Massey Visits Koreatown



Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey visited Koreatown Thursday, taking a walking tour on 32nd Street with several local business and civic leaders.  Trailed by a swarm of campaign interns, Massey moved briskly along 32nd Street.  He visited several businesses, including a soon-to-open spa, a couple of restaurants, a multi-level food court, a skin care/personal care products store and a gift store.  He ended at a bar loaded with an enormous sound system and extensive record collection, answering questions from some Korean-American news outlets and two New York political reporters.  (While in a side room dedicated to the Beatles Massey revealed his favorite Beatle – Paul, of course.) Continue reading Massey Visits Koreatown

Massey Transportation: Chapter 3



Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey held a press conference today to outline the broad parameters of several transportation proposals, without providing any details, cost estimates or funding sources.  Massey has recently seized on the spate of subway troubles as a weapon against Mayor de Blasio, notwithstanding the limited role the mayor has in running the subway system, and he expanded that approach today as he briefly described several transportation projects beyond the subway.  That list included an expansion of PATH service to Staten Island, a “transformational infrastructure investment program” on most of the City’s major highways and an unspecified number of bridges, building “green corridors” over parts of the BQE and extending the G train into Manhattan.  He also pledged to implement an MTA system-wide maintenance campaign, despite the mayor not currently having the authority to do that, and a “total ground-up overhaul” of the City’s traffic management.

Continue reading Massey Transportation: Chapter 3

Massey Opposes Congestion Pricing, East River Tolls



Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey opposes any form of congestion pricing as well as the imposition of tolls on the City’s East River bridges.  Speaking at a transportation-focused press conference he held just outside of City Hall, I asked Massey about congestion pricing and the prospect of adding tolls to the City’s East River bridges.  (East River crossings controlled by the MTA – the Triborough Bridge, the Midtown Tunnel and the Brooklyn Battery tunnel charge tolls, while City owned bridges do not.)  I also asked about an element glossed over in his short release outlining his transportation plans, that many of the roads he’s proposing construction on are state, not city, roads.

Massey said that he does not support congestion pricing nor East River crossing tolls.  His East River toll opposition seemed to be more about not increasing any taxes or fees, without any reference to whether such tolls would help ease traffic congestion, however.  On whether he’s had any contact with state officials, Governor Cuomo or anyone else in state government, concerning his broad proposal on road construction Massey offered his frequent characterization that “we have a mayor who hates the governor” and that such mayoral failure is thwarting effective city/state cooperation.  Massey asserts that as “a consensus builder” he will solve those city/state issues, but didn’t offer any direct answer about the state issues in his outline.

Video:

Here’s what Massey had to say:

Dietl Lawsuit & Wilson-Pakula Update (Updated)



Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl’s effort at running in the Republican mayoral primary appears to be continuing, notwithstanding an adverse ruling last week by the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division.  Dietl said that his lawsuit continues, now in the Court of Appeals, and suggested that he may yet receive a Wilson-Pakula from the Republican Party.  We spoke during a press conference Thursday outside Gracie Mansion in which Dietl criticized the City’s switch to treating public urination as primarily a civil, rather than a criminal, offense. Continue reading Dietl Lawsuit & Wilson-Pakula Update (Updated)

Ulrich Retreats On Dietl Endorsement



Council Member Eric Ulrich, the sole Republican elected official to have endorsed Bo Dietl for mayor, last night made clear that his endorsement does not extend to an independent run by Dietl.  Instead, Ulrich will support the Republican nominee in the general election whoever that nominee is.  Ulrich did express hope that Dietl could still become that nominee, urging Dietl to again approach the Republican county leaders for a Wilson-Pakula which would allow Dietl to run in the Republican primary.

Ulrich endorsed Dietl in April, giving Dietl a boost early in his campaign.  Last week Dietl lost his appeal in his lawsuit seeking reinstatement to the Republican Party and the associated right to run in the Republican primary.  As a person who is not registered in any party, and who has not received any of the “minor” party nominations, Dietl’s only prospect for running is on a self-created independent ballot line.  Ulrich made clear that he will not support Dietl in such a run.  I spoke with Ulrich following a meeting in Belle Harbor of the Rockaway Republican Club.

Turner On Scalise



Former Congressman Bob Turner offered some thoughts on his former colleague, Rep. Steve Scalise, who was badly wounded in the attack on a Congressional Republican baseball practice this morning.  Scalise had a particularly important role in obtaining federal funding for Hurricane Sandy victims.  Turner’s district was heavily impacted by Sandy and Turner’s home was destroyed.

We spoke during a Rockaway Republican Club meeting in Belle Harbor.  Turner is now the Queens County Republican Chairman.

Massey On Mayoral Control



Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey supports mayoral control of the City school system, but doesn’t have any preference between the one house bills currently floating on the opaque sea of Albany.  The state Senate has approved a bill giving a five year extension of mayoral control, but additionally providing for increases in then number of charter schools.  The Assembly has approved a two year extension, without the Senate charter school provisions.  Should the legislature not agree on an extension before concluding the legislative session next week New York City would revert from mayoral control to the discarded board of education model.

Massey passed on supporting either of the competing bills, saying that he’ll leave it to the legislature to resolve.  That’s somewhat surprising since the Senate version seems well suited to his aspiring to be mayor and his support of charter schools.  His response included a lengthy statement supporting charter schools, but as noted above, it didn’t move him to supporting the Senate version of mayoral control.  Massey also said that he has not been in contact with Senate Temporary President John Flanagan, or any other legislators, on the topic of extending mayoral control.

We spoke this afternoon at the conclusion of Massey’s walking tour of Koreatown businesses.

Here’s our full exchange:

Massey Hits The Upper East



Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey made a brief visit to the Upper East Side Monday, greeting passersby at 86th Street and Lexington for about 15 minutes and speaking with the press for about 10 minutes.  He received an unremarkable reception, with most people streaming past him on the busy corner while a few said hi, shook his hand or stopped to chat on a hot summer evening.

In a post-meet & greet Q&A I asked Massey about two topics; the realities of his campaign call for greater mayoral action on the MTA and whether ratcheting up criticism of rival candidate Nicole Malliotakis reflects concern that she’s had some successes recently.

Continue reading Massey Hits The Upper East

Photo Gallery: Puerto Rican Day Parade



Sunday’s Puerto Rican Day Parade featured many elected officials, although some elected and appointed officials skipped the parade in reaction to the parade honoring Oscar Lopez Rivera.  Mayor Bill de Blasio marched in the parade, but appeared to make significant effort at avoiding Lopez Rivera, skipping the opening ribbon cutting and instead arriving after Lopez Rivera had joined the parade. Continue reading Photo Gallery: Puerto Rican Day Parade

Cuomo Skips Ahead



Governor Andrew Cuomo’s political focus skipped ahead a year as he and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi hosted a rally focused on 2018 House of Representatives elections.  Tuesday afternoon saw Cuomo turn away from more immediate concerns, such as the looming end of the state legislative session and the 2017 election that will include a New York City mayoral election and a statewide ballot question of whether to convene a state constitutional convention.  Instead he joined six current New York Democratic House members, former Rep. Charles B. Rangel and former Rep. (and current Lieutenant Governor) Kathy Hochul in urging a crowd of 500 or so to work toward electing a Democratic House majority in 2018.  Continue reading Cuomo Skips Ahead

Polanco At QVRC



J.C. Polanco, expected to be a candidate for public advocate, made a very impressive appearance at the Queens Village Republican Club Thursday night.  Polanco has been visiting many Republican political organizations throughout the City over the past couple of months, preparing to launch a bid for public advocate.  As recently as Thursday he said that he expects to formally launch his campaign this week. Continue reading Polanco At QVRC

Malliotakis At Queens Village Republicans



Some love, some like and a dash of dissent.  That was mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis’ welcome as she visited the Queens Village Republican Club Thursday night.  She’s broadly popular with the membership and many expressly support her, but her support wasn’t universal.

One of the few New York City Republicans elected to public office, Malliotakis is well-known to the Club.  She was honored as “Woman of the Year” at the Club’s Lincoln Day Dinner in March, before any public mention of running for mayor.  She’s the third mayoral candidate to visit the Club this election season, receiving the strongest welcome of the three.  (Our analysis of Paul Massey’s March visit is here and our analysis of then-mayoral candidate Michel Faulkner’s April visit is here.)

Continue reading Malliotakis At Queens Village Republicans