Silver Comes To Take His Toys Away

Mayor Bloomberg is a man who loves all kinds of gadgets. So disturbing hobby time is a risky proposition, done at your own peril:

A defeat of congestion pricing in the Assembly may irrevocably rupture the relationship between Speaker Sheldon Silver and Mayor Bloomberg and provoke an open conflict between the two city leaders.

Mr. Bloomberg, who has said repeatedly that he supports politicians who back his policies, might be tempted to do the opposite if his plan to charge motorists a fee to drive into the busy parts of Manhattan collapses in the Assembly, on which Mr. Silver wields tremendous influence.

“The danger could be that it does get personalized,” a former top aide to Mr. Bloomberg, William Cunningham, said. “Could there be a time when the mayor gets fed up with the games? Yes, I suppose so. He’s human.”

The mayor may use his political influence and fortune against Mr. Silver, political insiders say. This year, Mr. Silver, 64, is expected to face at least two Democratic primary opponents in September. Mr. Bloomberg could go as far as to endorse and provide financial support for one of the challengers.

A Solid Win For Congestion Pricing

Is it horse trading or something worse? Some council members aren’t sure:

The City Council may have approved congestion pricing Monday, but Council foes were still fighting Mayor Bloom­berg’s traffic fee yesterday, hoping their complaints will be heard in Albany.

The 30-20 vote, they said, was actually a squeaker, sending a message of division to the state Legislature, which must now pass the plan by April 7. To hear them tell it, the days leading up to the vote were filled with arm-twisting and backroom deals.

Last Friday, Brooklyn Council member Lewis Fidler believed the plan couldn’t pass — he counted 29 votes against it.

Horse-trading is expected, he said.

“The ‘we’ll do a project in your district,’ that’s politics,” Fidler said. “But without these deals, there were not 26 votes in favor of this plan. Albany understands that, too.”

Fidler claimed Bloom­berg had offered to hold a fund-raiser for one Council member in exchange for switching sides.

“If other people did that, the U.S. attorney would be called,” he said. “I’m not suggesting it’s criminal, but it’s hypocrisy that can’t be waved off with a Bloomberg-esque wave of the hand.”

. . .

“This isn’t going away,” insisted Queens Council member Tony Avella, another opponent of congestion pricing. “The use of taxpayer dollars to lobby Council members is clearly inappropriate.”

Avella vowed to file Freedom of Information requests for phone records, e-mails and other correspondence from Bloomberg’s office and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who backed the mayor’s plan. “It’s bad government,” he said.

Extrapolation: If Bloomberg Visited Emperor’s Club He Might Ask For Someone Resembling Robert Moses And Carrying A Torch?

John Catsimatidis — Gristede’s founder and maybe mayoral candidate in the Goldman Sachs mold (e.g., Corzine, Bloomberg or any one of a number of wealthy individuals deigning to lead an unruly electorate*) — has a vision for New York City’s future:

“I have a vision for New York,” Catsimatidis said. “I’ll tell you one of the things I’ve been proposing is the 2014 World’s Fair.” (In 2003, he floated the idea of the 2007 World’s Fair.) “When Mayor Bloomberg asked me, ‘John, where would you have it?,’ I said, ‘Your Honor, we’d take a blighted area of the city, and we’d put in permanent infrastructure, so there’s something left over afterward.’ And his eyes lit up! But that’s the way a businessman thinks.” Catsimatidis, who grew up in Harlem, recalled his experiences at the 1964 World’s Fair, in Queens, visiting the Belgian pavilion. (“You know there was no such thing as a Belgian waffle before that?”)

Ugh . . . what is it with these guys and fairs, olympics, etc.?

*As opposed to the Cory Booker type of Teach For America candidate (David Brooks, take it away . . .).

Spitz-Take: He Got Caught Doing What?!

Oh no. It may actually come to pass now that Spitzer finds himself on the wrong side of a press conference about a prostitution ring:

Mr. Spitzer, a first-term Democrat who pledged to bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany, is married with three children.

Wait, I’ve Got An Idea . . .

His real goal emerges:

Former US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, a Republican who all but endorsed Democratic Gov. Spitzer in 2006, yesterday backed Mayor Bloomberg for the state’s top job in 2010.

D’Amato offered his strong endorsement of the mayor at a private Republican gathering honoring Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) at the Woodmere Country Club on Long Island where Bloomberg was present.

“D’Amato said, ‘This is the person who would put the interests of the people of New York first and that’s what we need, instead of the same old tired politics, instead of people who promise change but engage in the same old partisanship,'” said a prominent Republican who attended the event.

“D’Amato said flatly, ‘Bloomberg should run for governor,'” the source continued.

The suggestion was greeted by loud applause.

. . .

“The mayor said something like, ‘Read my lips. I’m not running for governor,’ and everybody laughed,” the source recalled.