Hundreds of thousands of people returned to the streets of Manhattan Saturday for the second edition of the Women’s March. Filling Central Park West, the massive group marched through Columbus Circle and down Sixth Avenue in a large display of anti-Trump opposition.
Many elected officials attended a separate rally, held at 72nd Street and Riverside Drive. Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Tish James, Council Speaker Corey Johnson and many council members and state legislators were among the attendees, with Mayor de Blasio and his wife Chirlance McCray headlining the pre-march rally. Governor Andrew Cuomo made an unannounced appearance shortly before Mayor de Blasio’s scheduled appearance. Cuomo took to the stage, made a fiery speech and departed before the mayor arrived.
Rep. Dan Donovan kicked off his reelection campaign with a show of multi-party support Saturday. The Staten Island Republican hosted the state chairmen of the Republican and Conservative parties, the Staten Island chairman of the Reform Party and the Brooklyn chairman of the Conservative Party. (The Staten Island Republican chairman did not attend, but sent a message that he was home with the flu.) Rep. Peter King, NYS Senator Marty Golden, NYS Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis, NYC Council Member Joe Borelli and former Rep. Vito Fossella attended and spoke at the rally. Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo and NYC Council Member Steve Matteo did not attend, but sent messages of support.
Donovan faces a jumbled and contentious primary against his predecessor, former Rep. Michael Grimm. Grimm resigned in early 2015 after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion, and served seven months in federal prison. Donovan was selected by Republican leaders as the party’s nominee in the resulting May 2015 special election, defeating Democratic Council Member Vinnie Gentile, and was elected to a full term in November 2016. Continue reading Donovan Reelection Kickoff→
Deceased NYPD Detective Steven McDonald was memorialized on the one year anniversary of his death with a plaque at the NYPD’s Central Park Precinct. As a patrolman assigned to Central Park McDonald was shot and grievously wounded in 1986, surviving but rendered quadriplegic. He nonetheless remained actively involved with the NYPD for the rest of his life, deeply admired for his tenacity and optimistic outlook.
Council Member Corey Johnson became Council Speaker Corey Johnson, drawing nearly unanimous support after besting rivals in the informal process preceding the vote. Receiving the support of Congressman and Queens County Democratic Chairman Joe Crowley appeared to seal the speakership for Johnson ahead of the vote and that expectation came to fruition Wednesday with Johnson receiving 48 of the 49 votes cast.
In remarks on the floor during the Council Charter session Council Member Inez Barron offered herself as an alternative speaker candidate, harshly criticizing the absence of any black speaker among the four people who’ve held the position and the continuation of that reality with the selection of Johnson. While drawing supportive remarks from several of her colleagues Barron did not draw any of their votes. He spoke movingly of his mother and their close relationship, embracing her just after his election.
Johnson was warmly praised by many of his colleagues who noted both his professional accomplishments and his personal journey. First coming to public attention as a high school football player who revealed himself as gay, and now H.I.V. positive, Johnson has also openly shared his past substance abuse struggles.
New York City’s three citywide elected officials were sworn in to second terms Monday, with Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Letitia James and Comptroller Scott Stringer taking their oaths in front of City Hall on a bitterly cold afternoon. All three were reelected to a second and final term in November, with term limits precluding 2021 reelection bids. They’re able to run for each others offices however, with James and Stringer widely seen as contemplating mayoral runs.
Mayoral candidates fighting and occasionally smiling, a governor working his fellow electeds and the cameras, a hometown president passing through. Those are among the images in our 2017 photo retrospective.
Shot entirely in the five boroughs, our photo retrospective reflects our 2017 focus on the mayoral election and particularly on challengers looking to defeat Mayor de Blasio. There’s more, however, with a mix of light moments, conflict and loss.
Mayor Bill de Blasio sparked a rally on Wall Street Saturday, literally, but he didn’t boost any share prices. de Blasio headlined a rally held outside the New York Stock Exchange at the intersection of Broad and Wall denouncing the Senate Republican tax bill approved just a few hours earlier. Other speakers included Comptroller Scott Stringer, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
Approximately 500 people protested against Donald Trump and the just-passed Senate tax bill Saturday morning, gathering across from a Trump fundraiser at Cipriani 42nd Street. The protesters included large union contingents from 1199SEIU and the New York State Nurses Association along with a mix of other seemingly unaffiliated protesters. The Republican tax bill, passed in the Senate just a few hours earlier, was the primary focus of the protesters’ shouts and signs.
Mayor Bill de Blasio visited the grand opening of Gino Sorbillo’s Pizzeria this evening. de Blasio spent about 25 minutes at the newly opened restaurant, chatting with Sorbillo, putting a pizza in the oven and indulging in a couple of Neapolitan slices from the well-known Italian pizza purveyor. Continue reading Photo Gallery: Pizza Party→
Mayor Bill de Blasio headlined a protest outside Trump Tower Tuesday, declaring opposition to the Republican tax overhaul bills currently in process in Congress. de Blasio was joined by Assembly Members Jo Anne Simon and David Weprin and Council Member Corey Johnson, along with several dozen other protesters. President Trump was not in Trump Tower, or elsewhere in New York, during the protest.
The 2017 mayoral election is over, but the photos live on.
Our photo retrospective covers the race from a 2016 endorsement of Bill de Blasio and a January 2017 appearance by Paul Massey through election night. I’ve chosen this selection from the more than 100 campaign events I attended.
Nicole Malliotakis acknowledged defeat Tuesday night as vote totals rolled in confirming the expected, that Mayor Bill de Blasio had soundly defeated her, but her speech could not fairly be called a concession speech. Taking the stage with a smile to Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down Malliotakis repeated many of her campaign themes while never mentioning Mayor de Blasio.