By Jill Colvin 4/24 5:00pm

Firsts

Christine Quinn outlined her public safety proposals in a speech on Wednesday. (Photo: Jill Colvin)

In Unprecedented Move, Christine Quinn Will Allow Vote on Bill She Does Not Support

City Council Speaker and mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn came out against a bill Wednesday that would prohibit the Police Department from profiling on the basis of race, religion and gender—but for the very first time in her tenure, said she would nonetheless allow the controversial plan to go to vote.

During a speech outlining her public safety agenda on the Upper East Side, Ms. Quinn said she could not support the bill because of a provision that would allow individuals to sue the department if they believed they were wrongly targeted.

“I believe this presents a real risk,” said Ms. Quinn, who described a worst-case situation in which multiple state court judges issued confusing, overlapping rulings, wresting policy decisions away from the mayor and Police Commissioner. Read More

By Colin Campbell and Jill Colvin 4/23 1:55pm

The Fourth Estate

Anthony Weiner (Photo: Getty)

Anthony Weiner’s Peculiar Press Strategy

As he explores a potential mayoral campaign, Anthony Weiner has become his own one-man press shop, often trading barbs with reporters on the news of the day. And, for a man who was forced to resign from Congress because of inappropriate electronic communications, Mr. Weiner doesn’t appear to expend much effort filtering his speech.

For example, a Politicker reporter shares a name with a famous ice hockey player, and Mr. Weiner, an avid hockey fan himself, focused on that fact during one of many interview requests.

“I totally just noticed your name! you play defense by any chance?” he jokingly asked, displaying both his trademark snark and his disinclination to discus the inquiry’s substance. Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/17 4:17pm

Longshots

The scene from today's press conference (Photo: Jacob Kornbluh/nymayor.blogspot.com)

‘Social Media Journalist’ Announces Campaign for Mayor

Standing next to a pair of supporters on the steps of City Hall, Ceceilia Berkowitz, a self-described “Social Media Journalist,” announced her bid for Mayor of New York City today.

“Our campaign team color is royal blue–the color blue. And it sounds similar, especially to new immigrants like my boyfriend,” Ms. Berkowitz proclaimed, slowly reading off pieces of paper. “And the other type of blue-collar middle class. The other types of middle class like accountants, retail professionals. Also the rich people who earn their own living, who can’t afford to be taxed too much. And the poor people who need government assistance.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/17 2:52pm

Sister Act

(Photo: Getty)

Quinn Launches ‘Women for Chris’ With Liz Holtzman, Whoopi Goldberg

Council Speaker Christine Quinn rolled out more endorsements for her mayoral campaign today in order to launch “Women for Chris”– highlighting the historic nature of her bid to become the first female mayor of New York City. Among those to announce their support for Ms. Quinn were former Comptroller Liz Holtzman, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, comedian Whoopi Goldberg and others.

“I am proud to be supporting the candidate I feel most represents the heartbeat of this great city—Christine Quinn,” Ms. Goldberg said in a statement. Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/16 11:30pm

Numbers Game

(Photo: Getty)

Poll: Anthony Weiner Would Enter Race in Second Place

Should he enter this year’s mayoral race, former Congressman Anthony Weiner would start at a decent position–15 percent–according to a new NBC New York-Marist poll released this evening. In the Democratic primary survey, Council Speaker Christine Quinn continues to lead the pack with 26 percent, with Comptroller John Liu, former Comptroller Bill Thompson and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio narrowly behind Mr. Weiner.

However, the key takeaway might not be the exact percentages, but rather the increased difficulty any candidate would have in reaching the 40-percent threshold to avoid a run-off with Mr. Weiner in the race. Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/11 6:59pm

Frank Assessments

(Photo: Getty)

Weighing Weiner’s Impact in New York’s Mayoral Race

Anthony Weiner’s possible entry into the mayoral race is being thoroughly mocked by the New York Post and late-night comedians, but for the candidates already in the field, it’s not necessarily a light-hearted affair. Mr. Weiner, once the leading mayoral contender, tumbled out of the spotlight in 2011 thanks to a digital sex scandal and the ensuing cover-up. But as the former congressman still has a full campaign war chest and strong name recognition–and the fact that electoral politics is a zero-sum game–the question rises: which of his hypothetical rivals would be most impacted by his decision?

Speaking to various operatives involved in the race–usually off-the-record or on-background–three central arguments emerged: Mr. Weiner would hurt Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Chris Quinn or, possibly, no candidate at all. Read More

By Ross Barkan 4/11 9:32am

Church & State

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Mayoral Candidates Debate Faith, Pot and Police in the Bronx

Cops resemble “slave catchers.” Sal Albanese never smoked a joint. The Bloomberg Administration has locked the men of God out of City Hall.

These were all arguments presented at yesterday’s peculiar mayoral forum, moderated by clergymen in the Bronx.

“How do you make the city safe with the thugs who are running around from the police department undercover who are from the outer boroughs and Long Island?” Randy Credico, a comedian and long-shot mayoral candidate, boomed. “They have thousands of undercover cops that are whacked out on steroids, going around like slave catchers, this is true, like slave catchers did back in the 1860′s and 1850′s in the wake of the fugitive slave law.” Read More