Julie Won's husband got racist on social media and had access to info from City Council hearings

  

 NY Daily News

Democratic Councilwoman Julie Won’s husband — who is also her campaign manager — was banned from Twitter after spewing the N-word and other insensitive language on the platform years ago, the Daily News has learned.

Noh, a political strategist who married Won in 2020 and then managed her 2021 campaign for a western Queens Council seat, thumbed out the questionable tweets over a decade ago through his @EugeneNoh handle, screenshots show. The posts are no longer publicly viewable due to Noh’s account suspension, but The News got hold of a cache of screengrabs of the since-deleted missives.

“F—k dude. Get here soon n---a,” Noh tweeted at another user on Nov. 22, 2011.

Noh, who is Asian and was 20 at the time, first denied writing the social media messages when contacted by The News.

“I have no idea what’s going, man,” he said. “It’s not me, and I mean, clearly, it’s not me ... I don’t have a Twitter. I don’t recall having one, especially over a decade ago.”

But after The News sent Noh a screenshot of the tweet and one of his Twitter profile page, Noh said that he “must have forgotten about this account.”

“It looks like I had forgotten that I had a Twitter,” he said. “When you sent me the screenshots, I saw like, ‘Oh no, that’s clearly me’ ... It looks like I tweeted like 150 times over six years. So it’s like a pretty miniscule part of my life ... That’s why I forgot.”

Noh also posted and reposted eyebrow-raising tweets about gays and people with speech impediments.

“I don’t care what anybody says, being homosexual is still not as gay as Twilight,” read a Dec. 6, 2011 post retweeted by Noh from an account called “Men’s Humor.”

A few months earlier, Noh wrote in another post: “Lisp has an s in it so ppl with the condition can self-diagnose themselves, methinks.”

”A decade ago as a young man, I said and did many things that were obnoxious, attention-seeking or flat-out offensive — a lot of which I regret right now as a father and as a husband,” Noh told The News. “Really, it’s no wonder Julie refused to date me until I turned 30.”

It’s unclear exactly when or why Noh’s Twitter handle got suspended, but it was active as recently as 2018. Twitter did not return requests for comment on why it expelled Noh, but a disclaimer on his deleted account states it was suspended for violating Twitter’s rules.

Won did not return requests for comment.

In addition to letting him run her 2021 campaign, Won consulted her husband last year on a key appointment to her Council office, according to the emails reviewed by The News.

“I think she will be good,” Won emailed Noh on July 13 from her official government account with a job application attached from Jenna Laing, who would go on to be hired as her Council communications director.

When asked about this, Noh said he doesn’t “make decisions or anything like that for Julie as Council member.”

“I’m her husband, yes. I’m her campaign manager. So there is a firewall. Anytime she asks me my opinion on something I may give it, but I am genuinely disinterested in what happens in the Council office,” he said. “I, in my estimation, exist pretty much only to compete and to campaign, and that’s what I enjoy doing.”

Won also looped in her husband on multiple emails last summer from the New York City Districting Commission sent directly to Council members seeking input on last year’s redrawing of the Council district map.

But in an email chain in May, Noh indicated he’s aware he shouldn’t be involved in government business as a non-Council staffer.

“Remove me from this chain; I’m not on the government team,” he wrote on May 18 to a lobbyist from the Bolton-St. Johns firm who included him on an email to Won about a discretionary funding request for an LBGTQ community group.

Though sent to Won’s office, the lobbyist’s email was addressed to Queens Councilwoman Linda Lee, and Noh capped off his reply: “Also, you either mistakenly sent this to the wrong council member, or you’re racist.”

Council members are barred under the City Charter from disseminating information to non-Council staff that has been obtained as part of their “official duties” and “which is not otherwise available to the public."

Democrat supremacist Donovan Richards plays race card without a full deck

Queens Chronicle

A series of online comments begun Thursday between Borough President Donovan Richards and Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth) escalated vitriol even by election season standards, including accusations of “white supremacy,” using “racist dog whistles” and “unhinged behavior.”

Holden, who has endorsed U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk) over Gov. Hochul in next Tuesday’s election, on Thursday posted a photo of the council’s Common Sense Caucus and comments denouncing Hochul’s support of congestion pricing.

The measure would, if approved by the federal government, allow an as yet undetermined surcharge for driving into Manhattan south of 60th Street to raise money for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Estimates have run between $9 and $23. The group has called on Hochul to put it to a vote via referendum

“What is she afraid of? The people have a right to decide,” the post asked.

Richards, from his private Twitter account, replied in less than an hour.

“After he loses this election let’s elect an actual democrat,” Richards tweeted. Holden and the entire council are up for election next year, two years early, because of the 2020 U.S. Census. It didn’t take long for the councilman to reply.

“I’m a Democrat longer than you’ve been alive,” he wrote. “If the party platform is now to further tax its constituents, including those with low income and seniors, you can have it. It’s time to elect a Borough President who actually works for Queens, not against it.”

“So why are you surrounded by republicans?????” Richards asked.

“I guess @KalmanYeger is a Republican. Breaking news,” Holden replied.

Yeger is a conservative Democrat from Brooklyn.

The temperature kicked up several degrees when a poster with the handle Secret Squirrel @sheila.sq defended Holden.

“He’s one of the few that represents us,” she posted. Richards’ reply was direct.

“yeah white supremacy.”

“White supremacy!?? WOW... that’s actually hysterical,” Secret Squirrel replied.

Yeger chimed in a few hours later.

“Drunk tweeting in the middle of the day, Donovan?”

To which Holden posted a GIF of actor Will Ferrell in a movie where he shakes uncontrollably while trying to sip a glass of wine with the comment “Donovan right now ...”

Richards, in an interview on Friday, said the white supremacy comment was not aimed at Holden’s district or the congestion pricing plan, with which he has some issues of his own, including the possibility of a $23 fee.

“This is over his support of Lee Zeldin,” Richard said. “Democrats should stick with Democrats. And this election is high stakes.”

Where was Donnie's twitter and drunk courage when he stood with "white supremacist" "Republican" Holden when they were promoting rain gardens not long ago? And where were his hardcore "Democrat" values when Republican Joann Ariola stood next to him that morning? The only supremacy going on here is for the Democrat Party. 

Why are you standing with a Republican @JoannAriola32 and the guy who's standing with Republicans?

Your played yourself pic.twitter.com/J4sWkGGx9Q

— JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) November 4, 2022

New York Senate shadowban

Reclaim The Net 

 New Yorkers who criticize the state’s Senate on Twitter have been blocked from commenting and seeing tweets, according to FIRE who is representing a New Yorker who was blocked for criticizing the state’s new gun control legislation.

In June, the US Supreme Court struck down a New York State legislation that required people to have a license to carry a concealed firearm outside of their homes. The state’s legislature responded by expediting a new gun control legislation limiting who is allowed to carry firearms among other controls.

New Yorkers upset with the reform took to Twitter to express their frustration. According to FIRE, the state’s Senate Twitter account hid about 90 tweets and blocked multiple users.

Twitter allows accounts to hide replies and block people, which prevents them from commenting and seeing future tweets. The New York State Senate’s account takes advantage of these features to hide criticism of legislators and legislation.

Because the Senate is a government entity, it is going against the First Amendment by blocking users. Several courts have agreed that when a government entity invites public comment on social media, regulating comments and engagement violates the First Amendment. The most notable case was when a court ruled that then-President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking critics on Twitter.

Vaccinated Danny Dromm calls firefighters and E.M.T.'s cowards

Didn't see you trying to put out that apartment building inferno in your district that displaced 400 of your constituents you #vaccinated coward.https://t.co/mcYhAKL3Vo

— This is JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) October 30, 2021

Eric Adams panders for bike rider's votes with hilarious optic

While I am passionate about the use of public transit, there’s no better way to experience our city, burn calories, and minimize our carbon footprint than riding a bike. #FBF #bikenyc pic.twitter.com/uepCl4G6Yc

— Eric Adams (@BKBoroHall) August 13, 2021

Because he threw that pathetic pandering campaign tweet as fast as he fixed up his old Brooklyn apt pic.twitter.com/CB5vd7h3i4

— This is JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) August 14, 2021

Donovan regrets nothing

 

 QNS

Hours after he declared victory over Elizabeth Crowley in the Democratic primary for Queens borough president Tuesday, July 6, incumbent Borough President Donovan Richards posted a cryptic tweet that mystified many.

“We won!!!” he tweeted after the city Board of Elections released figures that counted ranked-choice voting with absentee ballots that showed Richards ahead of Crowley by 1,044 votes.

“We beat your racist ass” Richards then tweeted while referencing Crowley allegedly telling him that “she would win, because BLM would die?” and “you couldn’t force me to make you a deb bp. I stand on principle.”

The tweets were met with messages of support, as well as comments that were critical of Richards’ messaging.

On Wednesday, Richards provided QNS with a statement, in which he was unapologetic.

“As a Black man, I faced my own fair share of prejudice and I will not be silent when racist tactics are clearly at play,” Richards said in a statement released through his campaign. “Since our victory in the June 2020 Democratic primary, Ms. Crowley has repeatedly insinuated that she would have won if not for the death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter movement across our country. She later attempted to bully me into giving her a job within our administration with veiled threats of a divisive and dirty campaign if I did not. She clearly followed through on that threat, using the politics of fear throughout this race with mailers disguised as eviction notices and racist dog whistles within her messages on public safety.”

“I’m proud of the positive campaign we ran throughout this election,” Richards concluded. “The people of Queens voted for me to get the job done. Now let’s get back to work.”

Crowley was outraged by Donovan’s accusations.

“I’m extremely disappointed by the slanderous and untruthful remarks made by one of my opponents,” Crowley said in a statement Wednesday. “Politics and campaigning can be tough, and I understand that some may take legitimate policy disagreements personally on the trail. However, I’ve always believed that leadership is about taking the high road and representing the people, not Trump-like bullying on Twitter and making unfounded accusations based on no evidence whatsoever.”

Juan and done

 

NY Post

The liberal candidate challenging moderate Queens Councilman Robert Holden in the June Democratic primary recently yanked down racist and homophobic slurs he posted online as a teen.

Political hopeful Juan Ardila, 27 — who has the backing of many progressive pols and unions — made derogatory comments about Asians, gays, women and Jews and used the N-word in mainly Facebook posts while in high school from 2009 to 2011.

Ardila referred to Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao as a “bumbass c—k” in a posting a decade ago while saying the pugilist would lose a fight, screengrabs obtained by The Post show.

Ardila and a pal also spewed anti-gay slurs when discussing the merits of singer John Mayer.

“ur the gay one nway u f-g crusader,” wrote Ardilla, who used “homo” in his posts, too.

Ardila was just endorsed by the city’s oldest gay Democratic club, the Stonewall Democrats.

After garnering the club’s support last week, Ardila tweeted, “I look forward to working together for a more just and inclusive city. It’s an honor to have your endorsement.”

In his younger years, the candidate also spewed misogynistic words such as “bitch” and “c–t.”

In addition, while discussing the movie “2012,” he said, “Every Juan s–ts on a Jew!!!”

He also referred to one of his friends as a “dumb polack” and hurled the N-word.

The candidate began scrubbing his accounts or making his posts private about 10 days ago, said a source familiar with the matter.

Ardila told The Post on Sunday that he had no comment “at this moment.”

Ready for the funny part? Because here comes the funny part...

Ardila’s candidacy has the support of the Working Families Party, District Council 37, Local 32 BJ-SEIU, health workers Local 1199-SEIU, the Hotel Trades Council, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Councilmen Brad Lander and Jimmy Van Bramer and state Sen. Michael Gianaris.

 Fauxgressives be fauxgressin'

AOC tied to Capitol Police investigation of a California resident criticizing her in a tweet

 

 The Grayzone

An anti-war activist was visited by California Highway Patrol officers after posting video of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s bumbling comments on Israel-Palestine. The action, which AOC denies triggering, was initiated by a call to US Capitol Police.

As he waited for a food delivery at his home in Los Angeles on April 8, Ryan Wentz, an anti-war activist and producer for the online viral program Soapbox, heard two men calling his name from over his front gate. When he approached, he realized they were not delivery drivers, but police officers flashing badges of the California Highway Patrol.

The cops informed Wentz that they had received a call from the Capitol Police, the federal law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the US Congress, about a tweet he had sent that allegedly threatened Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Wentz told The Grayzone, “The officers said, ‘We got a warning about a sitting member of Congress. And it was because of your tweet, which tagged them in it.’ And then they just wouldn’t back down from this accusation that I threatened to kill her.”

 The California Highway Patrol indicated on Twitter that it had acted on a call from Capitol Police.

Though AOC’s office has denied falsely informing Capitol Police of an online threat by Wentz, the Democratic congresswoman has in the past asked her supporters to report critics to social media censors.

Whoever called the police on Wentz furnished law enforcement with a patently false allegation, as he has never threatened violence against any member of Congress.

In the tweet that triggered the police action, Wentz merely posted video of AOC delivering a vapid and embarrassingly convoluted answer to a question about resolving the crisis in Israel-Palestine. Describing her answer as “incredibly underwhelming,” he let the congresswoman’s cringeworthy commentary speak for itself.

Impunity City

 Going by my recent difficulty with the Twitter, this incident confirms that the social media platform is no longer a "private company" and has become an arm of the government hell bent to induce and normalize censorship and will shut down any attempt to hold elected officials accountable for their bad policies and idiotic statements. And just like in my case, this person got clamped down for words belonging to another person.

AOC should be less concerned about what she perceives are threats to her brand and her political party and more with the persistent problems and crises that's affecting her district starting with the recent fire that left hundreds homeless in Jackson Heights.

Open letter to a twitter algorithm

Impunity City

Dear Twitter Algorhitm,

Why did you do it?

Why did you suspend my account? How can you determine that what I wrote was directed as a threat to a newspaper? How is it possible that you cannot distinguish between a sardonic joke and an actual threat?

Most of all, how can you determine that I made a direct threat at a corporate news website when they were the ones that printed the actual threat and have my only social media account repressed when they were the one’s who actually tweeted the inflammatory threat in whole first. Clearly to get clicks and RT’s.

 

John Liu forgot what 9/11 was like

Seeing the Twin Towers crumble is no longer the most frightening moment of my life.

— John C. Liu (@LiuNewYork) January 6, 2021

Update:

NY Post 

A New York lawmaker from Queens is getting big blowback for tweeting that since Wednesday’s Capitol riots, the 9/11 attack is no longer his most frightening memory.

“Seeing the Twin Towers crumble is no longer the most frightening moment of my life,” tweeted state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens).

The tweet, which Liu sent at 4:26 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, as the Washington, D.C., riot unfolded, is still being blasted as tone-deaf days later.

 Liu told The Post on Saturday that he was just swept up by the emotion of the moment when he hit send on Wednesday’s tweet.

“My tweet was an emotional response that failed to provide a fuller context and was not meant in any disrespect, especially to those who died on 9/11 and their families,” Liu said, adding, “9/11 is by far the most horrific and outrageous thing I’ve witnessed.”

Still, the Capitol attack “evoked emotions of outrage, horror and fear that I haven’t felt since Sept. 11.,” 

“What happened on that day 20 years ago was by far the most horrific thing I saw in my life and can’t be compared, but watching on TV the American people’s house be attacked — not by terrorists but by other Americans — was frightening,” he added.

Liu was a candidate in the primary elections which were canceled by the 9/11 attacks. He went on to win, becoming the first Asian American elected to the City Council. He was elected to the state Senate in 2018.

“On Sept. 11, 2001, after they canceled the primary election that morning, I returned home in time to watch the towers fall, and I remember feeling the horror and the outrage and the fear, which I, nor any of us, will ever forget,” he said.  

 Maybe you should have wrote your belated (and lame) excuse on a thread following your initial faux pas, dummy.You just wanted to see how many likes you were gonna get.

 

 

Twitter also censored Progress New York's services app

  

Progress New York

 The Twitter social media giant has censored the C’est Vrai app, an action that suspends the ability of the Web application from delivering programmable tweets over the Twitter service. The action by Twitter followed its demand to control the content of tweets delivered by the C’est Vrai app.

The C’est Vrai app is a multi-faceted, computer-assisted tool that provides research and information services to Progress New York. The dispute focused on recent content that the C’est Vrai app has been delivering, namely, the location of certain utility outages taking place at the apartment complexes of the New York City Housing Authority, or NYCHA. Twitter’s restriction prevents the C’est Vrai app from continuing to deliver such content, which was being served in the public interest.

Twitter had objected to the inclusion of the Twitter handles of public officials, in whose districts the apartment complexes were located, respectively. In response, Progress New York described that officials were only tagged for outages in their district and noted that several public officials had acknowledged the C’est Vrai tweets in some form without complaint, including, but not limited to, Borough President James Oddo (R-Staten Island) and New York City Councilmembers Steven Matteo (R-Staten Island), Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn), and Helen Rosenthal (D-Manhattan).

This was not Twitter’s first action against the C’est Vrai app, and the number of censorship acts by Twitter are increasing, leading to the filing of Federal complaints, for example.

The restriction by Twitter began on 23 September, when the last programmable tweet was published by the C’est Vrai app. Despite arguments submitted by Progress New York in explanation for how the C’est Vrai app programs tweets, Twitter summarily objected to the use of public officials’ tags, writing, “We can only consider a request to reactivate your app after you agree to stop this behavior.” Because Progress New York interpreted Twitter’s response as extortious, Progress New York would not respond to a criminal threat that was intent on undermining Progress New York’s constitutional right to operate a free press. As a result, Progress New York replied, in relevant part, to Twitter, “Progress New York is a news organisation. Regrettably, this is not the first time we have faced extortion or attempts at extortion. We don’t respond to extortion or attempts at extortion.”

Twitter V. The NY Post, the public interest and the unalienable right to know

Impunity City

Let October 14th 2020 go down in history as the day when censorship became policy by a monopolistic social media monolith.

It started off rather innocuously. The New York Post published the long awaited but already well known and confirmed story of presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s pay to play corruption to obscenely enrich himself, his father and an energy company in Ukraine who hired him and paid him over 80 grand a month through email messages procured from a laptop Hunter (or someone close to him) carelessly left behind at a computer repair shop. This expose’ instantly debunked Joe’s persistent claims that he never had contact with any executive from the foreign company Hunter worked for and exposed how the vice president abused his position and duties to get a prosecutor fired in Ukraine that was investigating corruption inside the company Hunter worked for. Which Biden defiantly bragged about doing when he answered a question during a forum on foreign policy only 2 years ago. 

The NY Post followed this up with a flurry of other stories of Hunter Biden using his relation to the second most powerful person in America at the time to acquire more wealth and influence for the companies and acquaintances he associated with. Which were immediately available on the NY Post’s social media accounts…

And then at 2:20 in the afternoon, it stopped.

 

Cuomo's COVID comedy is not pretty

 

 Impunity City

Governor Andrew Cuomo  has been in quite a blue mood lately. Although it’s not over New York elected officials bipartisan calls and congressional and senate demands from DC calling for an independent investigation into the motives behind his mandate demanding nursing homes accept COVID19 patients and the immunity law he gave the owners and financial holders of them. It’s also not over the MTA’s running out of funding to maintain and operate the transit system to go along with maniacs breaking train windows for the fuck of it. It’s also not over the mass exodus of the state’s richest people from the big hollow apple and especially those he’s groveling to so they stay put…

No it’s all these young and youngish adults who are flouting the pandemic protocols he put in place back in April (which he did very late) that mandated mask wearing and social distancing while shopping indoors and mingling outside at bars and restaurants. Even though this consensus flouting as been going on since the outbreak began and reaching the tipping point in summer’s eve with people partying down on an Astoria street, Cuomo decided that the only way he could get the narrative through to these maskless party obsessive punks would be through, um, comedy.

Now Cuomo is the last person who should delve into this genre, although as his massive ego and megalomania plainly shows, it’s safe to say that he probably thinks he knows funny more than anyone else who happens to be in his surroundings. Even that COVID 19 mountain grave poster he commissioned to make and is selling now has little side jokes (the boyfriend cliff).

What’s truly interesting about Cuomo’s sudden interest in resorting to humor is that because of his emergency executive powers that Albany’s legislators gave him in order to prevent contagion to keep the curve going back up the mountain is that he won’t let people who are actually funny and rely on comedy for their livelihoods do their jobs...

 

It's only March, but this is the worst and most dangerous tweet of 2020

Update: Also from de Blasio's Health Commissioner

Shout out to White Rose for capturing this.

Last crap post of 2019: Separated at birth

Smell ya next year crapiteers!

Politco journalist gives props to this blog on social media

Thanks a million, Laura. You rock. 

You've been warned!

From the Daily News:

Airbnb hosts and their neighbors are about to get an education in New York’s new law cracking down on the advertising of illegal short-term rentals.

Share Better, an anti-Airbnb coalition that includes politicians and the hotel industry, is launching a new ad campaign and website Tuesday warning about the new law and the costs of violating it.

Ads will also encourage neighbors who suspect illegal rentals in their building to alert the city.

“AIRBNB HOSTS: KNOW THE LAW,” the headline on one ad reads. “YOU COULD FACE FINES UP TO $7,500 & EVICTION.”

Another ad reads: “If your neighbor is renting an entire apartment for less than 30 days, they are BREAKING THE LAW.”

The ads will run on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other websites.

Mayor's office sends stooge to harass protesters on Twitter

Mayor de Blasio sent his spokeswoman, Aja Worthy-Davis, to a joint protest by multiple civic groups in Sunset Park against his homeless policies. She followed the protesters around from hotel to hotel (they visited 4 all together) and live tweeted the event.

This man just called "putting homeless in the community....'harassment'" pic.twitter.com/jiSKiTTNR6

— (((Aja))) (@AjaWorthyDavis) October 15, 2016

Delvis Valdes called Aja Worthy-Davis out for not using his name in her tweet.

Mayoral spokeswoman Aja Worthy-Davis:

Protesters then got really worked up and told her off.

Robert Holden reveals that the city tried to deny a sound permit for the event until renowned civil rights attorney Norman Siegel intervened.

Curtis Sliwa put in his two cents.

Phil Wong from Elmhurst United charged that the homeless crisis is intentional.

Michael D.D. White, a well-respected urban planner, who authors Noticing New York and is leading Citizens Defending Libraries, had a lot to say about "following the money".

Ramon Acevedo, member of Brooklyn CB7, called for an investigation into the administration and those profiteering off the homeless.

Mr. Valdes led the chants of "Crowley's gotta go" and "Menchaca's gotta go".

After the protest in Sunset Park was over, the group moved to Windsor Terrace to pay a second visit to DHS Commissioner Steve Banks.

By the way, Aja makes a pretty penny harassing protesters on Twitter.

Maspeth appears to defeat shelter plan without electeds' help

From the Daily News:

The co-owner of a Queens Holiday Inn that had been slated to become a homeless shelter said he wants out of the deal because the community opposition is too much.

Harshad Patel told neighborhood groups opposed to the Maspeth shelter that he wouldn’t go forward with the plans after they organized a protest in front of his home.

The protest was later nixed.

He confirmed he no longer supported the shelter to the Daily News on Thursday — and said he already told Acacia Network, the non-profit that had contracted with the city to run the shelter, he was done with the plan.

“The community doesn’t like it, so we decided not to move forward,” he said.

Calls to Acacia were not returned.

Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said, “We’re going to celebrate, but cautiously.”

“We’ve seen things happen where someone tells us something is going to happen and it doesn’t,” he added.

A Twitter account linked to the Holiday Inn franchise posted Thursday that the deal was off.

“We would like to confirm that the Hotel will not be converting to a shelter as suggested. It will continue to operate as a Hotel,” the tweet said.
__________________________________

This is interesting, considering that yesterday the electeds met with the DHS Commissioner and were told that the plan was moving forward. Also, Queens Community Board 5 received an official "notice" letter from Acacia notifying them of their intentions.

Naturally, Liz Crowley, totally caught off guard, is trying to inject herself into the victory at the last second:

This would just be sort of a par for the course type of thing if it wasn't for the fact that Crowley stated that protesting in front of the hotel was a waste of time and that action should be taken in an official capacity. Thankfully, Maspeth residents were smart enough to realize that you can NEVER count on elected officials to do anything, and protesting is actually what brought this development about, along with Tony Avella's letter to the US Attorney.

For added fun, Curtis Sliwa is showing up tonight at the hotel.

Speaker is full of herself, among other things

From the Observer:

The speaker of the New York City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, has an unusual strategy for solving city problems. When she came upon a broken Walk-Don’t Walk sign, she didn’t call 311 to report it. Nor did she shoot an email to the Department of Transportation’s chief to convey the importance of fixing this particular safety device—perhaps more quickly than normal. Instead, Mark-Viverito tweeted about it.

Surprisingly, a staffer at DOT saw Mark-Viverito’s tweet. But this on-top-of-it staffer almost immediately responded in kind—via Twitter—and informed the speaker that the most effective way to get fast action was to call the 311 hotline.

Mark-Viverito responded in full huff: “whaaaat???” she tweeted. “This a joke? Or an auto response? Or maybe even an intern? Not a response for an elected.”

Unfortunately, Mark-Viverito made it all about her: you don’t know who I am? Is an “elected” a new protected class? Is her sense of self-importance so out of control?

If Mark-Viverito had called 311 or emailed the DOT commissioner and not gotten results, a tweet would certainly have been appropriate. But we’d like to suggest to Mark-Viverito that a public servant—yes, that is the more appropriate word for an “elected”—is here to serve, not to huff or berate. And that includes disparaging interns.