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Monserrate Defends Obama Rip-Off Logo, Cynthia Nixon Attacks

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:03:00 +0000

At right, the Obama campaign logo and Hiram Monserrate’s “Yes We Can” party logo, which is obviously different. No, really! Yesterday ousted State Senator Hiram Monserrate held a press conference to formally announce his bid to get his old job back in a special election Tuesday. After some laughable rhetoric about how voters should send him to Albany to keep crime down in their community, the girlfriend beater addressed allegations that he jacked his campaign logo from the Obama campaign. “This logo is similar to the slogan that they used, but slightly different, because the logo actually is a ‘Q,’ which stands for the great borough of Queens,” Monserrate told reporters . “If folks had really analyzed it, they would have seen it.” It’s almost as convincing as Vanilla Ice’s argument that he didn’t rip off “Under Pressure”—but will voters buy it? Many same-sex marriage advocates and sane people hope not, and they’re joining the Queens Democratic establishment in backing Assemblyman Jose Peralta , who yesterday called Monserrate “the Bernie Madoff of politics. The ex-senator has really promised a lot and has done more harm than good.” Because the Democrats have turned their backs on him, Monserrate was reduced to starting a new party—the Yes We Can party—in order to get on the ballot for the special election. (Any resemblance to Obama’s campaign slogan is purely coincidental.) Anti-gay fliers were recently distributed in Monserrate’s former Queens district claiming that Peralta is a pawn of “mega-rich gay fanatics” and is a “leading spokesperson for the gay community’s [sic] in N.Y.C.” At yesterday’s press conference, Monserrate, who v oted against same-sex marriage when it was before the senate in December, shrugged off the fliers and denied any involvement in their production: “People are out there doing their thing. You know, I can’t speak to that.” “With each hate-mongering, fear-rattling, equality-stunting volley, Hiram Monserrate digs another foot down into his political grave,” said Valerie Berlin, a spokeswoman for the gay advocacy group Fight Back New York . And speaking of people doing their thing, actor Cynthia Nixon just appeared in a video ad for the Fight Back , urging voters to reject Monserrate when they go to the polls Tuesday. Oh, and then there’s Peralta’s ad, which the Observer says is already running on NY1 and uses that infamous surveillance footage of Monserrate dragging his girlfriend out of an apartment building. Watch both below!:

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Monserrate Defends Obama Rip-Off Logo, Cynthia Nixon Attacks

MTA Considers Saving Some Bus Routes

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:51:00 +0000

After a series of contentious public hearings in which four people were arrested, the cash-strapped MTA announced that is considering saving several bus routes that had been slated for elimination . According to the Daily News , a “small number” of bus routes might be spared, though a final decision hasn’t yet been made. By making administrative cuts, MTA chief Jay Walder told the Post he can save about $5 million and keep some previously endangered bus lines running. “We have listened closely to our customers and will respond by making changes where we can,” he said. Student MetroCards and the W train remain on the chopping block.

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MTA Considers Saving Some Bus Routes

Ravitch’s State Fiscal Plan: Borrowing, GAAP, Review Board

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:38:00 +0000

Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch has just unveiled his five year fiscal plan for NY State. Details had been leaked over the past few days, so it was no shock that the plan includes limited borrowing, adopting GAAP accounting, and creating a Financial Review Board to monitor and review the plan. The biggest concern is over borrowing. While the plan would limit borrowing to $2 billion with other rules in place, Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos said , “Borrowing for operating expenses is just absolutely the wrong way to go, and will just dig the hole even deeper in New York state.” Mayor Bloomberg also hates the idea of borrowing : “They just can’t keep spending money the don’t have. The federal government can print money, the state government can’t. In the end, they have to be fiscally responsible.” But the Times-Union also points out that borrowing is the “least objectionable option” for politicians because “no lawmaker wants to be blamed for imposing a tax hike to balance the budget.” As for GAAP ( Generally Accepted Accounting Practices ), the NY Times says “budget watchdogs say [the move] is long overdue,” because “The change would make it much more difficult for the state to defer budget problems into future years by holding off on paying bills.” Currently, there’s a $9 billion budget deficit for this year and $15 billion gap next year. Bloomberg News reports : “The deficits are the result of a decline in tax revenue brought on by the worst recession since the 1930s and the spending plans approved in past years by lawmakers and governors. Spending by New York, the third most populous U.S. state, grew 5.6 percent annually, or twice the inflation rate, in the 10 years ended in 2009.”

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Ravitch’s State Fiscal Plan: Borrowing, GAAP, Review Board

Boozing Buggy Driver Busted!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:27:00 +0000

via gerryvisco A Central Park carriage horse driver was busted with a boozy lunch, according to the NY Post . 49-year-old Saverio Colarusso was spotted drinking a Michelob Light on the job by Special Agent Joseph Pentangelo of the ASPCA back in January, and the organization said yesterday that he’s been suspended for 30 days and was fined $175. He claimed he had two beers with his meal that day, and handed the agent the empty bottles. Yep, while back in the day drunken sleigh rides through Central Park may have been all rage, these days it’s definitely going to be frowned upon.

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Boozing Buggy Driver Busted!

Mom Who Hired Hit Man Primped for Mug Shot

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:15:00 +0000

Susan Williams in surveillance footage and a mug shot (right) The Long Island mom who tried to engage an undercover cop to kill her husband couldn’t afford a full-priced hit, but she could throw down for a day at the spa. Susan Williams spent the hours before her arrest primping for her mug shot. The beautician who cut and colored her hair and did her eyebrows says she “got a lot of compliments” when the photo went public. During the prolonged appointment Jessica Zinman says the murderous mom talked about her kids and “dating, how hard it is to date.” The hairdresser added that “we didn’t ever talk about her husband ” Williams was caught on camera handing $500 to the supposed killer for hire, reports the AP. The man was actually an undercover cop, who’d promised to do the job for the bargain price of $20,000. While she was giving payment she shared her thoughts with the officer, pondering whether she should attend the funeral, and “what expression she should have on her face when the police came to her door,” according to Assistant Nassau DA Jane Zwirn-Turkin. “Lengthy discussions show that Susan Williams had thought this out,” she said.

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Mom Who Hired Hit Man Primped for Mug Shot

New York is Super Serious About Coffee Now, Times Decides

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:05:00 +0000

Today the Times has a list of the top 30 places to get coffee in the city, praising New York for finally shedding its shackles as a “second-string city when it came to coffee.” With places like Abraço and Café Grumpy, we can stop relying on fancy pants San Francisco companies to roast our beans and do it ourselves. Of course, this kind of dedication comes with a price, with some shops refusing to serve espresso in anything but a warm ceramic cup, or saying goodbye to cappuccino because “milk would overpower the subtle flavors of the coffee.” Of course, all this hype means a backlash must be brewing, and we predict the Times will soon be running a trend piece about clean-cut scenesters swearing by their Folgers crystals.

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New York is Super Serious About Coffee Now, Times Decides

The Mad Men Get Barbie Treatment

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:54:00 +0000

When Mad Men comes back on the air in July, you’ll be able to buy your own Barbie versions of Joan Holloway , Don Draper, Betty Draper and Roger Sterling (somehow Peggy got left out of the plastic party—though you can see her in this alt version ). Mattel is marketing the dolls for adults through their Barbie Fashion Model Collection. While they certainly have an adult pricetag of $74.95 each, according to the NY Times they won’t come with grown-up accessories like martinis and cigarettes. But the paper points out that while you may be able to take the cocktail shaker out of Don Draper’s hands, you can’t stop him from bringing his cheating ways into Barbie’s playhouse. As for his wife, one television and pop culture professor noted that Betty is “the wife who lives in her dream house whose soul is eaten away.” Cheery! Consider her The Bell Jar Barbie that never got made. There will be around 10,000 dolls made for each of the four characters, to be sold at some specialty shops as well as AMCtv.com and BarbieCollector.com . And might we see Don Draper pitching ad copy for the now iconic doll in the 4th season? Barbie was first introduced to the world on March 9th, 1959 —so it’s entirely possible.

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The Mad Men Get Barbie Treatment