Don't block my landmark, bro. (Getty)

Add a few more names to the growing list of people concerned about the speed with which the city is executing the Midtown East Rezoning—ones that carry some serious political clout. In addition to the community boards, a few civic groups and local Councilman Dan Garodnick (who's vote will be crucial to get the rezoning through the City Council), four new Midtown reps have just sent a letter to the mayor saying the rezoning needs more time to be perfected.

"Because this rezoning is so important, it is critical that it is done correctly the first time and is responsive to the concerns of the area’s current stakeholders even as it lays the groundwork for the area’s future," Congresswoman Caroline Maloney, Assemblyman Dan Qart and state senators Liz Krueger and Brad Hoylman write. They ask the Department of City Planning to withdraw the plan currently in the works, which is expected to be certified in the coming weeks, "in order to permit sufficient time for community input."

The Midtown East Rezoning seeks to give developers incentives to tear down their aging buildings by adding new air rights to certain blocks in Midtown, with an emphasis on Park Avenue and the area around Grand Central. Locals fear that there will not be sufficient public benefit and that the plan is a giveaway to developers. Air rights will have to be purchased from the city, which would fund new open space improvements and mass transit projects, though there is skepticism the project would generate enough funds to create meaningful investments.

A City Planning spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment, but when Mr. Garodnick raised similar objections, she said:

As with all of our projects, we have been carefully analyzing the area and meeting with area stakeholders, including the community boards, to discuss the issues and proposed policy solutions so that an appropriate long‐term zoning framework for East Midtown can be created. There is ample time to complete all the necessary review and analyses for this project, and we are committed to continue working closely with the community and other stakeholders as the process moves forward.

The four politicians lay out a number of specific concerns they have about the plan as it is currently configured, including more information about public realm improvements, a study of adverse impacts, a commitment by developers to build sustainable projects and concern over the fate of numerous landmarks, both officially designated and those not, but otherwise noteworthy.

One request is particularly interesting, and no doubt alarming to the development community, given how open it would be to debate and interpretation: "a special review process for buildings that could disrupt iconic features of New York’s skyline such as the Empire State and Chrysler buildings." Talk about encasing the skyline in amber, precisely what this rezoning is meant to undo.

"While we support the concept of encouraging the development of more iconic Class A office buildings in East Midtown," the four conclude, "we ask that your office and the Department of City Planning heed the community’s request to allow more time for deliberation and consideration of the community’s questions and recommendations to ensure that this plan serves the neighborhood, both current and future."

The map will tell you, for instance, that the New York State and Local Retirement System socked $14.9 billion of its $147.2 billion in investment dollars into private equity funds last year. You could have dug up that data on your own, but PECGC compiled the same data from the two biggest pension funds in each of the 50 state for which such data was available, and pulled together a handy ranking:

The California Public Employees' Retirement System invested more in private equity funds than any other public pension, unsurprising given the size Calpers; less expected, that the Washington State Investment Board was the third biggest pension player in the buyout sphere, investing $15.6 billion out of $62.2 billion in total funds in private equity. The California State Teachers Retirement System, meanwhile, was the only pension fund to rank in the top 10 for total private equity investments and best returns—earning 11.3 percent on $23 billion in PE investments last year.

Also fun to note: Last year, private equity firms invested $13.7 billion in New York's 14th Congressional district, which includes the east side of Manhattan and a few Queens neighborhoods—80 percent more than the next highest district.

We've reached out to a couple of sources to inquire whether that total resulted from a handful of large deals, or just generally greater volume. In the meantime, we suppose Carolyn Maloney, the Democrat who represents the district, won't have to ask anyone why all this activity was taking place somewhere else.

Not surprisingly, his New York City donations skew even more toward Democrats, and again, reflect a certain pragmatism more than any discernible political ideology.

Since the 1989 election cycle--which began counting in November of 1985--Trump has given $137,894 to city candidates, with all but about $11,000 going to local Democrats.

One of the smallest, but most noticeable contributions--in light of recent events--was Trump's $150 contribution to the re-election campaign of Councilman Anthony Weiner in 1997.

Perhaps the two had more in common back then.

In his 2000 campaign book, The America We Deserve, Trump endorsed a single-payer healthcare system, which has been one of Congressman Weiner's favorite issues over the last few years.

Since then, Weiner has moved on to Congress and become a champion of the fighting left, and Trump has become a reality show host and Birther Republican candidate for president--personas which now bring them into conflict.

Weiner wasn't the only liberal future member of Congress to receive Trump money. Carolyn Maloney got $1,000 for her Council re-election in 1989. And Jerrold Nadler got $500 for his unsuccessful run for city comptroller that same year.

But, as he did at the state level--where he contributed to three different attorney general candidates last year--the casino baron hedged his bets.

Former congresswoman, Liz Holtzman, received a total of $7,000 running against Nadler that year, a race she eventually won.

Trump seems to have a special place in his heart for comptrollers, giving liberally to Alan Hevesi and Bill Thompson during their years as the city's chief financial officer. Trump's largest contributions were to Harrison Goldin, the comptroller who served from 1974 to 1989.

Trump gave him a combined $20,229 on November 1, 1985--money which officially went toward Goldin's run for mayor four years later. In 1988, Trump gave Goldin another $3,000.

But he also gave to David Dinkins' mayoral campaign in 1989, to the tune of $2,250 dollars. And just in case, he gave to the Republican, Rudy Giuliani, too: a $3,000 check in April of 1989.

Of course, Dinkins won that race. Trump gave $5,500 to the mayor's re-election effort in 1993, with zero contributions to Giuliani.

But Giuliani won the re-match that fall, and by the next spring, Trump was a Giuliani backer again, donating $5,000 in April of 1994. He added another $2,700 in the succeeding years, and an extra $500 to Giuliani deputy Fran Reiter.

With Giuliani limited to two terms, and Michael Bloomberg financing his own campaign, Trump gave to a few Democrats in the 2001 mayor's race. He contributed to Hevesi's campaign back in 1999, and chipped in a couple thousand to Peter Vallone, Sr., but saved most of his money until after the Democratic primary. In the weeks leading to the run-off between Mark Green and Freddy Ferrer, Trump gave more than $6,000 to Ferrer. After the run-off, Trump gave $4,500 to Green, in late October, a few weeks before he was defeated by Michael Bloomberg.

In the years leading up to the 2005 race, he sprinkled a little money around to Council Speaker Gifford Miller and Borough President Virginia Fields, but mostly sat out the campaign's stretch run, save for a couple of $1,000 donations to Bill Thompson's comptroller campaign.

A few more Thompson contributions counted toward the comptroller's '09 mayoral campaign (though they were made in 2005 and 2006), but Trump otherwise sat out the mayoral race. His last contribution to any city candidate was $4,950 to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz back in 2007.

A spokesperson for Trump did not return a request for comment.

Below is a spreadsheet with all of Trump's local donations. (Note that the first on the list, to Ruben Diaz Jr., is actually from Trump's son, Donald Jr.)

Trump NYC Donations

"The Republicans' proposed budget cuts for the fiscal years 2011 and 2012 are the most radical I've ever seen," said Jerrold Nadler, who was joined by Anthony Weiner, Charlie Rangel, Carolyn Maloney and Eliot engel. "That extremist Republican agenda is precisely what brought us to the brink, to the edge, of a government shutdown."

Obama and congressional leaders agreed to the stopgap budget deal late Friday, dodging a government shutdown by agreeing to $38 billion in cuts from a variety of federal programs. Liberal Democrats have argued that the bill is socially irresponsible and that it would kill jobs.

The deal was preceded by a long-term deficit-reduction proposal from Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, which would make deep cuts to entitlement spending.

"My Republican colleagues would like to repeal the twentieth century," said Engel. "They want to repeal Medicare and Medicaid, they want to repeal Social Security. And they are using the budget crisis as a ruse."

Democratic lawmakers have also criticized Obama, saying that he is caving to conservatives who are aiming to use the budget to push a social agenda. Nadler has said that Democrats have been blackmailed into the deal, accusing Obama of "whistling past the graveyard" in proclaiming a budget victory. Weiner expressed a similar sentiment via his Twitter. The representatives exempted Obama from criticism today, however, instead calling on congressional Democrats to fight the proposed measures.

"I recognize that the president has a $14 trillion deficit," said Rangel, who also said that Obama is dealing with with a Republican party that refuses to compromise. "The president has three undeclared wars. The president has an income tax system where the richest of the rich pay absolutely nothing."

"I think he was a fine leader--he brought parties together to negotiate, that's what government's about," said Maloney. "Not everyone got what they wanted but we did avert a government shutdown."

This may have been slightly premature, as much of the deal remains undefined. Maryland congressman Chris Van Hollen said yesterday on ABC News' This Week that lawmakers were still negotiating the fine details of the cut, and Senator Charles Schumer was unwilling to identify the specific cuts when pressed. All of which has left some Democrats--including Senator Kirsten Gillibrand--wittholding judgment on the deal.

Rangel suggested the budget fight could be a defining moment for Democrats.

"This is an opportunity for America really to prove who we are, and what we represent," said Rangel, who helpfully suggested that lawmakers turn to spiritual leaders for guidance. "The $38 billion is nothing compared to the nightmare that the Republicans are preparing in the House of Representatives."

Lawmakers will vote on the measure this Thursday. If they do not reach an agreement, the government faces another potential shutdown.

Geraldine A. Ferraro, the former Queens congresswoman who in 1984 strode onto a podium to accept the Democratic nomination for vice president and to take her place in American history as the first woman nominated for national office by a major party, died on Saturday at Massachusetts General Hospital  in Boston. She was 75.

"The cause was complications from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that she had battled for 12 years, her family said in a statement."

NPR:

"Ferraro was an assistant district attorney in the borough of Queens when she decided to run for an open congressional seat in 1978. She had far less experience than the other Democrats who sought the seat, but her Italian background and her familiar name — her cousin, Nicholas Ferraro, was the Queens D.A. — boosted her in both the primary and the general election."

Andrew Cuomo:

"She made a difference as a young prosecutor in Queens, as a congresswoman, as the first woman and first Italian-American to run for vice-president on a major party line and as a lawyer in private practice. As a role model for women across the world, she demonstrated that glass ceilings can be shattered. I had the honor and privilege to work with Geraldine for many years and I learned a great deal about courage and leadership from her."

Kirsten Gilibrand:

"She was more than a pioneer who inspired me, and generations of women, she was also a great friend and mentor."

Chuck Schumer:

"She broke barriers with a matter-of-factness, modesty, and grace that made her achievements all the more important and becoming. "

Bill de Blasio:

"Geraldine Ferraro was a true trailblazer who inspired enormous pride among women, Italian-Americans and all New Yorkers."

John Liu:

"All the while, she never forgot her values of  fairness and equal opportunity, and never forgot her roots in NYC and  Queens."

Anthony Weiner:

“To residents of Queens, she was our hometown hero who never forgot her roots."

Carolyn Maloney:

"And as an eager young delegate to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, I can tell you first hand that Geraldine Ferraro thrilled us when took the stage as the first woman ever nominated by a major political power to be its candidate for Vice President of the United States. It was absolutely electrifying. She changed my life  and she changed the course of history.

[skip]

"I shall miss her dearly, and intend to honor her passing by redoubling my efforts to complete her unfinished work to pass the ERA. It is time to enshrine in our Constitution, the high principle of gender equality that Geraldine Ferraro so courageously stood for in life."

Maloney had summoned the press to the City Hall steps to discuss Republican efforts to terminate federal foreclosure-avoidance programs, but one special guest, Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel, took the occasion to continue his criticism of the president's executive decision to intervene in Libya.

Rangel has been one of the most outspoken critics of the president's decision, including an editorial in the Daily News this morning, and he couldn't help himself during the question-and-answer session.

"You sound like you want to say something about Libya," one reporter pressed. "Are you concerned that there needs to be more advice and consent?"

"There doesn't need to be more, there has to be some," Rangel said. "And it would be interesting even at the end of the press conference if we find out how much is the war costing us? I think it's a million dollars a rocket, I think we're on the way to 500 million, and we're still going...I don't want to talk about Libya."

"But you raised it four or five times," the reporter noted. "I figured you wanted to go there."

"Well, I don't want to take away from this press conference," Rangel said, "but anybody who's glanced at the Constitution will tell you that, president after president ever since Roosevelt, have [sic] ignored the constitutional mandate to check with the American people before they put our kids in harm's way. And Congress has just completely been ignored about this. If indeed our role is one of humaneness, we have to see whether we can develop a policy to see whether Sudan and other areas should be treated the same way. But we're here because we're broke, or at least they say we're broke--"

The reporter noted that it was the congressman who had made the connection.

"Well, how can you not?" Rangel said. "It's costing us two billion a week in Afghanistan, that money is coming from somewhere, and all of a sudden we're slashing this program for people, laying off teachers, fireman, the whole works. And this is not for free."

Finally, Maloney--who had been visibly amused by the exchange--was asked for her opinion.

"I agree completely," she said, but added, "I am pleased with the president's statement that in a couple of days they're going to be turning over the leadership to the Arab League, NATO, and others, and hopefully that means we can bring our men and our dollars back to the housing programs and the needs of the American people."

Rangel jumped in, "Now, who are they going to turn their leadership over to in Libya?"

The Maloney event at The Sheraton is in honor of her birthday--which was, in fact, February 19--and guests will dine on a birthday cake in the shape of the U.S. Capitol. Tickets start at $500. 

A few things are worth noting here: One, the White House is doing Maloney a solid even though Maloney bowed out of hosting a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last year that was headlined by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

Secondly, it shows how seriously Maloney takes her re-election. This is a congresswoman who, in the fall, faced her most spirited opponent in years--the young attorney Reshma Saujani--and won with 81 percent of the vote. Saujani said during the campaign that she would run again in 2012, even if she lost, but she has since taken a job with Public Advocate Bill deBlasio and is said to be entertaining other possibilities instead.

Maloney's east side district is loaded with pols who would have been mentioned as possible contenders for her seat, including Council Member Dan Garodnick and Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, but the results of 2010, and today's $500 a head fundraiser, should keep many of them from challenging her.

That is what Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is asking. The Upper East Sider also reps the city's biggest borough, and she is worried that Brooklyn might get all the attention when the Environmental Protection Agency finally starts the arduous process of cleaning up the recently Superfunded Newtown Creek.

"The EPA has largely focused on the Brooklyn shores of Newtown Creek—but the Queens side of the creek also has a toxic legacy and requires the EPA's attention if the Superfund cleanup is to be successful," Ms. Maloney said in a release. "What's more, we need to make sure that all of Newtown Creek's tributaries, including Dutch Kills, Maspeth Creek, and East Branch, are tested thoroughly and cleaned up."

It's a fair point. And yet the area probably wouldn't need the cleanup were it not for Brooklyn, which is home to arguably the largest oil spill in national history, at least until explosion of the Deepwater Horizon this summer. Still, Maloney's office contends that there is little way to know how bad things are for Queens, as the EPA favored Brooklyn in its testing and studies for Superfund designation, and the agency even failed to list Queens on its Superfund page for Newtown Creek. (Apparently, the page has been updated, so maybe the EPA is finally catching on.)

At its root, though, this—like most outerborough stories—is one of gentrification. After all, the oil leak was first discovered in 1978, and it was not until BroBos began moving into largely Polish Greenpoint that the government seemed to finally care. Given the forthcoming development of Hunter's Point South and the continued evolution of Long Island City, perhaps Maloney is anticipating the coming wave of yuppies to Queens (er, Quee-Chis?), and their attendant demands for a non-toxic waterfront.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo

Taylor's support of Saujani is well-known--she sent her a $1,000 contribution early on in the campaign--but still, it is rare to see Taylor hit the hustings quite like this.

Taylor as said that she "really wanted" to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate, but thought it would be awkward for Bloomberg if she did. And she has mused aloud about running for Mayor, so it will be interesting to see how she does at the subway stops tomorrow.

The event is billed as a party for young professionals, and tickets range from $25.00 to $250, but is also a call for GOTV volunteers on election day.

Obviously, most campaigns try to hold as many events as possible within their districts, since that is where their voters are, but in crowded Manhattan, this can be more difficult. More details on the party can be found here.