Is Aqueduct on the brink of closure?

From Crains:

The New York Racing Association is considering shutting down the financially troubled Aqueduct Race Track in southeast Queens, an action that would take down the money-making casino next door unless state law were changed.

Establishments with video lottery terminals, including Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct, cannot exist under the law without being tethered to a race track, according to John Sabini, the former chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board. Aqueduct is the lone state-owned racetrack in New York, so crafting a bill to make the casino there an exception would not be complicated.

"Because it's state-owned they could do a carve out, a quick piece of legislation," said Mr. Sabini, a former state Senator from Queens.

Monserrate leaves Joe Crowley speechless

From the NY Times:

...Mr. Sabini is the hidden story behind what is turning out to be one of the biggest blunders in modern New York political history. Though little known outside his own borough, Mr. Sabini, 52, has been involved in Queens Democratic politics since he was 16. He was elected to the City Council in 1992 and to the State Senate in 2002.

Last year, with his district changing, the Democratic leadership in Queens pushed Mr. Sabini out of office, voting to endorse a challenger in the primary, Hiram Monserrate. The election in November gave the Democrats a narrow majority in the State Senate for the first time in decades. In the magical land of even numbers — such as the State Senate, which has 62 seats — anyone can be king for a day. Even Hiram Monserrate, freshman senator.

Last week, Mr. Monserrate made Democrats all over the state — and especially those in Queens — curse the decision to anoint him last year. With Senator Pedro Espada Jr., he voted with the Republican caucus long enough to give Republicans control, and to appoint Mr. Espada as the new Senate president.

This week, Mr. Monserrate jumped back to the Democratic side of the aisle, but only after pausing long enough to do as much damage as humanly possible to his own county party. The price of his return was the election of a new leader for the Senate Democrats. As it happens, the leader that Mr. Monserrate single-handedly deposed, Malcolm A. Smith, is also a Democrat from Queens.

So how do Queens Democrats feel now about having pushed out Mr. Sabini in favor of Mr. Monserrate? The party’s county leader, Joseph Crowley, the congressman, did not want to discuss the question on Tuesday.

Photo from PolitickerNY

Sabini vs. Sears in November?

Get ready, Jackson Heights. The already packed stable of candidates for the 25th Council District seat may soon get another distinguished contender.

Former state Sen. John Sabini, now chairman of the state Racing and Wagering Commission, is considering running for the Council seat he first occupied in 1989.

Sabini weighing run for City Council seat

If Sabini runs for the Council seat, he will face competition from sitting Councilwoman Helen Sears (D−Jackson Heights), who likely will run for a third term after Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s revision to the City Charter was approved by the Council in October.

Sears declined to comment on facing her predecessor in the Council.

Sabini actually given something to do

Comptroller says NY official on payroll twice

(AP) - Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says a state official was listed as an employee of two state agencies at once, wrongly accruing credits in the state retirement system.

He says an audit shows the Olympic Regional Development Authority reported its general counsel, John Cansdale, as an employee to the New York State and Local Retirement System from 2005 to 2008. At the same time, Mr. Cansdale was employed full-time as executive director of the state Racing and Wagering Board and should have been listed by ORDA as an independent contractor.

Racing board Chairman John Sabini says the matter is under review. He says Ron Ochrym, a lobbyist and former legislative employee, was named executive director Monday and Mr. Cansdale has a reduced role, but the move isn't related to the audit.

Comptroller says NY official on payroll twice

Serf's up(side-down)

As a point of information, Queens has seven Senators. Five are Democrats and two are Republicans. During the time period covered by the data we found, the five Democrats were Shirley Huntley, George Onorato, John Sabini, Malcolm Smith, and Toby Stavisky. The two Republicans were Serf Maltese and Frank Padavan.

Politics Unusual: Save and Spend, Serf; Candidates Speak at Un-Debate

The data shows the tab to staff the offices of the two Republican senators as a hefty $1,809,710 from October 06 - September 07. By the way, that's without the senator's salaries included. Maltese's office cost us a whopping $933,661.64. Comparatively, the total cost to run the offices of the five Queens Democrats also without their salaries included, was $1,532,075.06. Maltese and Padavan cost us over a quarter-of- a-million more than the five Democrats put together.

Delving into a little perspective, running those two Queens Republican Senate offices also cost more than it did to run five of the Queens Assembly offices, all occupied by Democrats, that cover parts of the Maltese Senate District. Added together, minus their salaries, it cost us $1,425,523 to run the offices of Assemblymembers Pheffer, Hevesi, Markey, Nolan, and Seminerio. (Of course we didn’t figure the extra $500,000 Tony Seminerio allegedly picked up all on his own).

We were having so much fun that we just couldn’t stop without telling you that Maltese had 36 staff members during the time period covered by this data. Padavan had 27. That's a total of 63 employees who cost us in total, $1,625.555.93. Between them, the five Dem Senators had 11 more employees, but the tab was about half-a-million less. And those five Assemblymembers you might ask... well they cost us a total of $1,228,387 for the 58 employees they had between them.

The point of this you might be wondering...well let’s just say we think that when Sen. Maltese makes it such a big issue to point out how much money he’s supposedly saving us in tax dollars, it may be sort of relevant if he tells us where all those savings are going. From the looks of the figures above it’s easy for us to put our finger on exactly where all the savings went...to his offices.

Really now – when it comes to our money, who should we be calling reckless?

Understanding how the Queens Machine works

Excellent post over at Room Eight:

Completive elections throughout the city are the exception. There are 32 legislative seats open in this week’s Primary in Queens (6 Congressional, 7 Senate, 18 Assembly and 1 Council). But there are only three Primaries – the rest are uncontested — due largely to the Queens Democratic Organization’s legal firm and political power. If they can’t talk you out of running, they can challenge your petitions from the Board of Elections through the Court system, exhausting you and your campaign war chest. Their candidates need not spend a cent or a moment, while Democratic challengers are tied up in court going through tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Two incumbents and one challenger in Queens were talked out of running to avoid competitive elections in Queens, State Senator Sabini, Assemblyman Lafayette, and Albert Baldeo who got 49% of the vote against a republican incumbent without the help of his own democratic party.

This conspiracy by insiders to shut down New York’s election system is creating a new type of England’s Hanover dynasties, where only family members or extended family members (chief of staff, campaign workers) replace incumbent elected officials. This insider caste system now works more for the special interests than for the people who make up the neighborhoods of this city. How else can you explain why the City Council votes for tax breaks for developers who are doing more harm to New York’s neighborhoods that Robert Moses ever dreamed?

The Parkside Group as campaign consultants helped elected Gifford Miller to Council Speaker and several Queens City Council members in 2001. Between 2002 - 2005 they made over 7 million in fees, mostly in non profits who needed their help to lobby Miller and the Queens councilmember’s for member item funding from the city budget for their groups. With all the scandals coming out in the past year it surprising why the system that elected the speaker of the council has not been examined more closely by the media.

While the Tammany Hall system of government was corrupt and kept much of the money they took from the City’s budget, they were forced to give some of it to the poor, working class, who votes they needed at election time. The new lobbyists/ consultants are answerable to nobody; they keep all their money for themselves and for their summer homes in the Hamptons.

Sabini rides off into the sunset

John Sabini has just exited the Senate chamber after being unanimously confirmed as chairman of the Racing and Wagering Board.

He was nominated on the floor by his fellow Queens Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, who said he was performing this task with "great joy and some sadness," noting that it was Sabini, back when he was county leader, who supported letting Smith run for the Assembly in 1986 (and lost).

And Goodbye John Sabini

Smith was rescued from a sticky political situation by Gov. David Paterson's decision to tap Sabini for this job, thereby removing him from a tough primary battle with Councilman Hiram Monserrate, whom the Queens Democratic Party abandoned Sabini to back.

Smith had pledged to support Sabini, but that was problematic. Sabini was widely believed to be in danger of losing to Monserrate, whom the party wanted to bring in to avoid challenges by his organization to district leaders (and perhaps a threat to Rep. Joe Crowley somewhere down the road), and would have been expensive to protect.

Senators on both sides of the aisle rose this afternoon to praise Sabini. Not one of them mentioned the political expedience of this confirmation.

Special elections are in the cards

This is just the beginning of the city’s political exodus — a result of term limits. If council members are victorious in all of these races, the city will see six special elections before next year’s city election primary in September.

Council Special Elections on the Horizon?

Special elections, as we have reported extensively, usually give the incumbent — no matter how short-lived his or her tenure may be — an advantage when he or she goes to serve a full term. They often have far lower turnouts than regular contests, and carry an estimated cost of between $350,000 and $400,000.

For the council races that could become special elections, a total of 17 candidates have already emerged. The largest pool is for Gennaro’s seat, where there are four contestants.

New York City voters should expect at least one post-fall-pre-city-special-election next year, because Monserrate (who won party backing instead of Democratic incumbent John D. Sabini) is running unopposed.

See Who's Running For What

Hiram now free and clear of competitive primary

Monserrate Statement on Sabini's Appointment to New York State Racing and Wagering Board

Council Member Hiram Monserrate [yesterday] made the following statement regarding Governor Paterson's recent appointment of State Senator John Sabini as Chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board:

"I wish John Sabini the best of luck in his new position as Chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board. I look forward to the election in November and remain committed to ensuring a Democratic majority in the New York State Senate and providing progressive leadership that advocates for working families in our city and state."

Monserrate is a candidate for the 13th NYS Senate District, including Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Lefrak City and Woodside.

Damn, I was looking forward to the mudslinging in this one... but I am happy that in the great Queens tradition, John was given a no-show job in return for stepping down. Being around the ponies also means being around alcohol a lot. Good for him!

Queens Dems dump Sabini for Monserrate

Democratic Party officials in Queens voted on Friday not to endorse State Senator John D. Sabini, a Queens Democrat who has been in office six years, for re-election. Instead, they voted to back his challenger, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate.

Top Queens Democrats Shun Incumbent

The decision represents an unusual move by a party organization to deny an incumbent its endorsement. And it was a significant blow to Mr. Sabini, a former city councilman and onetime chairman of the Queens Democratic Party.

For much of the last two years, Mr. Monserrate has put intense pressure on the party officials to gain their support. Two years ago, he challenged Mr. Sabini and came within 250 votes of beating him.

Michael H. Reich, the executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party, said that the party’s leadership committee in the district had switched its support in part because of the strength Mr. Monserrate demonstrated in the 2006 election and because the ethnic politics of the district were increasingly favoring the challenger.

Some Democratic leaders have charged that Mr. Monserrate has put pressure on the party organization by threatening to challenge incumbent district leaders in his section of Queens.

Crowley stabs Sabini in the back

Queens Democrats pull plug on Sabini
by Kirsten Danis, Daily News

Things are getting weird in Queens.

The county's Democratic boss, Rep. Joseph Crowley, appears to be abandoning a sitting state senator just before a tough race in favor of his challenger, a city Councilman entangled in a criminal probe.

Why? Queens is changing, and the old guard is nervous.

Several sources confirmed that district leaders meeting tomorrow morning are poised to support Councilman Hiram Monserrate in his primary challenge against state Sen. John Sabini in September. The news reverberated throughout Democratic circles this weekend as it's extremely rare for a party to abandon a loyal incumbent with no major scandal hanging over him.

Monserrate came close to beating Sabini in 2006, and as the district that includes Jackson Heights, Corona and East Elmhurst becomes more Latino, the Hispanic councilman has a solid shot at winning this time around. Mayor Bloomberg blurted out at a private meeting of Council members recently that he would support Monserrate, a former Marine and city cop.

Sources said Crowley is worried about backing the wrong man and leaving Monserrate to build his own base, one that could then help him go after a bigger seat, possibly even Crowley's.

Sabini, a longtime legislator, has been especially vulnerable since he was arrested in Albany last year for drunken driving. He pleaded guilty in February to the lesser charge of driving while impaired.

On the other hand, Monserrate also has the potential for problems. The Queens district attorney and city Department of Investigation reportedly are probing whether Libre, a Queens nonprofit closely linked to Monserrate, helped him with his 2006 Senate race. The councilman, who denies involvement in anything untoward, has steered $400,000 in taxpayer money to the group.

The story is that this happened so that Monserrate would endorse Joe's cousin, Elizabeth in the Council District 30 race because Dizzy Lizzy needs the Hispanic vote to win.

Gallagher tint sticks to Sabini

Meet the new "Pinky"... This photo was not retouched at all.

Sabini pleads guilty

In a statement released on Tuesday, February 5, Sabini said, “I take the matter against me very seriously, and am extremely grateful to have this settled. I would like to offer a sincere apology to my constituents, the Albany Court, and the many loyal friends, colleagues and family members for any burdens this may have caused.”

Sabini pleads guilty to DWAI

As punishment for the “traffic violation,” Sabini paid $300 in fines, not including processing fees to the New York State Court in Albany. He also will have to take classes detailing the risks of drunk driving and the impact on victims, scheduled for next month, his spokesperson said. The DMV has not yet determined how many hours of classes Sabini will have to attend, the spokesperson said.

Sabini charged with D.W.I.

Albany: State Senator Accused of D.W.I.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

State Sen. John D. Sabini was arrested early yesterday and charged with driving while intoxicated after he failed to signal a turn and drove down the center of an Albany street, the police said. Mr. Sabini, 50, a Queens Democrat, was pulled over shortly after 1 a.m. after an officer saw his car make the turn, a police spokesman, Detective James Miller, said. Mr. Sabini failed several field sobriety tests and twice refused to take a breath test, Detective Miller said. Calls to Mr. Sabini’s office were not immediately returned last night.

From the NY Post:

"He had an odor of alcohol beverage on him, had slurred speech, had glassy and red eyes and impaired motor skills," Miller said.

Sabini, a former city councilman, represents parts of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside. He was given an Oct. 4 arraignment date in Albany City Court.

Glad to see he's continuing a proud Queens tradition.

Special commemorative newspaper issue

Why newspapers go easy on overdevelopment and the people who make it possible:

Amorelli Realty

Assemblyperson Mark Weprin

Assemblywoman Audrey Pfeffer

Congressmember Carolyn Maloney

Gerald Caliendo

State Senator George Onorato

Councilmember Eric Gioia

Congressmember Gary Ackerman

Congressmember Joe Crowley

Councilmember David Weprin

Councilmember Pinky Gallagher

Dynasty Realty

FDR Democratic Association

Forest City Ratner

FS Marino Realty

Global City Enterprises

Macaluso Realty

Assemblyperson Margaret Markey

Councilmember Melinda Katz

Councilmember Peter F. Vallone, Jr.

Pistilli Realty Group

Remax Today Realty

State Senator Serphin Maltese

State Senator John Sabini