Anthony Weiner's launches his campaign. (http://www.anthonyweiner.com)

He's in. After weeks of speculation, disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner has officially thrown his hat into the mayor's race, announcing he's running with a new video posted on his revamped campaign website at midnight on Wednesday.

"Look, I made some big mistakes. And I know I let a lot of people down. But I've also learned some tough lessons," he says in the video, which opens with a family scene of the former councilman and his wife, Huma Abedin, having breakfast in their kitchen with their young son.

"I'm running for mayor 'cause I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance to work for you,"  he says into the camera in the 2-minute, slickly-shot reel.

The video goes on to show iconic scenes of the city and images of Mr. Weiner growing up in Brooklyn, and goes on to outline a platform that includes dropping fines for small businesses and more opportunities for the middle class.

He also gets an endorsement from his wife, Ms. Abedin, who revealed she was pregnant after the scandal broke. "We love this city and no one'll work harder to make it better than Anthony," she says, sitting next to her husband on the steps of his childhood home.

The announcement comes nearly two years to the day after Mr. Weiner destroyed his Congressional career by tweeting out a photo of his underwear-clad crotch that had been intended as a private message--and then repeatedly lying about it in interviews and at press conferences, claiming his account had been hacked. He eventually admitted to having inappropriate relationships with half a dozen women online, sending them lewd text messages and images.

At the time, the idea a comeback seemed incomprehensible.

But Mr. Weiner has been plotting one for months, beginning with a glossy New York Times profile, followed by a round of television interviews and a return to Twitter--where he has been touting proposals from a largely-recycled book of policy proposals.

Now, Mr. Weiner's entree has the power to turn the race on its head. While the scandal might give many voters pause, it also cemented Mr. Weiner's name recognition. And with more than $4 million in his campaign account, he'll be able to pack a punch.

Observers have been mixed about how Mr. Weiner will impact the field, but Public Advocate Bill de Blasio appears to have the most to lose. A long-time Brooklyn resident and fellow former councilman, Mr. Weiner is expected to appeal to the same outer-borough, ethnic whites and progressive voters who feel Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the race's early front-runner, has been too close to the current mayor.

A recent poll showed Mr. Weiner would enter the race in second place, behind only Ms. Quinn.

Update (2:13 a.m.):

It appears Mr. Weiner's campaign may have pulled the trigger earlier than intended. Shortly after the campaign's new "Weiner for Mayor" website went live, it reverted back to an older version of the site that had been up since Mr. Weiner's resignation. Then, just after 2 a.m., the mayoral version was restored.

Mr. Weiner did not respond to requests for comment on whether there had indeed been a mix-up, but sources told The Post the video wasn't supposed to be posted until later Wednesday.  The video remained available via YouTube.

Art by Brian Taylor

The week before Vito Lopez resigned, the state ethics commission released a scathing 68-page report that detailed a lurid pattern of abuse in his district office.

According to the allegations, the former assemblyman once lamented the existence of statutory rape laws in the presence of a 14-year-old intern. Mr. Lopez demanded massages from female staffers, including one who cried and expressed her discomfort as a former rape victim. At a bar one evening, he grabbed an employee’s hands from across the table. When she tried to pull away, he tightened his grip. When she began to cry, Mr. Lopez said he’d release her only after she counted to 60. When she did, he stared at her for the full minute.

After resigning from his Assembly seat on Monday morning, Mr. Lopez is said to be contemplating a seemingly unfathomable second act: running for City Council. Given the accusations against him, what’s more surprising is that even his detractors acknowledge that Mr. Lopez actually has a viable path to victory.

The key to his support is a career of aggressive local advocacy that goes back four decades. As an ambitious young politician, Mr. Lopez founded a far-reaching social service network that relied on public funding and over time, ushered in significant neighborhood improvements to Bushwick, a section of Brooklyn once plagued by violence, arson and riots. Despite the unsavory headlines, Mr. Lopez is still held in high regard among the beneficiaries of his efforts. “I don’t believe that’s true,” Gloria Bonilla, 61, said of the allegations as she left a red-bricked Melrose Avenue building Mr. Lopez helped fund. “I don’t care what anyone says.”

“Who knows if it was just someone making up lies?” asked another building resident who declined to give her name. “I give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“He’s giving low-income families the opportunity to have beautiful apartments in Brooklyn,” she added, gesturing to the buildings she’s lived in for the past three years, which Mr. Lopez helped create.

"Thank You Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez" (Photo: Colin Campbell)

The sunny buildings, with their bright blue and cream accents, stand out in the working-class, largely Latino neighborhood. A sign above one entrance reads “Thank You Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez.” Meanwhile, at a nearby intersection, the three other corners are empty lots, secured with graffiti-covered corrugated metal walls, barbed wire and padlocks.

Manuel Sanchez, 45, born in the Dominican Republic, has lived in the complex for two years. Despite limited English, his eyes lit up when he heard Mr. Lopez’s name.

“This building, this whole block, he did it,” Mr. Sanchez said. He said he’d heard about the allegations (“something about secretaries”), but has voted for Mr. Lopez numerous times and wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.

In a city where most New Yorkers are hard-pressed to name their local assemblyman, how did Mr. Lopez become a household name in his district? Fresh out of Yeshiva University with a degree in social work, in 1973 the Bensonhurst-born Mr. Lopez founded the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council to deliver sorely needed services. In 1984, a seat opened up in the State Assembly, and Mr. Lopez’s connections in the community enabled him to seize it.

By the time Clarence Norman, then the head of Kings County Democratic Party, was convicted of corruption in 2005, Mr. Lopez had enough support to replace him. As head of the county organization, he could reward allies with judgeships and electoral support—and threaten foes with primary challenges. That influence, combined with his perch on the Assembly’s housing committee, allowed Mr. Lopez to funnel millions of dollars into Ridgewood Bushwick, which in turn provided him with name recognition, supporters and volunteers, both in his own district and neighboring ones.

“Vito created a new model of a contemporary political machine,” Lincoln Restler, a northern Brooklyn Democratic activist and Vito antagonist, explained in an interview. “Gone are the days of widespread patronage in city government that district leaders and county government could deliver to their constituents. Vito created a nonprofit as a vehicle for delivering services to his political loyalists.”

Rather than the outright graft of the Boss Tweed era, nonprofits provide a more above-board mechanism for moving taxpayer dollars around. Mr. Lopez’s organization grew into a sprawling social services empire providing housing, health care, youth activities and senior centers to Bushwick, Williamsburg, Ridgewood and surrounding areas, while employing some 2,000 people. They included Mr. Lopez’s girlfriend, Angela Battaglia, who reportedly made $352,000 as Ridgewood Bushwick’s housing director in 2011. Up until recently, Mr. Lopez’s campaign treasurer was the nonprofit’s executive director.

“He has been involved in delivering services and doling out favors for a very long time to the people who live in this district,” Mr. Restler said. “There are more abuelitas—more grandmothers—who have had Vito sit at their dining room table in this district than you would believe. Accordingly, a remarkable percentage of the people in this district and the surrounding areas have been unwilling to believe that this sexual misconduct is true.”

If Mr. Lopez runs for City Council, his main opponent will be Antonio Reynoso, a former chief of staff to term-limited Councilwoman Diana Reyna--whose district he is now vying to represent. Mr. Reynoso, an energetic 30-year-old who biked over to a Williamsburg cafe to discuss the race last Friday, is a strong contrast to the 71-year-old Mr. Lopez, whose hulking frame can fill up a room. Where Mr. Lopez is quick to tout his extensive legislative record, Mr. Reynoso questioned whether someone so reviled could accomplish anything more when stripped of influence outside of the footprint of Ridgewood Bushwick.

“Vito is extremely defiant—egomaniacal,” Mr. Reynoso said, suggesting the allegations only make Mr. Lopez more likely to run. “Every single day he has to prove something to the world. Who he harms along that path to self-fulfillment is insignificant to him … I don’t want my community to be left with a representative who’s not going to be able to help them.”

Mr. Reynoso said the scandal’s most salacious details have yet to permeate the community, and he admitted that Mr. Lopez’s most passionate supporters may not be swayed, but the appearance of the former assemblyman’s mug on the front page of the city’s tabloids has had an effect. “People know, they just don’t know how bad it is,” Mr. Reynoso said. “They know it’s in regards to sexual harassment, they just don’t know the details.”

It’s still unclear whether Mr. Lopez, who has not been criminally charged despite the sordid pile of evidence against him, will ultimately pursue a comeback campaign. Although he firmly stated his intention to run last week, he later indicated that the decision would be informed by his health as he receives treatments for cancer.

Should Mr. Lopez make the electoral leap, he can expect plenty of headwinds from the city’s political establishment. Many of Mr. Lopez’s former political allies have called on him to stand down, while almost every mayoral candidate and labor union has publicly thrown endorsements at Mr. Reynoso, who has his own base of support. For the first time, Mr. Lopez would be running effectively on his own.

What’s more, Bushwick and Williamsburg are less hardscrabble than they were when Mr. Lopez first arrived four decades ago. The western ends of Ms. Reyna’s district have been subjected to waves of gentrification, and the electorate has accordingly transformed.

“This gentrifying community, there is a voting bloc to it,” Mr. Reynoso said. “They tend to be more progressive and folks who really know what Vito is doing. They do read the Post and the Daily News.”

Additional reporting by Jill Colvin

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly discussing the recent hate crimes. (Photo: nyc.gov)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke out Tuesday following a wave of alleged anti-gay hate crimes that have stirred outrage in neighborhoods across the city.

“New York City has zero tolerance for intolerance," he told reporters at a press conference with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly at police headquarters.

Mr. Kelly said that, over the past 24 hours, police have received reports of two additional bias attacks: At approximately 10:45 p.m. Monday, he said an assailant allegedly "just snapped, became enraged" and began shouting anti-gay expletives and beating a man he's been drinking with near the Bowery Mission. Approximately seven hours later, a couple walking north near Prince Street was also attacked, he said.

The incidents are just the latest in a string of recent attacks--including the shooting death last Friday of a young named Mark Carson in the West Village.

“It was a cold-blooded hate crime that cut short a life full of promise, and brought back awful memories for people who were once afraid to walk down the street with the person that they loved," the mayor said of the killing. “Thankfully, we have come a long way from those days--but the murder of Mark Carson is a tragic reminder of how far we still have to go."

He said the city is "a place that celebrates diversity--a place where people from around the world come to live free of prejudice and persecution. Hate crimes like these are an offense against all we stand for as a city--and we will do everything possible to stop them," he said, urging parents and teachers to "spread tolerance" and asking members of the LGBT community to report any crimes--as the city beefs up patrols.

Mr. Kelly noted that, while hate crimes are down almost 30 percent this year overall, anti-gay crimes have spiked significantly, with 29 attacks so far this year, versus 14 last year.

Mr. Bloomberg vowed to do everything necessary to try to stave off more attacks and warned would-be assailants to be on alert:

“You’re going to wind up in jail for a very long time. Period. We're gonna find you," he said, noting: "Jail’s not a nice place."

He added: “It’s not a good day for New York."

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. (Photo: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall holds one of the most prominent elected offices in Queens. But the 83-year-old lawmaker was apparently unaware until yesterday that John Liu was running for mayor.

During the Queens Democratic Party's endorsement event Monday, a reporter for a Chinese-language newspaper asked Ms. Marshall if she was disappointed the county hadn't backed Mr. Liu, who lives in the borough and used to represent it on the City Council. (They backed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn instead.)

According to a source who witnessed the conversation, an article in The China Press and an interview with the reporter who interviewed the borough president, Ms. Marshall appeared confused by the question.

Well, he's facing opposition in his re-election campaign for comptroller, Ms. Marshall reportedly answered. City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, who was standing near Ms. Marshall, leaned over to explain to her that Mr. Liu is actually running for mayor--prompting surprise.

Oh, I like him, I don't know why we didn't endorse him, then, Ms. Marshall reportedly replied.

Asked about the exchange on Tuesday, Dan Andrews, Ms. Marshall's spokesman, said the borough president was well aware of Mr. Liu's candidacy and didn't recall the conversation.

“She may have misspoken, thinking he is currently the comptroller," Mr. Andrews said. “I think that’s all it is.”

Ms. Marshall, who was elected in 2001 after serving in the City Council and the New York State Assembly, has just one year left in her final term. But some observers have raised questions about her muted activity. Colleagues described Ms. Marshall as increasingly absent-minded, sometimes repeating herself and forgetting things.

“It’s been getting worse over time,” observed one Queens Democratic source, who said this fall's election can't come soon enough. “I think she’s winding down a long political career and is less engaged in the job than she used to be," said another.

Others were less forgiving. "Nothing against Helen personally, but for several years she's been a couple miles past out to lunch," a Queens insider quipped. "On a good day."

The Daily News reported in April that Ms. Marshall, who gets paid $160,000 a year, has been increasing absent from her office and took off more than 40 days in 2012. She was reportedly off duty for much of the summer, in addition to numerous Mondays and Fridays throughout the year. According to the New York Post, she spends much of her time in the Hamptons and caring for her ailing husband.

Mr. Andrews dismissed the concerns as well as Ms. Marshall's absences.

“I would say that she’s [nearly] 84 years old," he said, noting that she only has another seven months left until her final term is up. "It’s another seven months and she’s doing the job .... I think what has to be done, she does."

Senator Díaz. (Photo: NYS Senate)

If you're a gambling man, you might try guessing which New York politician will be arrested for corruption next.

So wrote State Senator Rubén Díaz in his latest "What You Should Know" missive, where he claims bets are being placed on who in Albany will be the next to be indicted. As corruption charges rock Albany, Mr. Díaz says the state capital is now an "ambulatory casino."

"You should know that here in Albany, you can find bookies taking and placing bets all over the place," Mr. Díaz wrote. "Ever since U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara released the names of six Democratic Senators who were recorded by disgraced Senator Shirley Huntley, Albany has become an ambulatory casino in New York State."

While implying that former State Senator Shirley Huntley, recently sentenced to a year in prison on embezzlement charges, was a hypocrite for wiretapping colleagues, Mr. Díaz wrote that there are "high-rollers," either figurative or literal, that are also betting on whether Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver ultimately keeps his job. Mr. Silver has drawn scrutiny for initially trying to cover up the sexual harassment allegations against former Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

"Some high-rollers here in the State Capitol are also betting on the odds of Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s future as Speaker after his secret handling of sexual abuse cases in the Assembly," Mr. Díaz wrote. "It’s hard to walk in any room in Albany without hearing someone discussing the odds of how much time Assemblyman Silver has left."

Mr. Díaz also opined on the nature of friendship, criticizing those who are "inviting their colleagues to dinners and parties under the guise of friendship, just to put them in jail." Of course, odds are being placed on who is wearing a recording device, Mr. Díaz claimed.

"With friends like that, who needs enemies?" Mr. Díaz asked.

And Mr. Díaz saved some fire for his colleague, State Senator Tony Avella, who is trying to leave the chambers by running for Queens borough president. Mr. Díaz was bothered by a comment Mr. Avella made recently to the Daily News that he was "not surprised" Senator José Peralta, one of his opponents, was one of the elected officials that Ms. Huntley recorded.

"It appears to me that Senator Tony Avella placed himself in the role judge, jury and executioner to publicly condemn Senator José Peralta to the world," Mr. Díaz wrote, lamenting that Mr. Avella may have ruined Mr. Peralta's chances of becoming Queens borough president. "If Senator Avella does not know about actual wrong-doings by Senator Peralta, then Senator Tony Avella owes a public apology to Senator José Peralta, to Senator Peralta’s constituents, to his Democratic colleagues, to the Hispanic community – and especially to the Dominican community," he wrote.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, with friends like Tony Avella, Senator Peralta needs no enemies," Mr. Díaz added.

Mr. Avella did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The global media company has leased 68,000 additional square feet of pristine space at 120 Park Avenue on the heels of a client data breach that has reportedly infuriated its Read More

The Barack Obama Democrat Club of Upper Manhattan. (Photo: www.obamadems.org)

Upper Manhattan's Barack Obama Democratic Club voted last night on its endorsements, and the list might surprise you. The home club of City Councilman Robert Jackson and City Council candidate Mark Levine, a long-time ally of State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, gave its nods to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio for mayor and City Councilwoman Letitia James for public advocate.

It also voted to endorse Mr. Jackson for Manhattan borough president and--unsurprisingly--Mr. Levine for the 7th District council seat, currently held by the term-limited Mr. Jackson.

The endorsements were all decisive, except for the mayor's race, which required an instant run-off vote. There, Mr. de Blasio beat out second-place finisher, City Comptroller John Liu, 39-18. Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is expected to jump into the race any moment now, also garnered two votes (versus six for former City Comptroller Bill Thompson, the only African-American in the race, and eight for City Council Speaker and earl front-runner Christine Quinn.)

Mr. Levine, who has long been a player in Uptown politics, was previously endorsed by Mr. de Blasio, who has had a long-standing relationship with the club, whose members hail from the largely black and Hispanic neighborhoods of Washington Heights, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights and Inwood.

"When the vote was announced last night, Bill de Blasio said, 'T'his is a huge step forward.' The club membership clearly agrees," club spokesman Alex Luis Castex-Porter said. "Tonight we backed him, and many other qualified, progressive candidates. The Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan is looking forward to working with our endorsed candidates to ensure that New York City sees strong, progressive leadership in 2014."

Mr. Jackson is currently fighting a tough battle for borough president against several well-connected candidates, including former Lower Manhattan community board chair Julie Menin. Mr. Espaillat, City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and other uptown leaders have endorsed Ms. Menin. (Mr. Jackson infuriated Mr. Espaillat last year when the councilman backed his challenger and long-time rival, ex-Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, who had made a failed play for Mr. Espaillat's senate seat.)

But despite what sources described as Ms. Menin's aggressive attempts to court members, the club chose to endorse Mr. Jackson by a margin of more than 2-1.

Political club endorsements are not crucial, but are often cited by campaigns as signs of growing momentum and often help candidates collect petition signatures and mobilize voters.

Sal Albanese. (Photo: Facebook)

There are two Italian-American, relatively liberal men from Brooklyn in this year's race for mayor. One, both literally and figuratively, looms as one of the front-runners in a packed Democratic field. The other is Sal Albanese, an indefatigable former Bay Ridge councilman who delights in taking shots at his better-known, Park Slope-dwelling rival, Bill de Blasio.

"You listen to him on the campaign trail and you'd think he was the third coming of Martin Luther King Jr.," Mr. Albanese told Politicker yesterday when asked why the city's public advocate has earned his ire.

Mr. Albanese had just held a press conference denouncing Mr. de Blasio and the other mayoral candidates for hiring former political operatives to work in their government offices. Mr. Albanese held this event at the same location that Mr. de Blasio was holding his own press conference just 30 minutes later, creating an opportunity for awkwardness as the public advocate was setting up his union endorsement announcement. This was the second such Albanese press conference on the topic--the first one was held directly outside Mr. de Blasio's office.

And it's not only at press conferences. At a televised mayoral debate in early April, Mr. Albanese continued his pattern of clashing with Mr. de Blasio at public forums by needling him about his staffer's racy use of Twitter. It was one of the most direct confrontations at a debate so far.

In the interview yesterday, Mr. Albanese further labeled his Brooklyn rival "Broadway Bill" because of his celebrity endorsements, including Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon and actor Steve Buscemi.

"He's more interested in having movie stars support him than being in touch with the grassroots," argued Mr. Albanese. "He comes across as this major leader of grassroots people in New York City when in fact he's just a career politician that machinates all day long ... He's a behind-the-scenes guy and we're going to expose that."

Mr. Albanese's distaste for Mr. de Blasio even extends to his campaign staff. “How any reformer can support this guy is beyond me," his campaign manager Chris McCreight wrote on Facebook in March.

While Mr. Albanese rejects the idea that he and Mr. de Blasio are targeting overlapping subsection of voters--white, liberal, outer-borough residents disenchanted with Mayor Michael Bloomberg--political observers believe Mr. Albanese could end up with voters who would have otherwise chosen Mr. de Blasio, particularly Italian-Americans and residents of Mr. Albanese's old southwestern Brooklyn district.

When asked for a response to Mr. Albanese's aggression, a de Blasio campaign spokesman emailed a one-word reply: "Pass."

(Photo: Newseum)

Headline of the Day: "Sal: Squeeze Weiner for cost of election."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's aide forwarded New York Post columnist Fred Dicker's email to other reporters: “Monday, Vlasto forwarded that exchange to ten reporters with the subject 'off the record' and wrote, 'Just to clean of conscience, I never denied she was leaving. I, in fact, confirmed it.' 'Vlasto, in his grammatically challenged blast to other journalists this morning, created a totally false straw man by saying he ‘never denied’ Glazer was leaving,' Dicker told POLITICO. 'Well, I never wrote that Vlasto did deny it, just that he handed my story to someone else.'”

This was written before the devastating tornado hit Oklahoma, so Rep. Anthony Weiner's plan to fill the news cycle may have been modified since, but Politico reports Mr. Weiner "is set to declare his candidacy by video this week, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday." Politicker heard the Wednesday date from several sources as well but the information was second-hand.

Comptroller John Liu scored a nice endorsement from CWA Local 1180. "The rich and powerful in our city fear him because they can’t handle the truth," union president Arthur Cheliotes said. "By speaking truth to power, he has become the target of a smear campaign that is long on repetitive rhetoric and innuendo but short on the facts."

On Road to City Hall last night, Bill Thompson was asked if he had any hesitation in trumpeting the support of Rep. Greg Meeks, who has been the target of various investigations. “No, I think I have full faith in Congressman Meeks," Mr. Thompson replied. "I think he's been an excellent leader out in Queens ... I had no second thoughts, no hesitation."

The tabloid war against Speaker Shelly Silver continued this morning. The Daily News editorialized that his supporters were "all complicit in sneering at the law" and columnist Bill Hammond penned a critical column in the publication as well. The Post blasted Mr. Cuomo, whose governorship "will be held hostage by Shelly’s corruption."

And John Catsimatidis has a new mailer out where he says he could have been doing a better job at the MTA than his Republican rival, Joe Lhota. “Years of mismanagement is being balanced on the back of Staten Islanders," the ad reads. "John has the business acumen to restore the MTA to fiscal soundness."

Khloe Kardashian Odom signing autographs for fans. (Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images for Sears)

It looks like Gov. Andrew Cuomo caught up with the Kardashians.

The high-end clothing line run by Khloe Kardashian and her husband, NBA star Lamar Odom, has pulled a designer t-shirt from its website after the state threatened to sue them for copyright infringement.

The shirt, which had been available on the Rich Soil Clothing website, featured a design that looked "suspiciously like a state logo," according to the Daily News, which first reported the fashion faux-pas.

According to a photo published by the paper, the shirt featured a logo with a picture of the Statue of Liberty, surrounded by the words "Rich Soil" and "New York."  The State Department of Agriculture's logo, which designates food grown in the state, features a near-identical image, encircled by the slogan "Pride of New York."

"The State of New York has invested substantial time, effort and resources creating the respect and goodwill associated with the trademark,” a department lawyer wrote in a letter to the company Friday, according to the paper. If demanded the company immediately halt sales--or risk legal action, the paper said.

At a press conference in Albany Monday, Mr. Cuomo played coy about the face-off with the infamous family when asked to comment.

“I wish I could in some ways,” he told reporters. “It would at least be a little more interesting than what I normally do ... My understanding was that was basically sent out as a copyright infringement letter on a sort of pro forma monitoring basis."

Ms. Kardashian and her husband did not respond to tweets seeking comment, and their clothing company did not respond to an e-mail about the shirt.

State officials said they had not received a response from the company as of Monday afternoon.