist Wayne Barrett of the Village Voice said "hallelujah!" about yesterday's results and said Democrats should be given a chance to control the entirety of state government.  read more »

A Democratic Assembly candidate in Manhattan is calling on Hillary Clinton to drop out of the presidential race.

“Be polite. Thank her for her efforts,” writes Paul Newell, who is running to unseat Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of Manhattan. "But ask her to gracefully bow out and return to representing the good people of New York in the Senate.”

Newell’s email to "New York Obama supporters," and his letter to Clinton are after the jump.  read more »

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 »

The top Democratic presidential candidates brought out some of their more powerful symbolic stumpers this weekend. To counter Barack Obama’s breathlessly awaited Oprah event in Iowa, Hillary Clinton campaigned with both her generally press-shy daughter Chelsea and her mother, Dorothy Rodham.

Clinton also sent her husband, who arguably has as much star power as Oprah, to South Carolina. In New Hampshire, the Clinton team dispatched the former secretary of the Navy to deliver a speech in Portsmouth.

The New York Times Magazine published a long profile exploring Hillary’s sometimes opaque emotional landscape, while the Washington Post considered her early life.

In a column this morning, Dan Balz wrote of the Clinton candidacy, "all talk of inevitability is gone," and added that no one knows this better than the candidate herself.  read more »

Sheldon Silver today told a luncheon for the newly formed Center for Working Families (an offshoot of the Working Families Party) that the upcoming budget season might not be all that cheery.

“Historically, economic downturns are the impetus for major policy disagreements—we expect some hard fights ahead next year,” he told the crowd of more than 100, which included a handful of Democratic electeds.

He also opened the door for raising taxes on the wealthy, and in the process, seemed to take a jab at Governor Spitzer’s vow to never raise taxes while he is in office.

More after the jump.

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Last night it was Eliot Spitzer. Now, it's Sheldon Silver's turn to show off his support heading into the upcoming legislative session.

A group of influential labor leaders are hosting a breakfast reception with the Assembly speaker on Thursday, December 6.

A partial list of attendees is after the jump.  read more »

So, the Assembly Democrats are together for the next three days in Brooklyn. In addition to setting legislative priorities, they get to break bread with statewide elected officials, at least one of who seems to have taken a clear political lesson from Eliot Spitzer's string of setbacks at the hands of the legislature.

When asked how things are going, one attendee at the event said via email, “I'm still recovering from the ass kissing the Assembly got from Andrew Cuomo. He spoke to us at lunch. He talked about the great stuff he's been doing and how great the NYS legislature is especially Shelly.”

I'm still waiting to hear back from Cuomo's office.

If anyone has any other inside accounts from the conference, please let me know.

After that same Battery Park City press conference, I asked Sheldon Silver what advice he might have for Eliot Spitzer, who, I asserted, had a rocky first year dealing with the legislature.

“I think his first year was rather successful,” Silver said, before ticking off a number of accomplishments. They included “a billion dollar reduction in workers compensation insurance,” and settlement of the CFE court decision that will bring billions of dollars into New York City.

Silver added, “I think some of the rhetoric that’s taken place lately, has, you know, kind of, obliterated some of the great success that he’s had. But let's not kid ourselves.. He had tremendous success in the legislative session.”

This is probably worth waking up early for. Michael Bloomberg and Sheldon Silver, who oppose Eliot Spitzer’s current driver’s license policy, are appearing downtown together with the governor tomorrow at 9 a.m. That's according to the mayor's schedule, which was just sent out.

What should we ask them?

So, what does Eliot Spitzer have to do to make the upcoming legislative year better than his first one?

Democratic Assemblyman Michael Benjamin of the Bronx, who has criticized Spitzer before, told me in an email that Spitzer has to listen to some of the more seasoned politicians in Albany.

“If he took more of Shelly's advice he'd be better off," Benjamin said. "None of us want an unsuccessful Democratic governor. Spitzer needs to take counsel from the old pros. Reformers need to accept that there's no harm in listening to people like Shelly.”

Which would be quite a departure from how he approached the last legislative session.  read more »

Here's a nice example of the different approaches to getting things done in Albany employed by Eliot Spitzer and Michael Bloomberg:

After Sheldon Silver blocked a vote on whether to open a recycling transportation plant in Manhattan, the reaction from City Hall was decidedly muted. Bloomberg aide Farrell Sklerov said in public statement, "We will continue to answer any questions that are raised and explain the various analyses which have been done. We remain optimistic that we will convince the leaders in Albany that Gansevoort is the best and by far the most cost effective site to handle recyclable materials."

Spitzer, one guesses, would have had a different reaction.  read more »

Sheldon Silver taped an interview this morning with Gabe Pressman about all the fun he’s having in Albany. A transcript NBC sent over highlights an interesting, if under-appreciated aspect of the Eliot Spitzer versus Joe Bruno storyline: the extent to which it's going to depend on Silver (!) to break the deadlock.

Assemblyman SILVER: Well, it's clear that they don't like each other. There's no question about it. And I am sitting between the two of them. I talk to both of them all the time. And I kind of feel like Henry Kissinger used to feel in the Middle East, doing shuttle diplomacy between the two of them.

PRESSMAN: That's what you've been doing?

Assemblyman SILVER: That's basically what I've been doing, trying to bring together the two parties without them having to meet together.

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“PRESSMAN: `I don't think anybody understands Shelly,' says Mr. Spitzer.

Assemblyman SILVER: Well, that's good. We're going to keep