Lenora Fulani | The New York Observer

In Search of an Obama-Clinton Debate in Harlem

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:43:12 -0500

A group of organizers that wants to see a debate in Harlem between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton made a unmissable showing with these t-shirts last night at Obama's appearance at the Apollo. As one of the members, outspoken political activist and mayoral candidate Lenora Fulani told me, the group “wants to hear the distinction between [the two candidates], like where they stand on, not just particular issues, but the implementation of all the...

Fulani Wants a Hillary-Obama Debate in Harlem

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:49:52 -0400

Lenora Fulani, who ran for president and governor and is planning a bid for citywide office in 2009, is getting involved in the national stuff again, demanding a debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

From a public statement her supporters at the Independence Party of New York City sent out yesterday:

"Endorsers of the call for a Clinton/Obama forum at the Apollo Theatre will hold a press conference Friday...

Staffing Up on Craigslist

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:09:01 -0400

The city’s Independence Party, which is currently rallying around Lenora Fulani’s 2009 citywide race, is looking for fund-raisers. A reader passed on this help wanted ad from Craigslist, which says, “The New York City Independence Party is seeking energetic callers for 6 week fundraising drive, with possibility of long-term work.”

Other jobs on that zany electronic message board:

Policy analyst for Mayors Against Illegal...

Fulani Can Be The Boss

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:25:21 -0400

Never one to cut out early on a warm, sunny Friday, Azi sends along the news that the Lenora Fulani faction of the Independence Party has won back the right to control the selection of party candidates in New York City.

Fulani, who waged an independent bid for the presidency in 1988 and sought the Democratic nomination in 1992, and her New York City counterparts have been at odds with...

Fulani's Contrition Has Limits

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:25:24 -0400

Okay. Barring extraordinary circumstances, this will be the last item here on Lenora Fulani this week.

Even as she capped off an announcement that she’s going to run for mayor and repudiate her anti-Semitic comments from 18 years, Fulani pointedly refused to retreat from another controversial position:

that it’s OK for therapists to sleep with their patients. It’s something that Fulani’s mentor, Fred Newman, had...

Fulani Repents, Explores 2009

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:43:10 -0400

"I am repudiating my remarks of 18 years ago."

That was from Lenora Fulani of the Independence Party earlier today as she announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a "city-wide" office. The chances are "very high" it will be mayor, she told me after the press conference.

The 1989 remarks in question - in which she described Jews as "mass murderers of people of...

Bloomberg on Google, Spitzer on Hearings

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:57:08 -0400

While the Republican state Senate majority was holding a hearing about the Spitzer administration's ethics issues, Eliot Spitzer was in Chelsea with Michael Bloomberg and others talking about expanding health care coverage.

During a Q&A, I tried to ask the mayor why ads for his quasi-campaign web site now appear on Google alongside searches for certain phrases like “education,” “climate change” and “nonpartisan.”

His...

Sharpton Lawyer Helps Fulani

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:20:20 -0400

There’s a new player in the ongoing fight between the Independence Party of New York City and their own state party organization: the National Action Network.

A lawyer for NAN, which is run by Al Sharpton, joined the city organization of the Independence Party, which is controlled by Lenora Fulani supporters, in Brooklyn state Supreme Court yesterday. They were arguing against the the state party's efforts to take control of the...

Lenora Fulani, Boon to Consultants

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 01:23:40 -0400

I asked Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf what he thought about the prospect of Independence Party activist Lenora Fulani getting into into the 2009 mayor's race.

His assessment: she would be "great fodder for any negative campaign."

UPDATE: Cathy Stewart, New York County Independence Party Chair emailed just now to say, “Negative campaigning is what voters rejected when they elected Mike Bloomberg twice. The issue in 2009 is whether we can keep the...

Fulani 2009

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:55:04 -0400

Controversial Independence Party activist (and Bloomberg supporter) Lenora Fulani may be running for mayor in 2009.

When asked about the possibility, Sarah Lyons, an Independence Party functionary and Fulani supporter, said, “We’re not in a position to say anything about it, but I can tell you this, though: that she is planning on holding a press conference next week.”

About?

...

Independence Parties

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:19:26 -0400

Mark your calendars: the state Independence Party is getting together, apart.

A week from Monday, the New York County chapter of the party, which is closely associated with Lenora Fulani, will have its annual fund-raiser at the Woolworth Kitchen Tower.

Tomorrow, a rival, Staten Island-based faction will hold an event to present awards to Councilman Vinny Ignizio, Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer and Village Voice writer...

UPDATE: NY1 Responds to Fulani

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 10:37:13 -0400

UPDATE: NY1 Political Director Bob Hardt responds: "Ms. Fulani is obviously entitled to her opinion but our award-winning record of covering her and her organizations speaks for itself. Ms. Fulani has received several opportunities to appear on our program and has had ample opportunity to give her side of the story in every report we've aired about...

Fulani vs. Carter, NY1

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 10:33:48 -0400

Lenora Fulani doesn't think much of NY1 host Dominic Carter. At a panel discussion about race and media in midtown, Fulani, who was in the audience, told Carter, who was a panelist, that his network treated her like "a nappy headed ho." "My employers are emailing your network and I liked you a lot more when you were with WBLS, LIB and [with] us in the streets because what you and your network now do, have...

Phantom Members of the Independence Party

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:25:11 -0500

WARNING: If you find accounts of the perpetual feuding within the Independence Party to be boring and incomprehensible, do not read any further. The state Independence Party organization has taken the unusual step of forming a three-member panel (sound familiar?) to investigate the party's county organizations and see if their rosters contain phantom party members. (This, according to IP member Frank Morano, who is perhaps best known in NY political circles for an ostensibly earnest...

Editorials

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Anti-Semite Fulani Fleeces the City

Last week, the city approved tax-exempt bond financing for a nonprofit arts group that was founded by Lenora Fulani, a flagrant anti-Semite, and Fred Newman, a quack psychologist who’s admitted that he’s had intimate relationships with women who came to him for therapy. The votes on the panel that approved the financing are controlled by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. What’s going on here? The answer: cynicism and unprincipled...

A Fulani Problem?

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:18:38 -0400

A potentially interesting side-story to Tuesday's primaries.... We're still awaiting the full results of a series of Independence Party contests between supporters and detractors of the controversial leader Lenora Fulani. As most of you probably know, the Indendence Party -- the biggest minor party in New York -- was recently rendered non-radioactive for mainstream elected officials when Fulani's supporters were purged from the party's executive committee by the state chairman. I don't have enough information yet to...

The Independence Party Unites

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:33:11 -0400

Lenora Fulani is one of those people who no one can find anything nice to say about, so small wonder that four politicians--Betsy Gotbaum, Alan Hevesi, Jerrold Nadler and Chris Quinn --have joined hands (and followed in Scott Stinger's footsteps) to oppose $12.5 million in tax-free financing that the Bloomberg administration will consider at a public hearing tomorrow for a Fulani-affiliated nonprofit youth program, the All Stars Project. What makes this interesting is that...

Elsewhere: Suozzi, Fulani, Spitzer, Karben

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:09:28 -0400

Gawker has all the Tom Suozzi you can handle. Dawn Summers has a must-read riff on the race in the Brooklyn 11th congressional district, and how it's affecting her family. "Nothing you can do? There'd better be something you can do. There is an election coming up and if this is how you treat constituents, you can bet I have voted for my last Owens. In fact, I'm voting for the white guy." Yassky,...

Declaration of Independents

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 11:19:46 -0400

This press release was just issued by the Independence Party of New York: An unequivocal decision by State Supreme Court Judge Joseph Levine has firmly upheld that the Independence Party of New York State Committee had the right to revoke the Interim County Organizations in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, organizations that are aligned with Dr. Lenora Fulani and Dr. Fred...

What Would Lenora Do?

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 05:37:10 -0500

Lord Richard Rogers--the architect who almost lost his job on the Javits Center expansion--is no Lenora Fulani Lenora Fulani. That's one of her allies in the Independence Party, attorney Harry Kresky explained it during a party meeting on Saturday in midtown. According to Kresky, Shelly Silver, the speaker of the New York State Assembly [and] Anthony Weiner, a congressman who ran for mayor, both Jews by the way, essentially said that unless this architect recanted,...

Fulani Lawsuit Dismissed

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 12:10:39 -0500

Lenora Fulani's lawsuit against the Independence Party was dismissed by Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Joseph Levine today. State Chairman Frank MacKay said of the decision, "This further affirms our membership's contention that any county organization allied with Lenora Fulani has no place in our party and we will use all legal avenues to remove these people from the party." —Nicole...

Kool Aid for Manhattan?

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 07:15:26 -0500

Sarah Lyons, a Lenora Fulani ally was removed yesterday as the County Chairperson for the Independence Party on Staten Island. Replacing Sarah is 21-year-old Frank Morano, formerly of Draft Golisano fame. So far, the state Independence Party has taken action in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx. So what is next? A recall of Manhattan County Chair Cathy Stewart? State Chairman Frank McKay hopes so. The numbers, he said, are there. Then again, so is...

Showtime with Fulani

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 12:45:00 -0400

Among the Bloomberg supporters headed for the Apollo tonight is none other than...Lenora Fulani. Ms. Fulani will hold an informational picket with members of the "Bloomberg on C" coalition (read: Independent Party types). For any of you hoping Mike could still make a surprise appearance at this debate...she's the last nail in the coffin. And Fulani is not the only IP'er rushing into the mayor's Apollo debacle. Azi writes in, sharing some snippets from an ad...

Courting Controversy

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:27:00 -0400

For a while, it seemed like Lenora Fulani and her allies just kind of strayed into the fraught political terrain of the Middle East conflict along their larger Marxist travels. But sometimes it seems like they're courting controversy in this political season. Today, for instance, a press release went out from the Castillo Theater, one of the interlocking organizations -- the Manhattan Independence Party and the All Stars Project are the best known -- linked...

Fulani's Ouster?

Mon, 19 Sep 2005 09:55:00 -0400

The state Independence Party's banishment of Lenora Fulani means a bit less than meets the eye: While she seems to have lost her grip of the State Party -- crucial for 2006 -- she still controls the well-funded, well-organized Manhattan party, one of the few chapters with any real members. That's the one that's backing Mike in force, and so this move doesn't really affect his relationship with the party. Anyway, a correspondent who went up...

Editorials

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 20:00:00 -0400

New Yorkers of a certain vintage will remember the night in February 1968, when the “new” Madison Square Garden opened. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby hosted a glittering salute to the U.S.O. before ceding the floor to the Garden’s main tenants, the Rangers and the Knicks. Meanwhile the war in Vietnam was raging, and before long, dissent over that war led Lyndon Johnson to drop out of the ’68 Presidential campaign. New York’s junior...

Editorials

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 20:00:00 -0400

Mike, Lenora, and Stop Snitchin' Guy

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 10:32:00 -0400

While Mayor Bloomberg waited about 30 minutes for Reverend Butts to show up (stuck on the LIE, Butts explained), he killed some time by chatting with diners about city politics, family and Harlem history. One diner he greeted, Enrico Cochrane, 27, clad in a yellow Stop Snitchin' shirt (unclear if he's the same Stop Snitchin' guy who took a flyer from Bill Thompson the other morning, but we like to imagine that he is), took...

Line C

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:35:00 -0400

The Observer's Jason Horowitz, down at City Hall today, writes: The overbooking of City Hall's steps this afternoon forced supporters of Fernando Ferrer, placards in hand, to wait in the wings as Independence Party leader Lenora B. Fulani railed against the "corruption in the Democratic party" and pledged her support of Mayor Bloomberg. The Mayor, not surprisingly, decided to skip this particular endorsement. Fulani stood in front of a score of Muslim and Christian preachers...

Will Spitzer Shun Independence Party?

Sun, 10 Jul 2005 20:00:00 -0400

As a rising tide of controversy engulfs Lenora Fulani, perennial nominee of the Independence Party, candidates seeking the party's nod for state and local office face an increasingly awkward courtship.

Ms. Fulani, who recently refused to repudiate her statement from the 1980's calling Jews "mass murderers of people of color," is now being investigated for child abuse by State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The result is a game of electoral Twister, with politicians contorting themselves...

Will Spitzer Shun Independence Party?

Sun, 10 Jul 2005 20:00:00 -0400

As a rising tide of controversy engulfs Lenora Fulani, perennial nominee of the Independence Party, candidates seeking the party’s nod for state and local office face an increasingly awkward courtship.

Ms. Fulani, who recently refused to repudiate her statement from the 1980’s calling Jews “mass murderers of people of color,” is now being investigated for child abuse by State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The result is a game of electoral Twister, with politicians contorting themselves into...

Hanging by the Telephone

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 05:40:00 -0400

Did the dog eat the Attorney General's homework? And his email? And his telephone, too? In this week's Observer, I wrote an article about Lenora Fulani's hold on local pols who are courting Independence Party endorsements. Ms. Fulani, a controversial lieutenant of the IP, has been accused of child abuse. Eliot Spitzer promised to look into the allegations, after an initial prodding from the Post. Then Virginia demanded that Mike investigate, too,...

Virginia's Hardball

Fri, 01 Jul 2005 06:21:00 -0400

Has anyone else noticed that Virginia is the only candidate running for Mayor who has been relentlessly, even reflexively on the attack? Anthony has gotten something of a reputation as an attack dog, but it's Virginia who pushed Freddy much harder on his Diallo remarks than any of her Democratic rivals, sparred with Gifford on Kirtzman's show, and was more willing than other Democrats to pick a fight with Lenora Fulani. Now she's only one so...

The Brodeur Option

Tue, 24 May 2005 10:59:00 -0400

Mayoral candidate Christopher X. Brodeur, he of the extensive comments, tells us that the city's Independence Party, unlike various other institutions he's gone after on this board, met with him for 45 minutes yesterday at their Manhattan headquarters. He explained to them that "Bloomberg is trying to sell out the Independence Party" and pointed out that the Mayor hadn't defended Lenora Fulani's remarks. "They loved me," he...

Hillary Clinton Looks Like a Winner

Sun, 01 May 2005 20:00:00 -0400

She's come a long way, baby. In the past four years, Hillary Rodham Clinton has managed to dramatically change the way New Yorkers and millions of Americans think of her. And if her fund-raising success is any guide, there are a lot of people in this country who want to see more-much more-of Mrs. Clinton in the future.

In the first three months of 2005, she pulled in $4 million for her 2006 Senate re-election...

Fulani, and a Pataki Pass

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 12:29:00 -0400

The American Jewish Congress is keeping up the heat on the pols who do business with Lenora Fulani. They're calling on officials to refuse the party's line if Fulani doesn't resign. (They misidentify her as "head" of the Independence Party, which isn't technically true, but never mind.) We wonder whether Chuck and Eliot will drop the line, taking away the cover they've given Mike; or whether Mike will jump first, leaving his Democratic friends behind. One...

What Will It Take

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 10:09:00 -0400

For Lenora Fulani to get herself cast back beyond the pale? Well, she gave it her best shot on NY1 News last night. We look forward to the reactions of all her many good friends -- Mike, Chuck, Eliot, etc. The whole exchange between her and Dominic Carter is here, and is worth a read, as is Bob Hardt's amused/astonished commentary. But the bottom line is that Carter repeatedly asked Fulani about a New Alliance Party...

Restoration

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 04:30:38 -0500

We picked up Tom Ognibene's simple, photocopied fundraising letter last night, and his message is right there in the first sentence: "I seek to restore the Giuliani tradition to New York City government." It's still an open question whether somebody who looks a lot like a protest candidate can get people to write him checks, or give him votes, in the hope of confining Bloomberg to "Lenora Fulani's extremist 'independence' line only." But Ognibene told us he...

Mike's Party

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 04:55:06 -0500

Mike Bloomberg offered a full-throated endorsement of Fred Newman's and Lenora Fulani's wing of the Independence Party last night, and thanked them again for last year's "anti-corruption award," an honor he shares with convicted felon Guy Velella. Worth noting were the pols who saw fit to buy advertisements in the event's program, a crucial step in demonstrating your appeal to these independent-minded sorts. Joe Hynes (full page!), Eva Moskowitz, and Joe Bruno all seem to...

The Mayor's Super Battle

Sun, 26 May 2002 20:00:00 -0400

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the leaders of the State Legislature in Albany are engaged in a struggle whose outcome will directly affect the 1.1 million public schoolchildren in the city. If the Legislature prevails, the changes that the Mayor and most sensible citizens want to bring to the city's schools will be cosmetic at best, and school kids will continue to suffer.

The battle is over who gets to appoint school superintendents. Currently, the 32...

Totally Distracted, Voters Won't Focus On Mark and Mike

Sun, 28 Oct 2001 19:00:00 -0500

Mark Green and Michael Bloomberg have swapped identities.

With two weeks to go until Election Day, Mr. Green, who has spent a career as an outsider challenging entrenched power elites, is now the confident front-runnerand staunch defender of civil order, refusingtodebate, parading around with law-and-order supporters and avoiding his opponent at all costs. Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire Republican, is the dogged challenger and protest candidate, offering himself as the choice for disaffected minority voters and...

State's Minor Parties May Have Major Impact

Sun, 07 May 2000 20:00:00 -0400

Speculation concerning the political intentions of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani seems both pointless and tasteless in the aftermath of his announcement that he has been diagnosed with cancer. It is appropriate only to wish the Mayor a complete recovery, and to observe that he will have to make a decision very soon if his party is to have any hope of defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Leaving aside the complicating question of the Mayor's illness, however, that...

Guru Fred Newman Enchants Loyal Followers and Pat Buchanan

Sun, 05 Dec 1999 19:00:00 -0500

Right now, Fred Newman is best known as the man behind Lenora Fulani, an African-American psychologist and two-time Presidential candidate who is a major force in the Reform Party. Recently, Mr. Newman and Ms. Fulani had lunch at the Essex House with Pat Buchanan, who is hoping to be the Reform Party's candidate for President. Ms. Fulani ended up endorsing him and is now his campaign co-chair. All this resulted in jeers, derision, comparisons...

Jew-Haters Made for Each Other

Sun, 05 Dec 1999 19:00:00 -0500

A great deal has been made about the new alliance between two perpetual presidential candidates, Lenora Fulani and Patrick J. Buchanan. Ms. Fulani, as many readers will recall, has been a poisonous, albeit deservedly obscure, presence in New York politics for years. Mr. Buchanan, of course, is known for his work on behalf of Richard Nixon, his venomous discharges on the Cable News Network and his quadrennial pursuit of the nation's highest office.

As for...