Kruger: Mayoral Control Bill ‘DOA’

ALBANY—School governance legislation is in trouble.
A meeting last night between Senator John Sampson, the Democratic conference leader, and Senators Bill Perkins and Shirley Huntley with Deputy Mayors Kevin Sheekey and Dennis Walcott did not go well, a Democratic source said. Depending on the outcome of a Democratic conference scheduled for noon, the legislation Read More

Call Off the Lawyers, Except About Ravitch

The lawyers are standing down, mostly.

"Most of the cases have been rendered moot after the agreement reached yesterday and the resulting regular session of the Senate," Austin Shafran, a spokesman for the State Senate Democrats, said.

There have been six lawsuits filed in connection with the now-resolved leadership struggle in the chamber Read More

Call Off the Lawyers, Except About Ravitch

The lawyers are standing down, mostly.
“Most of the cases have been rendered moot after the agreement reached yesterday and the resulting regular session of the Senate,” Austin Shafran, a spokesman for the State Senate Democrats, said.
There have been six lawsuits filed in connection with the now-resolved leadership struggle in the chamber Read More

Sliding Into Saturday: No Agreement, No Court Order

ALBANY—The mood here among lawmakers tonight reminds me of what architect Henry Hobson Richardson once famousy wrote about Albany: “Misery, wretchedness, ennui and the devil. I’ve got to spend another night in Albany.”
After meeting behind closed doors for an hour, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi said he will hear David Paterson out on Read More

Senate Democrats Going Home

ALBANY—After spending less than five minutes in an extraordinary session this afternoon, Democrats in the hobbled State Senate questioned the legal relevance of anything they would pass and said they don't want to do it again.

"Members are going home today," State Senator Malcolm Smith, one of several leaders in the conference, told Read More

Dems: Espada Is Violating His Restraining Order

ALBANY—After State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. joined Republicans for a brief meeting in the senate chamber this afternoon, Democrats are calling on a judge to declare him in contempt of court for violating a temporary restraining order.
The order, signed Thursday by Justice Karen Peters, enjoins Espada Jr. from “exercising any of the powers Read More