Bloomberg and Quinn (Photo: Spencer T Tucker)

After Governor Andrew Cuomo issued his annual State of the State address today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn both released statements reacting to the remarks. Mayor Bloomberg was understandably pleased with the governor's focus on strengthening gun control laws, which has been a pet issue for hizzoner.

"Governor Cuomo laid out a strong agenda in many areas for the year ahead, which will build on the progress he has led over the past two years. I was particularly struck by his passionate leadership on gun violence," the mayor said. "New York State has led the nation with strong, common-sense gun laws, and the Governor’s new proposals will build on that tradition. They will help law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people and save lives. We strongly support his proposals to close loopholes and strengthen existing laws, and we look forward to working with him and the State Legislature to adopt them."

Ms. Quinn gave a thumb's up to the governor's gun control plans as well as a whole host of his other proposals.

"Today's proposals are smart, forward thinking ideas and I applaud Governor Cuomo for his tireless advocacy on behalf of all New Yorkers," she said.

Ms. Quinn praised the governor's push for an early voting system, call to raise the minimum wage to $8.75, plans for improving infrastructure to prevent flood damage like that seen during Hurricane Sandy and his proposal for full-day pre-kindergarten and community schools in poverty-stricken areas. However, Ms. Quinn was most complimentary about the governor's push to pass a Women's Equality Act.

"Governor Cuomo was a key partner in the fight for marriage equality in New York State and I look forward to joining him as we fight for equality for all women: access to reproductive health care, justice for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking, and economic justice for women," said Ms. Quinn. "The City Council has worked for years on many of these issues, but we need state support to move forward."

Ms. Quinn wrapped up her statement by saying she expects that, together with the governor, "we can make our City and State a better, and more fair place for all New Yorkers, and pave the way for meaningful and lasting change."

Governor Cuomo's vessel.

Earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo gave his annual "State of the State" speech where he presented a broad plan to transform the state through various legislative measures and executive actions. Once such action that Mr. Cuomo seemed particularly pleased with was his plan for a new whitewater rafting challenge in the Upstate Adirondacks.

"I believe if they see Upstate New York, they will come back, but we need to make that happen," Mr. Cuomo said of the region's tourism capability. "For example, New York has some of the best whitewater rafting in the nation, I bet you maybe that you didn't even know that. So this year, we're going to sponsor a national rafting competition called, 'The Adirondack Challenge.'"

While Mr. Cuomo didn't elaborate on the event's specifics, he did proceed to jokingly promise Albany's legislative leaders will be getting in on the rafting action.

"We are going to have a special part of the Adirondack competition, which can be between government officials," he continued. "And we're going to start a politician division, actually. We're going to have a set of rules that were very carefully drafted and reviewed by [the state's] counsel."

Mr. Cuomo's "rules" for the political rafting poked fun at state government's occasionally contentious, divided atmosphere where Democrats control the State Assembly and a mostly-Republican conference rules over the State Senate.

"First rule, you must have at least six people in the rafts. The teams must be co-ed, preferably even divided," he continued as the audience laughed. "Rafters must be bona fide government employees for at least six months and they must have been hired before today. All rafters must paddle, no freeloaders. This is not government. Identical rafts and identical equipment will be provided among the teams, of course, except for necessary security reasons."

To illustrate the different components of the competition, Mr. Cuomo showed comical images that placed Speaker Shelly Silver and the Senate's bipartisan co-leaders, Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein, on rafts.

"There will be a number of challenges. The first challenge will be the 'Executive to the Assembly Challenge.' Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, avid outsdoorsman, mountaineer, will be the captain of the Assembly raft if he so chooses. Next challenge will be the Senate challenge with co-leaders Skelos--" Mr. Cuomo explained, letting the audience's laughter interrupt him before he said Mr. Klein's name. "Guys you have to paddle the same way! Guys, paddle the same way."

Mr. Cuomo also mocked himself and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was in attendance at the speech, with additional slides in the presentation.

"We'll have a New Year's Day, New York City and we have the S.S. Bloomberg. Mayor Bloomberg always looks good doing whatever he's doing," he said. "I will have my own team. I will have my Brawny paper towel shirt that I'm wearing. I will have an identical raft that is identical in all ways except the state police insist that because I respond to so many emergencies on such a frequent basis now, my raft needs an engine. Otherwise it'll be the same."

He concluded, "That will be the Adirondack Challenge, it is scheduled for this year. I hope that the challenge is accepted and I hope that we are all successful."

(Photo: Facebook)

As liberals rejoiced over the parts of Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address that promised tougher gun laws and campaign finance reform, the State Senate's Republican Leader Dean Skelos released a video hinting at a legislative battle to come when he said he would not support the public financing of campaigns.

“I do not support taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns,” Mr. Skelos said after explaining that Republicans did back increasing “transparency” and “accountability” in the campaign process. “If the public campaign finance system in New York City was applied statewide and to legislative campaigns, it would cost taxpayers more than 200 million dollars. That’s money that would be much better spent on property tax relief or investing more money in rural upstate school districts and underperforming school districts around the state.”

It’s no accident that Mr. Skelos mentioned “Upstate” school districts in his critique of a public finance system for campaigns, as while Mr. Cuomo said he supported a system that would mirror New York City’s by providing public matching funds to state candidates, Mr. Skelos' conference is based almost entirely outside of the five boroughs. But as Mr. Skelos is now a "co-leader" with a breakaway Democratic contingent that often touts their support for strong campaign finance reform, this could cause some tension in the upper legislative chamber. One of those Democrats, Senator Diane Savino, has already expressed some doubts.

Mr. Skelos did not directly respond to the Governor’s proposals to severely curb “high capacity assault rifles” and increase background checks. He did say Senate Republicans would be supportive of limiting high capacity firearm magazines, one of Mr. Cuomo’s priorities. However, as he has done in the past, he mostly focused on the curtailing of “illegal guns.”

“I believe we must pursue a comprehensive approach that includes cracking down on the possession and use of illegal guns that are used to commit 90 percent of gun related crimes in NYC and 70 percent statewide,” he said. “Illegal guns are the common thread of tragic stories splashed across the front pages.”

Mr. Skelos further stressed the need to provide more assistance for the mentally ill and said he would back the strengthening of Kendra’s Law, a measure that allows state judges to order closely monitored outpatient treatment for a small subset of mentally ill people.

Watch below:

(photo: Getty)

One of the most hotly anticipated elements of Governor Andrew Cuomo's annual State of the State address today was his plan to enact "sweeping" gun control reforms in New York. In his speech, the governor outlined a seven-point gun control plan focused on "high-capacity assault rifles" that he promised would be one of the "toughest" in the nation and lead similar laws to spread beyond New York.

"Gun violence has been on a rampage as we know firsthand and as we know painfully," said the governor. "We must stop the madness, my friends. In one word, it's just 'enough.' It has been enough. We need a gun policy in this state that is reasonable, that is balanced, that is measured."

The governor continued by saying his gun control proposals are not about "taking away people's guns."

As he has in the past, the governor tried to boost his credibility on the issue by emphasizing the fact he is a gun owner.

"We respect hunters and sportsmen. This is not taking away peoples' guns," Mr. Cuomo said. "I own a gun. I own a Remington shotgun. I've hunted, I've shot. That's not what this is about. It's about ending the unnecessary risk of high-capacity assault rifles. That's what this is about."

To that end, the governor outlined the items on his seven-point gun plan.

"Number one: Enact the toughest assault weapon ban in the nation, period!" he shouted, before ticking off his other new gun control proposals. "Number two, close the private sale loophole by requiring federal background checks. Number three, ban high-capacity magazines. Number four, enact tougher penalties for illegal gun use, guns in school grounds and violent gangs. Number five, keep guns from people who are mentally ill. Number six, ban direct internet sales of ammunition in New York. Number seven, create a state [National Instant Criminal Background Check System] check on all ammunition purchases."

He left the stage to deafening applause from the assembled lawmakers.

Update (11:10 p.m.): NRA President David Keene responded to Governor Cuomo's gun control proposals in a podcast interview late this evening.

Senator Avella (Photo: Facebook)

Queens State Senator Tony Avella, often known to speak his mind, wrote a letter to the editor of his local Patch publication highly critical of the "new fad we are witnessing is the multitude of 'State of the State' and 'State of the City' addresses."

"I am writing to voice my disdain with what I see as a new fad being used as a self-promotional tool amongst politicians who, quite often, are seeking higher office throughout this city and state," Mr. Avella began, explaining while he has "no problem with the governor, mayors and heads of municipalities" giving addresses, he is concerned with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Comptroller John Liu, and the various Borough Presidents all needing to give speeches of their own.

(He didn't even mention some of the "State of the District" speeches by some elected officials.)

"It is ridiculous and a complete waste of time and money to set up these events that often seem like campaign speeches without the banners and adoring supporters," he added.

Mr. Avella finished his letter calling for an end to these speeches.

"The shameless self-promotion and grandstanding needs to end. Our city and state face great challenges that deserve our undivided attention," he said. "All these self aggrandizing speeches really only serve to beg the question that with all of these great ideas and accomplishments by these politicians, why do we still face such serious problems?"

View the full letter.

Cuomo is looking forward. But are his eyes on the White House?

Governor Andrew Cuomo never tires of describing his first year in office as a transformative period for New York State government that saw Albany change from a hotbed of graft and gridlock into a model of bipartisan cooperation and good government. At his annual State of the State address last week, each element was perfectly calibrated to symbolically support that narrative.

Rather than giving the speech in the Assembly Chamber, Governor Cuomo moved the proceedings to the New York State Convention Center in the underground concourse below the Capitol. In an appearance on former Governor David Paterson’s radio show Monday, he confirmed the venue change was intended to send a message.

“I wanted to make a statement. The State of the State, as you know, is normally done in the Assembly Chamber,” Governor Cuomo said. “So, the Senate would come in and they would pack into that Assembly Chamber. And it was in the Capitol, it was basically to the Legislature with very few guests … because there were no seats—uncomfortable and you’re talking to a room full of politicians. I wanted to metaphorically, last year, bring the government outside of the Capitol and open the forum to the people.”

The setting wasn’t the only difference at the State of the State this year. Governor Cuomo invited Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to speak before he began his address. It was easy to see why he was willing to share the stage. Both Speaker Silver and Senator Skelos heaped praise upon the governor and reinforced the notion that his leadership helped state government turn over a new leaf.

“Governor, you’ve been a leader, an innovator and a friend, and we thank you for that,” said Senator Skelos. “We have reached across the divides of partisanship to meet daunting challenges without delays and without excuses. Together, we threw away the playbook for Albany’s gridlock and dysfunction.”

Speaker Silver told the governor that, in his first year, he “emerged as the most effective state chief executive in our nation today.

“With your leadership and by working together, we have taken significant strides toward improving government and bolstering our economy,” he added. Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy was even more effusive in his introduction of the governor.

“When you look at what this man has brought to this state, when you look at where we are versus where we were, it makes me proud. ... He has inspired confidence, he has inspired faith,” he said. “I’m often accused of being a cheerleader in chief. You know, I’m proud to be a cheerleader for this governor.”

After the accolades heaped upon him by his colleagues, Governor Cuomo wasted no time patting himself on the back in his State of the State speech. Instead, he outlined an ambitious agenda for New York, including sweeping campaign finance reform, massive public works projects, legalized casinos and a slew of new social programs. In the New York City area alone, the governor hopes to build “the largest convention center in the nation,” a new Tappan Zee Bridge and a casino at the Aqueduct racetrack. Once the gleaming new convention center is built, Governor Cuomo wants to raze the Jacob Javits Center to make room for “a new 21st-century neighborhood for the West Side.”

Governor Cuomo clearly has an ambitious vision for the future of New York State, but he’s also rumored to have an equally ambitious plan for his own future. Since his passage of the landmark same-sex marriage bill last year, there has been rampant speculation that Governor Cuomo is eyeing a White House bid. With his aggressive efforts to brand his first year as a bipartisan success story and his desire to define his legacy with major construction projects, Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address may have had as much to do with Washington as it did with New York.

Governor Cuomo (Photo: Getty)

Still more reflections on Governor Andrew Cuomo's speech yesterday and plenty of other highlights throughout New York:

The Times, Times Union, and Post editorialized generally on yesterday's State of the State.

While the Daily News focused on the convention center and education proposals.

Here's more on the proposed convention center.

Staten Island electeds weren't especially pleased with Cuomo's speech.

Fred Dicker reflects on possible 2016 presidential run for Governor Cuomo.

So does Governor Cuomo, in a way.

Assemblyman Boyland Jr. & his Chief of Staff pleaded not guilty to corruption.

A lobbyist involved in the Carl Kruger trial pleaded guilty to corruption.

Word is that the special election to replace Carl Kruger will be March 20th.

The leading GOP candidate in the race, David Storobin, was interviewed by the Jewish Press.

Prosecutors say the Queens firebombing suspect is biased against Muslims.

A Bronx precinct had the biggest drop in crime last year.

There are conflicting accounts in the tragic slaying of an NYPD officer Figoski.

The Brooklyn D.A. is investigating a hospital on the brink of financial collapse.

Swinging out to the presidential race:

Time magazine's cover asks if you like Mitt Romney yet.

Top Republicans think it's going to be hard to stop Romney now.

John McCain agrees, saying Romney is broadening his supporter base.

Ron Paul raised $13 million in the last quarter.

Why Rick Perry didn't drop out, as he had hinted Tuesday night.

Rick Santorum says that President Obama's recess appointment might be illegal.

Jon Huntsman's latest ad says, "We're getting screwed as Americans."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg greets 2012 with a smile. (Getty)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave his verdict on the ambitious slate of plans for New York Governor Cuomo presented in his annual State of the State address in a press conference following the speech today. Overall, the mayor called it a "very good speech."

"I thought the governor's speech left us all walking out thinking it was a great hope for the state, the state is going in the right direction and it's a challenge to all of us to put our nose to the grindstone and actually do the work," Mayor Bloomberg said.

Mayor Bloomberg expressed support for most of Governor Cuomo's ideas, but he did take issue with Governor Cuomo's plan to end New York City's program of fingerprinting food stamp applicants. Despite the disagreement, Mayor Bloomberg once again insisted the rumors of tensions between City Hall and the Governor's Mansion are greatly exaggerated.

Governor Cuomo's focus on the economy earned a thumb's up from Mayor Bloomberg.

"I liked that it was focused on the economy and on job creation, that is really what this state needs, New York City as well. I thought it made it the right speech for this time in our state," Mayor Bloomberg said.

The mayor also gave Governor Cuomo points for understanding "the importance of keeping the states budget in balance and keeping spending in check."

Governor Cuomo's speech included a slew of ambitious initiatives for the year ahead. Mayor Bloomberg said he "strongly" supports the governor's push to eliminate unfunded mandates and institute pension reform.

"I strongly support the governor's proposals on pension reform. During fiscal 20-02, when I became mayor, our pension costs were $1.5 billion a year. In the current fiscal year, they're $8.4 billion," Mayor Bloomberg said. "That is roughly a five hundred percent increase in pension costs and we need the state to do something about it, because most of it comes form pension bills passed by the state and paid for by the city."

Governor Cuomo's plans for 2012 include a proposal to expand the state's criminal DNA databank to include samples from “any person convicted of a felony or Penal Law misdemeanor.” This initiative also got the mayor's seal of approval.

"I support the governor's proposal on DNA sampling for anyone convicted of crime in our state. You think about it, in this day and age, there's fundamentally no difference between taking fingerprints and taking a DNA sample, and it really is critically important to solving crimes and equally as important to keep people who are innocent from wrongly being convicted," Mayor Bloomberg said.

Another item on Governor Cuomo's menu for next year is a plan to open the nation's largest convention center at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Mayor Bloomberg said this idea was quite promising for New York City.

"I think all of us agree that we need a bigger convention center. We've been able to get 50 million tourists to New York City this year with a convention center thats so small it could fit inside the McCormick Center in Chicago," Mayor Bloomberg said. "Can you imagine what we could do if we had a world class, appropriate size convention center?"

Governor Cuomo's convention center proposal also involves razing New York's current convention center, the Jacob Javits Center, to create "a new 21st century neighborhood for the West Side.” Mayor Bloomberg supports this idea too.

"We've got this enormous redevelopment going on the West Side, this just complements it," said the mayor.

The one idea proposed by Governor Cuomo that didn't earn the Mayor's backing was a plan to “increase participation in the food stamp program” by removing “barriers to participation” including the electronic fingerprinting New York City currently requires from applicants. Mayor Bloomberg said the fingerprinting prevents fraud and doesn't deter prospective food stamp recipients from applying.

"New York City has a higher percentage of those people who are eligible for food stamps getting food stamps than the rest of the state, if I understand the numbers. And we're the only place that fingerprints, so obviously fingerprinting is not something that stops people from signing up for food stamps," Mayor Bloomberg said. "When you have fingerprinting, it detects fraud, which means it gives people incentive to not commit fraud."

Mayor Bloomberg ended his remarks by denying reports his relationship with the governor is strained.

"People try to make us battling all the time, that is just not true," Mayor Bloomberg said. "We send an enormous amount of money up to Albany. It would be nice to get more of that back and, so, if the governor has plans to do things in New York City that'll create jobs in New York City and expand our tax base that's great."

Governor Andrew Cuomo (Getty)

In his annual State of the State address today, Governor Cuomo outlined his ambitious vision for the future New York State including sweeping campaign finance reform, massive construction projects, an entirely new neighborhood built from scratch on the West Side of Manhattan, legalized casinos and a slew of new social programs. Governor Cuomo described his strategy for 2012 as an effort to build on a first year in office where he changed the culture of Albany from partisanship to constructive cooperation.

"By all accounts, last year was a tremendous success. There are many reasons why, including one simple one: We changed our attitude," Governor Cuomo said. "By the end of the year, we were not first Democrats and Republicans, we were first New Yorkers and we acted that way. We put the politics aside and put the people first. And it worked. And we worked. We delivered for the people. … Today, I am telling you this: we are going to reach even higher"

Governor Cuomo said his goals for next year fall into three main categories; growing the state economy, launching programs designed to maintain New York's status as "the progressive capital of the nation" and creating a "re-imagined government" through reforms designed to reduce costs and corruption.

The centerpiece of the governor's plans for making over state government is a set of broad campaign finance reforms including a statewide program of public financing for elections modeled after New York City's system, tighter limits on political donations, stricter regulation on contributions from public contractors and lobbyists and the creation of an enforcement unit in the State Board of Elections that will be tasked with investigating violations of campaign finance regulations.

"These and other reforms to our campaign finance laws are necessary to empower New Yorkers by giving them an equal voice in our elections," Governor Cuomo said.

Governor Cuomo also wants to enact mandate relief and pension reform.

"By next year,pension costs for schools and state and local governments will have increased 100 percent since 2009. We need to reform the pension system and create a Tier VI," said Governor Cuomo.

On the economic front, Governor Cuomo hopes to bring revenue to the state through a series of large-scale construction projects created through public/private partnerships including a new Tappan Zee Bridge and "the largest convention center in the nation." Governor Cuomo said his office is pursuing a joint venture with a gaming company called the Genting Corporation to build this convention center at the Aqueduct Racetrack and raze the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Governor Cuomo said the site of the Javits Center could then be used to create an entirely new Manhattan neighborhood.

"We will follow the highly successful Battery Park City model, which has resulted in housing, hotels, museums, and over 10 million square feet of Class A office space," Governor Cuomo said. "We estimate over $2 billion in private sector development in creating a new 21st century neighborhood for the West Side."

The governor also reiterated his desire to revoke the state ban on commercial gaming and bring casinos to New York.

"When it comes to gaming, we have been in a state of denial. It’s time we confronted reality. It’s not a question of whether we should have gaming in New York — the fact is we already do," said Governor Cuomo referencing the state's abundance of electronic gaming machines, Indian casinos, racinos and the legal casinos in nearby states and Canada.

Governor Cuomo also wants to give the economy a boost by investing over a billion dollars in public funds to local governments including $200 million in regional economic development awards and $1 billion in development incentives for the city of Buffalo.

"While we build on our strength in New York City, we must also invest in the struggling areas of our state," Governor Cuomo said. "The State of New York is ready to invest $1 billion in a multi-year package of economic development incentives. That’s a “B” — for $1 billion and for Buffalo."

Governor Cuomo said he expected the Buffalo investment to yield "$5 billion in new investment and economic activity." The governor also plans to invest state money to fund a series of infrastructure improvements and alternative energy initiatives.

Socially, the Governor said he wants to cement New York's status as America's "progressive capital" by launching programs designed to help farmers secure loans, aid immigrants transitioning to American life, double the number of minority and women-owned businesses that obtain state contracts, protect tenants from abusive landlords and foreclosures, ensure "reproductive rights" for women, and improve public education with $60 million in challenge grants to SUNY campuses.

Governor Cuomo also hopes to improve quality of life in New York by fundamentally changing the state's food stamp system and criminal DNA databank. With food stamps, the governor said he wants to "increase participation in the food stamp program" by removing "barriers to participation" including New York City's current practice of requiring applicants to submit to electronic fingerprinting. Governor Cuomo also promised to propose a bill that would expand the DNA databank to include samples from "any person convicted of a felony or Penal Law misdemeanor."

"This databank helps establish guilt and innocence; it has provided leads in over 2,700 convictions and — just as important — led to 27 exonerations of the wrongfully accused," Governor Cuomo said. "Currently, DNA is collected only from those convicted of less than half the crimes on the books in New York State."

Education will also be a major focus for the governor next year.

"I learned my most important lesson in my first year as Governor in the area of public education. I learned that everyone in public education has his or her own lobbyist. … The only group without a lobbyist? The students," Governor Cuomo said. "This year, I will take a second job— consider me the lobbyist for the students. I will wage a campaign to put students first, and to remind us that the purpose of public education is to help children grow, not to grow the public education bureaucracy."

Though he acknowledged his plan for 2012 is an "ambitious agenda," Governor Cuomo sounded confident he can make his vision a reality.

"We are the state of infinite possibility — because we are New York. There is nothing that we can’t do when we are together. Because we are New York."

Governor Cuomo's PhotoShop of what he might have looked like many years ago.

Today held a big event up in Albany, where Governor Andrew Cuomo gave his State of the State address.  Here are some highlights from the speech and the rest of New York:

Cuomo's speech was a shift to the wonky side of governance.

You can watch or read the presentation if you missed it.

Senate Majority Leader Skelos gave his own remarks.

While the Senate Democrats laid out their 2012 agenda.

A plethora of politicos issued statements responding to the speech.

Streetsblog sees some red flags for transit in Cuomo's address.

Governor Cuomo reiterated his call for independent redistricting.

Democrats continue to campaign against an extra state senate seat.

However, Republican State Senator  Marty Golden thinks it's going to happen anyway.

A judge ruled that an NYC development plan would perpetuate segregation.

Capital New York profiles the case of Russian spy Anna Chapman.

Swinging out the presidential campaign:

Last night's Iowa caucus vote was the third-closest result in modern U.S. political history.

Romney won ugly, but still won.

Congressman Pete King hopes Santorum and Romney will squash Ron Paul.

Romney's returning to New York to squeeze his "exhausted" New York donors.

What's behind John McCain's Romney endorsement.

Paul called Gingrich a "chicken hawk."