The officials’ consternation comes as the M.T.A. is expected to recommend a deal in which developer Forest City Ratner gives less upfront cash than it initially agreed to—it previously committed to $100 million, all at the closing—as well as a scaled-back rail yard the developer pledged to build.

From the letter:

We respectfully suggest that a hasty decision to modify the obligations of the developer could be detrimental to the needs of the mass transit system and that any decision should only be made after the public and elected officials have had a fair opportunity to present their views.  We therefore request that you postpone any decision on this matter and disclose the proposed details of any modification to the current agreement with Forest City Ratner to the signers of this letter and the general public.

The signatories included a number of longtime critics of the project: Assemblyman James Brennan, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Councilwoman Letitia James, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, Councilman Vincent Gentille and Councilman John Liu.

The letter comes after State Senator Bill Perkins sent a letter requesting that the M.T.A. respond to a list of questions about Atlantic Yards and a potential new deal before the vote. 

The project—which now calls only for an arena at first and has dropped architect Frank Gehry—is also scheduled to come up for review at a Tuesday board meeting of the state's main development arm. That agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, would vote on the modified plan, then take public comment and likely would need to vote again. An ESDC spokesman said the agency's position is that the project does not need to gain approval from the Public Authorities Control Board again.

Update 4:12 p.m.

The M.T.A. will actually first address the new deal Monday before the board's finance committee, according to agency spokesman Jeremy Soffin. In an e-mail, he said, should the agreement be finalized over the weekend, it would go before the committee as "an informational item," before a "potential vote on Wednesday." 

The letter is below.

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At his campaign office opening this Sunday, City Comptroller candidate David Weprin announced he was endorsed by 20 current and former officials including former Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden and Assemblywoman Grace Meng of Flushing.

Golden joins Fernando Ferrer of the Bronx and David Dinkins of Manhattan as co-chairs of the campaign.

The office space was somewhat striking: a big cavernous store front around the corner from the Letterman Show and next door to where Studio 54 used to be (something Weprin's campaign manager, Eben Bronfman, loves to point out to people).

Also endorsing Weprin yesterday were Representatives Gary Ackerman of Queens and Long Island, Steve Israel of Long Island, Weprin’s brother Mark, an Assemblyman, former City Comptroller candidate Jim Brennan of Brooklyn, along with several Democratic district leaders.

"I like to tease him," said Mark Weprin. "He even has the perfect personality to be New York City comptroller." That's because "he is serious and, you know, not the most, greatest public speaker and he's not out there as 'I'm Mr. Personality.' He's out there because he knows what he's doing."

Mark Weprin also said that "we have some good friends in this race, but none of which would even hold a candle in the experience category."

But what caught my eye was the endorsement from Meng (who was not at the event).

She's a woman, but not backing the only woman in the race who is also from Queens, City Councilwoman Melinda Katz. And Meng, the only Asian-American in the state legislature, is also not backing John Liu, a councilman from Flushing who is running to become the first Asian-American elected citywide in New York’s history.

Liu and Meng have been political opponents for some time.

In 2002, Liu backed the re-election of Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik in Flushing, who defeated a crowded field of candidates that included Meng’s father Jimmy, a local businessman. Two years later, Grodenchik lost to Meng. He later stepped down, citing back pain. But Meng’s daughter, Grace, ran for the open seat against one of Liu’s staffers, Ellen Young. Grace was kicked off the ballot for not moving into the district in time withdrew from the race before a challenge to her residency was settled. Then, last year, when Grace qualified to be on the ballot, she defeated Young.

Brennan, who's from Brooklyn, dropping off the ticket is a boon to City Councilman David Yassky, also from Brooklyn.

Another Brooklyn candidate, Simcha Felder, dropped out in June. That leaves Yassky competing most intensely for votes in Queens, where City Council members Melinda Katz and David Weprin are from. Another candidate, Adolfo Carrion, is from the Bronx.

Of course, there's still plenty of time for someone else to jump into the race.  Here's Brennan's email:   

The governor's first dramatic warnings about the state budget, which included a rare televised speech and a trip to Washington, were met with some skepticism from state Democrats, and a series of proposals for reducing the budget by $1.2 billion through reduced spending and a hiring freeze drew little support. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will, with his conference, most likely prevent the passage of the cuts while pushing for a tax increase on the wealthy. (The State Senate also has to approve.)

The public relations war is another story.

“I think public opinion is with him on this,” said Kathy Wylde, president of a business group, The Partnership for New York City. “Most people recognize New York is out of control on spending. I think he has a lot of support."

Going head-to-head with Democratic state lawmakers is a counterintuitive strategy for success in the capital, at least on the heels of Eliot Spitzer. But Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf thinks Paterson has hit on the right issue if he's looking for public support.

"Spitzer’s attacks were seen as gratuitous. David Paterson is seen to be more fighting for the people,” Sheinkopf said.

In fighting the cuts, Assembly Democrats have been put in the role of tax-hiker.

"It's draconian and unnecessary," said Assemblyman Jim Brennan of the governor's proposed cuts. "A tax increase of $3 to $3.5 billion would be comparable to the one we did five years ago, and make these kinds of cuts unnecessary." Brennan added, "I think he's making a mistake."

Some cuts to state spending are definitely needed, said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Westchester, but they should be accompanied by a millionaire's tax. “It makes no sense to ask parents of CUNY and SUNY students to pay more to get less from the government, while the families that send kids to Dalton and Harvard aren’t affected,” he said.

Even Paterson's supporters are skeptical that he can push the plan into law. Wylde, of the Partnership, said that while Paterson's spending cuts are popular statewide, there is very real resistance to them in communities where less public money is essentially reduced the few remaining employment opportunities. "Upstate in particular is dependent on government jobs," she said.

Arnold Linhardt, a Democratic political consultant in White Plains, asked rhetorically, “In the end, do you think both houses are going to pass what the governor said?” He answered himself: “It’s an election year for the legislature, so, I can’t even see the Republicans cutting that deep into programs.”

But there are benefits, especially for a politician who resents being called the "accidental governor" and is hoping to win re-election in 2010.

“The best thing that can happen to him is anybody in Albany takes him on,” said Sheinkopf. “The public will rise up and say ‘This is a good man.’"

According to a search of donations for those candidates between those dates:

David Yassky--$463,575

David Weprin--$334,499

Melinda Katz--$206,154

Jim Brennan--$84,577

Adolfo Carrion’s campaign finance numbers are not posted yet on the Campaign Finance Board’s Web site, but his campaign spokeswoman said he raised $600,000 this filing period.

Melinda Katz's numbers are lower than expected, but then she did just have a baby.

UPDATE: Here are the contribution numbers for the comptroller candidates:

Adolfo Carrion: $570,052
David Yassky: $452,075.00
David Weprin: $316,899.00
Melinda Katz: $192,938.00
Jim Brennan: $83,677.00

(These numbers take into account any refunded donations the candidates dealt with.)

Yassky’s campaign said they raised almost $500,000 this period, from a total of 600 donors, bringing his cash-on-hand total to $1.25 million.

Jim Brennan’s campaign spokeswoman said he raised $104,000 this filing period, bringing his total raised to $507,000. The spokeswoman, Jill Harris, also said the campaign is eligible to receive more than $750,000 in matching funds.

Numbers for the other comptroller candidates--Melinda Katz, Adolfo Carrion and David Weprin--were not immediately available.

UPDATE: Weprin told me he raised $336,000 this filing period, bringing his cash on hand total to $1.7 million.

One of the event's hosts is Andrew Tomback, a long-time Yassky contributor who has also given some money to Eric Gioia and, once, back in the day, to Alan Hevesi.

Other notable names include John Alschuler, who has contributed to progressive Democrats like Mark Green and Ruth Messinger. Alschuler has also given money to another comptroller candidate, Melinda Katz ($250 on July 7, 2007).

And there's also Charles Simon, who ran in a special election for an Assembly seat, but was defeated by Linda Rosenthal.

In the five-way Democratic primary for comptroller, none of the candidates are from Manhattan, theoretically putting the borough's rich supply of (rich) donors and voters up for grabs. That might change if someone like, say, Scott Stringer jumped into the race. But so far, he hasn't made any public moves to do so.

The current comptroller candidates are from Brooklyn (Yassky and Jim Brennan), Queens (Melinda Katz and David Weprin) and the Bronx (Adolfo Carrion).

But they also have some changes they’d like to see in the final bill.

Like Bill Thompson, the group wants to eliminate the discount that drivers who pay a toll prior to entering the congestion pricing zone. (Both Citizens Union and Thompson support offsetting that discount by having the Port Authority contribute $1 billion to the M.T.A.) Another recommendation C.U. has, first put forward by vocal critic Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, is an exemption for charities. They also want to require the program come up for renewal after three years, a measure being pushed by Assemblyman Jim Brennan, who introduced his own congestion pricing bill today.

When asked if the group supports passage of the senate bill in its current form, Executive Director Dick Dadey paused and said, “This is an experiment, but we don’t yet know how it might work.”

He added, “We’re comfortable in supporting the plan as it is right now, but hope that additional changes are made.”

Brennan's new bill would ensure the program comes up for renewal in three years, and wouldn't allow the state to issue bonds against the program's future earning. Critics say allowing the bonds means the current congestion pricing plan wouldn't be temporary enough because it would last for the life of the bonds.

Also, Brennan wants the entire City Council to take another vote, this time specifically on the issue of residential parking permits. Lorrie Smith, a spokeswoman for Brennan said the current process--by which neighborhoods could opt into the residential parking permit program--might ultimately be "divisive, pitting one community against the next."

The rest of the comptroller field is split on congestion pricing. Melinda Katz and David Weprin, both of Brooklyn Queens, opposed the plan. David Yassky and likely candidate Simcha Felder, both of Brooklyn, support it, as does Adolfo Carrion of the Bronx. John Liu of Queens, who is yet another possible candidate, voted for it.

It's notable that the club is recognizing Yassky because, of the six likely candidates in 2009 comptroller race, half are from Brooklyn, and they are expected to battled fiercely for votes in the borough. The other Brooklyn candidates for comptroller are City Councilman Simcha Felder (unannounced) and Assemblyman James Brennan.

Queens also has several candidates: Melinda Katz, David Weprin and, possibly, John Liu. The other major candidate in the race is Adolfo Carrion, who has the Bronx all to himself.