Oy Vey, Vot A Power Broker!

The Times profiles Hizzoner’s Karl Rove, and the shady unchecked world of backroom horsetrading that goes on in the upper reaches of city government:

In September, a new sign went up on the Williamsburg Bridge, and it won national notice as another example of New York City’s singularly abrasive charm: “Leaving Brooklyn, Oy Vey!” The sign, the brainchild of the Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz, gained attention in newspapers as far away as Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

But in the intricate dance of New York City politics, the sign was as notable for the timing of its appearance as for what it said. It arrived after two years of resistance from the city’s transportation commissioner, Iris Weinshall, but just shortly before Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was to face re-election. And just after it went up, Mr. Markowitz, a Democrat, crossed party lines to endorse the re-election of Mr. Bloomberg, a Republican.

Though City Hall said the close timing of Ms. Weinshall’s reversal and Mr. Markowitz’s endorsement was coincidental, someone intimately involved in the matter said one person played a crucial role in paving the way for the sign’s placement: Kevin Sheekey, Mr. Bloomberg’s top political strategist.

It was just the sort of finesse — some say deal-making — that Mr. Sheekey, 39, quietly put to work in helping to get the mayor re-elected in a landslide victory in November. And now with that election behind him, Mr. Sheekey has moved over to City Hall, and has quickly gone on a virtual war footing to make sure Mr. Bloomberg pushes through his agenda before the mayor is forced to leave office in 2009 by term limits.

The triangulation! The Rovian brilliance!

Mr. Markowitz acknowledged that he told Mr. Sheekey of his displeasure at not getting his “Oy Vey” sign put up. But he said he had no knowledge that the resolution of the fight was politically motivated, and that it did not prompt his endorsement.

“It wasn’t exactly happening and then it happened,” Mr. Markowitz said of the sign.

Such maneuvering seems distinctly out of character for an administration that had prided itself in shying from raw power politics — or what Mr. Bloomberg had derisively called “horse trading.” But Mr. Sheekey’s tactics have impressed some who worked to defeat the mayor.

“I think they ran a flawless campaign,” said Howard Wolfson, a strategist with the New York State Democratic Committee. Though he said he could not discount the more than $80 million Mr. Bloomberg spent on his campaign, he said he considered Mr. Sheekey “probably the best political operator” of Mr. Sheekey’s generation, citing “pure politics, cutting deals and making things happen.” [Emph. added to underscore a wonderfully backhanded compliment]