Catsimatidis & Cuomo

Mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis and Governor Andrew Cuomo have a long relationship, with Catsimatidis, his wife and his companies contributing more than $200,000 to Andrew Cuomo’s campaigns over the past 12 years.  Catsimatidis has asserted that a significant reason that he “would make a good mayor” is his “ability to call up and talk to the governor and come up with common sense solutions.”   As part of that argument, Catsimatidis has described being called upon by Governor Cuomo to assist in getting Republican votes in the U.S. Senate for the Hurricane Sandy relief bills (here and here).

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Republican Mayoral Tussle (Updated x 2)

This evening, NY1 hosted a Republican mayoral candidate debate.  NY1 graciously allowed us to watch the debate at their studio and to speak with the three candidates afterwards in the NY1 newsroom.  (Here is NY1’s coverage.)

Update #2 – JCats on JCats:

In this report, John Catsimatidis touts his dealings with elected officials of both parties as a significant reason to elect him as mayor.  He describes a meeting in December, 2012, with Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg in which they asked Catsimatidis to approach the Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate for eight votes in support of the then-pending Hurricane Sandy relief bills.  (On June 28th, we reported on similar comments by Catsimatidis, available here.)


Update – John & George:

John Catsimatidis and George McDonald displayed some personal friction at this evening’s debate.  We spoke with them about it afterwards.

Lhota on Democratic Voters

In our first report, we asked Joe Lhota why he thinks that Democratic voters would vote for him in the general election.  In the second part of our discussion he strongly rejects the idea that the last two mayors, both Republicans, were elected due to a sense of crisis among voters at the time which drove Democratic voters to abandon their party’s nominee.

Spitzer Media Madness (Updated x 3)

Today in Manhattan’s Union Square Park, Eliot Spitzer made his first public appearance as a comptroller candidate.  It was a media frenzy, with dozens of reporters and photographers surrounding him, repeatedly cycling through mostly similar questions as he sweltered in 90 degree heat.

Update #3 – A Prediction:

Eliot Spitzer made a prediction on Monday which, as of Friday, has not come true.

Update #2 – Governor or Attorney General?:

Among the many questions surrounding Eliot Spitzer’s late-launching campaign for comptroller is who the public views him as – former governor Spitzer, or former attorney general Spitzer?  Spitzer showed a clear preference yesterday.

Lots more video after the jump …

Continue reading Spitzer Media Madness (Updated x 3)

Weiner’s Warm Welcome (Updated x 3)

On a sweltering July afternoon, Anthony Weiner walked the beach in Rockaway.  He received a warm welcome in his former congressional district, with many well-wishers pledging support.

Sipping Suds Seaside:

In our first report, we have a brief look at Weiner indulging in a few seaside sips of suds.

Update #1 – Weiner Discusses Rockaway Issues:

As Anthony Weiner finished his Rockaway beach walk, we asked his views on several issues impacting Rockaway.

Update #2 – Weiner Discusses 15 Years of Campaigning in Rockaway:

Anthony Weiner engaged in an extended discussion of Rockaway and his experience running in and representing Rockaway.  This report includes a discussion between Ruby Cramer of Buzzfeed.com and Anthony Weiner.  You can read Ruby’s report here.

Update #3 – Beach Walk

Here’s a look at the reception Weiner received from his former constituents.

Also, be sure to watch our coverage of Anthony Weiner’s call for a “Declaration of Independence from Albany”, here.

Weiner’s Declaration of Independence … From Albany (Updated)

In his “Declaration of Independence from Albany,”  Anthony Weiner focuses on an under-appreciated fact of government life: New York State government, Albany, determines what power and authority New York City government has and controls many government functions that are popularly perceived as city government functions.

Mayoral candidates have focused on certain aspects of Albany control, particularly around the MTA and the city school system.  Weiner goes further, however, addressing the overall system built on state control of the city and it’s legal authority.

Also, be sure to watch our coverage of Anthony Weiner’s afternoon of campaigning on the beach in Rockaway, here, and accepting the support of hot-dog eating champ Joey Chestnut, here.

Weiner Press Conference: City Independence, MTA Control & … Joey Chestnut

On July 3rd, Anthony Weiner held a press conference to discuss his “Declaration of Independence from Albany.”  As a political subdivision of New York State, New York City is, as a legal matter, a creation of the state government and only has rights and powers as granted by the state government.  In his campaign, Weiner is highlighting this under-known fact and seeking to galvanize a push for greater city autonomy.

In this first clip, we go off-topic to bring you Weiner’s reaction to a reporter’s statement that Weiner had received the support of six-time Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest champion Joey Chestnut.  Ross Barkan first broke the news at Politicker.com – we’re adding the video clip.

TWU Local 100 Endorses

This afternoon, at a press conference on the steps of City Hall, Transport Workers Union Local 100 endorsed Bill Thompson for mayor.

We spoke with TWU Local 100 president John Samuelsen about a topic which many mayoral candidates have advocated, and which would directly impact TWU Local 100 members; mayoral or city control of the MTA.  Samuelsen also discussed the mayor’s role under the current MTA structure.  Watch.

Catsimatidis v. The Ocean

In this report, we look at a real estate development project of mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis.

Catsimatidis is working on building three waterfront residential towers, with some commercial space, on Surf Avenue between West 35th and West 37th Street in Coney Island.  From our review of public records, entities controlled by Catsimatidis purchased the property in 2008, for a purchase price of approximately $33.5 million.  The project has been winding it’s way through the City approval process, with an estimated start date in 2013.

Hurricane Sandy made the challenges of waterfront development acutely clear.  How will Catsimatidis’s project fare?  Watch.

Be sure to also watch our report on Arverne East, an oceanfront development in Rockaway, for a look at another post-Sandy approach to waterfront development in New York City.

Mayoral Forum: Sandy Recovery (Coney Island Edition)

On Thursday, approximately 20 groups from areas affected by Hurricane Sandy held a forum focused on recovery from Sandy and the future of New York City’s flood zone.

In this excerpt, John Catsimatidis describes being dispatched by Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg to ask the senate minority leader, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, to provide eight votes for the Sandy relief bills.

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