Democratic candidate David Weprin's campaign says his campaign anticipates reaching the $550,000 mark before the filing deadline tonight. They say that's more than three times what the Turner campaign has raised.

“Our message about protecting middle class families and fighting for Medicare and Social Security is clearly resonating with voters,” Weprin said in a statement. “I’m very grateful for this outpouring of financial support, which will help me bring this critical fight to Washington.  I intend to ride this momentum all the way to victory on September 13th.”

Alec Hamilton / WNYC

By Alec Hamilton

John Gambling, the third in the Gambling family line of WOR morning hosts, introduced former governor David Paterson at a press conference today to announce the governors new role as a host of the afternoon drive show. At Ben Bensons steakhouse in Manhattan, the governor said he grew up listening to the radio.

The governor said because he never learned Braille, he has depended heavily through his life on radio for information.

"My information always came from the radio, so I've always had a special fondness for radio stations, for talk radio, for radio hosts, so to become one of them at this stage is a big thrill in my life," he said.

The governor said his first guest will be Eliot Spitzer.

"When I told him I had this show, he said its so great to see you could get a job that I didnt give you," said Paterson.

Other guests scheduled for the first show on Tuesday include former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Scotland Yard, a debate between 9th Congressional District candidates David Weprin and Bob Turner, and possibly Rep. Charlie Rangel. Paterson's father, Basil Paterson, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a close friend of the former governor, were at the announcement earlier today.

Courtsey of the borough president's Flickr account.

The fallout has started surrounding today's revelation that a former deputy mayor under Bloomberg resigned after being arrested for domestic violence. And at the front of his media surf board is Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

Stringer sent out a statement late this morning saying he was "deeply troubled by the news" that former Deputy Mayor for Operations Stephen Goldsmith had spent two nights in a Washington, DC jail after being arrested after a domestic dispute with his wife. Goldsmith resigned abruptly on August 4. The New York Post reported today that on July 30, Goldsmith had been arrested in Washington, DC, after his wife called the police. The incident, the Post said, was what led to Goldsmith's resignation--not his poor handling of the monster snow storm back in January, as had been the suspicion.

Speaking to the press earlier, Borough President Stringer called on the mayor to give an account of what happened, what the decision making process behind Goldsmith's resignation was, and why the incident wasn't disclosed to the public.

"We have a right to know the circumstances relating to his resignation," Stringer said. "If the resignation was a result of this arrest, then New Yorkers have the right to know that a high-ranking deputy mayor, in charge of oversight of the NYPD, was arrested under some very difficult circumstances."

Stringer was careful not to directly criticize the mayor's handling of the incident, saying that that his office wasn't "picking a fight with the mayor."

"I dont want to characterize the circumstances surrounding the mayor's thinking until i know what it was," Stringer said. "And then we'll go from there."

Marc LaVorgna, a spokesperson with the mayor's office, released the following statement: "We have nothing to add to Mrs. Goldsmith's account of the incident, but it was clear to the Mayor and Mr. Goldsmith that he could no longer serve at City Hall, regardless of his guilt or innocence."

Governor Cuomo with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, right, in Prattsville Wednesday. (Karen DeWitt / WXXI)

By Karen DeWitt, WXXI Capitol Bureau Chief

Tom McGlynn stood on the main street of his flood-ravaged town, waiting for Governor Cuomo’s helicopter and the visit from the federal officials. The street bustled with National Guard troops, emergency medics, fire trucks and police. Dust from drying mud, gas fumes from fuel leaks, and the first wafts of rotting garbage filled the air.

McGlynn says he is still trying to process what happened, three days after the waters destroyed his home.

“There’s nothing left of it,” said McGlynn. “The whole first floor is gone, and a two-car garage with a room over it, that’s in my neighbors’ yard.”

McGlynn says he and his wife escaped with their lives.

“What I have on me is what I left,” McGlynn said. “It’s unbelievable”.

Amy Sussman / Getty

Governor Cuomo was thanking the Federal government for declaring counties in New York as disaster zones. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is doing the opposite, after Kings County was not included:

In Brooklyn, hundreds of trees were knocked down, doing significant damage to cars, homes and infrastructure, and some Brooklynites remain without power. Brooklyn’s low-lying ‘Zone A’ neighborhoods that were evacuated saw significant flooding, including Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Coney Island, Red Hook, DUMBO and Williamsburg. Just yesterday, it was discovered that a section of the BQE may be unstable as a result of storm damage and will need urgent repair. The storm even made landfall at Coney Island.

Given these facts, I am absolutely dumbfounded that federal officials have excluded Kings County from a disaster declaration for public assistance. I applaud Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg for requesting this help, and hope that FEMA immediately reverses this dreadful decision and includes Brooklyn.

Our sister site Transportation Nation has a great recap of Port Authority chief Chris Ward's speech to the New York Building Congress yesterday. Ward leveled heavy criticism at what he called "a darker strain in American politics" that has led to the dissolving of American infrastructure.

"No doubt, that strain ran through Gingrich’s Contract With America, Grover Norquist’s No Tax Pledge, and to the Tea Party of today. But the left is not without its responsibility; too often, we have seen rigid opposition to social and private sector market innovation," Ward said. "Today, we are truly seeing the consequences of that slow deterioration of that social contract."

As Ilya Marritz reports on Transportation Nation:

A week after being forced to accept a smaller revenue package than he wanted, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey launched a full-throated broadside against politicians who say the government must reduce all spending.

Read the full piece here.

Think about this: Would I rather be handcuffed to the emergency command center in Maspeth during a hurricane ... or would I rather spend some of that 30 Rock money traveling the world with my girlfriend?

Daily Intel has the full scoop.

- The Jewish Voice has endorsed Republican for Congress in the 9th District:

Alec Hamilton / WNYC

For New Yorkers in the 9th Congressional District, and for those who have grown restive over the intrusion of the "nanny state" in the affairs of their daily lives, the decision on September 13 couldn't be clearer. Political change is desperately needed and we, the people, are charged with chartering our own course, of becoming masters of our own fate, and captains of our own ship. Let's send a bold message to President Obama by electing Bob Turner to Congress and saying "no" to more of the same.

- The New York Times has endorsed his opponent, Democrat David Weprin:

Colby Hamilton / WNYC

When Representative Anthony Weiner resigned in disgrace in June, he left his diverse district without a voice in the House of Representatives. On Sept. 13, voters in that Queens and Brooklyn district can choose his replacement.

Their options — chosen, unfortunately, by the parties’ leaders instead of in open primaries — are Assemblyman David Weprin, a Democrat, and Bob Turner, a Republican and former communications executive. The choice is clear: Mr. Weprin would represent the district with far more expertise, sensitivity and fiscal rationality.

- So did the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. PBA president Patrick J. Lynch:

We know we can trust David Weprin to fight to protect the Medicare and Social Security benefits working families rely on, and his background in finance and his service as the chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee will be of great value during these difficult financial times. David has been an effective and honest public servant who will represent us well in Congress. The New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association is proud to endorse David Weprin, a true friend of law enforcement, for the United States Congres .

- Assembly hopeful Jesus Gonzalez got a boost in his three-way race out in Brooklyn when the Albany-reform focused New Roosevelt Initiative endorsed him today. New Roosevelt's founder Bill Samuels:

Courtesy of the Gonzalez campaign.

Bosses love elections without opponents, but they’re bad for democracy and bad for New York.  Residents of the 54th are lucky that a bright, dedicated reformer like Jesus Gonzalez, a Democrat who is running on the Working Families Party (WFP) line has stepped forward to challenge this autocracy. The system is broken, disgraceful and must be changed. I applaud the valiant efforts of Gonzalez and WFP in their continued efforts to reform Brooklyn politics by letting voters have a real choice and that is why I fully support Gonzalez’s candidacy.

- Another Assembly hopeful, Phil Goldfeder, announced United Federation of Teachers'  President Michael Mulgrew will endorse his campaign tomorrow.

New Yorker's confidence in the economy is slipping, according to a poll released by the Siena Research Institute. Consumer confidence decreased 1.2 points in August, Siena found, even as buying plans for big-ticket items like homes and cars edged up.

"Right now the nation's future outlook is terrible. In New York we are more hopeful as our outlook rises to simply pessimistic. Still, despite the needle of sentiment pointing towards a double-dip recession, we may dodge that hurricane given an uptick in buying plans most especially for homes.”

We're doing better than the country as a whole, though, which fell to its lowest levels since 2008. The press release from Siena is after the jump.

By Marie Cusick/WMHT with www.innovationtrail.org

This weekend the Innovation Trail and WMHT's New York NOW looked into the state’s plan to revitalize the economy through the creation of 10 regional economic development councils.

The councils will compete for a billion dollars worth of state funds, and the governor has said that there will be clear "winners and losers" among the state's regions. Take a look to find out why that has some people worried.

President Obama made it official: New York is now a federally recognized disaster area.

"I thank President Obama for his quick action granting New York a federal disaster declaration," Governor Cuomo said in a statement. "The damage incurred by Irene has devastated communities in counties across our State, leaving many without homes and towns and villages without essential public infrastructure. All levels of government are working together to help New York recover and we will not stop until the job is done."

The Federal government will supply financial and other assistance in helping predominantly upstate counties recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

On a related note, the governor's office has said 78 percent of homes have had powered restored. That leaves 328,907 homes still without power, with the majority of those out on Long Island.

Nassau County Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs (Courtesy of the Nassau County Democratic Committee)

The state's highest court today overturned a lower court's ruling, negating new county legislature lines drawn by the Republican majority in Nassau county. In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals this morning said the redistricting plan ran afoul of the county's charter requirements for a lengthier process that involved public review. The current lines will be used in the upcoming county legislature elections this November.

In a statement released this morning, Nassau County Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs hailed the decision, calling the redistricting fight "an extreme waste of time."

"County Executive Mangano and Presiding Officer Schmitt are guilty yet again or overreaching and using their offices to simply retain power," Jacobs said in a statement. Later, on a conference call, he contrasted his party's actions with the legislative majority.

"They will put ethics aside and do whatever it takes to hold on to power at whatever cost," Jacobs said. "That’s not how we operate. And never have.”

Check out Campaign Finance Board's voter guide for the primary going on in the 28th City Council District in Queens. CFB has been stepping it up in preparation for the 2013 cycle--they put on a series of debates, one of which I attended and posted on The Empire--and this new snazzy website is likely a sign of more to come. Kudos CFB!

Click on the image to go to the site.

After surveying widespread flood damage in upstate New York communities yesterday, Governor Cuomo sent out this statement about the establishment of a task force to help devastated communities:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today established the Upstate Storm and Flooding Recovery Task Force which will be comprised of key agency commissioners and ensure seamless coordination between agencies. These agencies will work together to coordinate rebuilding of infrastructure, economic development, agricultural renewal, power restoration, and assistance with private insurance.

"From repairing roads and bridges, getting power back, helping with insurance claims and working with family farms, state government has rapidly mobilized to make sure that all available resources are in place to help the affected areas recover. This task force will ensure the highest level of state and local coordination to leverage all state resources and get them to where they are needed," Governor Cuomo said.

David Weprin at a campaign event in Queens. (Colby Hamilton / WNYC)

Assemblyman David Weprin caught serious flak from both his opponent and the media yesterday when he canceled on a long-standing debate date in Middle Village. The Turner campaign has been gleefully poking Weprin for dodging the debate. They sent over a volunteer who offered to drive Weprin through the (non) chaos of Queens post-Irene after the assemblyman’s campaign cited “logistical” issues created by the storm in why he wouldn’t be attending.

How has the Weprin campaign responded to the turmoil? They issued yet another endorsement, this time from United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1500.

The bad press and anger the decision Weprin made not to attend the debate last night doesn’t change the calculus for the race overall. The reality is the district is still registered in favor of Democrats 3-to-1 and for the Weprin campaign, stacking up union and civic endorsements will do more to secure a win than any debate.

“They’re backing David because they know they can trust him to support Medicare and Social Security when he gets to congress,” said Elizabeth Kerr of the latest union endorsement. “There are plenty of opportunities for voters to see the two candidates debate. But what doesn’t change are the issues they care about…We’re talking about issues voters care about.”

For the Turner campaign, every opportunity to get their candidate’s name on television or in the newspaper is a chance to reach their target voter: angry at what’s going on in Washington and looking for a way to register it. Weprin dodging a pre-scheduled debate provided the perfect chance to be indignant and sensational.

But don’t expect the Weprin campaign to start responding. They’ll be at the debate tomorrow, and will continue to roll out endorsements. They see the path to victory not in battling headlines, but in boots on the ground.

Former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, left, with Cas Holloway and Michael Bloomberg, right, in 2010. (Courtesy of the Mayor's office.)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is scooping up praise from elected officials and civic leaders for the city’s handing of hurricane Irene. Sure, the storm itself was a bit overblown, but few, if any, officials joined naysayers in questioning the mayor’s precaution tactics ahead of the storm’s landing late Saturday.

“Now that Hurricane Irene has come and gone, New Yorkers should take a moment to recognize that the storm’s effects would have been much worse if Mayor Bloomberg had not taken steps to properly prepare the City for the worst storm to hit the East Coast in decades,” New York City Comptroller John Liu—not always the biggest fan of the mayor—said in a press release.

“When I need to be critical of Mayor Bloomberg, I am,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. “But I have to tip my hat and give kudos when it's merited."

“I think they handled this extreme well,” Staten Island Councilman Vincent Ignizio said, after noting he had been a critic of the mayor in the past. “It goes to show: When the hierarchy is clearly in place the operations flow appropriately."

Ignizio’s comment about operational flow is worth highlighting. A number of those interviewed praised not only the mayor, but the mayor’s newly appointed deputy mayor for operations, Cas Holloway. After a stint at the head of the city's Department of Environmental Protection, Holloway was brought in to replace Stephen Goldsmith after Goldsmith resigned. Goldsmith was largely—and possibly unfairly—blamed for much of the city’s shoddy emergency response to the massive snowstorm back in January.

At the time, Holloway’s appointment was cast largely as a reversal for the mayor, who’d been installing outsiders like Goldsmith in key positions. In Holloway, the mayor had a seasoned city bureaucrat; someone whose strength was working inside the system, not shaking it up.

The move paid off. The city’s well-praised response to Hurricane Irene might be redemption for Bloomberg. But for Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway it is a victorious trial by fire.

Governor Cuomo survey storm damage upstate. (Karen DeWitt / WXXI)

By Karen DeWitt, WXXI Capitol Bureau Chief

Governor Cuomo and a top FEMA official surveyed the damage caused by flooding in the Mohawk River and Schoharie Valley earlier today. The Mohawk River is seeping into Schenectady, flooding the historic stockade neighborhood and expected to break records set back in 1938.

In the Schoharie Valley, farms and homes are inundated from the churning brown waters. Governor Cuomo, who met with local officials, says it’s devastating.

“We paid a terrible price here,” said Cuomo. “And many of these communities are communities that can least afford to pay a terrible price.”

The governor brought along FEMA regional director Lynn Canton  to see the damage first hand, and to ask for aid, who said, after viewing the devastation, “it’s the story the world has missed”. Cuomo said the state would find a way to pay to repair the numerous roads and bridges damaged by the storm.

Karen DeWitt of WXXI in Albany took to the skies with Governor Cuomo and FEMA to survey the flood damage upstate. From the pictures below, you can see the flood damage upstate is extensive.

UPDATE
The Weprin campaign just sent out this statement regarding tonight's debate:

The hurricane caused major logistical and scheduling problems for the campaign, and as a result, David is not able to make the debate this evening.

---

The Juniper Park Civic association was scheduled to host a debate between David Weprin and Bob Turner, the Democratic and Republican candidates running for the 9th Congressional District.

But now the debate organizer, Bob Holden, says the Weprin campaign has pulled out. And he's none too pleased.

"To say that we’re angry is an understatement,” Holden said over the phone. He says the campaign has known about the event tonight since July, but both he and the events cosponsor, the Queens Times Newsweekly, got the feeling Weprin was getting cold feet. Holdent said that the debate in Kew Gardens two weeks ago spooked Weprin, and had promised to run things differenently.

"I covered all the bases. Ive been doing this for thirty years," he said."I know how to run a debate.” Juniper Park hosted a debate between Turner and former congressman Anthony Weiner during last year's debate.

"If anybody should not want to debate it should be Turner, he’ a new comer to this," Holden said. "David has experience.”

Apparently the Times Newsweekly called late last night to say Weprin was canceling. When Holden confronted the campaign, he was told "logistics" would keep the assemblyman from attending, partly because campaign staff had "too much going on."

"When didn’t David call me himself," Holden asked. He said that, instead of preparing for the hurricane, he'd been working on the details of the debate since last week. "I'm not spending time with my family, doing what I should be doing protecting my house," he said.

"As of now he’s lost my vote,” Holden said of Weprin. Calls to the assemblyman's campaign have not been returned.

The governor's office says, as of this morning, 945,257 New York residents are without power. Most of those are customers on Long Island.