Dean Skelos

Obviously Cardinal Dolan Is Really Pissed About Cuomo's Abortion Bill

A few weeks ago, we wrote a post entitled "Cuomo's Women's Equality Act Brings The A-Word To New York State Politics." The headline basically tells the whole story. It focused on the brewing controversy evoked by a tiny stipulation in Cuomo's new bill that calls for writing Roe v. Wade protections ... More >>

Cuomo's Women's Equality Act Brings The A-Word To New York State Politics

In the video below, Governor Cuomo lays out his intentions for the Women's Equality Act - a plan that would focus on erasing specific gender biases in New York State law. Akin to the gun control bill passed in December, it's a landmark piece of legislation for the Cuomo administration and, per usual ... More >>

Along With Anti-Bribery Measures, Gov. Cuomo Proposes Election Reform

Might as well use this recent scenario to hit two birds with one stone. Last week, Governor Cuomo announced the Public Trust Act. The bill, which came in the wake of the scandals that rocked New York politics this month, would expand the powers given to state bribers to locate and detain those invo ... More >>

Cuomo Introduces "The Public Trust Act" After Last Week's Scandal Fest

Last week, New York government, on both a city and state level, bore witness to corruption in its purest form. In a matter of days, a mayoral rigging scheme was uncovered that involved City Council, the State Assembly and business interests. And then we found out about yet another hatched plan in ... More >>

With Compromise In Sight, Gov. Cuomo Talks Gun Control In State Of The State Address

In recent weeks, we've been following the Governor's actions regarding gun control quite closely. After the Newtown tragedy, Cuomo proposed a handful of measures to hopefully curb gun-related violence; one of which would be the strictest magazine clip ban in the nation. However, the momentum hit a w ... More >>

Proposal To Decriminalize "Public View" Marijuana Loophole Appears Dead In The Water

This year's legislative session is set to come to an end Thursday, and a proposal laid out by Governor Andrew Cuomo that would decriminalize the "public view" loophole in New York's marijuana possession law appears to be dead in the water.The governor set a deadline of last night for he and legislat ... More >>

Weed Fans: Senate Republicans To Blame For "Public View" Marijuana Buzz-Kill

As we reported earlier, a bill that would decriminalize the "public view" loophole in New York's marijuana possession law appears to be dead in the water -- and weed fans are pissed. The Drug Policy Alliance, one of the many groups pushing the bill, is holding Republicans in the Senate responsible f ... More >>

Bad News, Perverts: Watching Kiddie-Porn In New York Is Finally Going To Be Illegal

Sorry, perverts -- your days of legally "viewing" kiddie-porn in New York are coming to an end.Believe it or not, "viewing" kiddie-porn currently isn't a crime in the Empire State -- thanks to a ruling last month by the New York State Court of Appeals, which determined that "viewing" kiddie-porn is ... More >>

The Horsies Go To Albany! Cuomo & Co. Reach Deal On NYRA Takeover

Those ponies are in need of some serious government red tape.The Voice reported yesterday on the legislative free-for-all going on in Albany right now, which includes the cyber-bullying law and the teacher evaluation publicity argument, as the session deadline on Thursday approaches. But the Go ... More >>

Andrew Cuomo, Total Buzz Kill? Gov Plans on Scaling Back Pot Policy, Report Claims

This is almost as uncool as that time you accidentally ate a tray of brownies right before going a funeral: Gov. Andrew Cuomo might scale back plans to decriminalize open pot possession. The move would serve as a compromise with the Senate Republicans who oppose his policy, according to the Wall St ... More >>

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (Unintentionally) Explains Why "Public View" Weed Law Makes No Sense

As you probably know, New York's "public view" marijuana law makes absolutely no sense -- it makes doing something in public (while fully clothed) a misdemeanor, while doing the same exact thing in private is a violation that's about as serious a crime as a parking ticket.Nobody seems to know this b ... More >>

New York Politicians Spent Nearly $50,000 On Cigars Since 2008

Bill Clinton's not the only politician who likes a good cigar...Since 2008, New York politicians have spent nearly $50,000 on cigars and other tobacco products, a new study from the New York Public Research Group.The study, first provided by the group to the New York Daily News, finds that state law ... More >>

Is New York's Minimum Wage Too Damn Low?

If you've been following recent developments in the capital, you've probably heard that Dems in Albany have been pushing for a $1.25 minimum wage increase -- from $7.25 to $8.50. And most New Yorkers would be OK with this boost. This change would impact more than 600,000 New Yorkers who are someho ... More >>

Governor Andrew Cuomo Delivers His State of the State Address [Live Video]

Watch live streaming video from newyorkstateofficeofthegovernor at livestream.com Here is live streaming video of Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address from Albany. 1:45 -- Lt. Governor Bob Duffy (who, the last time we saw him in person, was introducing Governor Cuomo prior to the sign ... More >>

Dean Skelos Calls For a Gay Marriage Vote; Religious Exemptions Finally Come Out

​Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos has just announced that the Marriage Equality Bill will get a vote in the Senate. This comes moments after the Senate released proposed language for a "religious exemptions" amendment to the billl, which will allow religious groups and their affiliate busin ... More >>

Greg Ball's All Atwitter at Gay-Marriage Bill: Upstate Senator Takes His Own Online Poll.

Here's what happened over the weekend with the gay-marriage bill, which the Assembly has already approved: Publicly, the bill has the support of 31 of the 32 senators it needs for passage. Though he was considered "leaning no," GOP senator Greg Ball (who represents all of Putnam County, northern ... More >>

Is Gay Marriage Getting Blue Balled in Albany? Senate to Vote Monday at Earliest.

​Now that Governor Cuomo has given his all toward passing gay marriage equality legislation, and the Assembly has passed the measure for a fourth time, the focus is exactly back where it's been for the past two years: the State Senate. Yet after significant momentum at the beginning of the we ... More >>

New York State Assembly Passes Gay Marriage for a Fourth Time

​The New York State Assembly passed the Marriage Equality Bill yesterday, the fourth time that chamber of the state legislature has done so. The bill passed overwhelming, 80-63, but still, it had the lowest margin of victory the issue has ever had in the Assembly. (A number of "yes" votes had ... More >>

Gay Marriage in New York: Over the Hump Today?

​Today could be the day when gay marriage equality passes its biggest hurdle in New York State yet and actually achieves something it never has before: likely passage in the state senate. With 31 of the necessary 32 votes already publicly announced, the effort only needs one GOP senator for th ... More >>

Andrew Cuomo Introduces Gay-Marriage Bill; Another GOP Senator Announces Support

Governor Cuomo formally introduced same-sex marriage legislation today, a key victory for activists pushing for a vote in the state Senate regardless of any assurance of passage. And another Republican senator, Roy McDonald, from the Capital Region, broke ranks and announced support, giving the Marr ... More >>

Senate Republicans Suddenly Against Budget Extensions They Used to Wallow In

The Republican near-majority in the state senate has sunk to new lows in the ongoing budget battle, but unlike the Democrats, they are catching no media flak. Incredibly, 29 of them (with one absentee) voted as a bloc last week against the emergency budget extender that barely passed the senate. Ha ... More >>

David Paterson Plays the Dupe Once Again with Ethics "Reform"

Such a patsy.​In the space of three weeks, 24 Republicans in the state senate voted for and against the same state ethics bill. And in the madhouse of Albany, almost no one noticed. When the ethics bill passed 59 to 1 in late January, 28 GOP state senators voted for it, with one D ... More >>

Hiram Monserrate, David Paterson Still Hanging In There

​They were supposed to start voting on Hiram Monserrate's expulsion from or censure by the state senate earlier today, with the senate session moving from 3 p.m. to noon, but the chamber is currently occupied with other business, like a resolution asking the terror trials to be moved from New ... More >>

Governor Paterson Vetos Ethics Bill, Says It "Does Not Go Far Enough"

People were very excited when the state legislature finally passed a government ethics bill. After all, the Republicans had been blocking such a bill, and it's nice to see the Democratic majority delivering an actual change -- even though good government groups were lukewarm at best about the resul ... More >>

Paterson Speech Reax: Papers Exult, GOP Mixed, Democrats Praise Selves

Governor Paterson follows up his program-rich State of the State speech with a round of radio interviews, which Liz Benjamin patiently follows. She finds Paterson expecting the public will respond better to his message than have Albany legislators ("So what I did, what I decided to do, is put out ... More >>

New Plan to Defeat Health Care Bill: GOP Lawsuits!

​It looks like the Democrats might pass some sort of health care bill after all, so the badly outnumbered Republicans are looking at new strategy to block it: make pork illegal. "Attorneys general in at least 10 states" of a mostly reddish hue, the Times reports, have discussed a legal strat ... More >>

Ruben Diaz Asks: If Hiram Monserrate Rates an Investigation, Why Not Kevin Parker?

​You may recall that in Hiram Monserrate's darkest days -- back before the judge in his assault case let him off with probation -- fellow state senator and member of the "Gang of Three" (which muscled the senate for favors last year) Ruben Diaz Sr. complained that there was a racist component ... More >>

This Is, Apparently, Who We Have To Blow

​ ...or rather, blow away, in the next election. Ladies and gentlemen, the 'No' votes...

Paterson Rejects Albany Half-Loaf Budget Cuts, Says "The State is Going Bankrupt"

Governor Paterson wanted the endless Albany special sessions to produce $5 billion in budget cuts over the next year and a half. The legislators said: How about $2.9 billion? After some ominous rumblings ("Governor Paterson had enough and will not wait any longer"), it now appears there is no deal. ... More >>

Senate GOP, Dem Leaders Unite to Oppose Paterson's "Soviet" Deficit Plan

Maybe by scaling back his demand for over $600 million in cuts to school aid by half was the fatal sign of weakness that invited the counterattack, but the state senators who have been remarkably slow about trimming the budget united against Paterson with great speed. Democratic leader John Sampson ... More >>

Liu, Gioia, Other Dems Call for Monserrate to Resign; Skelos Proposes Extra Republican for Panel

More Democratic public officials are calling for state senator Hiram Monserrate, convicted of lesser charges in an attack on his girlfriend and facing a special state senate committee, to remove himself from office. Earlier in the week New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer suggested ... More >>

Special Senate Committee will Consider Monserrate's Fate; GOP, Diaz Complain

The state senate leadership finally announced it would establish a special committee to consider colleague Hiram Monserrate's membership. The committee will be chaired by Democratic on Manhattan underboss John Sampson senator Eric Schneiderman and include five Democratic senators -- including locals ... More >>

Ravitch is Lt. Gov.! (Till Monday, When The Case Resumes)

All hail Lt. Gov. Ravitch! The forces of Governor David Paterson went last night to an appellate court, where Judge L. Priscilla Hall "temporarily reinstated" Richard Ravitch at New York's Lieutenant Governor by stopping the restraining order Dean Skelos and Pedro Espada won from a Nassau County cou ... More >>

Judge Postpones Decision on Legality of Ravitch's Lt. Gov Appointment

For those of you who were wondering how the judge would rule today on Governor Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch to Lieutenant Governor -- congratulations! You are an informed, aware citizen! Now to your news: the judge postponed his decision and did not say when he'd give it. State Supreme ... More >>

Coup in Review: Dems, GOP Do Quickie, Dems Honor Dead Celebs, Parker Apologizes

Michael Jackson madness met Albany madness today as the Republicans-plus-Espada and the Democrats enacted their now customary ritual of holding separate sessions: the Democrats had a moment of silence for Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, while the GOP-plus-E, perhaps worried about political fallout, just ... More >>

Coup in Review: Dueling Majorities! GOP, Dem Senators Ignore Each Other in Chamber

The Republicans have joined the Democrats in the state senate chamber, where senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins has been standing at the podium since the Dems barricaded themselves in around 12:30 p.m. Liz Benjamin reports that GOP senator George Winner tried to take the podium but "one of the sergeant ... More >>

Coup in Review: Paterson Calls Special Session, Skelos Spokesman Says "Bullsh*t," Bloomberg Blames Dems, Espada Shows Off Bronx "Home"

Over the weekend Governor Paterson stepped into the Albany Coup spotlight, announcing that he would summon the state senators to a special session on Wednesday (the official session ends today), and he meant all the state senators, not just the Republicans who have been meeting alone, without a quor ... More >>

Barrett: Did Paterson Really Call And Congratulate Espada On His Coup?

In the madhouse of Albany these days, David Paterson, predictably, has been behaving unpredictably. Press reports noted that he telephoned Senator Pedro Espada, the Democrat-turned-Republican who is leading the two-man rebellion. Espada's spokesman told the Albany Times Union that Paterson, the Demo ... More >>

Coup in Review: No Session Today; Monserrate Keeps 'Em Guessing

Earlier Pedro Espada said he was goin' into the senate chamber and Malcolm Smith said he was goin' to court. Espada has not, that anyone could see, gone into the chamber, and Smith seems not to have gone to court. There was no senate session today, not even the al fresco one Espada had threatened, b ... More >>

Espada GOP Coup in Albany? (UPDATE: Smith Out, Espada Sworn In)

Hmm: state senate Republicans have proposed to seat rebel Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. as "President pro tempore" of the senate, reports PolitickerNY, and to return former majority leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, to his old seat, replacing Democrat Malcolm Smith. (Update: Apparently they got away wit ... More >>

Coup de Villains: The Albany Takeover So Far

Dear Leader: misty watercolor memories of Pedro Espada Jr. here. Malcolm Smith says he's still in charge, but he hasn't been able to achieve much over the past five months of Democratic rule in the state senate, and we doubt he has the resources to overturn the overthrow of his leadership today. ... More >>

Albany Dems Flail as GOP Suits Up for Subway Savior Role

Though the Democrats have majorities in both Albany houses -- albeit razor-thin in the Senate -- they are so undisciplined that many now admit they need Republican votes to roll back the MTA's proposed fare hikes. The GOP senators they've targeted are from upstate districts where train and bus subco ... More >>

Latest Budget: OK, Taxes on the Rich After All

Governor Paterson announced a "budget agreement" with legislative leaders on Sunday. He says this agreement closes the state's budget gap -- which he found to be $2.2 billion bigger than expected last week -- and "stabilizes our finances, and institutes critical reforms that will help eliminate wast ... More >>

Skelos Gets Union Bigs to Meet with Dem Albany Rebels

There is little news coming out of Albany, but the estimable Liz Benjamin notes an ominous sign for the state senate Democrats, whose hope to claim a majority in Wednesday's vote is clouded by a rebel faction of city senators: Republican leader Dean Skelos is arranging for representatives of 1199 SE ... More >>

Dems Deal -- Espada to Majority Leader?

Skelos Calls His Own Damn Session

Espada Got Big $ from GOP, Healthcare Companies

Skelos Blows Off Paterson's Budget; Gov May Wait

GOP-Friendly Dem Senators Muscle Their Albany Colleagues

Mavericks Squadron and Chromczak Debate in Brooklyn