stockpiling

Rep. Charlie Rangel, with his wife, Alma, and singer Aretha Franklin, at the congressman's birthday party fund-raiser in the Crown Plaza last night. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

Democrats Party with Rangel, Aretha Franklin Gives Wal-Mart a Shout Out

One year after a House Ethics investigation tainted Rep. Charlie Rangel’s 80th birthday party fundraiser, the Harlem veteran threw himself another party on Wednesday night, and many of New York’s major Democratic figures were there.

Governor Andrew Cuomo made an early appearance but left before the night’s emcee — his predecessor, David Paterson — began introducing the night’s speakers. Cuomo and Paterson did run into one another. (“Hey, young man!” Cuomo said as he embraced Paterson. The two spoke privately as several aides surrounded the two men.)

“I read a piece that said [Rangel's] running again. That’ll be his decision,” Cuomo told the Observer in a brief interview. “If he runs, he’ll be a formidable candidate. You can feel the support in the room. And we’ll take it from there.” Read More

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Rep. Rangel, his wife Alma, and singer Aretha Franklin celebrated the Harlem lawmaker's birthday at a fund-raiser at the Crown Plaza last night. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

Morning Read: Shooting Boyland's Car, Funding Bloomberg's Initiative

2012: “If he runs, Giuliani’s advisers envision a smaller, scrappier operation than his 2008.” [AP]

2017: Mr. Baldwin, a 53-year-old Long Island native, is hardly huddling with the masses. He lives at the Eldorado.” [Diane Cardwell / New York Times]

NY-9: “This is ours to lose,” said Turner. [Dan Long / KickLedger]

NY-9: “OVER confidence. No Republican in #NY9 should talk like that.” [Russ Schaffer / Twitter]

NY-9: “Schumer has indicated he will officially endorse Weprin and Cuomo has yet to weigh in on the race.” [Rachel Hartman / Yahoo]

NY-9: This may be the last primary in September. [erick Ortiz / amNewYork]

Crime: “[S]omebody tried to shoot me through the window,” Assembyman Boyland reportedly said last night. [Larry Celona and Joe Mollica / NY Post]

Crime: “It doesn’t seem they were aiming at the vehicle,” said Inspector Royster. [Joseph Goldstein and Sarah Nir / New York Times]

City Budget: “Bloomberg inserted $22.5 million into city budget to pay for his high-profile initiative…items were specifics in budget documents that council members received the day they voted.” [Michael Saul / WSJ]

Travel Expenses: State lawmakers spent $2.9 million this year. [Joseph Spector / Gannett]

Travel Expenses: Freshman Assemblyman Eric Stevenson tops the list, eight $26,468. [Tony Cassino / Bronx Chattter]

Gambling: Editors say drop casino push, and stop diverting current gambling profits “from lottery’s video slot machines to subsidize horse-racing tracks.” [Daily News]

Labor: Verizon protesters rally outside Southampton home they thought @vp was located in. [Lisa Du / Newsday]

Audits: NYPA spent money on “nonessential” things like “parties, ceremonies, gifts and memberships,” said DiNapoli. [Ken Lovett / Daily News]

Audits: “NYPA defended many of the questionable costs as morale-boosting and necessary.” [Casey Seiler / Times Union]

Toll Hikes: “Cuomo administration knew of the $4 plan before the PA announced it Friday, sources said. [Glenn Blain and Pete Donohue / Daily News]

Headline: “New sex-education curriculum must teach kids how unwanted pregnancies perpetuate poverty.” [Daily News]

Medicaid: Espada’s organization getting cut off from Medicaid, “effectively shutting down the 30 year old Bronx-based health clinic.” [Fred Dicker / NY Post]

Internet: 32 parks to get Wifi. (Free access for three 10-minutes periods every month; 99 cents for daily access after that). [Patrick McGreehan / New York Times]

Buffalo: “But [Schumer's] latest small-bore issue didn’t exactly resonate in Buffalo. A check with bars on Chippewa and with police on area college campuses found that the Chinese-made fake IDs do not pose a widespread problem in this area.” [Lou Michel / Buffalo News]

Nassau: Mangano and Stack promise to work together. [Celeste Hadrick / Newsday]

Media: Dominic Carter’s conviction overturned. [Richard Huff / Daily News]

Media: Newsweek must have gone out of their way to find a bad Bachman photo. [Jon Stewart]