Cuomo aide says Albany drama is all because of Gianaris

From the Daily News:

A top aide to Gov. Cuomo says reunifying the fractured state Senate Democrats will be almost impossible as long as Sen. Michael Gianaris remains in a top leadership role for the mainline Dems.

The personal animosity between Gianaris and Bronx Sen. Jeffrey Klein, who heads up a group of eight breakaway Senate Democrats aligned in a leadership coalition with the Republicans, is the single biggest roadblock for Dem control of the chamber, the Cuomo official said.

The aide sought to peg most the problems on Gianaris, who has had his own tensions with the governor, most recently over the mass transit crisis.The Cuomo aide accused Gianaris, of Queens, of trying behind the scenes to torpedo any deal because he’d rather be deputy leader in the minority than lose influence if the Dems are in the majority.

“This is the oldest story in the book — it’s power, who gets it and who loses it,” the aide said. “When Jeff Klein rejoins the Democrats, Mike Gianaris gets displaced, and therefore he is working to further the divide.”

To break the stalemate, the Cuomo official said, the governor has gone “so far as to offer Mike a job in the administration or offer to support him to run for Queens County (district attorney) down the road.”

AirBnB party house causing major headache

From CBS 2:

Neighbors say a man has been renting out his two-family Fenton Avenue home on Air BnB for wild parties.

As CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported, the property has been advertised as ‘Fenton Lounge.’

“If it was up to me I would do it every day, because I’m a party animal. I love to party,” homeowner Nebi Ayele said.

Residents said one party dubbed, ‘Party In The Ghetto’ was disruptive and ran until 5 a.m. Social media posts of the event boasted of strippers, live DJs, and plenty of alcohol.

Pol wants to grade day care centers

From WPIX:

How safe is your child's day care? It may get a little easier to find out.

A report released Thursday looked at nearly 2,300 group day care centers across the city for the past three years.

It's just the tip of the iceberg to a much larger problem: Kids are the ones that are in danger.

The report found more than 18,000 violations across the city since 2013.

Hundreds of day care centers are repeat offenders and still open for business.

State Senator Jeff Klein proposed legislation that would create letter grade system for city day cares, the same as how New York restaurants are graded with signs.

The senator showed video where day care officials repeatedly lied to undercover parents about having a good track record– when in truth they didn't.

IDC and GOP make a deal

From the Epoch Times:

The unusual power-sharing arrangement in the New York state Senate between Republicans and a splinter faction of Democrats will continue despite the GOP’s gains, the chamber’s top Republican said Monday.

Following a closed-door meeting with fellow Republican lawmakers, Senate Leader Dean Skelos also announced he would support legislative pay raises for lawmakers and state commissioners if the question came up in a lame-duck session this year.

The Senate had been led by a coalition of Republicans and the breakaway Independent Democrats, but Republicans won the majority outright in the Nov. 4 elections and will hold 32 seats in the 63-member chamber come January.

The gains prompted speculation that Senate Republicans would brush off the five-member Independent Democratic Conference.

Skelos said he and Sen. Jeff Klein, who leads the IDC, will work out the details of the arrangement. Republican senators unanimously re-elected Skelos to his leadership position on Monday.

DeBlasio endorses Avella and Klein

From the Politicker:

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this afternoon that he will endorse State Senators Jeff Klein and Tony Avella’s re-election bids, dealing blows to the two well-known insurgents trying to unseat them.

Mr. de Blasio endorsed the two Independent Democratic Conference members shortly after the labor-backed Working Families Party said they would remain neutral in both races.

“Throughout this past session, Sen. Jeff Klein and Sen. Tony Avella worked tirelessly on behalf of the residents of New York City and helped make progress on issues that had been stalled for far too long,” Mr. de Blasio said in a statement. “With their leadership, we secured a record increase in funding for universal Pre-K, a fair budget for New York City, needed property tax relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy, and the changes we need to save lives and improve street safety.”

The endorsement also comes as the IDC, currently governing the State Senate with the Republican Party, agreed to break their ties with the GOP and work with the Democrats after the fall elections. Mr. de Blasio worked behind-the-scenes to broker an agreement between the five-member IDC conference, led by Mr. Klein, and the Democrats.

Mr. de Blasio, a liberal Democrat, believes it’s essential to weaken the GOP in order to enact his agenda, much of which is dependent on Albany and is less popular in many of the upstate and suburban districts that Republican senators represent.

Hatchet buried in Albany

From the NY Observer:

The rift between mainline Democrats and the Independent Democratic Conference appears to have been mended.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and State Senator Jeff Klein, the leader of the breakaway faction of Democrats that governs the senate with the GOP, said in a joint statement this afternoon that the Democratic conference and the IDC would unite in a new power-sharing agreement after the fall elections, sidelining the Republican Party.

“As Democrats, the IDC remains committed to the fight for an equal education for all New York students – which the Dream Act would provide, protecting a woman’s right to choose, increasing workers’ wages, and enacting meaningful campaign finance reform. I agree with Governor Cuomo that these are progressive priorities we must pass,” Mr. Klein said in a statement.

“Therefore all IDC members are united and agree to work together to form a new majority coalition between the Independent Democratic Conference and the Senate Democratic Conference after the November elections in order to deliver the results that working families across this state still need and deserve,” he added.

Mr. Klein and Mr. Cuomo, along with Mayor Bill de Blasio and labor leaders, have met behind closed doors in the past few days to discuss the possibility of reconciliation. Mr. de Blasio helped broker a deal to deliver the Working Families Party line to Mr. Cuomo last month and in turn Mr. Cuomo promised the left-leaning party–and Mr. de Blasio, a liberal Democrat–that he would work to put the Democrats in the majority.

Left-leaning Democrats have bemoaned the IDC-GOP power sharing agreement because it kept the Republican Party in the majority and stifled some liberal legislation. Democratic primary challenges were launched against IDC members this year in retaliation; it’s not immediately clear if these challenges, including ex-Comptroller John Liu’s bid against State Senator Tony Avella and ex-Councilman Oliver Koppell’s challenge to Mr. Klein, will continue.

Slave burial ground in Bronx being recognized

From NY 1:

Little historians working on a school project helped uncover an African slave burial ground.

It started last year, when their teachers discovered the photo seen at left while working with the department of education's Teaching American History project that focuses on teaching local history to kids.

"There's an image that said, 'Slave burial ground' in the Bronx, but that was all the information we had on it," said Brian Carllin, director of the Teaching American History Project.
They turned to the Huntington Free Library for help. Its president, Thomas Casey, immediately recognized the photo and offered some insight.

"The U.S. census, the first one we have is 1790, and we find from the 1790 reports that, in fact, about one-third the population were slaves," Casey said.

They were slaves who belonged to the Hunts, Leggettes, the Tiffanys, families that owned large portions of land in the 17th-century Bronx.

The white landowners were buried in a fenced-off cemetery preserved in Drake Park, while the rest of the park was built over the burial ground for their slaves.

Elected officials and community members are now calling for official recognition of the land where the slaves are interred.

"Make sure that we put this site, we put this African-American burial ground on the site of the state historic registry," said state Senator Jeff Klein, whose district covers parts of the Bronx and Westchester.

Those involved say that even a sidewalk in the park could be hallowed ground. They believe that the burial ground stretches throughout much of this area, and they want to see the people buried here memorialized.

Legislators say they won't stop with recognition on the state registry and hope to have the burial ground recognized as a national historic site, too.

This is quite similar to the East Harlem MTA depot site.

But then there's Elmhurst, where no elected officials give a shit about a slave burial ground being destroyed by a condo project, and learning about its history is certainly not part of any school project.

Vacate orders don't apply to animals

From Eyewitness News:

It was once was a thriving business where kids rode horses and named this fella "Rusty". But, the stables have fallen into disrepair. Rusty's owner, Buster Marengo, has fallen behind on property tax payments and neighbors say rarely comes here to feed the animals. The Department of Buildings tells Eyewitness News it issued Marengo an order to vacate last November. "A person couldn't live in here, but a majestic animal like a horse can, that is not acceptable," said Brian Shapiro, Humane Society. It's why this group created the "Save the Rusty Campaign" with Senator Jeff Klein taking the reins. Two weeks ago, animal control officers dropped by and though they felt Rusty was thin, didn't feel he was being mistreated Klein says the way the law stands now, one he wants changed, the only way to get Rusty out of here, is if officers determined the horse was in immediate danger.

Party's over, pal

From the NY Post:

City zoning can be taxing, and one Bronx pol is about to find that out the hard way.

Democratic State Sen. Jeffrey Klein’s law firm, on a residential street in Morris Park, has run afoul of zoning codes and will now have to pay thousands more in property taxes, the city said.

After a Post inquiry last week, the Finance Department looked into whether Klein’s firm was being taxed at the appropriate level, and found it wasn’t.

So the Finance Department will reclassify the building as a commercial property. Its former residential classification carries a lower tax rate.

More honest graft linked to comptroller's office

From the NY Post:

Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein couldn’t lose.

The Democrat enjoyed a profitable “of counsel” position with a personal-injury firm that specializes in suing city agencies — while his own firm collected millions from the Comptroller’s Office to evaluate some of those very same lawsuits.

Since 2006, the firm of Klein Calderoni & Santucci has received three contracts worth $2.25 million from the Comptroller’s Office to conduct so-called “50-h” hearings — preliminary reviews of suits that help the city decide if it should settle or fight.

Klein said his partner Fred Santucci Jr. does all the 50-h hearings and he is not involved. But Klein, as a partner, likely benefitted from the city contracts.

Until a few months ago, Klein was also “of counsel” with the law office of William Gallina, a small firm located in the same Bronx building as his Senate district office.

Since 2007, Gallina and his associates filed at least 114 lawsuits against various city agencies, according to court records.

Asked about the apparently cozy arrangement, Gallina said only, “At the direction of the city of New York, we have had clients examined by Fred Santucci at 50-h hearings.”

Gallina’s firm has enjoyed big paydays from suing the city.

From the NY Post:

City Comptroller John Liu’s office is taking a second look at the millions of dollars’ worth of legal work it doled out to state Sen. Jeff Klein’s firm to help the city fight lawsuits.

The move follows a report in yesterday’s Post that Klein, a Bronx Democrat, also had a financial interest in another law firm that specialized in suing the city.

“The Comptroller’s Office is currently conducting a review of the contracts,” said Michael Loughran, a spokesman for Liu.

3,751 open violations for NYC foreclosed properties

From Capital Tonight:

Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, today charged that banks are ignoring a 2009 law governing foreclosed properties that have fallen into disrepair.

Klein, a member of the Independent Democratic Conference, said his office discovered 2,000 foreclosed properties across New York City that have 3,751 open violations.

The lawmaker looked into the issue after a 12-year-old boy and his parents died in a fire at 2321 Prospect Ave. The property had multiple standing code violations, including faulty wiring and a broken boiler.

Klein said it was up to the banks to make sure the foreclosed properties remain safe.

Should we ban alcopop?

From the Daily News:

They banned smoking in parks and flavored tobacco. Now city officials are coming after your Mike's Hard Lemonade.

The city Health Department wants state lawmakers to make it illegal for bodegas to sell "alcopop" - premixed, carbonated, flavored malt drinks with alcohol content as high as 12%.

"We are very concerned about these," Health Commissioner Thomas Farley testified at a Council hearing yesterday.

Bronx State Sen. Jeff Klein has already introduced a bill to ban kid-friendly booze beverages like Four Loko and Tilt - but the city says it doesn't go far enough.

A new bill, which must be approved by Albany lawmakers, would outlaw Mike's Hard Lemonade and almost all other types of mixed alcoholic drinks sold in 8,700 bodegas, delis and mini-marts.

Studies have shown that two out of five adolescents who begin drinking before the age of 15 will eventually become dependent on alcohol.

Top Dems collude to line Parkside's pockets

From City Hall:

According to the terms of a contract kept secret during the campaign, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee was prepared to sign over a full 80 percent of all money spent on political mailers, radio commercials and robo-calls for the 2010 campaign cycle to one firm: the Parkside Group.

Stunning several people involved and a number of outside campaign operatives, the contract—which was ultimately discarded amid internal disagreements about spending decisions—guaranteed that this massive percentage of campaign business was required of both the DSCC and all money transferred to individual campaigns by the DSCC. And it almost went even further: the original draft of the contract limited firms other than Parkside to 10 percent of mailers, radio commercials and robo-calls—in other words, guaranteeing the firm 90 percent of this business for the DSCC and candidates it was supporting.

The contract also contained a clause triggering repercussions: if any of the candidates running with the DSCC’s support had used another firm for mailers, radio ads or robo-calls, “the DSCC shall retain the Parkside Group to provide any television media buys made by the DSCC, or the supported candidate or political committee, in that district.”

The contract was signed by DSCC executive director Josh Cherwin after being vetted by the law firm of [Melinda Katz employer] Greenberg Traurig and emailed to Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson’s top aide Paul Rivera, apparently without the prior knowledge or approval of several key members, including DSCC chair Jeff Klein. However, when the contract was presented, there was such resistance that it was never ultimately acted on, and the DSCC instead contracted with a more diverse array of consultants for the remainder of the election season. This included shifting polling and several mail contracts to other firms.

The DSCC’s relationship with the Parkside Group has grown increasingly close over the course of the past year. Sampson was making fundraising calls out of Parkside's offices as far back as January. And though the firm was paid officially only as a vendor, Harry Giannoulis and Evan Stavisky, the two principals of the firm, were involved in internal planning and decisions with the DSCC and conducting polls which helped determine which races the Democrats would prioritize in terms of financial resources going into the November elections. This culminated in a two-week trip Giannoulis and Rivera took over the summer to visit various campaigns and candidates, followed by a memo they wrote and presented to the Democratic leadership in August about where to allocate resources.

Giannoulis, who was the one to sign the contract for Parkside, disputed that there was anything unusual either about Parkside’s contract or with the level of involvement he and Stavisky had with the DSCC.

In 2010 alone, the DSCC reported paying Parkside $2.2 million so far during a cycle that the campaign committee finished the cycle $2.4 million in debt while losing the majority. Parkside also billed a total of $500,000 to the individual campaigns of Democratic candidates David Carlucci, Tony Avella, Toby Stavisky, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, José Peralta, Mike Gianaris and Mike Kaplowitz. This does not include the nearly $200,000 the firm billed Peralta for working on his special election campaign in the spring, nor the $150,000 billed to State Sen. Bill Perkins for his primary campaign.

That amount would not include money which may have been spent out of the DSCC’s housekeeping account, as that committee does not have to file a report until January.

The firm also has a lobbying practice that deals extensively with state government.

Check out this mailer that was sent out during the Democratic primary pointing out Toby Stavisky's blatant conflict-of-interest:

Bronx club operated illegally

From the Bronx Times-Reporter:

The 3133 E. Tremont Avenue establishment, Pompeii Lounge, has officially appealed a notice of intent to revoke its assembly permit for having built contrary to the plans on file with the Department of Buildings when they opened about a year ago.

After mounting pressure from the community, the DOB issued a letter of their intent to revoke Pompeii’s assembly permit if their concerns were not addressed, limiting the amount of people who could be inside to just 75. Presently, the assembly permit allows for occupancy of approximately 180 people.

On July 19, the club was found to be operating contrary to the occupancy permit, with an illegal cabaret. DOB had subsequently audited the floor plan of the lounge and bar and issued the letter on Thursday, September 9.

According to DOB spokeswoman Ryan Fitzgibbon, the club owners, listed on documents as 3131 Enterprises, have met with DOB officials to remedy any concerns and keep the assembly permit.

“Last week they made an appointment with us to address those issues, so their permit has not been revoked,” Fitzgibbon said. “We raised objections and they have to address them.”

Senator Jeff Klein reiterated that Pompeii is being monitored by the State Liquor Authority, which has been looking for violations. He believes that the club’s owners are simply trying to protect themselves.

Klein is working with both the SLA and the 45th Precinct on making sure that Pompeii is not the nuisance to the community it has been over the past few months, with residents complaining about a number of violent incidents near the club, noise complaints, and quality-of-life issues.

Albany "pay to play" scam exposed

From the NY Post:

Democrats in the state Senate are up for sale — and they don’t come cheap!

The Capitol’s scandalous “pay to play” culture descended to a new low as Democratic lawmakers told top labor leaders that they would have to pony up $50,000 each in donations if they want special access, The Post has learned.

In a shocking letter to union bosses who are battling state budget cuts, state Sen. Jeff Klein of The Bronx offered to sell them "chairmanships" on a newly created "Labor Advisory Council."

"Advisory Council chairs will have the unique opportunity to advise the Senate Dems on the structure and focus of the Labor Advisory Council," says the letter from Klein, chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.

"In addition to all meetings, conferences and events that are included with Advisory Council membership, the advisory chairs will be invited to an exclusive meeting with the Senate majority leaders," the letter states.

It also promises that Advisory Council members "will actively participate in the essential policy conversations that help construct our 2010 campaign strategy."

All state lawmakers are up for re-election this year, and the Democrats' narrow control of the state Senate hangs in the balance.

For labor leaders unwilling to kick in $50,000, Klein offered a second-tier "general membership" at $25,000 apiece.

"This is 'pay to play' run amok," said a longtime Democratic activist. "In the current climate of Albany as an ethical cesspool, how could they be so blatant?"

From the NY Post:

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday branded efforts by state Senate Democrats to extract $50,000 campaign contributions from union leaders "the ultimate pay to play," as outraged good-government groups urged a criminal probe of the blatant fund-raising demand.

"Pay to play is just something we shouldn't have," declared Bloomberg.

That's right. Real men just buy their support.

Taxing colleges and public authorities?

From the Times Union:

A plan that would require nonprofit organizations -- from private colleges to public authorities -- to pay property taxes is being put together by a high-ranking lawmaker as Democrats who dominate the Senate develop a budget that will come with some real estate tax relief.

"It's our No.1 priority," said one senator headed for a private budget conference of Senate Democrats Tuesday.

Three Senate officials said a budget resolution to be released soon would likely include at least parts of a circuit-breaker bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, and quite possibly the whole package. The component of Klein's bill most likely to be part of the plan calls for a $290 million STAR program for low-income senior citizens. The circuit breaker Klein envisions would give property taxpayers a credit or rebate based on their income level.

While Klein's proposal would cost money -- Senate officials estimate $1.2 billion -- Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, said he is researching a revenue-raising proposal. It would require nonprofits to pay into the real estate tax base so that tax relief would be spread through a community. He said he wants to include public authorities owned by the state in the group of currently tax-exempt entities that would have to share the real estate tax burden.

"Have nonprofits contribute at a time of national sacrifice," Espada said. "It's not such a bad idea." A person familiar with his plan said he is expected to introduce a bill next week. It is projected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Espada plan would likely require nonprofit property owners, including private colleges, to pay taxes. He is proposing some exemptions, such as for small nonprofits. It is unclear whether his bill would cover the nonprofit health services network he runs in the Bronx.

The idea follows a plan developed by Richard Ravitch before he became lieutenant governor. He came up with a payroll tax for all New York metropolitan-area employers, including nonprofits, as a new revenue stream for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

It sounds interesting until you realize that the MTA is a public authority that owns property and that many public authorities are funded by taxes. So...