Richard Brodsky

With the West Side rail yards development deal on very shaky ground, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky today announced a bill that would chart a new course for the 26-acre parcel west of Penn Station, bringing in a new authority to follow a Battery Park City model of piecemeal development.

“Instead of selling at the bottom of the market for a price that was never really what the property was worth in the long run,” Mr. Brodsky said, “we should do what we know works.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the rail yards, has been trying to sell them to a private firm to develop, though yesterday talks broke down with selected developer Tishman Speyer, which had planned to pay the M.T.A. about $1 billion for the property.  read more »

Should Governor Paterson indeed move the Moynihan Station project under the control of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as he said he wants to do, at least two members of the State Assembly are poised to resist the action: Richard Gottfried, the district’s representative, and Richard Brodsky, the chairman of the committee that oversees public authorities.

“It’s a New York project; it ought to be run by a New York agency,” Mr. Brodsky said. “As a bi-state authority, they [the Port Authority] have been unresponsive, remote and immune to reform.”

Moving Moynihan from the state-controlled Empire State Development Corporation to the Port Authority would remove the Legislature from any direct control over the project, taking away its ability to pass laws about the plan or have approval power via the Public Authorities Control Board. (The PACB blocked the project from moving forward in a phased plan at the end of the Pataki administration.)  read more »

A day after the City Council voted in favor of congestion pricing, and before the state legislature has a chance to, critics of the plan are making the argument that it is a financial burden on community services and charities.  read more »

Richard Brodsky, the longtime former chair of the Assembly's environmental conservation commission and a leading critic of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, is declining to seek the support of the New York League of Conservation voters, in the latest chapter in a long-simmering feud dating back to the group’s defense of Governor George Pataki. Brodsky has recently found himself on the opposite side of much of the state's environmental lobby over congestion pricing.

In a letter to the group dated March 27 and released publicly today, Brodsky wrote, “For the reasons that follow I've decided, respectfully, to decline to fill it out, and to decline to seek your
endorsement or support.”

He goes on to write:

“[I]n 2006, LCV declined to support any Member of the Assembly, including me, and leveled direct and clear criticism of Assemblymembers and Assembly leadership for its failure to get legislation passed by the Senate, and signed by the Governor. Put aside the peculiar theory of government that holds the Assembly politically responsible for other branches of government. Put aside the strange politics of the previous twelve years, when LCV was a persistent and well known defender of Governor Pataki who raided the EPF “locked box,” reduced enforcement of environmental laws and refused to support any of the significant environmental legislation supported by LCV and passed in the Assembly."

The full letter is after the jump.  read more »

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It’s a pretty crowded room upstairs in the City Council chambers, where testimony about congestion pricing is being given by city Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and the Director of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, Rohit Aggarwala.

In one exchange, Aggarwala told City Councilman Robert Jackson, “[Y]ou don’t have to get 20 percent of the people off the road to have 20 percent reduction in traffic.” She continued, “Sometimes, if you take one or two cars off, it takes a crowded, congested condition and it turns it into traffic that can flow.”  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 »

On the face of it, there's very little reason for the Democrats in the State Assembly to go out on a limb for Eliot Spitzer. Hence the response of Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester when I asked him what their position was on whether the governor should stay or go: “There is no position of the Assembly majority on Eliot Spitzer,” he said.

I asked him what the general mood is in Albany.

“The mood?" he said. "The mood is, ‘What the fuck.’

"I mean, what? What? Could you have seen this coming?”  read more »

One last clip from last night’s congestion pricing debate. Here's Richard Brodsky saying that if congestion pricing comes to pass before the 2009 mayoral elections, Anthony Weiner, who opposes it, will get elected.  read more »

Last night in Brooklyn, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky debated congestion pricing with Michael O’Loughlin of the Campaign for New York’s Future.
 read more »

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester and Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, debated the mayor’s congestion pricing plan on NBC’s News Forum, which was taped this afternoon and will air Sunday.

Here's one of the highlights, in which Brodsky and Wylde debate whether or not environmental groups are actually supporting the plan.

(Transcript after the jump.)  read more »

Here's Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester talking about Eliot Spitzer's plan to basically sell future proceeds from the state lottery in order to create an endowment to help fund the S.U.N.Y. system.

“If the point of it is to create a revenue stream, we have a revenue stream. It’s called the lottery proceeds," Brodsky told me right before the State of the State yesterday.

Eliot Spitzer’s style may be humbler, but his goals aren’t.

In his second State of the State speech to lawmakers in Albany, Spitzer stuck to his vow to cap property taxes while at the same time providing free S.U.N.Y. tuition for veterans, expanding S.U.N.Y.’s teaching ranks by 2,000 professors, building $400 million of housing for cops and teachers, and expanding health care coverage for children.

The speech won praise from people like Michael Bloomberg, who told reporters afterwards, “I thought that a lot of his proposals were big ideas that are the kind of thing that we need to try. That’s what leadership is all about.”

Some lawmakers, though, weren’t happy.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester said Spitzer’s plan to fund the S.U.N.Y. endowment by selling off future proceeds of the state lottery will create “hundreds of millions of dollars” in transaction fees that would be siphoned away from the state coffers. “Every time we sell off a state asset, the private sector makes out and we get burned.”

State Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr. of the Bronx, a Democratic ally of the governor, said he was happy to hear about the investment in S.U.N.Y., but “telling more and more of our folks to buy lottery tickets in order to pay for it? I don’t’ know how well that is going to fly.”

Two business organization leaders said at an Assembly hearing today that they wanted to see an expanded convention center in midtown Manhattan, shedding some doubt on talk of a long-term plan to build a new convention center in Sunnyside, Queens, or New Jersey.

Both Joseph Spinnato, CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, and Mark Scheinberg, who heads up the New York Auto Show and spoke on behalf of a group of Javits users, said convention hosts come to New York to be at its center.  read more »

Perhaps legislators all received new gavels for the holidays, as there seems to be a whole bunch of hearings in the next few days relevant to economic development.

A list for those that like sitting in the uncomfortable chairs of City Hall and elsewhere:  read more »

I just got off the phone with Democratic Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester, who told me that today’s Siena poll numbers about Eliot Spitzer were “astounding” and showed a “stunning collapse not just for him, but for his political agenda.”

But Brodsky isn’t quite ready to say Spitzer should worry about his re-election.  read more »

The blustery Westchester assemblyman leads the fight against Bloomberg’s congestion-pricing plan. What’s motivating him?  read more »

Here is Richard Brodsky's report -- which got straightforward and fairly prominent play on B1 today -- itemizing what he sees as the problems with Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. The 26-page report says, in short, that it would be a financial burden on low and middle income residents and doesn't effectively reduce traffic.

When asked about the report at a press conference in Brooklyn just now, Michael Bloomberg dismissed it as "just a piece of paper."

Also, the economically (and otherwise) liberal Drum Major Institute is pushing its own, contradictory report in response to Brodsky's.  read more »

As Assemblyman Richard Brodsky was passing by my desk/poker table in the Legislative Correspondents Association room in the Capitol earlier today, I asked him what he though of Michael Bloomberg changing his party registration.

"I wasn't surprised," said Brodsky, a Democrat. "The Republican Party has been for rent for years."

Zing!

For those of you who haven't yet had your fill of congestion pricing, don't worry.

The most outspoken critic of the plan, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester, will debate one of its architects, Rohit Aggarwala, the director of the city's office of long-term planning and sustainability.

It'll take place tonight on Inside City Hall, which airs at 7 p.m.

What will they say?

Here's the mayor, among friends, getting set to testify today in midtown at an Assembly hearing about congestion pricing.

He's arguing that in addition to the potential benefits to the city, there's very little downside to trying it out as a pilot program.

"The worse case scenario is we walk away with the federal money," Bloomberg said.

Later, he addressed the issue of a potential threat to civil liberties, which Assemblyman Richard Brodsky raised yesterday in the context of the Bush administration's security-related surveillance programs.

Bloomberg said such concerns "aren't terribly realistic."

UPDATE: Also, on the same subject, this:

"If George Bush came up with motherhood and apple pie, people would be against it."

A day before Michael Bloomberg goes up to Albany to testify [Sorry--editing error] testifies here in the city about the merits of congestion pricing, both sides are coming with some novel arguments to bolster their case.

Eliot Spitzer and Bloomberg told reporters today that, in a way, New York already has the concept in place.

Said Spitzer: "We already have congestion pricing in New York State. Most people are not aware of it. But the EZ-Pass across the Tappan Zee Bridge are calibrated, in particularly for truckers during rush hour. And so this is a technology -- the EZ-Pass technology has permitted us over the past number of years to put in place this concept."

Bloomberg added, "Keep in mind, we have congestion pricing in New York City. Residents of Staten Island pay a different rate to cross the bridge that connects Staten Island with Brooklyn, the Verrazano, than people from outside New York City, or other boroughs."

The argument, in other words, is that by supporting congestion pricing, legislators would merely be expanding something that's already in place.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester is making a federal issue out of it. “I am not surprised that the Bush administration wants to put cameras in Manhattan and spy on the people of New York,” he just told me. He said he was surprised that Bloomberg and Spitzer would “adopt the Bush philosophy.”

More Brodsky after the jump.  read more »

The Spitzer administration wants to scrap the current $1.8 billion plan to expand the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the far West Side. Crain's reports that Governor Spitzer will meet on Monday with Senator Chuck Schumer, a critic of the current expansion plan (he says it's not big enough), and with Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, who came up with the plan working with the Pataki administration.

Stay tuned. Changes for Javits are likely afoot, and may sweep over more of the West Side than originally anticipated:

"I think there are major changes in the offing," says Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Westchester. "The approved plan simply does not create a world-class convention center.''

- Tom Acitelli

Richard Brodsky is concerned about the legislature's image.

Days after he wrote an Op-Ed in the Times regional sections entitled "The Legislature You Don't Know," he went on Fred Dicker's radio show this morning to lament the way the Assembly is getting kicked around in public.

"He's entitled to be a tough guy; he is a tough guy," he said of Eliot Spitzer.

But he lamented the fact that the state legislature had, in his words, been "swift boated."

"Who swift boated you guys?" Dicker asked him.

"Editorial page writers, radio show hosts, outside groups," Brodksy answered.

-- Azi Paybarah

The comptroller hearings are still going. Tom DiNapoli was received warmly today, Richard Brodsky was asked about his temperament, and accountant Robert Hoffman was in and out in record time, according to a state legislator who was there.

Once the screening is completed today, the real politicking begins. The three-person panel of former city and state comptrollers will recommend five of the 18 candidates to the legislature, who will (presumably) then pick from among them.

The political implications of the possible permutations are interesting. Would it make the choice of the legislature easier, for example, if the panel included only one lawmaker on its final list? Or would that make the act of voting for that lawmaker too nakedly political for the members of the legislature to stomach?

The nominations are likely to be made days before the legislature convenes to vote on it, giving the five candidates a brief window in which to, you know, actually campaign.

Which is when things will get really interesting. Despite the brief excitement of the last comptroller campaign, running for the top bean-counting job doesn't have to be dull, as former NYC Comptroller and current comptroller screening panel member Harrison Goldin can attest. When running for NYC Comptroller, some of you may remember, Goldin campaigned by referring to himself as "a young dynamo".

Your updated lists of this year's top five comptroller candidates (and suggested campaign slogans) are welcome.

-- Azi Paybarah

As the screening panel starts interviewing comptroller candidates in order to pick the five people they'll recommend to the legislature for the position, here are a few predictions about who might make the cut:

Bill Cunningham, political consultant and former deputy mayor

Richard Brodsky Bill Mulrow Tom Dinapoli Martha Stark Joe Morelle

Says we may need to wait "for white smoke" to know when there is a winner.

Ryan Karben, lawyer, consultant and former Assemblyman

Tom DiNapoli Andrew Eristoff Dave Hancox Bill Mulrow Marsha Stark

Predicted winner: DiNapoli

Edward-Isaac Dovere, Editor of City Hall magazine

Martha Stark Tom DiNapoli Richard Brodsky William Mulrow Alphonse Fletcher

Frank Morano, outspoken Independence Party member

Tom DiNapoli Bill Mulrow Richard Brodsky Joe Morelle Martha Stark

"I think DiNapoli gets it in the end."

A junior assembly member

Bill Mulrow Tom Dinapoli Joe Morelle Andrew Eristoff Philip Latessa

A Democratic operative not associated with any candidate

Martha Stark Bill Mulrow Tom DiNapoli Richard Brodsky Joseph Morelle

Next comptroller: Morelle

An aide to a city official

Bill Mulrow Tom Dinapoli Howard Weitzman Alphonse Fletcher Philip LaTessa

A knowledgeable Brooklyn Democrat

"If Eliot Spitzer gets behind Martha Stark, it's hers."

A Brooklyn-based journalist with a twisted sense of humor

Thomas E. Dewey. Dewey's record as a fearless prosecutor and reform-minded governor will match well with the "new Albany" that Eliot Spitzer is trying to bring into being, while his reputation as a "wise old man" of New York politics is a nod to tradition. Since he's a Republican, albeit a liberal one, his appointment will strike a blow for bipartisanship, yet he can't beseen as threat to Spitzer's future ambitions, seeing as he's been dead since 1971. Ask yourself--would a dead Dewey really be any less dynamic than some of these stiffs they're considering?

Your predictions?

Update: The financial disclosure statements from the candidates are here.

-- Azi Paybarah

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who is one of several candidates jockeying for the state comptroller position, took a moment to explain that unlike what most people think the job isn't that of a stock picker.

"The last thing in the world you want is the comptroller picking stocks," Brodsky told me.

Why?

"Well, because you can't possibly manage a $150 billion portfolio one investment at a time. Second of all, the job here is to balance reward and risk, in terms of investment, in ways that are not similar to managing one's own portfolio.

"This is not a question of whether you know whether you should be picking GE or GM. It's a question of how you calculate risk, especially in a fund that has been very heavily involved in what I'll call domestic equity. Essentially, if the stock market tanks, the fund tanks. That's not good policy. There needs to be a diversified investment portfolio including what are called alternative investments in ways that really reduce long term risk."

The four-year-term of the comptroller, which controls billions of dollars, is being filled by the legislature.

"I think four years without an election is too long," he said said. "I think there ought to be a way to fill the vacancy and then bring it to a special election." He noted that would take a constitutional amendment and the issue can't be dealt with right now.

-- Azi Paybarah

Even with former city and state comptrollers on a screening panel, some lawmakers still believe the next state comptroller will be one of the Assembly Democrats who are campaigning for the position. So far, the Assembly candidates include Joe Morelle, Richard Brodsky, Tom DiNapoli, Felix Ortiz, and Pete Grannis.

So how does an Assembly member separate himself from the other candidates?

One way, which could ingratiate himself with the new governor, is to show a track record of pushing for legislative reform.

One sign of that support for former Assemblyman Scott Stringer's resolution supporting rules changes recommended by the Brennan Center. Jeremy Creelan, formerly of the Brennan Center, already sent a letter saying Morelle was supportive of the Brennan Center's recommendations and therefore, demonstrated the kind of independence a comptroller needs.

It's also worth noting that the other comptroller candidates - Brodsky, DiNapoli, and Grannies - never signed onto it. Ortiz, who is considered a bit of a long shot. It's unclear how vocal any of them were on the issue, but a paper trail is a paper trail

-- Azi Paybarah

Even with former city and state comptrollers on a screening panel, some lawmakers still believe the next state comptroller will be one of the Assembly Democrats who are campaigning for the position. So far, the Assembly candidates include Joe Morelle, Richard Brodsky, Tom DiNapoli, Felix Ortiz, and Pete Grannis.

So how does an Assembly member separate himself from the other candidates?

One way, which could ingratiate himself with the new governor, is to show a track record of pushing for legislative reform.

One sign of that support for former Assemblyman Scott Stringer's resolution supporting rules changes recommended by the Brennan Center. Jeremy Creelan, formerly of the Brennan Center, already sent a letter saying Morelle was supportive of the Brennan Center's recommendations and therefore, demonstrated the kind of independence a comptroller needs.

It's also worth noting that the other comptroller candidates - Brodsky, DiNapoli, and Grannies - never signed onto it. Ortiz, who is considered a bit of a long shot. It's unclear how vocal any of them were on the issue, but a paper trail is a paper trail

-- Azi Paybarah

What did people think of Eliot Spitzer's first State of the State address?

Mike Bloomberg told reporters he looked through Spitzer's speech at 8:30 a.m. this morning and "there are very few things in the speech that I could ever quibble with. They'd only be in degrees."

About Ground Zero, which Spitzer said was developing at an unacceptable pace, he said, "It's coming along. Things are going well."

Tom Suozzi, Spitzer's rival in the Democratic primary, said that the new governor did great.

"It's an exciting agenda. It's going to be very tough, but if there's one person who can accomplish it, it's Governor Spitzer."

Roberto Ramirez, whose former chief of staff is now the secretary of state, declined to comment on Spitzer's policies, saying he stopped doing that since he left the assembly a couple of years ago.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky said that "90 percent" of what Eliot Spitzer proposed already passed the Assembly. Brodsky also noted that Spitzer didn't say what exactly constituted a gerrymandered district.

-- Azi Paybarah

If there's one thing the Alan Hevesi situation has brought to light, it's the way that the relevance of an offense by an public official to that official's job can matter more than the seriousness of the transgression in any other context.

"Alan's stuff, interestingly enough, is to some extent related to his responsibilities because he's a fiscal watchdog," Assemblyman Richard Brodsky told me yesterday.

But just to make it clear when the misconduct is and isn't related to being a good office holder, the always-outspoken Assemblyman went to hypothetical-land.

"Take your hypothetical case, where a member of the city council murders somebody. It's clearly an ethical breakdown, but its arguably not related to the discharge of their official responsibilities. Take a situation where a governor takes a bribe. That clearly is related."

So, bribery clearly is a sign of a bad public official, but murder may not be.

-- Azi Paybarah

Assembly Member Richard Brodsky is nipping at the Port Authority's heels: today he and counterparts from New Jersey will propose legislation to make the Port Authority adopt the same measures that New York agencies now must follow according to the 2005 Public Authority and Accountability Act.

Coincidentally--perhaps--the Port Authority introduced a brand new feature to its monthly board meetings last Thursday: a public comment period in which regular folks could make known their feelings about bridges, airports, the PATH, cargo and all the other things that the Port Authority gives us. No one took up the offer, but Chairman Anthony Coscia said it was part of an effort to make the bi-state agency more, um, accountable.

-Matthew Schuerman

M.T.A. Chairman Peter Kalikow invented his own language in a hearing this morning on the state transit agency's potential sale of the West Side rail yards to the city.

"The city of New York has guaranteed us $2 billion for the No. 7 line," he said at first, but under questioning from Assembly Member Richard Brodsky, backed down and said, "My 'guarantee' was a term of mine, not a term of law. I regret the choice of words."

Once upon a time, the city had all but promised the $2 billion to the M.T.A. (PDF) to extend the No. 7 to 11th Avenue, using the money from real estate developers that it would get as a result of the up-zoning. But now that the city says it needs those rail yards in order to sell the bonds for the extension, suddenly the whole enterprise is in jeopardy.

When asked after the hearing whether the city would give the M.T.A. the $2 billion is the two parties didn't make a deal, Kalikow said, "I don't know."

If a deal is reached, the next Governor or even Governor-elect will have a chance to review it, Kalikow said, and Eliot Spitzer has already said he thinks the city's $500 million offer is too low.

-Matthew Schuerman

In the Council, hearings are held on to discuss: medical care for some 9/11 rescue workers; the blackout in Queens; emergency preparedness at senior centers; and community access television.

The MTA's sale of the West Side Rail Yards is discussed at a hearing held by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky.

Brooklyn Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez speaks to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

Eliot Spitzer introduces "Corporate Leaders for Spitzer."

Young Republicans hold their monthly Speaker's Forum.

Log Cabins Republicans meet to hear from several candidates.

Stars from The Sopranos raise cash for Bronx state Senate candidate Jay Savino.

-- Azi Paybarah

In another sign that national Dems are looking to New York -- and an anticipated Hillary landslide -- to pick up seats in the House, DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel just called to talk about Congressman John Sweeney.

Emanuel just told reporters a few minutes ago on a conference call that U.S. Rep. John Sweeney really, really ought to appear before a New York Assembly committee investigating his role in organizing a $27,000 Lake Placid ski weekend for members of Congress that was attended mostly by lobbyists, local officials, and executives from the New York Power Authority.

Ted Blazer, the Chief Executive of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which organized the trip, has testified that Sweeney was in charge of picking the guests. Sweeney has countered that he had nothing to do with the invitations, for which he said Blazer's organization was responsible.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky has asked Sweeney to testify and address the discrepancy. Emanuel, who desperately hopes to replace Sweeney with Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, said that the congressman owes it to New York voters to answer Brodsky's questions.

"You look at the news today, we got Iraq, raising energy prices, the economy," said Emanuel . "We are all busy people here, what are we doing drafting invite lists for a ski trip?"

And what are such busy people doing, for that matter, concerning themselves with proceedings in the New York State Assembly?

Jason Horowitz

The Sun reports that the Javits expansion plan comes down to the vote of the Public Authorities Control Board, and Sheldon Silver. AP reports Richard Brodsky has asked John Sweeney to appear before an assembly committee to answer questions about a $27,000 Lake Placid ski weekend.

KT McFarland has another brother, the Post reports.

—Nicole Brydson

This just released by Brodsky's camp.

STATEMENT OF ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD BRODSKY

Earlier this week Willie, Paige, Emily and I were advised by Doctor Robert Weiss, Willie's nephrologist, that Willie would shortly need a kidney transplant, that I would likely be the donor, and that the operation would take place somewhere in the next thirty to ninety days. In our discussions with Doctor Weiss we had always said that we would do whatever was medically necessary, and that other personal and professional matters would be adjusted accordingly. After further discussion with Doctor Weiss about the preparation time, hospitalization, and recovery time for both Willie and myself, after beginning medical preparation for the operation, and after talking with friends, family, and advisors, it is clear that I cannot continue as a candidate for Attorney General.

Life is full of wonderful opportunities, challenges to be met, things to be enjoyed, and occasions for service to community or family. This is just such a wonderful opportunity. I have had the privilege of public service and been entrusted by the people with significant public responsibilities. It's been an enjoyable and, I believe, successful tenure. The campaign has similarly been an exceptional and successful effort. I'm now exchanging one extraordinary opportunity for another, and I feel lucky to be able to do so. I believe the people of the State, and those who have supported me in the AG campaign will understand and support this decision.

STATEMENT OF DR. ROBERT WEISS

Willie's transplant is necessary because of an auto-immune disease. It is always difficult to predict how long an affected kidney will be functional in these circumstances. After a series of tests that concluded this week I was able to definitively advise the Brodskys about the timing of the transplant, and that Richard begin the medical process for qualifying as a donor, as they had asked me to do. I explained that there is always an option of using dialysis, although I did not recommend it. Willie is a healthy, vibrant teenager and this transplant will keep her just that way, and even make her life a little easier. Our ability to successfully transplant kidneys is always dependent on the availability of donors, especially family members, as the availability of cadaver organs is never what we want it to be. I expect that this transplant will be successful and that Willie will continue to grow into a beautiful young woman from the beautiful teenager we see today. She's a model patient and a terrific kid.

In the event of a major hurricane, the city's unprepared to evacuate, according to a report released today in Albany.

Of course, it's always difficult to tell whether these reports are fact-finding or political documents. Still, some of the findings are a bit discomfiting:

The Plan does not address the length of time it will actually take to evacuate residents. The Plan fails to address traffic congestion problem. The City has not completed traffic congestion studies, largely because it has run out of money to do so, the Plan ignores the consequences of “self-evacuation” and its effect on traffic congestion, the Plan’s call to “phase” the evacuation will not work, and the Plan does not analyze how severe weather, including flooding could make subways, bridges, and tunnels inoperable and lead to traffic congestion problems. The Plan does not clearly establish evacuation responsibilities among agencies, authorities, and employees which may lead to confusion and significant lapses in the evacuation effort.

UPDATE: Jared Bernstein over at O.E.M. called to point out that the evacuation plan Brodsky and company are critiquing is a year old now. "It’s in the middle of getting a top-to-bottom review and revision,” Bernstein said. He said a lot of the Assembly’s criticisms are being dealt with in the revised plan, which came about mostly in response to 2005’s deadly hurricane season.

Bernstein's obligatory political swat: "Putting out a study like this, It's like saying last year's milk is spoiled."  read more »

Richard Brodsky's full smackdown of the Office of Emergency Management after the jump.

Tomorrow morning bright and early, Bill Weld will be the featured guest at Crain’s Business Breakfast.

Council Member John Liu will address the New York City Transit Riders Council.

In the evening, the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee will host Eliot Spitzer, Alan Hevesi, Richard Brodsky, Andrew Cuomo, Mark Green, Charlie King and Denise O’Donnell at their monthly meeting. [UPDATE: Sean Patrick Maloney will also be in attendance.]

And Jonathan Bing hosts a wine tasting fundraiser.

—Nicole Brydson

Richard Brodsky tells the Journal News he's running an Anthony Weiner-style campaign. Weiner noted Friday that he presumes his imitators plan to differ in one regard: winning.

George Pataki’s shelf life as Governor expires in less than a year.  read more »

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky has a hobby: catastrophic meteorology. Or something like that. He's one of the experts on "It Could Happen Tomorrow," a new and ominously-titled program on the Weather Channel.  read more »

Robert Boyle, the chairman of the operating corporation that runs the Jacob K.  read more »