Laughing all the way to the bank

From Crains:

Real estate scion and former governor Eliot Spitzer is selling a big portfolio of apartments his family owns on the East Side in a deal that could fetch $145 million or more.

Mr. Spitzer has put 144 rental units at the Corinthian, a huge apartment tower his father Bernard Spitzer began building in the mid 1980s and finished in 1987. Robert Knakal, chairman of the brokerage firm Massey Knakal Realty Services, is marketing the apartments and confirmed the units were on the market.

“The market for any type of property today, but especially residential assets, is spectacular,” Mr. Knakal said. “It’s a great time to take advantage of it.”

The 57-story building, at 330 E. 38th St., is one of Manhattan’s largest residential towers, with 863 units, and a distinct columnar facade that provides the apartments inside with curving bay windows that offer sweeping views of midtown. The Spitzers sold most of those apartments in the years immediately after they constructed the tower, but when the city’s sales market slowed by the late 1980s, they decided to hold on to 144 units and convert them to rental properties.

The family has held onto the apartments, which are scattered throughout the tower, ever since.

Having lost a tightly-fought bid for city comptroller last year and with his father in his 80s and in poor health, the deal is also a sign that the younger Spitzer has begun to take a more active hand in steering the family’s real estate business. In December, he acquired a prime development site in the Hudson Yards for $88 million.

The sale of the Corinthian apartments could be a way for Mr. Spitzer to raise capital for future acquisitions or help finance the purchases he has made.

2013 Primary election results

Good morning! I hope you all are happy waking up in a City that soundly rejected Christine Quinn last night. She came in with 15% of the vote. Bye-bye, Bloomberg lite!

The likely winner without a runoff is Bill DeBlasio. As of last night, he had 40.2% of the vote, with Bill Thompson coming in at 26%. Whether or not there is a runoff, however, let me point out once again that the political careers of Christine Quinn, John Liu and Anthony Weiner are DONE.

Scott Stringer bested Eliot Spitzer in the Comptroller's race and Letitia James and Daniel Squadron will go head to head in a runoff for Public Advocate.

Locally, Melinda Katz soundly defeated Peter Vallone, Jr. and even with the 9% or so of the vote that Tony Avella allegedly took away from Vallone, he still would not have beaten her. So much for Italian power.

In district 19, The latest numbers are Paul Vallone 2,723 votes to Austin Shafran's 2,579 votes with 98% of precincts reporting. Neither Huffington Post nor NY1 has called it for Vallone, although he claimed victory. So, in November, it MAY be Vallone and Republican Dennis Saffran. Will Saffran win because most Dems picked anybody but Vallone? Time will tell. (Apologies for previous mistake. Shafran got WFP endorsement, but NOT their line. He is challenging the election results.)

In the 22nd CD, Costa Constantinides handily beat John Ciafone.

In the 24th CD, Rory Lancman creamed Andrea Veras.

In the 27th CD, it's still a race between Daneek Miller (3,756) and Clyde Vanel (3,360) with 98% reporting.

In the 28th CD, Ruben Wills beat Hettie Powell.

In the 31st CD, Donovan Richards beat Michael Duncan.

And in the 32nd CD, Lew Simon beat William Ruiz.

Also, thankfully, in the 34th CD, which covers mostly Bushwick but half of Ridgewood, Antonio Reynoso sent Vito Lopez packing once and for all.

Sadly, because we are a one-party town run by a political machine, there were no primaries in the 20th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 29th or 30th districts and all incumbents ran unopposed.

In kind of a surprise, in Brooklyn, 23-year incumbent DA Charles Hynes was defeated by challenger Kenneth Thompson.

UPDATE:

Tony Nunziato and Phil Ragusa were also reelected as GOP state committeemen.

Choose and lose

Been trying to come up with a good caption for this one other than "Four sourpusses and likable candidate."

Take a crack at it.

Quinn's asskissing presser features Queens councilmen

From the Politicker:

It was mostly smiles for Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn under the burning sun outside of City Hall this afternoon.

She accepted new endorsements from two council members from Brooklyn, Stephen Levin and Michael Nelson, as well as two from Queens, Mark Weprin and James Gennaro--all of whom spoke to her established record, which they contended distinguishes her from the other candidates running for office.

"Let me get right to it," Mr. Gennaro said. “Whatever you care about in New York City, whatever issue you care about in New York City, Chris Quinn has a record of accomplishment--a record of solid accomplishment in whatever issue you care about. Not a phrase, not a slogan, not a word picture. An actual record of leadership."

"Madam Speaker, I look forward in seven months to calling you Madam Mayor," Mr. Levin said to a beaming Speaker Quinn who graciously kissed him on the cheek afterwards. And so on for Mr. Weprin and Mr. Nelson.

The endorsements today were largely unsurprising. Mr. Gennaro, for instance, has been functioning as an informal attack dog for the Quinn campaign on a variety of issues. And Ms. Quinn was previously endorsed by the Queens County Democratic organization, and loyal members like Mr. Weprin were likely to follow suit. Nevertheless, it's a component of Ms. Quinn's larger strategy: steadily and slowly growing the list of colleagues backing her bid for Gracie Mansion.

Ms. Quinn, however, didn't strike exclusively positive notes this afternoon. Asked about former Gov. Eliot Spitzer nearly tearing up during an appearance on Morning Joe this morning (she appeared shortly after), Ms. Quinn said she hadn't seen a clip, but launched into a critique of both Mr. Spitzer and another scandal scarred pol, former Congressman Anthony Weiner, one of her main rivals in the mayor's race.

"I, as much as anybody else, believe in second chances. None of us are perfect. In every way, but particularly in elected life, you need to earn a second chance. So the question is what have Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer done to earn a second chance?" she said, echoing comments she made yesterday. "What have they done with their time since their fall from grace that would earn them this second choice--chance. I would say not very much."

Does anyone remember Miss Quinn calling for Weiner and Spitzer's resignations? I don't. Now they're dirt because one of them is running against her?

Another scandal-scarred pol trying to make a comeback

From the Daily News:

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has become the latest disgraced politician looking to make a comeback in city politics.

Spitzer is running for city controller, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told the Daily News.

Spitzer now joins Anthony Weiner, the former congressman who tweeted away his career, as pols seeking redemption from the constituents they betrayed.

Spitzer is creating a committee that will begin circulating nominating petitions Monday in the effort to collect enough signatures by Thursday's deadline.

His entrance into the race to succeed John Liu, who is running for mayor, would shine a bright spotlight on an otherwise sleepy race.

Until now, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has been the Democratic front-runner, racking up endorsements from the city teachers union, 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, and the influential Working Families Party.

But Spitzer, who fled the governor’s mansion in 2008 after revealing his taste for prostitutes, remains popular among the progressives who dominate city politics.

Albany pols have all their bases covered

From the Daily News:

New York’s ethics watchdog is struggling for credibility after closed-door missteps gave the impression that the panel shied from investigating Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s role in the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal.

While the panel insists it got a bum rap, two points are indisputable:

First, there’s no way for New Yorkers to judge the actions of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics because the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo cloaked its operations in excessive secrecy.

Second, lawmakers placed overly strict limits on how the commission does business — down to regulating the number of days the panel has to react after receiving a formal complaint.

The Legislature demanded these handcuffs — which protect accused lawmakers while weakening the panel — as the price of finally submitting to outside scrutiny.

From the Daily News:

Using taxpayer money to settle sexual misconduct cases against state lawmakers — like in the case of Assemblyman Vito Lopez — is controversial, but perfectly legal.

The practice was upheld judicially in 2008 after a taxpayer filed suit in State Supreme Court to challenge a $500,000 settlement. The state had dished out taxpayer funds to a legislative staffer who in 2004 accused Michael Boxley, then counsel to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, of rape.

In dismissing the case, which sought to have Silver and Boxley reimburse the state, the court found there was “no allegation that Silver … caused the wrongful expenditure, misappropriation, misapplication or any other illegal or unconstitutional disbursement of state funds.” The Appellate Division upheld the State Supreme Court’s dismissal.

The settlement in the Boxley case was actually hammered out as part of a legal proceeding by former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The court found that even if Spitzer had erred in judgment by agreeing to the $500,000 payout, that was an issue for voters to decide, not the courts.

Huang under investigation

From the NY Post:

A notorious Queens developer — and convicted felon — is being investigated by the state Attorney General’s office for allegedly defying a state consent decree that barred him from selling condos and coops for life, The Post has learned.

Tommy Huang, 57, once dubbed the "Asian Donald Trump" for developing vast swaths of Flushing, was slapped with the lifetime ban in 1999 when then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer charged him with not paying $325,000 in operating costs promised to renters in two Flushing buildings in which he held the majority stake.

Spitzer alleged the missed payments led to deteriorating conditions at the buildings held by Huang and his wife — the heiress to the Bull’s Head barbecue sauce fortune in Taiwan.

At the time, Spitzer trumpeted the consent decree as sending a "strong and clear message" to developers that "if you don’t live up to your responsibilities — we will find you and prosecute you."

But authorities are not probing if the wily Huang is up to his old tricks.

In 2010 court depositions obtained by The Post, Huang admitted to setting up a homeowner’s association for four homes he and his family were building in a wealthy area of Bayside bordering Little Neck Bay.

His son, Henry, admitted his father also was the paid vice president of the corporation selling units at another condo, the 8-story Broadway Tower in Elmhurst, and had helped purchase the property. The company has sold at least 26 condo units, according to deeds.

"He agreed to not sponsor any development or homeowners organizations, but his name keeps popping up," said lawyer Stuart Klein, who is suing Huang on behalf of Bayside homeowners.

Huang had close ties to Queens politicians. His longtime attorney, Lung Fong Chen, was closely associated with the father of City Comptroller John Liu. Chen and Liu’s father, Joseph, were convicted of bank fraud in connection with a $1 million scheme at Liu’s Great Eastern Bank in 2001.

Where the money's coming from

From the Gotham Gazette:

--Of the candidates listed on Councilpedia, Quinn led the pack in the number of intermediaries -- also known as bundlers -- who have collected donations for her campaign.

--De Blasio has collected substantial contributions from people who do business with the city, including $4,950 from Bear Stearns managing director W.P. McMullen and $2,500 from lobbyist Allison Lee.

-- In addition to substantial contributions from the real estate industry, in 2006, Vallone got a $2,000 donation from then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and $4,950 from the Mets that he can use toward his 2013 run.

--Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley has amassed about $32,000 for a likely re-election bid. The chair of the Council Committee on Fire and Safety -- and a staunch opponent of cuts to fire houses -- Crowley has received $2,750 from the Uniformed Firefights Association, $2,507 from the emergency medical service workers, and smaller donations from unions representing fire officers and fire alarm dispatchers.

--So far, Leroy Comrie may be more notable for the money he hasn’t received than for what he has. As chair of the powerful Land Use Committee, he would be expected to get substantial donation from real estate interests. They backed him heavily in 2009 and supported the citywide campaign of his committee predecessor Melinda Katz. So far, he hasn't -- although he did get $250 from Katz's old campaign committee. Of course, Comrie, who is term-limited in 2013, may not actually be running for anything.

We're in for a big shock soon

From the Times Union:

For the past two years, finance experts as well as some politicians have warned that once the generosity of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act winds down, New York would face even worse budget problems.

That's because the stimulus money acted as a crutch that allowed the state's two major expenses, education and Medicaid, to grow despite the recession.

With the stimulus ending next summer, those rising costs will have to come from state taxpayers -- unless cuts are made.

The deficit for the current fiscal year could run from $315 million to $1 billion, depending on which branch of state government is doing the analysis. And the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which starts April 1, could begin with a $10 billion deficit -- $1 billion more than previously predicted.

The stimulus program, launched by the Obama administration after the 2008 financial meltdown, included public works money and support for state government functions such as Medicaid and education.

Megna noted that when it ends, New York will be on track to spend an additional $4 billion in Medicaid and $1 billion in education expenses.

Medicaid may be the hardest area in which to control spending because it's so closely tied to the ongoing economic slump. As more New Yorkers lost their jobs or became impoverished during the recession, the Medicaid rolls mushroomed: By the end of the year, analysts expect almost 5 million New Yorkers -- nearly a quarter of the state's population -- will be on Medicaid.

The program was growing before the recession, as former Gov. Eliot Spitzer had initiated a program to get more people who were eligible for Medicaid to use it. All told, the Medicaid rolls have grown by 700,000 during the past three years.

In addition to a growing Medicaid program and the loss of federal money, New York's finances are still groaning under a record 7.2 percent drop in income among state residents last year, and the consequent dip in state tax receipts.

Community gardens endangered

From the Daily News:

Gardeners are upset the proposed rules leave the door open for development of the plots.

The rules were drafted to replace a 2002 agreement with then-state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer which preserved hundreds of gardens, settling a battle between gardeners and the Giuliani administration.

The agreement, which expires next month, promised "permanent protection to hundreds of community gardens...a fair process for reviewing future proposals to develop other garden properties," Bloomberg said in announcing the 2002 agreement.

The new rules allow any garden property to be sold if the City Council approves, though officials say they have no current plans to get rid of any of them.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said Bloomberg was not guaranteeing gardens would be preserved forever.

"Permanent protection to hundreds of community gardens, not permanent gardens," he said.

"The intention is to help community gardens continue to succeed," Benepe added. "It is unfortunate there is such strong misperception of this."

What? Can someone translate that, please?

Astoria restaurant workers cheated out of pay

From the Daily News:

A popular Queens restaurant is being dragged to court for not paying its employees enough - seven years after the company settled a similar suit.

Two former employees charge that Elias Corner Restaurant for Fish, a well-known Greek seafood joint in Astoria, failed to pay minimum wage and overtime rates to workers, their attorney said.

According to the class-action lawsuit, filed June 21 in Brooklyn Federal Court, Kinga Koziel, who had worked at the restaurant for nearly five years before she left last February, and Milan Stosic, who was employed for more than a year, are owed about $200,000 in lost wages.

The ethnic food spot on 31st St. at 24th Ave. has previously been slapped with a court ruling for not paying their workers properly.

In 2003, the restaurant was ordered to pay $460,000 in restitution and interest to waiters and waitresses for failure to pay them proper wages, according to published reports.

Former state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer launched an investigation of the eatery in late 2001 after several waiters and waitresses complained that their only earnings were from gratuities - a violation of state and federal minimum wage and overtime laws.

Photo from NY Magazine

A Spitzer comeback on deck?

From NY1:

Nearly two years after a scandal brought him down, former Governor Eliot Spitzer is considering another run for public office.

NY1 has learned that in recent days, Spitzer has discussed with at least one Democratic fundraiser about a return to public office, including running for state comptroller or again for state attorney general.

However, a source close to Spitzer denied these allegations.

The New York Post reported today that Spitzer is seriously eyeing a run for state comptroller, a position currently held by Thomas DiNapoli.

Spitzer has previously strongly denied he would run for office again.

Some New Yorkers told NY1 they think it’s a bad idea for Spitzer to return to politics.

At least he's honest about it...

From the NY Times:

In unusually revealing remarks, Gov. David A. Paterson said on Wednesday that he never envisioned himself becoming governor and that he is trying to do the best with the situation he has found himself in.

Speaking at a luncheon organized by The Associated Press, Mr. Paterson said that when he ran for lieutenant governor in 2006 on a ticket with Eliot Spitzer, he had hoped that then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would later become president and Mr. Spitzer would appoint him to her seat.

“I did not sign up for this,” Mr. Paterson said. “I wanted to be lieutenant governor. I had this grand plan that Hillary Clinton was going to become president. Maybe the governor would appoint me to the Senate.”

Things obviously did not work out that way.

NY's litany of bad eggs

From the NY Times:

New Yorkers are running out of ways to describe Albany as a political version of clown school. Perhaps it is time, then, that they examine what the state of the state says about them. If one believes that people in a democracy get the government they deserve, then we in New York should be unable to look in the mirror without cringing.

We overwhelmingly elected a governor, Eliot Spitzer, who turned out to be hooked on prostitutes. His replacement, David A. Paterson, was never thought of as governor material and now has approval ratings at Cheney levels, somewhere in the subbasement. Albany under Governor Paterson is reminiscent of Afghanistan: nominally commanded by a weak leader, but with powerful warlords ascendant.

We elected a state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, who was forced out of office by scandal. Now, some of his closest associates have been indicted on charges of bribery and grand larceny. A reasonable person may infer that Mr. Hevesi either knew about these shenanigans or was out of touch to the point of dereliction.

To boot, we have an appointed United States senator, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who immediately upon taking office swiveled on so many major issues that you could have suffered whiplash trying to keep up.

Yes, we New York voters have a lot to account for in our choices. Nor is the reckoning limited to statewide officials. The roster of lower-level politicians who have sat in the back of police cars or worn orange jumpsuits has grown depressingly long.

You know things are bad when...

A majority of New York voters would rather see Eliot Spitzer, the state's hooker-happy former governor, back in office than his beleaguered successor, Gov. Paterson, a new poll revealed Monday.

The latest poll from the Marist Institute for Public Opinion showed 51% of registered voters would rather have Spitzer in the governor's mansion right now. Spitzer resigned in March 2008 following revelations he patronized high-priced prostitutes.

Strikingly, even though Paterson is the state's first black governor, 53% of non-whites said they would prefer Spitzer as the state's chief executive.

The number of voters rating Paterson's job performance as "good" or "excellent" plummeted to 19%, marking a seven-point drop since Marist last asked the question in March.

From the Daily News

Lobbyists not affected by recession

From the Daily News:

Lobbying data for last year won’t be released until May, but interviews with the main players make clear that Albany’s top lobbying firms are scrambling to switch their lineups to accommodate the shifting political landscape.

Lobbyists pull strings on virtually every issue affecting New Yorkers, including rent regulation, gun control, gay rights, school spending and health care.

It’s a big-bucks business. Though numbers aren’t yet out, officials expect last year’s haul to exceed the $171 million the state’s 5,300 lobbyists pocketed in 2007.

Especially well-positioned, insiders agree, are Patricia Lynch, former top aide to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), and Parkside Group’s Evan Stavisky, longtime Democratic strategist and son of state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Queens).

No lobbyists are closer to the throne than those at Meyer Suozzi English & Klein.

The venerable law firm’s principals include the governor’s father, Basil Paterson, and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi’s dad, Joseph.

Hey, how much did NYS spend lobbying itself? Did we outdo NJ?

Calling them out on the carpet

Gov. David Paterson's energetic response to the state budget crisis has been the hallmark of his tenure, but even as he was ordering state agencies to cut their spending and warning of even tougher times ahead, his Office of General Services was buying a $21,000 custom-stitched 10-foot-by-15-foot antique carpet for the governor's mansion.News of the purchase, from a New York City firm that had contributed at least $8,000 to the Spitzer/Paterson campaign, was seized upon by critics who have questioned some of the governor's budget-cutting plans.

Purchase of Turkish carpet takes taxpayers for a ride?

The rug, ordered from Stark Carpet on Third Avenue in New York City, was shipped July 31, according to payment records and invoices. Earlier that week, Paterson ordered a second round of cuts for state agencies, bringing the reduction to 10 percent.

Javits goes back to the drawing board

The never-ending saga that is the Javits Center expansion planning process has taken another turn, as state officials now want to extend the convention center northward two blocks to West 40th Street.

At a state board meeting today with an unusual amount of open disagreement, Empire State Development Corporation officials unveiled a set of preliminary plans for an expansion and major renovation of the 22-year-old facility at an estimated cost of $1.8 billion, $200 million more than is currently budgeted for an earlier plan.

Now almost a year since the Spitzer administration decided, after a year of planning, to scrap a large expansion plan and instead do a renovation and small expansion, ESDC officials told the board of the Convention Center Development Corporation that they were nearing approval for the first of two phases for the project.

In Another Shift, State Wants to Expand Javits to 40th Street

Spitzer skates

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer will not face criminal charges for patronizing a high-priced prostitution ring, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday.

No Federal Charges Against Spitzer

The announcement, a five-paragraph statement from Michael J. Garcia, the United States attorney in Manhattan, ended almost eight months of uncertainty for the disgraced governor, whose lawyers had been quietly making their case to the country’s most prominent prosecutor’s office that he ought not be charged. And it ended the possibility that Mr. Spitzer, once an aggressive prosecutor himself, would have his private life explored in a public criminal case.

Gov says Bloomberg's a big baby

Mayor Bloomberg is a nasty, untrustworthy, tan trum-prone liar who "has little use" for average New Yorkers - like the 1,500 workers who would have lost their jobs had OTB closed, a furious Gov. Paterson has said privately.

GOV BLASTS 'NASTY' MIKE

"He appears to be self-destructing," the governor said.

According to a source with firsthand knowledge of Paterson's comments, the governor said that during talks last week on OTB's future, Bloomberg threw the same kind of bizarre tantrums that disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer had been known for.

"He has the same kind of anger that reminds you of Spitzer," Paterson said. "I think he's starting to be concerned that he can't get anything done."

The governor charged that Bloomberg has repeatedly misrepresented the facts to the point that "you can't trust him."

Paterson concluded Bloomberg's behavior will prove ruinous if - despite repeated claims that he's not interested - he runs for governor in 2010.

"It's obvious that Bloomberg has little use for the kind of people who come from Queens and Staten Island, so how is he going to approach the people of Oswego and Lewis counties and Buffalo?" he asked.

For the record, Paterson is denying he said these things, but also isn't asking for a retraction.