By Reid Pillifant 8/26/11 6:46pm

suggested reading

Roundup: Bracing for Irene, Letting Go of George

Irene: Mayor calls for mandatory evacuations. [NY Times]

Irene: Free transit in the mandatory evacuation zones. [Reuters]

Irene: Cuomo said to stay out of the mountains too. [WSJ]

Irene: Gillibrand’s Twitter list of resources. [Twitter]

Irene: Dispatch from Fire Island. [Daily Intel]

Not 2012: Pataki says Obama is “stealing from our children’s future.” [ABC News]

Not 2012: Pataki didn’t offer an explanation for not running. [NY Times]

2012: What’s wrong with a moderate Republican? [Capital NY]

2012: Romney canceled some fundraisers on Long Island. [Politico]

NY-9: Schneiderman for Weprin. [Yeshiva News]

Tolls: Truckers push Cuomo to re-think. [Today's Trucking]

Suffrage: Gillibrand in favor, more to do. [HuffPo]

By David Freedlander 8/26/11 5:02pm

Irene

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President Obama Signs New York Emergency Declaration

No sooner had The Politicker published a letter from Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer urging President Obama to declare a state of emergency in New York than the following was sent from the White House press office:

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of New York and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene beginning on August 25, 2011, and continuing. Read More

By David Freedlander 8/26/11 4:37pm

Hurricane Irene

schumer and gillibrand

As Irene Approaches, Schumer, Gillibrand Urge Obama to Declare State of Emergency for NY

Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote to President Obama calling on him to declare a federal state of emergency for New York as Hurricane Irene approaches.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo requested the declaration yesterday. In their letter to the president, Schumer and Gillibrand pointed out that New York has seen near record rainfall amounts during August and grounds in and around New York City are already saturated. Read More

By Thornton McEnery 8/26/11 3:07pm

Dilan (left) and Espinal

Relationship Between State Assembly Candidate, Accused Slumlord Runs Deeper Than It Seems

While State Assembly candidate Rafael Espinal might have looked a bit tone-deaf after getting called out once again by The Daily News after the paper already called him out for taking money from accused slumlord and shady hotel mogul Jay Wartski, the real issue might run deeper. Mr. Wartski's contributions to Mr. Espinal's campaign seem to be part of a larger pattern of patronage by a Brooklyn political family that seems inextricably tied to Mr. Espinal's Assembly run. Read More

By David Freedlander 8/26/11 1:19pm

Hurricane Irene

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Cuomo Orders M.T.A. to Shut Down Starting Noon Tomorrow

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Agency to suspend operations beginning at 12:00 tomorrow.

Additionally, if wind speeds exceed 60 mph, the George Washington Bridge, the Tappan Zee bridge, and all bridges operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, as well as the New York State Thruway will be closed to traffic.

“We have moved quickly to initiate our emergency plans, to work with our federal and local partners, and to identify, prepare, and put into place one of the most aggressive activations of New York State government ever assembled in the face of a possible natural disaster,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “We are fully committed and we are preparing for the worst.” Read More

By David Freedlander 8/26/11 12:00pm

Irene

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Bloomberg Tries to Brief City Council on Storm Prep; Few Council Members Show Up

Remember how during the Great Blizzard of 2010, members of the New York City Council complained that they were kept in the dark about storm preparations?

Well, with Hurricane Irene bearing down on New York City, Bloomberg administration officials, including deputy mayor Cas Halloway–who replaced deputy mayor Stephen Goldsmith after he bungled the snowstorm response–and Office of Emergency Management head Joseph Bruno invited all of the city’s elected officials to an 11 a.m. meeting in the governor’s room at City Hall. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the elected officials on how the city was preparing for the storm, which neighborhoods would be affected and how, and to go over which resources communities could expect in the likelihood of a major storm coming.

The only problem? Only a handful of City Council members showed up. Read More