Photograph of Billionaires for Bloomberg at City Hall yesterday A day after City Council Speaker Christine Quinn officially proclaimed her support to support extending term limits from two to three terms, the backlash and uncertainty continues to grow. Mayor Bloomberg's team has apparently been looking for support from unions and religious leaders. Right now, NY1's count of City Council members says 15 members support it, 18 are opposed, and 18 are undecided (26 votes......

The Observer has video of Representative Anthony Weiner trying to make a Sarah Palin joke. But it's just terrible (and terribly sexist): Referring to the VP debate, Weiner says, "Undeniably, undeniably, we saw a vice presidential candidate who had nice legs. I won’t dispute that... but we also saw a vice-presidential candidate who tried to explain her running mate’s health care position.” Weiner's spokesman later emailed the Observer, "It was a misguided attempt at......

After Mayor Bloomberg made it clear he'd run for a third term if the City Council passes legislation to extend term limits to three terms, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn held a press conference. First, the legislation would permanently extend term limits to three. Second, she wouldn't run, "If term limits are extended to 12 years from 8 years, no, I would not run for mayor." As for other mentioned 2009 hopefuls, City Comptroller Bill......

All but one of NYC's representatives in Congress voted for the $700 billion bailout package that failed in the House of Representatives yesterday (Bronx Democrat Jose Serrano voted against it). The city's lone Republican, Vito Fossella, who voted for the plan, was disappointed, saying, "I voted in favor of this legislation because I thought it was what was best for the American economy and for the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn...The real potential losers......

Yesterday, Representative Anthony Weiner made headlines for his anti-big box stance and his praise of Mayor Bloomberg, which was a little odd, since Weiner often criticizes him, or just timed to coincide with Weiner accelerating his mayoral aspirations. Today, the NY Times looks at how he has the highest staff turnover for anyone in the NY House delegation in recent years. For instance, "Roughly half of Mr. Weiner’s current staff has been on board for......

At a breakfast forum this morning, Representative Anthony Weiner – a likely mayoral candidate – handed out a 5,000 word manifesto about how he would keep the city affordable for the middle class. The Sun has it that Weiner also used his half-hour speech to criticize the proliferation of big-box chains in New York, wondering, “What is the value of having a Wal-Mart on Queens Boulevard that wipes out economic development on the rest of......

Phtoograph by kenyee on Flickr Yesterday, Representatives Anthony Weiner and Nydia Velazquez held a press conference to ask the EPA to name Newtown Creek a Superfund site. The lawmakers want federal funding to speed up the slow progress on the cleanup of millions of gallons of oil that began in the 1940s and 1950s. Weiner said in his press conference that if the current rate of cleanup were to continue, it might not be......

Second quarter campaign filings reveal who's leading and who's lagging among the contenders for the mayor's office. On top of the list is Representative Anthony Weiner (he ran a surprisingly strong second to Fernando Ferrer in the 2005 Democratic primary) who raised $1.4 million and believes he reached the maximum of $6.2 million (including matching funds). City Comptroller William Thompson raised $625,000 and has raised $4.8 million so far. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn raised......

Congressman Anthony Weiner sounded the call for cities to be reimbursed for employees fighting in the Iraq War. Like he did last year, Weiner cites the fact that civil servants, like cops and firefighters, still get paid by the city when their military salaries are less. And since many don't send their military salaries to the city, Weiner says NYC has lost "$65.6 million since September 11, 2001," per the Sun. Weiner said, "While it......

Make sure you’re sitting down: Because of a surge in visa requests, America is currently in the grips of a severe fashion model shortage. The problem is that professional good looking people from overseas have to apply for the same H-1B visas that pasty high-tech workers require. According to Politico, demand for the visas is double the 85,000 spots available in the category per year; in the fiscal year 2007 only 349 models from overseas......

Representative Anthony Weiner explained to the AP why he's spending so much time campaigning for Hillary Clinton, even as the junior Senator from NY trails rival Barack Obama. Weiner said, "I'm doing a lot, but it's largely because I'm dating Huma." Finally--the Post suspected as much last October. Huma is Huma Abedin, Clinton's so-called "body woman," who is usually seen at the candidate's side. The Daily News' headline is "Yes, I'm hot for Hillary Clinton's......

As Senator Hillary Clinton ignores calls to drop out and gets ready for a likely West Virginia primary victory, Politico's Ben Smith reveals one funny suggestion from a NYC politician: Clinton should run for mayor in 2009. The politician's reasoning is that though it's not being leader of freed world, "it's a big executive job, comes with a media spotlight and a mansion." Smith asked Koch for a comment (Koch yelled at Smith for "wasting......

RepresentativeDarrell Issa, a Republican from California, played the spoiler during the city's attempt to get federal money for sick first responders. Issa said the planes that flew into the World Trade Center weren't weapons like a dirty bomb, "It simply was an aircraft, residue of two aircraft, and residue from the materials used to build this building." To which NYC counsel Michael Cardozo said, "Congressman, this was I believe an attack on the United States......

If you're a politician who has opposed Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, watch out! At a Crain's business breakfast, Bloomberg said, regarding Representative Anthony Weiner's suggestion that congestion pricing would mean less federal funding (did Weiner forget the feds are offering $354 million), "That is one of the stupider things I’ve ever heard said." He said NJ Governor Jon Corzine's congestion fee opposition was hypocritical, given recent toll fee hike from the Port Authority (run......

If you're one of those people that think the FBI has better things to do than investigate Roger Clemens, you have an ally in Washington DC. Congressman Anthony Weiner voiced his opinion on the investigation into Clemens. Weiner sent a letter to the Attorney General questioning the benefit of continuing the investigation into Clemens’ testimony to Congress, saying "Whether or not Roger Clemens may have committed perjury should not compete with real national security threats......

The announcement that six detainees in Guantanamo would be charged and tried for the September 11, 2001 attacks was welcomed by a number of parties, including the families of people who died on September 11. However, some would like to see a trial in New York and not in Gitmo. The Sun found some different reactions. Jim Riches a fire chief whose son died in the World Trade Center, said, "[T]hese people should be brought......

Take a good, long look New York: You could be staring into the squinty eyes of your future mayor. (Yes, the white dude on the right.) Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who describes himself as “somewhat comical” [emphasis added] is on the verge of announcing his candidacy for mayor. Fuhgeddaboutit? The Crown Heights native, who earned a B.A. at Brooklyn College after nine years of night school, has loudly occupied the largely ceremonial position......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an explosion at Linden Blvd. and 220th St. in Queens, a homicide on Sedgewick Ave. in the Bronx, and a water main break on Prospect Place in Brooklyn Santa may have to bypass coalition troops stationed around the world today, but holiday presents will be appreciated even if they do arrive a few weeks into 2008. Newsday has a nice piece on gift-giving to troops and how to do......

Just because the 2009 elections are over 22 months away doesn't mean some interesting moves can't happen. Adolfo Carrion Jr. (pictured, on left), the Bronx Borough President, has decided to run for City Comptroller in 2009, making it a tough field and shedding light on the mayoral contest. Carrion, born in Lower Manhattan and a former city planner, Community Board district manager, and City Council member (here's his bio), was seen as a likely candidate......

Two years after asking various companies to bid to bring cellphone service to the subways, the MTA has finally picked a vendor to wire all stations. Here are the details:Transit Wireless will pay the MTA at least $4.6 million each year over 10 years; Transit Wireless is made up of four communications and constructions companies. Subway stations will be wired for cellular and wireless service. Subway tunnels will not be wired, which means cellphone use......

Will there ever be a point when there are stories about the Greenpoint oil spill cleanup, instead of stories about how big and dangerous the spill is? Representatives Anthony Weiner and Nydia Velazquez released the results of the first EPA study (first study ever after, what, 29 years!) of the Greenpoint oil spill, and they are pretty ugly. Here some excerpts from the press release: The original estimated size of the spill of 17 million......

Thought Governor Eliot Spitzer and Senator Hilary Clinton appeared at a press conference to discuss health coverage of New York children, they had to answer questions about campaign donations they accepted from fugitive apparel executive Norman Hsu. Clinton received $23,000 from Hsu and announced that she would donate the money to charity after revelations that Hsu has been wanted in California for defrauding California investors since 1991. Hsu has fled to Hong Kong but......

We all knew the real estate bubble was causing insanity, but we should have known it's encouraged people to divorce. There's a NY Times Styles section article about some who wait until the market's at its peak to divorce - that way, they can benefit from an even bigger profit when selling their homes. There are quotes from Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker, who showed that couples with a drastic rise in net worth were......

Representatives Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler announced that they are introducing legislation to block a $20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The Sun reports the pair stood in front of the Saudi Consulate, questioning the logic of the Bush administration's plan. Nadler said, "The folly of this arms deal is beyond belief. Saudi Arabia is the no. 1 exporter of terrorism in the world today." Supporters of the deal, which includes advanced weaponry, "say......

Because September 8, 2009 is 776 days away, let's talk the 2009 mayoral race. The Post reports that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly met with a "political guru" about his chances in the 2009 mayoral race. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne explained that Kelly was at a meeting that was also attended by Republican strategist Scott Reed, but politics weren't discussed. Still, Kelly's seems to be the name mentioned most often these days when speaking of......

After reviewing a number of bids, the National Park Service ended Circle Line's contract to provide ferry service between lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The new ferry service provider will be Hornblower Yachts of California, which offers service between San Francisco and Alcatraz. Hornblower: Taking you to Liberty and lock-up. The 10-year contract, worth $350 million, must be approved by Congress and one requirement is that Hornblower buy Circle......

Former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (and former NJ Governor) Christie Todd Whitman testified in front of Congress yesterday about the EPA's September 11 response. With critics like Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Anthony Weiner of New York and Representative Bill Pascrell of NJ questioning her, Whitman called statements made about her leadership "misinformation, innuendo and downright falsehoods." The Daily News, which made Whitman its cover girl yesterday, called her a woman of "many......

Representative Anthony Weiner, he of 2009 mayoral ambitions, wants to introduce legislation to ban helicopters flying over Manhattan. While the bill would allow "police, medical and other authorized helicopter traffic" (probably news choppers), Weiner said, "We are taking a common-sense step to make New York safer" by restricting all other helicopters to fly over water only. He also said, "I am concerned about helicopters flying over a densely populated city. I think it's dangerous, and......

New York City could be considered the Big Green Apple for the rest of the week. Bill Clinton and Mayor Bloomberg are hosting an international climate summit this week, beginning today and running through Thursday. And as part of other environmentally friendly festivities, Matt Dillon was on hand for the issuance of a challenge from Yahoo! to see which U.S. city was the most green. The winning city, that will be announced following the......

The Drum Major Institute released a study titled "Saving Our Middle Class," which suggests that NYC's middle class continues to be under more and more strain. DMI surveyed a number of city leaders and found: It's harder to enter the middle class: 92% "agree that it is harder to enter the middle class today than it was ten years ago." - They believe middle-class income is now between $75,000 and $135,000 for families of......