The New York Observer » Sheldon Silver

Albany’s Map Quest

Will there be fair and competitive elections next year in New York?

Governor Cuomo promised, in essence, that there would be. During his successful campaign in 2010, Mr. Cuomo said he would fight for the creation of an independent commission that would be given power to redraw the state’s legislative and congressional districts, a process that unfolds every 10 years. Traditionally, both houses of the Legislature handle this task, and critics have charged that the legislators draw maps that insulate incumbents from serious challenges. Congressional incumbents and state legislators rarely are turned out of office in New York, the result, critics say, of unfair district maps.

Not surprisingly, legislative leaders haven’t jumped at the opportunity to turn over their map-making power to an independent commission. The result is a stalemate between Mr. Cuomo, who is attempting to make good on his promise, and both parties in the Legislature. Republicans and Democrats may not agree on everything, but leaders of both parties are of one mind when it comes to protecting incumbents. Read More

Deal Schmeal: The Fight for Real Property Tax Reform Is Far From Over

Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver held a celebratory news conference last week during which they announced an agreement on implementing a 2 percent cap on property tax increases. Welcome though that announcement was, it's clear that the work of achieving real property tax reform is far from over.

Mr. Read More

Silver’s Plan for Property Tax Cap

Azi Paybarah has the latest at our sister site, PolitickerNY, on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's property tax cap proposal. Scroll down and you'll see praise from the big-time business group, Partnership for New York City.

tacitelli@observer.com :: @tacitelli

Roundup: Cuomo Vetoes, Trump Talks Disclosures

Debates: Hannity's red-meat rhetoric doesn't fly at National Action Network. [Obama08jalu]

2012: After meeting with Trump, Huckabee says, "I seriously believe he's going to jump in." [Maggie Haberman]

2012: "I would be proud to give those disclosures," Trump says. [Katrina Trinko]

2012: Trump is to Democrats what Bloomberg is to Republicans. [Jeff Mapes]

2012: Read More

Morning Read: Negotiating Rent Rules, Debating Homeless Numbers

2012: "This birther-in-chief is not even a clown. Clowns know they are being absurd." [Michael Daly]

2012: Trump's standing in the GOP field today is reminiscent of what Dems faced in 1992. [Steve Kornacki]

Federal Budget: "What [Obama has] done politically does not fit what I think should be done morally" says Rangel. [Erin Read More

Speaker Silver and Civil Rights Groups Defend Schneiderman’s Prerogative

While Andrew Cuomo left open the possibility this afternoon that someone besides the Attorney General might defend last year's law to count prisoners in their home districts against a Republican legal challenge, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and a few civil rights groups are helping make the case for Eric Schneiderman.

"We believe that the legislation Read More

Roundup: A Threatening Email Sent to Albany

Threats: Silver, Skelos and others were threatened in an email. [Ken Lovett and Glen Blain]

Threats: Also sent to journalists. State police investigating. [Nick Confessore]

City Budget: NYC's workforce will shrink, says Bloomberg. [AP]

City Budget: "We cannot afford the size police force, fire department, of any of these agencies if we have a Read More

Spitzer Says Silver Didn’t Trust DiNapoli, But Made Him Comptroller Anyway

Eliot Spitzer drops this gem, in an interview with the West Side Spirit:

The first battle was over the choice of comptroller. And Tom DiNapoli is a fine guy. Like him, he’s a friend.
But I said, “You guys are putting institutional interest over public interest. He’s not the guy who should be running our pension Read More

Roundup: Sheldon Silver’s Wrestling Teammate is Andrew Cuomo

State Budget: Skelos and Silver offer some details. [Jimmy Vielkind]

Libya: "[T]he Democratic president echoed the language of his Republican predecessor." [Michael Shear]

Libya: A Kos blogger ties Obama's argument for action in Libya to the health care debate. [nyceve]

Obama in NYC: "Brilliant sun shone down on the baseball fields where the helicopters Read More

Morning Read: Obama Explains Libya, Dicker Explains Cuomo

Libya: Obama's speech. [WSJ]

Libya: "He declined to label the U.S.-led military campaign as a “war,” but made an expansive case for why he believed it was in the national interest of the United States and allies to use force." [AP]

Libya: Obama didn't say when we're leaving. [Marc Ambinder]

Libya: "[M]ade clear that Read More

Roundup: An Unresolved State Budget, A Night of Singing Reporters

Steve Levy: Actually spending more time with his family. [Sid Cassese]

Resignations: Rabbi quits six-figure salary job with state police; Hikind outraged. [Vos Iz Neias]

2013: Stringer returns tainted money; Markowitz doesn't. [Gary Buiso]

State Budget: "So much for the conceptual agreement." [Jimmy Vielkind]

State Budget: "If not today, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, Sunday" Read More

Cuomo, Big Real Estate Move Closer on Rent Regs

Rent-regulation reformers could be poised for their first victory in decades.

Ninety-one state lawmakers wrote a letter to the governor this week, calling on him to include what proponents call rent-regulation reform in the budget due March 31. In a surprising turn, the governor agreed. He said at a March 17 press conference that he now sees Read More

The Millionaire’s Tax: Kill It, Now

Just when you thought that common sense might prevail in Albany, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is pushing a modified version of the so-called "millionaire's tax" in an effort to avoid hard but necessary cuts in wasteful state spending. Mr. Silver's gambit no doubt will please many members of his Democratic caucus, but the state's top Read More

Regulated vs. Unregulated Rents, According to Shelly Silver

New York's rent regulation laws are set to expire June 15, which affects over a million apartments in New York City. As the politically charged debate in Albany heats up, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has released a report with the snazzy title "The New Housing Emergency."

The Assembly's report seems primarily designed to create a Read More

Morning Read: Cuomo Tries to Budget, Chris Lee Offers Refunds

Cops: Two died in separate accidents. [WSJ]

Cops: Suspect pushed an officer over the railing of steps in a Brooklyn brownstone. [City Room]

Cops: MTA officer mistakenly fired a shot at a fellow officer. [AP]

Teacher Accountability: Jeff Klein talks to 60 Minutes. [CBS] Albany Ethics: "Moreland Act investigation could result in honest Read More