Leste Category

Category: Leste

NY Post: �Shel� race looks shady

‘Shel’ race looks shady

Michael Goodwin

March 23, 2016 | 12:28am

http://nypost.com/2016/03/23/after-brussels-attack-its-advantage-trump/

The Post’s reports on the lower Manhattan race to succeed the disgraced Sheldon Silver in the Assembly suggest something fishy is going on. How predictable!

Silver’s pals in the local Democratic club nominated Alice Cancel for the special election next month, but she’s been invisible and reports raising under $4,000.

Meanwhile, the candidate of the Working Families Party, Yuh-Line Niou, has been very active and raised $144,000.

Niou initially challenged Cancel for the Dem nomination, but suddenly withdrew and switched to the Working Families Party ballot line. The two parties are often united and endorse the same candidate, with the WFP little more than a union front helping to elect Dems.

My hunch is that there is a secret non-aggression pact between the parties this time so they don’t divide the liberal vote and make way for the credible Republican candidate to win the seat. Lester Chang, a Chinatown businessman and naval reservist, is on the GOP line and has the support of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Whatever the circumstances, it would be fitting if Silver’s conviction on corruption charges led to a Republican successor. Justice and the neighborhood would be best served by having an untainted representative in Albany.

Blas rent ‘win’ may be fixer-whopper

Mayor de Blasio will be showered with praise by his allies for getting his affordable-housing plan through the City Council, but I remain skeptical about the real-world impact.

The requirement for more lower-rent apartments to be included in new developments and to allow bigger and taller buildings in residential neighborhoods could backfire.

The measure could mean better housing for more people, or it could squelch new construction because the terms for builders are too onerous and the buildings too imposing.

Either way, the city will be on the hook for increased expenses.

De Blasio made the program a centerpiece of his campaign, so delivering the deal counts as a political victory. But now comes the hard part of actually delivering quality housing for the poorest New Yorkers. I’ll save my congratulations until the tenants move in.