This crap just won't stay flushed

From the Observer:

Vito Lopez, the former assemblyman and Brooklyn Democratic boss who was forced from office after being accused of sexually harassing his staffers, filed petitions to run again for his position as a district leader and state committeeman, according to Board of Elections documents. And Assemblyman Micah Kellner, the Upper East Side pol who chose not to seek re-election after his own sexual harassment scandal, also moved forward with his state committee bid after the Observer first reported his intentions in May.

Despite his fall from the Assembly, Mr. Lopez is still a district leader and state committeeman in his old Williamsburg and Bushwick-based district. The unpaid posts have relatively little power–they play a role in nominating judges and, in the case of district leader, voting for the chair of the local party. In Brooklyn, unlike other boroughs, district leaders also serve simultaneously as state committeemen.

For Mr. Lopez, remaining a district leader is a way for him to still stay relevant in local politics after his precipitous fall last year, sources say. Mr. Lopez currently has no opponent and candidates have until Thursday night to file petitions.

Like Mr. Lopez, Mr. Kellner’s political career was derailed by sexual harassment allegations that emerged last year. A front-runner for a City Council seat, Mr. Kellner fell to now-Councilman Ben Kallos and announced this year he wouldn’t run for re-election in the Assembly.

Mr. Kellner has denied all wrongdoing but Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver shuttered Mr. Kellner’s district offices and slashed all of his staff budget in June. Mr. Silver also said that Mr. Kellner hired an intern for his Manhattan office after being told he could no longer do that.

Still, sources say Mr. Kellner does not want to completely leave the Upper East Side political scene despite becoming a persona non grata there. He filed petitions to run as a state committeeman and a judicial delegate. (He is also a sitting district leader and will be up for re-election for that post next year.)

Well that explains the revitalization of Vito's club.

They even bribe each other!

From Crain's:

Some of the most likely candidates to become the next New York City Council speaker are spreading campaign cash to other campaigns, in an apparent early effort to curry favor and votes among potential colleagues in 2014.

Over the past several months, Queens Assemblyman Mark Weprin, who is jockeying to be selected speaker by his council peers, has given out seven $1,000 donations. The $7,000, most of it doled out in recent weeks, has gone to members of the Assembly running for the City Council who are not only likely to win their races, but have a relationship with Mr. Weprin from his own days as a member of that body. Recipients include Assemblymen Rafael Espinal and Alan Maisel of Brooklyn, Councilman Vincent Gentile of Brooklyn, Costa Constantinides of Queens, Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson of the Bronx, Mark Levine of Manhattan, and Manhattan Assemblyman Micah Kellner.

Not to be outdone, speaker's race rival Dan Garodnick, has given more: nearly $18,000. The Manhattan councilman, whose campaign account is flush from an aborted citywide run for comptroller, has given the $2,750 maximum contribution for a primary to six different candidates. Most of it was paid earlier this month. The recipients include Mr. Constantinides, Ms. Gibson, Mr. Levine, Bronx Council candidate Andrew Cohen, Brooklyn's Chris Banks and Manhattan Councilwoman Rosie Mendez. He also has given $500 to Bronx Councilman Andy King, and $750 to Bronx Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.
Another likely contender, Bronx Councilman James Vacca, has given three donations to council campaigns: $2,700 to Mr. Cohen, $1,000 to Ms. Gibson and $1,375 to Mr. King.

Competition for Aqueduct?

From the NY Post:

Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Aldelson wants to build a Las Vegas Sands casino-convention complex at the Javits Center — if New York ever legalizes gambling casinos.

“There’s a little noise in New York now, and we’re going to take a look and see if we can put something . . . maybe in Manhattan and be able to maybe do something with [the Jacob K. Javits Center] . . . and put our complex there,” Las Vegas Sands Corp. President Mike Leven told HotelNews.com.

LVS spokesman Ron Reed told The Post yesterday that the company is looking at building an “integrated resort development’’ that encompasses casinos and convention centers and other entertainment.

But opponents, noting New York’s record-shattering tourism numbers, say a casino on the far West Side is undesirable.

East Side Assemblyman Micah Kellner, who serves on the Racing and Wagering Committee, vowed to “do everything possible” to block a casino he said would “drastically transform” the West Side “in a way many don’t want to see.”

Meanwhile, the Legislature stripped from the budget Gov. Cuomo’s plan to have the state sell and raze the land in and around Javits to build a Battery Park City-like “21st Century Neighborhood” of homes, parks and hotels.

Saving pets from death row

From the Daily News:

Homeless animals on Death Row at shelters across the state could get a better chance of survival with new legislation under review in Albany.

The bill, unveiled by Assemblyman Micah Kellner last week, would make it tougher for shelter officials to bar rescue groups from taking these unwanted cats and dogs.

"Rescue groups want to get ahold of these animals and find them a forever home," said Kellner (D-Manhattan). "Right now it is up to the discretion of the shelter which groups they allow in."

Some advocates fear the bill would allow hoarders and irresponsible rescuers to pull the homeless pets without oversight.

The bill is especially important in New York City, Kellner said, where thousands of stray cats and dogs are killed every year because there is not enough shelter space to hold them or people to adopt them.

Rescue groups step in and pull unwanted animals out of shelters to prevent them from being euthanized. Some groups have their own facilities or use foster homes to house these dogs and cats until they can be adopted.

Long-promised full-time shelters in Queens and the Bronx have never been built, meaning all stray animals are brought to facilities in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

New taxis to be made in Mexico

From Lost City:

A big, bulbous, boxy minivan? That's what the winner of a taxi competition is, the Nissan NV200...

Nissan beat out Karsan, a Turkish company that was going to make a vehicle capable of running on an electric-only engine, and pledged to build the cars in Brooklyn. Nissan will build theirs in Mexico. (Another suspicion confirmed: Bloomberg doesn't care about the welfare of the outer boroughs, and isn't interested in any industries in New York beyond finance, construction and tourism.)

Additionally, there are already calls for an investigation of a conflict of interest in the contract-letting. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Assembly member Micah Kellner. A consultant in the competition, Ricardo Inc., has had past dealings with Nissan, a former client.

New state ethics bill introduced

From the Times Union:

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance stood beside Eric Schneiderman and a group of senators to unveil yet another piece of legislation to beef up New York's ethics laws.

The bill would require public officials to abide a "duty of faithful public service" -- a broad and hopefully less onerous standard for prosecutors to enforce -- as well as tightening laws against bribing a public official.

"It's time for local prosecutors such as myself to play a primary role in addressing public corruption," said Vance, who took office earlier this year. The new language is similar to the federal "honest services" language which led to the conviction last year of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick.

Bruno, who faces up to 8 years in prison when sentenced Thursday, has said he will appeal the conviction.

But Vance said the new language is more narrowly construed than the federal statute, which is under constitutional challenge before the U.S. Supreme Count. He and others believe it is a necessary tool to add to prosecutors' war chests as legislators say "bad apples" have fueled an overall perception of corruption. Recent cases resulting in convictions include Bruno and former Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, who received a 6-year federal term, were pursued by federal prosecutors. The state Attorney General's Office is pursuing two civil cases against Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., who is also under federal investigation.

"This is 2010. We are not living in the Boss Tweed era anymore, and yet there is seemingly a tide of graft and corruption scandals that flood out of New York, scandals which reinforce New Yorkers' perception that all of us lawmakers are crooks or clowns," said Assemblyman Micah Kellner, D-Manhattan, who is carrying the bill in the Assembly. Schneiderman is the measure's prime sponsor in the Senate.

"People who want to go into public service for the right reasons are deterred by some bad apples, and this will hopefully help out the good apples," said Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem.