(Courtesy of the Attorney General's office)

New York continues to be at the center of the national debate over same-sex marriages, after New York's attorney general Eric Schneiderman filed a friend-of-the-court brief today arguing the unconstitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

“The federal Defense of Marriage Act clearly violates the principle of equal justice under law as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and improperly intrudes on the traditional role of states in defining marriage,” Attorney General Schneiderman said in a statement. “The State of New York has long recognized out-of-state, same-sex marriages and the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act further cements our state’s position on this critical civil rights issue My office will fight every day to defend the fundamental guarantee of equal protection under law for all New Yorkers.”

Schneiderman has been vocal in his support of same-sex marriage rights, and will be defending the state senate Republican's vote to allow same-sex marriage in New York against a lawsuit filed New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms yesterday. Rev. Jason J. McGuire of NYCF said the AG's move today put him in an "interesting position."

"I think it does put the attorney general in the smack dab in the middle,” McGuire said.

Donna Lieberman, the New York Civil Liberties Union's executive director, called the move "significant" and a continuation of Schneiderman's work as a legislator and candidate for attorney general.

"The attorney general’s decision to weigh in on the DOMA case compliments the political leadership New York has taken enacting the Marriage Equality Act," Lieberman said. "It helps establish the popular support for marriage equality and helps change the conversation."

Specifics from the attorney general's office on today's filing:

Schneiderman filed the papers in federal court in support of the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in the case of Windsor v. United States. The plaintiff, Edie Windsor, was married in Canada in 2007 to her partner, Thea Spyer, who died two years later.

Following Spyer’s death, the federal government refused to acknowledge the couple’s marriage under DOMA and taxed the resulting inheritance accordingly. Windsor then filed suit, challenging the constitutionality of DOMA and seeking a refund of the estate taxes she was forced to pay as a result of the federal government’s refusal to recognize her marriage.

In the amicus curiae brief, Schneiderman argues that in redefining the term marriage, Section 3 of DOMA violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, and must therefore be invalidated. He goes on to argue that the statute is an improper intrusion on the traditional role of states in defining marriage; that it discriminates based on sex and sexual orientation and therefore must be subjected to heightened scrutiny; and that DOMA fails any level of scrutiny because it does not advance any legitimate federal interest.

Disclosure: Schneiderman’s father, Irwin Schneiderman, is a member of the WNYC Board of Trustees and has been a long-time donor to the station.

While the report from the department of labor doesn't show things getting significantly worse, growth throughout New York City and State has slowed a bit as the unemployment rates for both move sideways, according to James Brown, the departments principal economist.

The unemployment in New York City rose slightly from 8.6 percent in May to 8.8 percent in June--a normal uptick for the summer--with the Bronx remaining the county with the highest unemployment in the state at 12 percent. For the state overall the unemployment rate rose to 8.0 from 7.8 in May. Both the city and state's unemployment rates were down from June 2010. The figures from labor were not seasonably adjusted.

Assemblyman Weprin, center, joined by State Senator Stavisky (far right), Councilmember Koslowitz and Assemblyman Hevesi in Queens. (Colby Hamilton)

The site for David Weprin’s press conference today—the senior center located behind the Forest Hills Jewish Center—gave the congressional candidate an easy twofer. It continued the counter narrative his campaign’s been pushing since former mayor Ed Koch sought to make the race in the 9th congressional district a referendum on President Obama’s support for Israel. But more importantly it was an attempt, the dayafter Koch announced he was backing Weprin’s Republican opponent Bob Turner, by the Weprin campaign and its supporters to change the topic of conversation from Israel to the existential threat Medicare and Social Security face from congressional Republicans.

“The Republicans in the House are looking to slash Social Security and Medicare. Frankly, people are scared,” Weprin said as supporters stood behind him. “I will fight to preserve Social Security and Medicare, not to privatize Social Security and Medicare.”

In case you missed that: David Weprin wants you to know he’s the guy who will fight for Social Security and Medicare.

Weprin was joined by nearly all of the local elected officials whose districts overlap portions of the 9th congressional district: Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, and City Councilmember Karen Koslowitz. Stavisky, when asked, didn’t down play the importance of Israel in the race, but pointed to Weprin’s family and past support as clear indicators it will not be an issue voters will have to consider. “I have heard David, innumerable times, talk about why Israel is important, but it’s not the only issue,” she said. “Let’s talk about the important issues.”

The triumvirate of Queens political support will continue to be important for Weprin, as much of the congressional district lies to the south of his assembly seat’s boundaries. Likewise, tying Turner to House Republicans keen on cutting back on many of the entitlements those inside the senior center count on will be an important distinction Weprin’s campaign will try to make in the few short weeks before the election on September 13th. Turner has said he would fight to keep senior services in place.

One of the big things to watch for will be how much the Tea Party label being pushed by Democrats sticks to Turner moving forward, as the Weprin campaign continues to angle the discussion  away from support for Israel and towards attacks on Medicare and Social Security.

The five Democrats most likely to make a play for their parties mayoral nomination in 2013 are reaching across the country for funds--some pulling in almost 20 percent of their haul over the past year from outside New York. The gifted John Keefe has once again mined the data to provide a visual guide to where the presumptive candidates for mayor in 2013 are getting financial help.

New Jersey, somewhat unsurprisingly, ponied up more than $600,000 for the mayoral hopefully since January of this year, according to Campaign Finance Board records. The candidates went far afield for the third most giving state, with California contributing just over $162,000.

Among the candidates, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has raised the most out-of-state funds since January: $707, 275. But it was former city comptroller and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, Jr. who derived the highest percentage--almost 18 percent--of funds from outside of New York. See below to see where the candidates stood.

None of these funds count towards a candidates publicly-finance campaign funds. Only funds raised between January and July are included. A number of campaigns have additional funds from prior elections that are available to them.

By Alec Hamilton

As expected, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch announced this morning that he is crossing party lines to throw his support behind Republican hopeful Bob Turner in September’s special election for the 9th Congressional District.

Koch explained he was supporting the Republican in order to “send a message to Washington that will affect the position of President Obama on Israel and the position of the Republican Party on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid."

Koch said it wasn’t personal and pointed out that he had supported Weprin on other occasions.

“There’s no question that David Weprin is a major supporter of the state of Israel and undoubtedly takes the same position I take with respect to entitlement, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. But if David Weprin is elected, do you think that sends a message? Do you think Obama’s going to say ‘Oh my god, they’ve repudiated me! They sent David Weprin!’ No.”

The endorsement was made at the Turner for Congress headquarters in Queens, with Councilmember Erich Ulrich--himself once considered a contender for the Republican nomination--and 23rd Assembly District Republican hopeful Jane Deacy in attendance.

The race will pit Turner against Democratic Party pick Assemblyman David Weprin in an election to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of former Congressman Anthony Weiner
Republican Margaret Wagner, from Broad Channel, Queens, and independent Kevin Hiltunen from Bergen Beach, Brooklyn, came out to show their support for Turner.  Warner said she was motivated to support Turner out of concern about the Health Care Reform Act and the closure of a local Rockaway Hospital.

“My plan and my husband’s plan for insurance, they just gave us one less choice. So we’re starting to feel the effects of Obamacare already, and that concerns me greatly for my kids and my grandkids.”

Turner, a former businessman, said he would defend Medicare and Medicaid from privatization efforts.

“I will stand up for what I believe regardless of what party leaders tell me, and today that means defending Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid against privatization and ill-conceived cuts."

From the AP wire story:

The New York City Conflicts of Interest Board has fined Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz $20,000 for bringing his wife along on official foreign trips without paying for her expenses.

The board's ruling was announced Monday. It says two trips to Turkey and one to the Netherlands were legitimate city business for Markowitz and there was no problem with his accepting the free trips.

But the board found that since the city wouldn't have paid for his wife to accompany him, he shouldn't have accepted travel expenses for her.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz celebrating with couples on the first day same-sex couples were able to marry. (Courtesy of the Brooklyn Borough President's office)

The state's first day of same-sex marriage didn't go off without a hitch--659 of them to be exact (zing!).

Mayor Bloomberg's office announced that one-day record-breaking feat was achieved yesterday as same-sex couples across the city took advantage of the new law.

"Today was a historic day in our City, and we couldn't be prouder that on the first day that everyone in New York City could have their love affirmed in the eyes of the law, we were able to serve everyone,” Mayor Bloomberg said in statement.

Manhattan performed the most ceremonies by far with 365. Brooklyn was in a distant second at 121, and more than half of those couples stopped by Brooklyn Borough Hall and the office of Marty Markowitz, the borough president.

“I wish these couples as much happiness as my wife and I have been blessed to share," Markowitz said in a statement. "This is a historic day in New York, and seeing these newlyweds—their smiles, that twinkle in their eye—that says it all.”

The head of the MTA, Jay Walder, has resigned. Brought in under Governor David Paterson, Walder has served only two of the six years of his appointment. He has reportedly taken a new position with Hong Kong's public transportation system.

The head of the MTA serves at the will of the governor. The head of the MTA is appointed to a six-year term. Walder, who only served two of those years, was generally seen as a highly-effective leader, who could work inside the political world, as well as with transportation advocates. But governor's are often keen to replace even the most effective MTA heads with someone of their choosing. Whether that was the case in this situation remains to be seen. We'll keep you posted.

From Kate Slevin, Tri-State Transportation Campaign Executive Director:

MTA Chairman and CEO Jay Walder has been an effective, innovative leader. He helped restore the agency's credibility and changed the way it does business, finding billions of dollars in savings during his tenure.

From Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office:

Jay Walder is a world-class transportation professional and any city in the world would have been lucky to have him. He set a new course for the MTA during an extremely difficult period when the agency was not given the resources required to meet the City’s needs. He expertly shepherded major projects like the 7 line extension and new bus rapid transit lines, and by embracing new technology, he made significant improvements to the customer experience – from gateless tolling on bridges to countdown clocks in subway stations – that the public will appreciate long after his departure...He is the type of person we can’t afford to lose, and his departure is a real loss for New York City, the metropolitan region, the state and the country.

From Governor Andrew Cuomo's office:

For nearly two years, Jay Walder has shown true leadership at the helm of the MTA and been a fiscally responsible manager during these difficult financial times. Riders of the MTA are better off today because of Jay's expertise and the reforms he initiated will benefit all for years to come. Jay's departure is a loss for the MTA and for the state, but I thank him for his service and wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Courtesy Stringer 2013

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's call to let the mayor's office dole out funds to city councilmembers and borough presidents is getting a cold reception to the north. The Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. is touting the usage of $13 million in discretionary funds in the Bronx today. In particular, Diaz's office said the idea of giving the mayor control over these funds was a non-starter.

"If there’s one thing that’s been crystal clear, [it's that] the mayor doesn’t know what the Bronx needs,” said Diaz's spokesperson John DeSio. The mayor and the Bronx borough presidentwent toe-to-toe over the city's plans to develop the Kingsbridge Armory back in 2010, and relations have remained somewhat icy. Diaz and his labor supporters demanded a mandatory "living" wage of $11.50 per hour for workers in the proposed mall be part of an agreement with developers. Both the mayor's office and the developers balked at the idea and the deal ultimately fell through over the wage demand--a significant development defeat for Bloomberg, and a testament to the power of the city's labor unions.

Diaz is pushing back on Stringer's report, which increasingly looks like a push to burnish the potential mayoral candidate's reformer credentials, as well as said a shot across the bow of fellow Manhattanite and mayoral competitor City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Then again, maybe not. There's another potential scenario developing. Quinn ($4.5 million raised) and Stringer ($1.6 million) are now the financial front runners in the 2013 cycle, with the public advocate, Bill De Blasio ($1 million), in fourth. [Note Update: these are the 2013 cycle totals.] The field is already crowded, with both the city's current and previous comptrollers likely contenders. That's not the only crowded field: take a look at our map of where Stringer and Quinn are raising funds (see below). Manhattan may only have room for one mayoral candidate.

The theory is that Stringer will continue to build on his reputation as a reformer--much as the current public advocate, Bill De Blasio, did in his run-up to the position. Despite his fundraising position, De Blasio is in many ways better positioned in a run against Quinn for the nomination. He'll becoming from a citywide office already. His base of support is in labor and the Working Families Party, whereas Quinn is being embraced by the Bloombergian business crowd as their best hope. Additionally, while Manhattan is also giving to De Blasio, his financial and political base is in Brooklyn.

The same argument can be made for Comptroller Liu, who has out-fundraised De Blasio, shares his labor support, and has his own non-Manhattan base in Queens.

With no heir-apparent to De Blasio should he make a sustained push for mayor, the door is open for Stringer. He could decide that, instead of battling over the prized mayoral meat with Quinn, he'd be happy to have his own, with the cash advantage to discourage almost any competition. Plus, with term limits being what they are, it would mean, should they both win and be reelected to the maximum number of terms, Quinn would be out as mayor just in time for Stringer to run in 2025 2021 (still going on term limit extension time--thanks for the tip Dan).

(Courtesy of the Sierra Club)

The Sierra Club announced this morning that Mayor Bloomberg's charitable arm is donating $50 million to the environmental groups "Beyond Coal" campaign to shut down a third of America's coal fleet by 2020.

(Courtsey of the borough president's Flickr account.)

Citing a $1.3 million discrepancy between the most and least funded council districts through a process described as murky and subjecting, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released a report calling for a complete overhaul of how New York City Council members receive discretionary funding for their districts.

"I know people are going to be upset with this proposal but we can't keep putting our head in the sand," Stringer said on a conference call with reporters. The Manhattan borough president is seen as a likely candidate for mayor in 2013, as is City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

City councilmembers and the borough presidents are given these discretionary funds each year during the budget process. These funds are primarily spent on constituent services through non-profits and other groups. While the distribution of the funds by individual councilmembers has at times been the subject of controversy, the borough president’s report focused on which members were getting what, pointing to what the report described as “too often based on a member’s political standing within the Council.”

"The member items are used by the speaker as an instrument of power," explained Doug Muzzio, political science professor at Baruch College and an expert on city government. "You reward your friends and you screw your enemies." Reforming member items as Stringer is suggesting would be, in essence, curtailing the power of the speaker of the city council—currently Christine Quinn.

Specifically, the report called for replacing the current, speaker-based system with one that would have the mayor’s office allotting the money evenly, or on a more transparent process that took the needs of the districts’ constituents into account. Currently, $49.6 million in funding is divided among the council’s 51 members. If the report’s recommendation were implemented, it would likely mean even more power in the hands of the mayor, at the expense of the council’s speaker, and potentially the council itself.

Quinn’s office released a statement through Maria Alvarado, the council’s press secretary, saying they were reviewing the report and were “proud of the budget reforms the Council has already implemented that increase transparency and accountability—including an online database that the Borough President has embraced today.”

The borough president’s report highlighted the significant difference between the council members. For example, Brooklyn Councilmember Domenic Recchia received the most funding during the budget process--$1,630,064 to be exact. This is more than four times as much as either Bronx councilmembers Larry Seabrook or Helen Foster received. Their districts are some of the poorest in the city. The report’s figures are based on reviewing the past four years of available data.

"I agree with Borough President Scott Stringer that District budget allocations should be based on the needs of each district," Seabrook said in a statement. "City Council Speaker Christine Quinn decides on the budget allocations for each district and I certainly hope that next year’s decision for my district is a more favorable one."

“The players at the table get more,” Foster said about the current system. “It’s not based on fairness at all. I don't know that there is any system in politics that is based on need." While she made it clear she was not in favor of any reform that took power away from the council in favor of the mayor, Foster agreed with Seabrook, that the system should be taking some level of need into account.

"The disparities should not be so great," she said.

The map below illustrates just how removed from a standardized system the process is. When the districts for the five lowest and highest receivers of total funds are put on a map, it turns out that three of the highest receivers are directly next to or one district away from all but one of the least funded districts.

NYC City Council "Member Item" distribution for fiscal year 2012.
Top five district allocations are in green, bottom five are in red.
Source: Office of Mannhattan Borough President Scott Stringer

(Courtesy of the Comptroller's office)

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office delivered some good news this morning: taxes have come in almost $800 million above what was expected during the recently ended 2011-2012 fiscal year. But he warned in a press release not too be too optimistic.

“Revenue collections in the first quarter were strong, but our fiscal health is tenuous,” DiNapoli said. He continued:

We received the last of the significant federal stimulus funding in June, and the temporary PIT surcharge ends in the third quarter this year. The federal debt limit crisis, weakness in the housing market, and international financial and political instability continue to pose threats to the recovery. The Blue Chip consensus economic forecasts for growth continue to be revised downward. State leaders need to focus on diversifying our economic base, creating jobs, and rebuilding reserves to prepare the state for any fiscal difficulties ahead.

Both personal income and business taxes rose, with the later up 32 percent from last year. Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos chimed in with a press release echoing the comptroller's cautionary tone.

"Today’s report by Comptroller DiNapoli, showing that tax collections for the first quarter of the State’s Fiscal Year have far outpaced recent estimates, is encouraging, and we must continue to monitor this situation over the next six months," Skelos said in a release. If the savings continue, he said, state government should focus on cutting taxes to individuals and businesses.

We've got a new home on Twitter, so be sure to follow us for the latest news from across the city and state.

@TheEmpireBlog

(Courtesy of the mayors office)

Mayor Bloomberg may soon be known as the mayor that brought the first high-tech applied sciences campus to New York City. Today was a big step in that direction, as the mayor announced the start of a bidding process that will give the winner city land and up to $100 million in infrastructure subsidies to build the campus.

“New York City has a history of planning for and investing in its future to ensure it will be brighter than its past. Today, we are looking far into the future once again, and launching one of most promising economic development initiatives in the City’s long history,” Bloomberg said in a press release.

This is the latest--and biggest--move on behalf of the city to help the burgeoning tech field as part of a larger, post-recession drive to diversify the city's economy. The city has already created a number of business incubators with partners such as NYU-Polytech.

The bidding process is expected to be finished by the end of 2011. Construction on one of three sites--the Navy Hospital Campus at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Goldwater Hospital Campus on Roosevelt Island, or on Governors Island--would begin in 2015. The new whole process is expected to generate $6 billion in economic activity, hundreds of new companies and tens of thousands of jobs over the next 35 years.

The press release from the mayor's office:

261-11 (Applied Sciences Campus RFP)

  (Courtesy of the Comptroller's office)

The state comptroller's office released an audit that found the state agency could not justify $1.18 billion in contracts, saying millions of dollars in savings are being missed out on.

"When it comes to being transparent with taxpayers, the Port Authority is falling down on the job," DiNapoli said in a release. "Our audit found that the Port Authority's business model is zero growth in personnel, but they achieve that by contracting with outside consultants on a permanent basis. The PA needs to do a top to bottom review of how they manage headcount so they can show taxpayers they are getting the best services at the lowest cost. This agency needs much more transparency and accountability."

The crux of the issue is the Port Authority's use of contractors to keep with a directive of no additional hiring. The contractors aren't on the authority's payroll, technically, but the move, according to the comptroller, is costing tax payers. The Port Authority was unable to show auditors a paper trail of why contractors deserved as much as they were charging. From the report:

Department officials could not justify the need for 25 of 30 Service Contracts worth a total of $785.1 million that were sampled in the audit. PA Bus Terminal authorities informed auditors that PA management did not require them to substantiate a six-year, $27.5 million cleaning contract even though it was based on an assessment completed in 1980. In another case, the PA entered into a three-year $1.2 million contract for an electrical contract to change light bulbs and ballasts. No support was provided to show that this was more cost-effective than using Port Authority staff to perform these tasks.

Some Port Authority officials told auditors that even when cost analyses indicate the addition of in-house staff would be more cost-effective, requests to do so would most likely be turned down. As a result, the Port Authority relies extensively on a permanent workforce of contractors for essential services over the course of multiple years.

You can view a copy of the actual audit here.

Today at noon, It's A Free Country hosts an all-star local politics chat online. Join in to talk about Andrew Cuomo's first six months. It's also your chance to meet WNYC's new politics blogger Colby Hamilton, the man behind The Empire.

Celeste Katz of the Daily News and Azi Paybarah of the Observer's Politicker NY blog will join me at the It's A Free Country team to discuss Cuomo at six months, the past legislative session, the special elections across the state, and more:

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2011/jul/19/twelve-oclock-tuesdays-local-blogger-roundtable/

This past weekend showcased another win for Governor Andrew Cuomo. Even when the legislature's out of session the governor continues to pick up pieces of his agenda. The latest victory was the signing of a five-year deal with the state's second largest public employee union, the Professional Employees Federation that the governor's office estimated would save the state $400 million.

Governor Cuomo made it clear last week that he intends to make pension reform one of his top priorities for the coming legislative session. Last week, Mayor Bloomberg's office made the case for pension reform, despite the city's comptroller's disagreement on the pressing nature of pensions reform. The fact that the city's top money counter's opinion has little to no affect on the mayor's push for changes to the pension system is an indicator of how strong the mayor and governor's position is.

NYPIRG's Bill Mahoney continues to crunch the recent financial disclosure reports:

While disclosure reports for eight active committees controlled by senators have yet to appear online, the recent arrival of the DSCC’s housekeeping committee means that some general trends can be noted. Republican candidates and their conference committee ($6,619,296.70) raised more than three times as much as Democrats ($2,172,168.86).   Democrats, however, spent more ($2,818,717.30) than Republicans ($2,187,133.82).  Republicans have $10,568,859.83 in the bank; Democrats have $4,254,488.47, but their party committee’s debt load means that their actual balance is closer to $1,915,520.94.

The three Independent Democratic Conference members who have filed with the state board of elections reported raising $695,572.59--of which Mayor Michael Bloomberg provided $30,900.

We're still waiting on the filings of Senators Flanagan, Dilan, Sampson, Parker, Diaz, Carlucci, Seward, and Ball. Check out NYPIRG's breakdown below.

Senate Breakdown, July 2011

Governor Andrew Cuomo's office and Public Employees Federation leadership reached a tentative deal on Saturday to avert thousands of layoffs, while saving the state $400 million over the course of the contract, the governor's office reported on Saturday.

"This agreement reflects the financial reality of the times. I am pleased that we could avoid these layoffs, protect the workforce and the taxpayer," Governor Cuomo said in a press release.

The governor's office had to rescind layoff notices to members of PEF sent out on Friday after the deal was announced. The new deal would freeze wages until 2014, require members to pay more towards the cost of health care, and reform the existing health care system for employees.

The union's rank-and-file membership must now vote on whether to approve the deal. A similar deal was reached with the state's largest union, the Civil Service Employees Association, late last month, which is also awaiting membership approval.