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Azi Paybarah

By Azi Paybarah 8/25/11 7:10am

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986 - Governor Mario Cuomo shoots a basketball in the Youthland area during his visit to the New York State Fair. Nicholas Lisi / The Post-Standard

Morning Read: 'Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo'

2012: Buffet hosts Obama fund-raiser on 9/30 at Four Seasons; $38,000 VIPs get 1hr Q&A with Goolsbee. [Page Six]

2012: “Libby Pataki, who never craved limelight and who loves her life now, she’ll be supportive? Yes.” [Cindy Adams / NY Post]

2012: Pataki is probably campaigning for VP, or a job in new administration. [Colby Hamilton / WNYC]

2012: “There are now rumblings from Donald Trump, a former contender for the Republican nomination, that he may run as an independent. There are certain to be others.” [Patrick Caddell and Douglas Schoen / WSJ]

NY-13: Possible Dem candidate Murphy has not opened a campaign account yet. [Tom Wrobleski / SI Advance]

NY-25: “Dan Maffei to run again, but district might no longer include Monroe County.” [Jill Terreri / Democratic and Chronicle]

54AD: “My job is to campaign. I don’t screen every dollar that I receive,” said Espinal, when asked about donations from a slumlord. [Erin Dunkin / Daily News]

9/11: Editors urge Bloomberg to allow clergy to pray at anniversary ceremony, noting he’s had clergy at his own inauguration. [NY Post]

China: White House says Biden finds China’s 1-child policy “repugnant.” [Aliyah Shahid / Daily News]

“Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo”: Daily News editors trash AP story about NYPD security tactics.

Security Tactics: Star-Ledger runs the AP story above the fold. [Flickr]

State Fair: Cuomo goes there today. Newspaper notes “The truth is, at the fair, Mario was at his best.” [Sean Kirst / Post-Standard]

Vacation: “[Cuomo] spent much of the last week in the Hamptons.” [Thomas Kaplan / New York Times]

Taxes: “We need real reform of the tax code in which everyone is asked to make some contribution, however small,” writes the publisher of the NY Daily News. [Mort Zuckerman / WSJ]

5 p.m.: Zuckerman discusses his op-ed on WSJ.com.

Mortage Probe: Schneiderman’s allies apply pressure to Iowa AG. [Jimmy Vielkind / Times Union]

Mortgage Probe: Editors say Schneiderman is opposing the settlement deal because of politics. [NY Post]

Scandal: “Holder called the prospect of hacking ‘disgusting’ and ‘unconscionable.’” [Joseph Straw / Daily News]

DSK: “The dismissal of the charges in no way means that Strauss-Kahn is innocent.” [Leslie Crocker Snyder / Daily News]

Property Taxes: Despite 2% cap, they may rise, thanks to soaring pension costs. [Rick Karlin / Times Union]

Schools: “Our safeguards have clearly worked. A comprehensive search for cheating in 2009 by city Controller William Thompson came up empty.” [Dennis Walcott / Daily News]

Teacher Evaluations: “[P]ublic-school educators can’t be deemed ineffective based only on the performance of their students.” [Jacob Gershman / WSJ]

Rochester: Ally of Mayor Byron Brown kicked off ballot over residency issues. [Matt Gryta and Brian Meyer / Buffalo News]

Nassau: “Does he think that if he gives the workers free hot dogs and burgers that all will be forgiven?” PBA re: Mangano’s BBQ. [Celeste Hardwick / Newsday]

Nassau: Unresolved ballot issues on Long Island make sending absentee ballots difficult. [Robert Brodsky / Newsday]

By Azi Paybarah 8/24/11 4:47pm

suggested reading

Assemblyman Lancman is honored at the ceremony for "Guru Ladho Re" day at Baba Makhan Shah Lobana Sikh Center, August 21, 2011 (via Lancman's official Flickr stream)

Roundup: Schneiderman

2012: Obama’s search for tech-savvy help started a while ago. [Nick Judd / Tech President]

2012: Not laughing at Pataki. [Elspeth Reeve / Atlantic]

2012: “Pataki may have been as conservative as a New York governor can be.” [Ben Smith / Politico]

2012: “Immigration and social issues, like gay rights, were not highlights.” [Andrew Rafferty / NBC FIrst Read]

2012: Pataki has “low name-recognition across the country, and does not have a national fundraising network.” [New York Post]

2012: Republicans urged to campaign against same-sex marriage. [LiberalWhoopers.com]

NY-9: Democrat Weprin said whether to legalize same-sex marriage “should be a state-by-state determination.” [nomblog.com]

NY-9: Weprin’s statements are vague; Bob Turner’s are unrealistic. [Colby Hamilton / WNYC]

NY-9: “Meanwhile, gay marriage has emerged as a major issue in the campaign.” [Yeshiva World]

NY-9: Turner would be unique among NY delegation in his opposition of Zadroga bill. [Michael O'Brien and Daniel Strauss / The Hill]

NY-9: Socialist joins Dem and GOP in televised debate. [Queens Courier]

Mortgage Probe: Removal of Schneiderman creates backlash for Iowa AG. [David Dayen / Fire Dog Lake]

Mortgage Probe: Schneiderman, in his own words. [Times Union]

Mortgage Probe: Schneiderman not alone in wanting to press banks further. [Jennifer Liberto / CNN Money]

Mortgage Probe: Schneiderman top story on HuffPo. [Tumblr]

Headline: “Rabbi Ties Earthquake To Gay Marriage.” [Liz Benjamin / Capital Tonight]

Security: Investigative story describes NYPD getting CIA help in how to monitor “ethnic” neighborhoods in and around NYC. “Mosque crawlers” and “rakers.” NYPD strongly denies. [Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo / AP]

Security: AP story about NYPD is “a blockbuster.” [John Doyle and Helen Kennedy / Daily News]

Teacher Evaluations: Court sides with NYSUT, blocking student test cores from counting up to 40% of teacher grades. [Scott Waldman / Times Union]

By Azi Paybarah 8/24/11 11:02am

Security

(Screenshot from AP video story)

'Mosque Crawlers' and other NYPD Surveillance Tools

In the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Associated Press is out with a detailed look at how the NYPD keeps tabs on “ethnic neighborhoods” in and around New York City.

“Ethnic mapping” is one technique the NYPD uses, according to the AP:

“They have informants that go in and out of mosques, They’re called ‘mosque crawlers.’ They have undercover NYPD officers who just troll ethnic neighborhoods — they’re called ‘rakers.’ They’re just mapping the human train of the city. They’re job is just to look for hotspots, what’s going on in the cafes, the bars, the clubs, the bookstores of ethnic neighborhoods inside New York City.”

“The NYPD denies it trolls ethnic neighborhoods. It says it only follows leads.”

Video after the jump. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 8/24/11 10:18am

2012

Help Shape Obama's (Tech) Campaign

Obama for America — the president’s re-election team — is looking for digital help as they try reigniting the passions they stoked in 2008.

Jobs That Are Left — the listserve for Democratic and progressive job hunters — sent out an ad from the campaign this morning. The campaign is looking for someone:

“[T]o formulate a social media plan for
specific goals and audiences, write content for it with a clear,
consistent voice, and analyze outcomes to make the next campaign even
better. You should have a head for politics, a sense of humor, and
buckets of common sense.

Here’s the ad: Read More

By Azi Paybarah 8/24/11 9:49am

staff

Can't 'Tolerate His Growing Ego'; Former Council Staffer Trashes Boss

Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield fired a long-time staffer yesterday, who, in return, emailed colleagues saying she was “relieved” to be let go, because “I was no longer able to support David’s agenda, nor willing to tolerate his growing ego.”

“I staffed him at nearly every event imaginable,” Stefanie Fedak wrote in an email sent to friends last night, and forwarded to me by a couple of readers. “Yet, this morning, he decided that there was no longer a place for me in his office and he terminated my employment. I was not given an explanation beyond ‘this is no longer working out.’”

Fedak went on to say  ”I wouldn’t vote for David again, let alone work for him.”

In a brief email correspondence, Fedak confirmed she wrote the email but declined to discuss it further.

Her full email is after the jump. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 8/24/11 8:16am

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's girlfriend makes the front page. (via newseum.org)

Morning Read: Schneiderman's Probe, Dan Maffei's Rematch

2012: Opening line of story about Pataki’s presidential bid is “Here we go again…” [Jimmy Vielkind / Times Union]

NY-25: “What I have to do, and it is a challenge, is to be a passionate advocate for a middle and pragmatic ground,’ said Maffei. [Mark Weiner / Post-Standard]

NY-9: Headline: “Zadroga 9/11 health law shouldn’t cover volunteers sickened at Ground Zero, GOP hopeful Turner says.” [Alison Gendar / Daily News]

NY-9: “New York State Democratic Committee will spend well into the six figures” to help Weprin. [S.A. Miller and Carl Campanile / NY Post]

9/11: Former Giuliani aide said “I feel like America has lost its way,” because Bloomberg didn’t invite clergy to anniversary. [Michael Howard Saul / WSJ]

Sandra Lee: Racy outtakes could make her appear more likable. [Glenn Blain / Daily News]

Sandra Lee: Video removed from YouTube “due to a copyright claim by Diageo North America, Inc.” [YouTube]

Mortgage Probe: Schneiderman “abruptly” removed from 50-state team negotiating with bank; could lower size of settlement. [Brady Dennis / Washington Post]

Mortgage Probe: Schneiderman spokesman said they are seeking justice. [Reuters]

Mortgage Probe: Editors encourage Schneiderman to hold firm. [Times Union]

DSK: Accuser should be deported because “she fraudulently got a green card,” say editors. [NY Post]

Red Light Cameras: Bloomberg ally Marty Golden doesn’t want them everywhere. [Erin Einhorn and Ken Lovett / Daily News]

Schools: Bronx borough president wants investigation into toxins at P.S. 51. [Rachel Monahan / Daily News]

Schools: Layoffs “unavoidable without union givebacks.” [Yoav Gonen / NY Post]

Schools: “A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, Marc La Vorgna, placed the blame for the layoffs squarely on District Council 37 and the other six unions whose members will also be let go.” [Fernanda Santos / New York Times]

Traffic: $80,000 to install, then remove, islands from Fort Hamilton Parkway. [Jennifer Fermino / NY Post]

And Scott Stringer’s spokeswoman is back from vacation.

By Azi Paybarah 8/23/11 5:29pm

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Mayor Bloomberg Provides Brief Update About Virginia Earthquake with Police, Fire, Emergency Management and Buildings Commissioners August 23, 2011 (Photo Credit: Kristen Artz)

Roundup: Earthquake

Brooklyn: Hikind celebrates removal of island from Fort Hamilton Parkway; videographer suggests Hikind for President. [Shiezoll / Youtube]

Earthquake: Cuomo’s office won’t say where exactly on LI he is. [Liz Benjamin / Capital Tonight]

Earthquake: “Mayor Bloomberg said he thought his desk in City Hall began shaking because of major construction in the historic building.” [Einhorn, Durkin and Kennedy / Daily News]

Earthquake: “Vibrations got stronger” said Bloomberg. [nyc.gov]

Earthquake: Of course, a story quoting Larry Sabato. [Bruce Golding and Josh Margolin / NY Post]

Earthquake: “The 26-story federal courthouse in lower Manhattan began swaying…” [Lynn Kim / WNYC]

Earthquake: Guy pictured on 34th Street doesn’t seem bothered. [Tim Herrera / amNewYork]

Earthquake: What will the New York Post headline be? [Tumblr]

DSK: Accuser didn’t lie on asylum application, but rather, in interviews with prosecutors. [Jim Dwyer / New York Times]

DSK: “In his $3,000-a-night hotel suite, detectives found semen stains on the carpet and the wallpaper from other men.”

Regional Economic Council: NYC’s met today. [Daniel Massey / Crains]

And…a New York Media Power Earthquake list.