Frank Lautenberg
Chuck Schumer hated flying, before Frank Lautenberg
"Senator [Frank] Lautenberg was a close friend of mine and I'm going to miss him badly," Sen. Chuck Schumer told reporters at his office in midtown this afternoon, shortly before Lautenberg was scheduled to officially announce his impending retirement in Paterson, New Jersey.
"He had passion," Schumer continued. "He was not one of those people who just put his finger to the wind and figured out the political angles. He cared about a lot of things, and he'd focus on specific issues and get them done. More
Bloomberg defends his legacy and Lautenberg gets out of Booker's way
Newark Mayor Cory Booker called Christine Quinn an "extraordinary leader." [Tina Moore]
Quinn said passing the Paid Sick Leave bill is "an issue of timing." [WNYC]
Is Thompson trailing among black and Latino voters? [Chris Bragg]
The UFT is pre-empting Vito Lopez's City Council bid by endorsing Antonio Reynoso. [Celeste Katz]
When Lautenberg's age met Booker's ambition: An elegy for the Swamp Dog
It is of course transparently disingenuous, the way Cory Booker is pursuing a Senate seat in New Jersey. More
(2)In Washington, transportation chiefs talk of rebuilding, not replacing
The heads of the New York region's four main transportation agencies made their way to Washington this morning to press Congress for federal money not just to restore the area's ailing transporation systems, but to redesign them to stand up to future storms. More
Michael Bloomberg backs a bill to ban online ammo sales
A bill sponsored by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg and Long Island Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy that would effectively ban the online sale of ammunition has the backing of the nation's loudest gun control advocate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg. More
(3)Suburban legislators, from Lautenberg to Lanza, call for more oversight of the Port Authority
The New York State Senate and the U.S. Senate are calling for more oversight of the bistate Port Authority, and the New Jersey legislature is expected to follow suit.
Yesterday the U.S. Senate passed a $109 billion surface transportation bill that, among other things, directs the U.S. comptroller general to review tolls on bridges created under the Bridge Act of 1906, the General Bridge Act of 1946, and the International Bridge Act of 1972. The provision would also apply to tolls placed bridges or tunnels constructed along a federal-aid highway. More
Michael Grimm and Frank Lautenberg make a moon-shot toll gesture
Representative Michael Grimm, embattled Republican of Staten Island, has called his and Senator Frank Lautenberg’s proposal to confer ultimate authority over Port Authority toll hikes to the federal government the “most realistic and viable solution" to rising fares.
It's a resonant issue for Staten Islanders who feel unduly burdened by this summer’s Port Authority toll hikes. More
U.S. attorney clears Bob Menendez of Christie trouble, and now maybe the Tea Party will help out, too
From the Department of Things That are About 5 Years Too Late comes news that there will be no prosecution of Bob Menendez. The announcement, conveyed by the feds in a letter to Menendez’s lawyer and reported over the weekend by the Star-Ledger, officially puts an end to what was Chris Christie’s funniest-smelling action as U.S. attorney for New Jersey. More
