Michael Benjamin
Video briefing: In southeast Queens, 'corruption' edges 'conspiracy'
For more than two hours last Friday night, an audience in southeast Queens heard a debate about why the recent tide of corruption allegations in New York has so disproportionately affected officials and operatives who are black or Latino. More
New York's first Muslim Democratic Club launches, with a focus on local issues
The launch of New York City's first Muslim Democratic Club took place in a lounge on West 38th Street—a common area of a fancy residential builing, with marble floors, leather couches and a glass-enclosed fireplace. More
A Council candidate's racist email, and a response
"There is something to be said about Upper Manhattan recognizing that race cannot be the most determinate factor in who you endorse for elected office." More
(3)Council-staffer vote mystery solved: It was the spaces
The allegation that the staffer had been prevented from casting the ballot was raised by Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez before, and during, a contentious hearing last week about the board's performance overseeing the vote and subsequent tally. More
Can teacher evaluations be made a little bit public?
The Daily News is fuming over a state proposal to make teacher evaluations available to parents, but not the public at large. They refer to it as a "gag order for parents" and dare lawmakers to actually pass it.
The thinking is it won't survive a court challenge and it'll galvanize critics, and who knows what further action they'll take. Former Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, writing in the Post, is equally outraged, but lays more of the burden on Governor Andrew Cuomo, who, Benjamin notes, seemed to demand a lot more out of the deal that what he is considering accepting now. More
An ex-lawmaker critiques a judge-drawn redistricting map and his former colleagues
Michael Benjamin has a detailed critique of the congressional lines drawn by a federal judge, contending, for example, that Howard Beach and Bed-Stuy shouldn't be in the same district.
But Benjamin, while acknowledging no map will be perfect, urges readers to direct their ire at the lawmakers who failed to agree on a map and, in essence, forced a judge to step in and draw a map for them. More
One explanation for Preet Bharara's jinxed prosecution of Larry Seabrook
Former Assemblyman Michael Benjamin has written a column criticizing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for having already lost one case against Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. and for calling unreliable witnesses against Councilman Larry Seabrook.
Benjamin, a longtime fixture in Bronx Democratic politics, offers some interesting backstory to bolster his explanation of what the case against Seabrook seems to be falling apart. More
