City Hall newsaper is reporting that, despite midterm elections this week that saw a wave of Republican victories around the state and a series of setbacks for gay marriage around the country, supporters of same-sex marriage say they are closer than ever to achieving passage. According to City Hall’s most recent count, 21 Democratic Senators have expressed that they are in favor of passage, however several of those have said they would prefer it if a bill did not come to the floor right now. Read the full story here.

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Tell us what you think! What do you think the best "Hotel Experience" is? Have a favorite place to take a date? It's your chance to make your opinion count. Take the 2009 Best of Manhattan (and Beyond) Readers' Poll available here. 

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The Second Avenue subway line is gonna be delayed. According to a yearlong MTA review, it may be delayed to 2017. That's news that came around the same time that area landlords of businesses located along the route of the subway route learned that a bill that would have offered them much-needed assistance was killed.

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Queens Assemblywoman Grace Meng (pictured) has penned a bill that will rid the State from using the term Oriental from documents used by the state, public and city agencies. The term Oriental is usually used to refer to objects, such as rugs and porcelain, not to people. Instead Asian will be used when referring to those with an Asian or Pacific Islander heritage. Of course, the assumption is that this is a term to be used when referring to those from the Far East (Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan) and not all Asians since that would mean referring to most Russians, Indians, Pakistanis, etc. as Asian as well. See, this labeling thing gets complicated fast! Our big question though is how this escaped the watchful eye of Queens City Councilmember John Liu, the man who is always quick to point out any offensive Asian slur or slight. Don't worry, John, there's sure to be another issue to take up during this election year.

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In a blazing show of "my daddy can beat up your daddy" level political discourse, the Senate Democrats locked themselves in the Senate chamber today ahead of Governor Patterson's special session.

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Edward-Isaac Dovere reports online for The Capitol: "New York State's experiment in one party rule ended today as Republicans seized control of the State Senate after the Democrat's adjourned the chamber on a procedural vote. The GOP was joined by Democratic Senators Pedro Espada (D-Bronx), Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) and Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens)." Read full story here.

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UPDATED: Republican Jim Tedisco has conceded the race to democrat Scott Murphy who will be the new congressman for New York's 20th district.

Capital 9 News has been receiving information that the race in New York’s 20th District might come to a close as soon as this afternoon. The special election was held to fill the vacancy in Kirsten Gillibrand's congressional district after she was chosen to serve as Hillary Clinton's replacement in the U.S. Senate.

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We thought the party was over until yesterday's implosion of Caroline Kennedy's campaign to replace Hillary Clinton as the new bitch in Washington (but she's too nice!). So maybe we were too cynical, and there is hope for "change." Today Gov. David Paterson chose Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the U.S. Senate seat. So, yes, he kept it to a woman and a blonde, but at least we have hope that the country's "elite" don't get everything they want just by asking for it. Gillibrand is relatively new to the field, the 42-year-old never ran for political office before 2006. And although she has close ties to Clinton, she is also not considered a "liberal."

According to PolitickerNY, Empire State Pride Agenda Executve Director Alan Van Cappelle is "firmly behind the selection of ostensibly non-liberal Democratic congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand for the senate" and says she supports same-sex marriage, "the repeal of the federal DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) law, repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) and passage of legislation outlawing discrimination against transgender people."

Now that Rep. Anthony Weiner is claiming to have raised more money than Comptroller Bill Thompson in a bid for mayor, we wonder if it's too much to get our hopes up that there may be some actual compeitition for the mayor's office. Another billionaire out there ready to put their money behind of these guys to take on Bloomberg?

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No matter how enamored the governor thinks everyone is with his plan to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, a new poll finds a majority of New Yorkers oppose the measure.

According to the Zogby polling group 58% of all State residents think Governor Eliot Spitzer's plan is a bad idea. In New York City the proposal is opposed by a thin margin, 52-48, 56-37 in the City's suburbs and 64-25 upstate. Across parties the poll found Democrats to be narrowly in favor of the plan, while New York Republicans overwhelmingly oppose it.

The poll also found Spitzer's plan to be popular among younger voters, but is opposed by New Yorkers over 30. More here.

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In an exclusive you'll find only in our sister publication City Hall News, Edward-Isaac Dovere sits down with State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who states in the piece that Governor Eliot Spitzer should should leave politics and move into the family real estate business, according to Joe Bruno.

At least, Bruno said, the governor should fire all his top aides and testify under oath. He said Spitzer has no credibility left, and that New Yorkers and Albany leaders think he had a bigger role in the scandal than he has admitted.

In "Steamroller Joe," an exclusive interview with Bruno conducted at the Saratoga Racetrack, the majority leader makes sure his true feelings on Spitzer are known by linking the governor to another famously crooked politician.

"I keep hearing that it's Nixon-esque. And that's sad, and it's tragic, but it is," Bruno said of the Troopergate scandal. "In New York State, we've never had anything like this in generations, in anyone's memory."

In the piece, Bruno is asked whether Spitzer belongs in politics. "No," he said. "I don't think he does. He probably would have been great in real estate, where some people handle themselves differently than others. But real estate, you know, you're a hard driver, you drive a hard bargain for some people. That's probably where he belongs."

He also speaks candidly about being discriminated against as a child, attacks Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver for rolling over when Spitzer pushes him and takes on the current Troopergate scandal more forcefully than he has elsewhere on the record. He says all Spitzer's top aides should be put under oath, but before that, fired.

"He wants to be the chief executive, and he ought to deliver a message. In fact, he ought to just start over, and everyone that's around him should be gone," he said, arguing that Baum and Dopp were just some of the people who should lose their jobs.

Until then, Spitzer will not be able to govern. "He has no credibility as the governor," he said. "Not with the leaders. I don't believe he has."

Read the full piece here.
Photo by Emily Rosenberg for City Hall News


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