Brooklyn
Thompson denounces Vito Lopez, but won't commit to backing Lopez's Council opponent
Bill Thompson "absolutely" denied a report in the Post this morning that he was open to endorsing scandal-plagued assemblyman and former Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez, who is running for City Council and was censured by colleagues after the state made a six-figure payout to female staffers who accused him of sexual harassment. More
The John Sampson saga spills over into the Brooklyn D.A. race
The fallout from State Senator John Sampson's alleged corruption scheme is spilling over into the race for Brooklyn District Attorney. More
Sylvia Kinard runs again, this time for City Council
Sylvia Kinard, the former City Council attorney who ran a primary challenge against Rep. Yvette Clarke last year, is running to unseat City Councilman Mathieu Eugene of central Brooklyn. More
1199 SEIU backs Kirsten Foy against Al Vann's chosen successor
1199 SEIU, the powerful healthcare workers union endorsed Kirsten Foy for the Brooklyn City Council seat being vacated by Al Vann. More
Christine Quinn's Tu B'Shevat among the faithful
Here's City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at the Boro Park home of Orthodox Jewish political operative Ezra Friedlander this weekend for Tu B'Shevat. More
Vito, unchanged
Among the many guests at Rep. Hakeem Jeffries' local inauguration last night was Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who disregarded the assigned seating arrangement and took a spot in the second row with his girlfriend, Angela Battaglia.
Lopez is a naturally conspicuous man, with a hulking frame, and was made more so by a bright red sweater underneath his blazer, and the fact that he is currently facing a slew of sexual harassment charges that led a number of his erstwhile allies—including Jeffries, more or less—to call for his resignation. More
(1)Hynes: 103-year sentence for Hasidic therapist likely to be reduced
Speaking to radio host Zev Brenner, Hynes said he asked the court to impose the maximum sentence possible because that is what the victim said she wanted.
"But we said that we that we understood that it would probably be reduced by the appellate division, to 50 years," Hynes told the radio host. "But we were following her desire that it be a maximum sentence. But it will be reduced to 50 years."
Widowspeak's Molly Hamilton discusses how a Brooklyn band goes country
The cover of Almanac—which places Hamilton and Thomas in a decidedly pastoral setting—takes its cue from yet another place in time. “For me, visually, the ‘70s are the biggest thing,” Hamilton explained. “A lot of the record cover was influenced by that. What people might think is just kitsch—people in a meadow or people in the woods—there were so many record covers in the ‘70s that were like that. I liked the idea of that being a canon, that you shouldn’t be so formal. Putting yourself on a record cover is kind of like owning up to the fact that you made it. I actually made this thing, and we were in front of this waterfall that was 15 minutes away from where we recorded it. It seemed like such a ridiculous idea, but it was also true, sort of.” More
Brooklyn label Norton Records, back from the brink after Sandy
Norton remains a primarily regional, and a primarily in-person label, and they rely on the annual WFMU Record Fair (normally held in November) for a huge portion of their annual sales. “I think we’ll get seven or eight albums ready, books, a lot of repressings. So we were ready to go in with the guns blazing.” Instead Sandy not only wiped out a good deal of the label’s stock but also ended up canceling this year’s Record Fair, a double blow to the label. Norton had lost 175,000 records right off the bat, including a brand-new series of Rolling Stones cover singles that were supposed to have been their Record Fair feature. The 25,000 more records that weren’t a total loss were going to require serious measures to make saleable. Norton Records faced an aficionado's nightmare on an apocalyptic level. More
David Boies puts his money on a liberal challenger to Joe Hynes
David Boies, Al Gore's former lawyer and Elizabeth Wurtzel's current boss, has donated $45,000 to Abe George, one of the Democratic challengers to longtime Brooklyn district attorney Charles Hynes. More
Ups and downs of the Great New York City Chicken Frenzy
Chicken owners in Red Hook whose backyard flooded during the storm were obliged to relocate their feathered pets indoors, with quirky if malodorous results. The chickens—one of whom is named Chicki Minaj—were eventually returned to their outdoor lot, where they encountered another chicken whose owner was unable to care for it. But according to yet another chicken-centric piece in the Times, that chicken, Cindy, has since disappeared, and may be wandering the flood-damaged streets of Red Hook as we speak. More
Find them: The killer of Rahmatollah Vahidipour, and the witnesses to a 911 meltdown
Each day, the New York tabloids vie to sell readers at the newsstands on outrageous headlines, dramatic photography, and, occasionally, great reporting. Who is today's winner?
Brooklyn-bred band the Babies seek inspiration from way out west
The Babies' interest in in-between-ness could have something to do with the group’s origins as a side project. Ramone and Morby are probably best known for their work with the bands Vivian Girls and Woods, respectively. But the slow-burning, fuzzed-out pop music they make as the Babies—along with bassist Brian Schleyer and drummer Justin Sullivan—gets inside your head in weird ways, from Morby’s David Lowery-esque vocals to the nimble soloing heard throughout their body of work. Morby and Ramone alternate lead guitar and lead vocal duties, and the result is a jangly sound that possesses more than a little alt-country influence. More
City: Athena could bring up to three inches of 'wet slushy stuff' and flooding
Mayor Michael Bloomberg today warned that the northeaster called Athena could deposit up to three inches of 'wet slushy stuff' and cause "major flooding" in neighborhoods hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy.
"We haven't and won't order the kind of large-scale evacuation that we did in advance of Hurricane Sandy," the mayor told reporters in City Hall.
But he did say people who live in Hamilton Beach, Gerritsen Beach and Breezy Point "should consider going someplace tonight to be a little bit on the safe side." More
M.T.A. reaps goodwill with post-hurricane performance, but 'New Yorkers are New Yorkers'
M.T.A. chairman Joe Lhota has made it his mission from the beginning to improve the image of his authority. More
