Was There a Quid Pro Quo between Scott Stringer and Mike Bloomberg ?

After Scott Stringer had a private meeting with Mike Bloomberg, Mr. Stringer dropped out of the mayor's race, to clear the way for Christine Quinn's own mayoral race. Now, in an apparent reward, Mr. Stringer faces no opposition in his newly downsized mayoral campaign for controller. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

He's no fool : @stringer2013 dropped out of mayor's race after mtg w @mikebloomberg online.wsj.com/article/SB1000… clearing way for @chriscquinn

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 24, 2013

After meeting with @mikebloomberg, @stringer2013 dropped out out mayor's race, benefitting @chriscquinn nypost.com/p/news/local/l… @defeatquinn

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 24, 2013

Is there an appearance of a quid pro quo ? online.wsj.com/article/SB1000… and nypost.com/p/news/local/l… @stringer2013 @chriscquinn @mikebloomberg

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 24, 2013

Bloomberg-Quinn City Budget Fines Outer Borough Businesses

Bill de Blasio report finds that New York City's Quinn-Bloomberg budget deal rakes in $50 million in fines from small businesses in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

Small businesses in the outer boroughs have been crushed by ever-more-expensive fines, according to a new report from Public Advocate and mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio.

"The farther you get from City Hall, the more likely your business is to get inspected and fined,” de Blasio said Thursday in his latest broadside against the man he hopes to replace. “That's no way to balance a budget and it's no way to spur hiring in the boroughs that need it most.”

De Blasio’s 25-page report, called "Borough Bia$: How the Bloomberg Administration Drains Outer Borough Businesses," is an analysis of data on small business fines that Public Advocate obtained through a lawsuit against the administration. (Daily News)

No word, yet, from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, on the mendacity of her press releases about the "no new taxes" in last year's city budget deal.

John Liu will deny any future contracts with Hewlett-Packard

With HP in charge, the ECTP 911 emergency technology project has gone almost $1 billion over budget. Hmmmmmmmmm...?

From The New York Daily News :

City Controller John Liu is vowing to reject any future city contracts with computer giant Hewlett-Packard until the company repays $163 million it overcharged the city for upgrading New York’s emergency 911 system.

An audit by the controller’s office last May concluded that HP, the lead contractor on the 911 upgrade, had repeatedly submitted inflated and questionable bills between 2005 and 2008.

In one outrageous example, a $279,000-a-year HP consultant hired as a software engineer was actually an administrative assistant whose daily timesheets were filled with such mundane tasks as “print and bind documents,” “called to kill a waterbug in the ladies’ room” and “open the door for 5 folks.”

No wonder the 911 project — the most ambitious public safety initiative of the Bloomberg administration — ballooned from an original $1.2 billion price tag to more than $2 billion and is years behind schedule.

Read more : John Liu : Hewlett us down

The Wrath of Quinn : Endorse Her Or Else No Slush Funds For You !

City Council Members Fear Budget Revenge if They Don't Endorse Quinn

From DNA Info :

Many City Council members are wary of endorsing candidates in the 2013 mayoral race until after budget season because they're afraid a vengeful Speaker Christine Quinn will cut their share of $50 million in discretionary funds, DNAinfo.com New York has learned.

The funds, which are controlled by the speaker, are dished out to members each summer to fund constituent-pleasing services, such as community centers and seniors programs. While Quinn’s office has long insisted that the money is allocated based on districts' needs, it’s no secret that members on Quinn’s good side tend to profit — while those who cross her get their budgets slashed.

And many Council members now worry that endorsing a rival in the mayor's race, where Quinn is widely perceived as the front-runner, will result in the same fate.

“I definitely think that discretionary funds will be wielded as a weapon in the fight for endorsements,” said one Democratic Council member, who, like nearly a dozen others who spoke to DNAinfo.com New York, asked for anonymity to avoid angering Quinn.

“Certainly, that is the elephant in the room,” another member said.

“It’s a legal form of blackmail," still another member said.

To avoid retribution, some Council members are weighing postponing their endorsements until July, after the budget is adopted and Quinn no longer has sway over the money.

See also : Endorse Quinn - or else ! (via Queens Crap)

Has 32BJ union been infiltrated by real estate group ?

Has the union 32BJ SEIU become co-opted by the Real Estate Board of New York ?

A notable union representing doormen and service workers, 32BJ SEIU, appears to have become co-opted by the Real Estate Board of New York, a trade association of slumlords.

32BJ and REBNY will be screening mayoral candidates together in joint meetings. From the appearance of such an arrangement, the union and the trade association appear to be collaborating on a joint endorsement, which would mark the death of the independence of unions.

Already, Rob Speyer, chairman of REBNY, said in a statement, "Early on we realized that the interests of REBNY and 32BJ actually align in more ways than not."

Read the full story at : A union and a real estate lobby will screen mayoral candidates, together (Capital New York)

The neoconservatism of the REBNY has translated into neoliberalism at the unions. We are doomed.

Witness how New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn booby-trapped the ATU Local 1181 bus strike by issuing a statement on February 12, in which she called on the union to end its strike and engaging in a "cooling off period."

There's more than one way to bust a union, either by dooming a strike, or by infiltrating it to sabotage its own best interests. Or so it apparently seems...

2013-02-12 Christine Quinn Statement of New York City Council Re ATU Local 1181 Bus Strike Union Busting by

Bloomberg: "No One Is Sleeping On The Streets"

#madeinny @mikebloomberg #homeless "no one is sleeping on the street"?! Take the subway b4 rush hour, walk around NYC & observe. Seriously?!

— Eleni Bourinaris (@EleniBourinaris) February 19, 2013

Mike Bloomberg is blind to the homeless problem. No surprise.

Homeless advocates are criticizing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's assertion that "no one is sleeping on the streets," after he was asked today about a report that the city shelter system is turning away families during cold winter days. (NY1)

How can anybody take Mike Bloomberg seriously, if he is so blind to his own elitist worldview ? Will anybody take him seriously when he makes an endorsement in the mayoral campaign ?

Gothamist In Showdown with New York City Council Over Slush Funds FOIL Request

Is Phil Monaco trying to protect his boss, Christine Quinn ?

Phil Monaco, a staff attorney in the New York City Council general counsel’s office, is warning Councilmembers about an e-mail from a staffer “who works for the Gothamist,” who is following up on a Freedom of Information Law (or FOIL) request.

The FOIL request was being made as part of an investigation by Gothamist into the "finances of City Council members," reported the local news blog Politicker.

Gothamist is investigating how Councilmembers are paid their reimbursable expenses and their standard office expense allowances, but Mr. Monaco is trying to shut down any attempts to investigate City Council payments. In his e-mail to Councilmembers, Mr. Monaco was trying to reassure Councilmembers that he was trying his best to shut down the Gothamist's investigation. "These emails are NOT legitimate FOIL requests. And they do not require a response, as they are not proper requests under the law," Mr. Monaco wrote. "There is nothing your offices need to do at this time."

For years, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was being investigated for the illegal practice of making discretionary budget allocations of taxpayer money to fictitious accounts, so that she could later use those slush funds for political purposes.

In the Politicker report, the publisher and co-founder of Gothamist, Jake Dobkin, confirmed that Gothamist had “about 40 FOILs open right now.”

How much longer before the Gothamist turns up more evidence of how Speaker Quinn has become a total political boss with all the attendant misuse of political power and taxpayer money ?

The Political Liability of Stop and Frisk For Christine Quinn

At tremendous political peril to Christine Quinn, the leader of the NAACP plans to make ''stop-and-frisk'' a major mayoral campaign issue.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been so close and chummy with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's and NYPD Commish Ray Kelly's unconstitutional and racist policy of ''stop-and-frisk.'' She has been waging a neoliberal campaign that is hard on crime by being harder on people of color.

But now comes NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, who is sick and tired of the racial profiling that underpins the entire ''stop-and-frisk'' program, The New York Post reported.

Mr. Jealous "trashed" the stop-and-frisk program during remarks he made at Nazarene Congregational Church in Brooklyn yesterday, and Mr. Jealous's comments were seen as criticism of Mayor Bloomberg's and Police Commissioner Kelly's ill-conceived support for the use of stop-and-frisk. Indeed, Mr. Jealous portrayed Mayor Bloomberg and Commish Kelly as "villains."

“We intend to ensure through every legal means that stop-and-frisk becomes a thing of the past with the next mayor of this town,” Mr. Jealous said.

Three of the four major Democratic candidates — Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and former city Comptroller Bill Thompson — have all said the practice should be reformed but not scrapped. Quinn has yet to take a position on a package of bills before the Council to scale back the program.

City Comptroller John Liu wants to abolish stop-and-frisk altogether.

Jealous also said he wants the next mayor to get rid of Kelly, who consistently polls higher among Democrats than any elected official.

Quinn has signaled she would keep Kelly on board if she won the race and Kelly was willing to stay.

Her competitors in the primary have not made the same commitment.

For her past support of Commish Kelly and for going along with fully funding the NYPD's stop-and-frisk program all these many years -- over 3.7 million stop-and-frisks have occurred whilst Christine Quinn has been speaker of the City Council -- Speaker Quinn has been targeted by activists for enabling the NYPD's discrimination against people of color. (Another blog post about the protest against Christine Quinn's support of stop-and-frisk.)

Read more : Christine Quinn Caught in Stop-and-Frisk Political Trap

Does Bill Thompson Need to Drop Out of the Mayor's Race ?

We like @billthompsonnyc, but is he really in the mayoral race to win it ? nyc-mayor-2013.blogspot.com/p/bill-thompso… : Financial reliance on @mikebloomberg

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) February 18, 2013

Let's take a look at how Bill Thompson's wife, Elsie McCabe Thompson, has become all mixed up in depending on tens of millions of dollars in donations from Mayor Mike Bloomberg. (The Village Voice) Hmmmmmmmmm ?

Anti-Quinn Activists Need More Resources To Educate Voters

NY1 Exclusive : Anti-Quinn Activists Still Have Work To Do : New Poll Shows Quinn In Front Of Other Potential Democratic 2013 Mayor Candidates

Last night on the Road To City Hall program on NY1, it was mentioned amongst the panel of experts that, given voters' relative low negative perception of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Stop Christine Quinn protest effort still has work to do, because voters are not yet educated on Speaker Quinn's horrible record while in office.

One of the activists, Louis Flores, has posted a solicitation for resources, in order to escalate his efforts.

Here are some of the poll findings :

What are New York City Democrats’ impressions of these mayoral aspirants ?

• 65% have a favorable opinion of Quinn, while 17% have an unfavorable one. 18% have either never heard of her or are unsure how to rate her.
• 49% have a favorable impression of Thompson, while 20% do not. 31% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.
• 48% of New York City Democrats have a positive view of de Blasio, while 20% have an unfavorable one. 32% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.
• When it comes to Liu, 43% have a favorable impression of him while 27% have an unfavorable one. 30% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.
• 26% of Democrats have a positive opinion of Albanese while 20% have an unfavorable view of him. 54% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.

Poll results have a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent.

Left unsaid during the panel discussion was the impact of all the totally biased/fluff pieces being published by The New York Times, which favours Speaker Quinn, like her Betty Crocker story with its staged photo, the café story, and her luxury condo feature story.

It seems that Speaker Quinn's favourability ratings are being artificially inflated due to the biased and deliberately fluff news pieces being published about her.

Voter Anger Revealed In Daily News Letters To The Editor

Two very insightful letters published by The New York Daily News, which continues to reveal voter anger toward the corruption by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has lost tough with reality of the challenges facing average New Yorkers :

Chris cross I

Brooklyn: Re “Begin the Quinn spin” (Feb. 12): Middle-class housing for a family of four with an income of $103,000 to $142,000. If that is middle class, where are my food stamps, Medicaid card and free housing? Those amounts are not the middle class that I know. Christine Quinn must have been making a joke in her State of the City speech, right? Clifford F. Zeman

Chris cross II

Richmond Hill: Has City Council Speaker Christine Quinn convinced herself that she is a fair, honest and ethical leader who is worthy to hold the office of mayor? In 2006, she approved a generous pay raise for herself and the entire Council. Then, she extended her own patronage-appointed, cradle-to-grave city career by changing the laws of term limits for dictator Bloomberg. The final betrayal was her denying a vote on paid sick time for the working poor. Clean up your act, Empress Quinn, and withdraw your deeply flawed candidacy. Adele DeLeva

People Aren't Laughing At Christine Quinn, So Much As Christine Quinn Is Laughing All The Way To The Bank

From ''Christine Quinn Doesn't Care If You Are Laughing At Her ; She'll Just Get Even'' :

Christopher London wrote on February 3, 2013, 3:21 PM [LINK]

As stated in Rolling Stone: “In an excellent new book, Twilight of the Elites, journalist Chris Hayes argues that what happened is this: Our ruling class failed us. Behind the seemingly haphazard pile-up of recent calamities he sees a pattern: In each case, a cadre of Very Important People succumbed to some combination of blinkered groupthink, deception, self-dealing, fraud, smugness, and self-delusion. And in virtually every case, they escaped accountability. Or, as Hayes puts it: "All the smart people f_cked up, and no one seems willing to take responsibility."

There is a mainstream citizen revolt against the attempt by societal elites and Mayor Bloomberg to install Quinn as the next Mayor of New York City. All levers of the media will be used in an effort to insure that reality against the prevailing and existing will of the people. In my estimation, Christine Quinn represents a doubling down by the elites in an effort to control the aftermath of what they have created for or imposed on the rest of us, through unchecked and uninvestigated government waste. 'Pontificating Poseur & Societal Elite Windbag' - Senator Tom Duane – an opportunistic and self professed LGBT hero and his protégé in identity politics, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn enabled her crony capitalist sponsor, Bill Rudin of Rudin Management and the Rudin Family to seize St. Vincent’s Hospital, the epicenter of the AIDS Crisis, for pennies on the dollar so the Rudin Family Luxury Blood Condos could be built in its place. Is this what Quinn’s sponsor believes will lead to “A Better New York” – that he trumpets through ABNY – the Association for a Better New York? The best AIDS Memorial is preservation of the hospital and treatment facility at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, for its humanity in treating patients not luxury condos in its place.

Quinn is now taking heat from the LGBT Community including her own Chelsea: District 3, because, her remarks (via mass email) praising Ed Koch upon his death, she didn't acknowledge his failure to address the AIDS Crisis as thousands of gay men were dying. The gay press has not yet mentioned the fact that Christine Quinn actually rewarded Koch for his endorsement, despite his preference for someone other than Quinn, by renaming the Queensboro Bridge after him in exchange for his unwavering support of her Mayoral candidacy. The Council and the public opposed the renaming of that bridge.

@nytimes @carolynryan @nytopinion collude to help @ChrisCQuinn with June Primary (no surprise)

Who would have thought that the Editorial Board of The New York Times would enable the corruption of the Board of Elections in order to help their mayoral pick, Christine Quinn ? Really ??

. @nytopinion A June primary would help me so much ! Thx for looking out for my best interests - as always !! @unitednyblogs @defeatquinn

— Deputy Mayor Quinn (@iamdeputymayor) February 13, 2013

. @nytimes uses the dyfunction of the Board of Elections to help their mayoral pick : @chriscquinn truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com/2013/02/politi… @truenewsnyc

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 13, 2013

@colvinj if you want to download all the court papers & get direct catsi quote, check my stories from yesterday ;) nydn.us/VQpsDT

— NYDN Daily Politics(@DNDailyPolitics) February 12, 2013

Others join my shady effort to keep Board of Elections corrupt for insiders and incumbents @jcats2013 nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypol… @unitednyblogs

— Her Dizzoner (@HerDizzoner) February 13, 2013

Visit the "Christine Quinn Sold Out" blog for News, Politics, and Commentary

Visit the "Christine Quinn Sold Out" blog for News, Politics, and Commentary.

Christine Quinn Term Limits Flyer

Did Christine Quinn See Her Shadow on Groundhog Day ?

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn did not see her shadow today. How could she? Vampires don't cast shadows. @chriscquinn @stopchrisquinn

— Fake Brian Williams (@FakeBriWilliams) February 3, 2013

A spokesman for Bill de Blasio said, “If Christine Quinn were mayor, it would be the last 12 years over and over again.” (Groundhoggin' the Spotlight * The New York Post)

Staten Island Chuck did not see his shadow when he came out of his burrow at the Staten Island Zoo. Chuck predicts early spring for New York City. (Groundhog Day 2013 * The New York Daily News)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was not at this year's event, so he cast no shadow. No word if Christine Quinn, who prematurely inserted herself into this photo opportunity, cast her shadow. Jokes on Twitter were playing off of her "vampire/gothic" look in a recent publication relations effort in New York magazine. One person wrote, "Vampires don't cast shadows."

LOL. Groan.

Quinn, in panic mode, already reorganising her unannounced mayoral campaign

After facing unrelenting criticism and protests, are Team Quinn close to firing Josh Isay and hiring school teacher ?

After her many shady deals in City Council, Speaker Christine Quinn has angered many different communities. Activists concerned with stop-and-frisk, animal rights, healthcare, term limits, Progressive reforms, campaign and electoral reforms, and sustainability and infrastructure issues have been working in a loose collective to vote Speaker Quinn out of office.

Speaker Quinn's current political consultant, Josh Isay, has been caught off guard by the desperation in which Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign has found itself, and he has managed to underestimate voter anger and has tripped over his own spin.

''Fast One'' comment by @joshisay described as ''silliness'' by @powellnyt nytimes.com/2012/12/25/nyr… @chriscquinn @suzannahbtroy @donnymossnyc

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 26, 2012

Now, after DNAinfo has published an article about the looming activism that Speaker Quinn's campaign faces, it has been announced that Speaker Quinn is hiring a campaign manager, Matt Tepper, to help her bail out her sinking political ship. Mr. Tepper is a former school teacher, and it is hoped that his presence will help Speaker Quinn relate with the working classes of New York City.

Speaker Quinn has been the leader of the City Council since 2006. But her move to the hard right since she came into office, in order to garner support from the business community, has arguably made her lose touch with reality.

In a further effort to possibly ease out Mr. Isay and to help her reconnect with the "little people," Speaker Quinn is also hiring another senior political advisor, Michael DeLoach, to help Speaker Quinn get a pulse of the city over which she has governed.

Mr. DeLoach is a former Howard Dean field organiser (pre-scream) and a former political coordinator for the union 1199.