Longtime Assemblyman and Kings County Democratic leader Vito Lopez married the Brooklyn Democratic Party with the Occupy Wall Street protests yesterday, leading a delegation of supporters, political allies, unions and community groups over the Brooklyn Bridge to make common cause with the demonstrations. Read More
A rare divide has formed between Democrats and affordable housing advocates over a prevailing wage provision in the extension of the popular 421-a tax credit. Those advocates say that an extension of the 421-a tax credit that includes requiring them to pay prevailing wages to construction workers on non-public projects will drastically reduce the number of Read More
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
Brooklyn Congressman Ed Towns said today that the only thing that could keep him from winning his son's seat as district leader is a bloc of at-large committee members, who were appointed by county chair Vito Lopez last year.
"Well, it's a difficult task because of the fact that they have all these at-large members," said Read More
Yesterday a reader forwarded me the email that Congressman Ed Towns sent out to Broolyn's district leaders informing them of his desire to stand for the seat that his son Darryl is vacating.
From: Ed Towns <XXXX@gmail.com>Date: Sat, Feb 26, 2011 at 10:34 AMSubject: 54th District LeadershipTo: XXXX@gmail.com
Dear XXXX:
I am asking for Read More
One of the most common defenses made of Brooklyn Democratic boss and Assembly Housing Chair Vito Lopez -- espoused by himself and others -- is that while he may bend the rules, it is always in the service of his beloved Bushwick.
The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Center, which Lopez founded in the '70s and has Read More
Andrew Cuomo paid a visit to Jewish leaders today, and found himself in the thick of Brooklyn's political divide.
According to sources, he visited with four Hasidic rabbis, and at three of the meetings he was met by Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez and Steve Levin, his former chief-of-staff who now serves on the City Read More
Brooklyn Democratic Party Boss Vito Lopez has a team of lawyers at the Kings County Courthouse to try to knock his opponent, Esteban Duran, off the ballot.
A Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of Duran last week, but Lopez appealed the decision. Duran is challenging Lopez for his position as a district leader, which is Read More
Tuesday's hearing on the 421-a Property Tax Exemption Program almost didn't happen.
"When we mailed out the notice and we reached out to a lot of people, there was almost no response," Vito Lopez, chairman of the state Assembly's housing committee, said. "So it's quite interesting."
At issue was whether 421-a, which gives tax breaks Read More
Mayor Bloomberg chimed in on the fight over the housing development planned for the former Domino Sugar factory in Williamsburg. His prediction: Brooklyn Democratic Party leader Vito Lopez will end up supporting the project.
Mr. Lopez, a key figure in the debate over Domino and chairman of the Assembly's housing committee, is opposed to the current Read More
Shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday, a large group of Brooklynites sporting uniform yellow T-shirts collected on the steps of City Hall for a rally. As a few stragglers joined it, Councilwoman Diana Reyna, standing at the base of the group, aside U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez, gushed about the $1.2 billion housing development slated Read More
New York's rent regulations, set to expire June 2011, would be extended in their current form by seven years in a bill introduced Thursday in the State Assembly.
The bill, introduced by Housing Committee Chairman Vito Lopez, comes as many tenant advocates had been requesting, in the very least, that the Legislature reauthorize the existing laws some Read More
Lew Fidler, who's in his third term as a councilman in Brooklyn, had a pretty impressive fund-raiser last Thursday, stirring some speculation about what he's is planning to do next.The event was packed. Money poured in. Oh, and it happened on the same night as a fund-raiser held by Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez, whom Read More
The best part of Vito Lopez's announcement this morning that he's endorsing Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is that he cast it as a result of how she "worked hard over the past year" to win over New Yorkers.But it was not that long ago when Lopez was playing host to Gillibrand's would-be challengers. On June Read More
Addressing the press after a long lunch that saw 41 of Brooklyn's political leaders turn out to meet potential Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr., Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez sounded like a man who had already made up his mind.
"If you want to know how I feel about him, I would find it personally, Read More
