Paul Vallone plans to use Independence line as a bartering tool

Remember the revelation that Paul Vallone's name is on a list of potential judges even though he alleges that he's been focused since 2009 on running for City Council? Well, as expected, the judgeship is plan B. As per Crains:

If Mr. Vallone wins a hotly contested Democratic primary in September, the Independence Party ballot line would be a major leg up in a battle against Mr. Saffran, as Republicans often rely on votes from the Independence line in Democrat-heavy New York City. But if Mr. Vallone does not win the Democratic primary, his presence on the Independence line in November could split Democratic votes between his supporters and those of the Democratic nominee. Mr. Vallone's main opponent in the race appears to be former Empire State Development spokesman Austin Shafran, who has lined up the bulk of the labor support in the race, as well as the Working Families Party endorsement.

As an attorney who has been a member of the New York bar association since 1992, if Mr. Vallone lost the Democratic primary, he could be nominated for a judgeship and cede the ballot line in the council race to the Democratic nominee. Asked if Mr. Vallone would definitely run on the Independence line in November, a campaign spokesman answered obliquely.

"When Paul Vallone wins the Democratic Primary in September, he will occupy both the Democratic and Independence Party lines in November," the spokesman said.

The Independence Line almost always goes to the Republican in the race. Last time Dennis Saffran ran, he got their endorsement, so it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't give it to him this time. Therefore, Joe Crowley must have made a deal with the Party. As he made a deal with the Vallones. Let's not forget that the GOP was once considering giving Paul Vallone their line and he was once considering accepting it.

Best quote ever: “Paul is really like a kindred spirit,” said Halloran.

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Jailing slumlords

From the NY Observer:

Though Joel Loutan has earned a nod in the New York Public Advocate Office’s Worst Landlords Watchlist, he has yet to grab a coveted spot on the site’s “50 Worst Landlords” list. After today, however, it’s likely he will.

Bronx Housing Court recently issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Loutan, a landlord who allowed his building to slip into some of the most “deplorable” conditions seen in the city’s housing units. A collapsed roof, rotten wooden beams, leaking walls and defective boilers rank among the property's most prominent features, Crain's reported.

The building at 1514 East 172nd Street—though just four units large—has racked up over 30 open housing code violations. Though the property was placed in HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP), which compels owners by law to make the necessary reparations, he has repeatedly defied the city's Orders to Correct. Among those orders included replacement of the roof, re-pointing the exterior walls, re-wiring the entire building, and replacing the heating plant.

But after Mr. Loutan failed to appear in court on numerous occasions to address the charges (his attorney couldn’t seem to find the time either), Bronx County Housing Court Judge Jerald Klein demanded his arrest.

According to Eric Bederman of HPD, Mr. Loutan’s case is only the fifth of its kind in nearly eight years.

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Judge's wife abuses parking placard

From the Daily News:

For weeks, a green Honda Accord has been parked nearly every day on Queens Blvd. near 83rd Ave. in Kew Gardens in Queens, N.Y., neighbors say, but its driver never feeds the meter.
She never moves for alternate-side parking. And she never seems to get a ticket.

That’s because Ellen Raffaele — a mid-level Queens Board of Elections employee with deep ties to the borough’s Democratic machine — is improperly using the official parking placard issued to her husband, a judge.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Thomas Raffaele is entitled to a state-issued parking placard as a sitting jurist — but only if he’s using the car for official court business.

Letting his wife use the placard — which says “POLICE” beside the seal of the State of New York’s judicial branch — is a blatant abuse of the perk and one that infuriated people desperately seeking parking in the busy municipal district near the main Queens courthouse, borough hall and other city offices.

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Outer borough street hails get green light

From the NY Post:

The state Court of Appeals handed Mayor Bloomberg a major victory today by clearing the way for a new taxi system in the outer boroughs to allow street hails.

The yellow cab industry had sued to block the plan, claiming the administration had not gotten approval with the City Council before getting the green light in Albany.

"We conclude that the HAIL Act addresses a matter of substantial State concern. This is not a purely local issue," Judge Eugene F. Pigott Jr. wrote in his decision. "Millions of people from within and without the State visit the City annually. Some of these visitors are disabled, and will undoubtedly benefit from the increase in accessible vehicles in the Manhattan central business district and in the outer boroughs. The Act is for the benefit of all New Yorkers, and not merely those residing within the City."

The appeals court decision also allows the city to proceed with the sale of $1 billion of new taxi medallions.

The new system would create a new class of taxicabs in the outer boroughs and northern Manhattan, to supplement the yellow taxicabs which can cruise anywhere but mostly operate in Midtown and downtown Manhattan.

Many of the current livery cab drivers are expected to join the new livery system and pick up street hails in the outer boroughs. Legally, they can only pick up by appointment but the law is widely flouted.

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Judge slaps down self-certification

From the Daily News:

A state judge has ordered the city to re-examine the flawed process that allowed a developer to build an allegedly illegal — and notorious — building in Homecrest.

Judge Yvonne Lewis sided with neighbors who have argued for seven years that building owner Joseph Druzieh and his architect lied to the city when they said his 53-foot house — built over an existing bungalow — was merely an “alteration” rather than a new structure.

The Department of Buildings and the Board of Standards and Appeals had rubberstamped the permits for 1882 E. 12th St. because the architect, Shlomo Wygoda, had “self-certification” rights — a professional courtesy given to, and sometimes abused by, prolific builders.

Lewis did not have the power to order Druzieh to tear down his unfinished tower at 1882 E. 12th St., but she told him to prepare to do so, according to a lawyer who was there when the ruling was handed down.

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