Bill Bratton

The Morning Read: Friday, March 9, 2007

Charlie Rangel continued his opposition to Eliot Spitzer's budget, telling the AP that said he is "concerned any time the hospitals are going to get hurt by cuts".

Rudy Giuliani is back in touch with former NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Mike Bloomberg defended his trip to Florida immediately after one of the deadliest fires in the city's history.

The New York Post editorial board said that Bloomberg "has demonstrated an appalling inability to connect with the people of New York in times of crisis."

The Sun still wants him to run for president.

The Times editorial board said Christine Quinn will snub organizers of New York's St. Patrick Day parade "in style in style and in the motherland" by marching in a parade in Dublin.

A national fire fighters union official wrote, but never issued, a letter telling members to say "hell no" to Giuliani's presidential candidacy.

Frank Lombardi follows the strange political path of Dr. Mathieu Eugene.

Failed comptroller candidate Howard Weitzman may get a job in Eliot Spitzer's administration after all.

Vito Fossella got a thumbs-up from fiscal conservatives.

And a local community board shot down the idea of renaming a street after late actor Jerry Orbach.

-- Azi Paybarah

Grand Illusion

grand illusion.jpg

My invitation to Wayne Barrett's book party got lost in the mail, so I had some time to actually read some of it. As the title suggests, Barrett argues that Giuliani wasn't ready for a terrorist attack, and didn't even think about it until it happened.

Page 106:

Asked if Giuliani was accurate when he depicted himself as someone who understood the terrorist threat prior to 9/11, [John] Miller [a top aide for years to Police Commissioner Bill Bratton] declared, "Hello, history. Get me rewrite."

[skip]

Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall said that "specifically on terrorist attacks, there was no sense of awareness" at the highest levels of the administration and "no discussion of the WTC." Asked if the '93 bombing ever came up, Weinshall, who later became transportation commissioner, said, 'No. Isn't that odd?"

Weinshall's spokeswoman had no comment.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

Bratton Plows Ahead in His Mayoral Quest; Enlists Pataki Buddy

Bill Bratton's prospective run for Mayor next year has unleashed a monsoon of threats from Mayor Rud  read more »

Bratton: A Good Man for Our City

Think about it: If you were considering a campaign to succeed Rudolph Giuliani, and you wished to ru  read more »

The Tourists Come to Town

Anybody who has spent even a few minutes in Times Square, or along Central Park South, or outside th  read more »

Rampage in Central Park May Signal Changing Times

One of the cheapest thrills of history or historical fiction is spying on the average unperceptive s  read more »

Private School Prosperity

It used to be that parents with sturdy incomes headed for the suburbs and the "good schools" as soon  read more »

The City's Former Chief Dick Is Swinging His Ego Now

Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic , by William Bratton with Peter Knoble  read more »