For the first time since 2000, the mayoralty of New York City will be an open seat, and there are a lot of people grabbing for it.

Depending on how you count the candidates—most are still technically undeclared—there are at least a dozen hopefuls vying for the job, and possibly as many as 20. And though quite a few of the would-be mayors will likely not make the ballot, with the passage of a 2010 referendum reducing the number of signatures required to qualify by 50 percent—to 3,500—it is likely that the victor will ultimately have to vanquish a crowded field of challengers in order to prevail.

And who will the big winner be? The answer is anyone’s guess.

Visit cityandstateny.com to read the full article.

Since his breakout performance in Jim Jarmusch’s 1989 film Mystery Train, Steve Buscemi has become one of New York’s most recognizable and beloved actors. With his distinctive voice, gaunt visage and agitated manner, Buscemi has breathed life into unforgettable and eminently quotable characters in movies like The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs and Fargo. In real life, the Brooklyn native is a far cry from the criminals and misfits he often portrays onscreen. A former New York City firefighter, Buscemi returned to his old firehouse to volunteer in the weeks following 9/11, and he has been active in the relief effort post-Sandy. Most recently, his community activism has inspired him to endorse Public Advocate Bill de Blasio for mayor. City & State Editor Morgan Pehme talked with Buscemi about de Blasio, Superstorm Sandy and whether playing a party boss in Boardwalk Empire has affected his outlook on politics.

The following is an edited transcript.

Why are you supporting Bill de Blasio for mayor?
I think he’s right for the job. I’ve known him for 12 years. I met him first when he was running for the City Council in Brooklyn. He was going door-to-door … talking to people, listening to people. It’s a quality that I like about Bill that he wants input from the community. I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would impose his will on New York. He’s a progressive. I just agree with his outlook on things. He fights for teachers, he fights for the working class and he fights for the underprivileged. And he’s always been there for the firefighting community. I used to see him at all the rallies and protests when they were closing firehouses in the early 2000s, and much more recently he was instrumental in figuring out with the City Council, with the mayor, how to make the numbers work so they don’t have to close firehouses.

He’s been really helpful post-Sandy, because a lot of firefighters were struggling. We know that communities you don’t always see or hear about in the news, have such a long road ahead of them, and Bill understands that. He’s compassionate … I’ve come to him for a few things … on the ground, in the Rockaways needs weren’t being met, and I gave him a call, and he got right on it. I also am pleased with what he’s done for the film industry. Part of that’s selfish on my part, because I like working in New York, and I’m grateful to be on the show that I’m on—but I think that it’s good for New York in general to get the tax incentives that keeps the industry here. We’ve seen in the past few years that production has really flourished.

When you said that de Blasio wouldn’t impose his will on the city, was that a subtle dig at Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure in office?
Of course not! Our third-term mayor? No! [Laughs] I’m really proud of Bill [for] his stance on term limits. He really stood his ground there. And, really, I’m not out to criticize Mayor Bloomberg. I think his heart is in the right place … but I think it’s important that the city take another direction when Bloomberg leaves, and I think that Bill is the right person to lead us in that direction and take all of us along with him—every borough and people in every walk of life who live in this city.

Celebrity endorsements often get a fair amount of ink, but do you think that they motivate people to actually vote for a candidate?
I’ve never been swayed by a celebrity. [Laughs] I think what it does maybe is if you hear, you know, Alec Baldwin say something, that he’s interested in Bill de Blasio, maybe that will prompt people to take a closer look at Bill who maybe weren’t looking so closely. But no, I don’t generally believe that there are people who say, “Oh, I’ll vote for whoever Steve Buscemi votes for.”

Do you intend to endorse any other candidates this cycle?
No.

As a former firefighter, what has been your take on the government’s response to Superstorm Sandy?
I find that there’s been a general lack of communication on the ground. I think the volunteers’ effort has been truly amazing, and that they have led the effort. From what I’ve seen, [many people] don’t really even know how to get the support [they need] because … it just doesn’t seem that accessible. That’s on a citywide level. And I know that the mayor’s office has been doing a lot of wonderful things, and they have been trying, but I just find that they haven’t been leading the effort, and that’s what’s been frustrating.

Has playing a politician in Boardwalk Empire influenced your thinking about politics?
It makes me more interested in politics in general, just sort of reading about it, and seeing how things were done back then, and how things are done now. I’ve been having a lot of fun playing a politician. Of course, Nucky’s no longer a politician, and I actually miss that. [Laughs]

We’ve had so many troubles in New York since 2001. Are you optimistic about the future of the city?
I am optimistic only because it’s New York, and I think that New Yorkers will see their way through. I’ve seen a lot of strength on the ground. I’ve seen firefighters who not only went through a harrowing experience during the storm but a lot of them, their own homes were damaged either by flooding or fire, and I’ve seen other firefighters come in and pitch in. There was this amazing effort in Breezy Point where this whole pump-and-gut operation was led by firefighters on their days off. When I see people doing that, I just go, “Wow, I love the people in this city.”

This article originally appeared in City & State

Who are the 100 most powerful people in New York City politics? Of course, the answer is both subjective and controversial. Still, in an audacious attempt to arrive at a ranking that reflects who really are the movers and shakers that drive New York City’s agenda, City & State has solicited the off-the-record opinions of many of the five borough’s most savvy political insiders, poured over dozens of reader nominations and incorporated the results of our online polls. It should be emphasized that the scope of this list has been limited strictly to city politics. It does not judge each individual’s place in history or standing on the statewide, national or global stage. If that had been our aim, we would have arrived at a very different list. Also, though our selectees come from different communities, genders, parties, sexual orientations and religious affiliations, we openly acknowledge that the list does not adequately represent the city’s rich diversity. We do believe, however, that it is an accurate portrait of the distribution of power in city politics at this moment in time—and thus an illustration of how far we still need to go for our government to mirror the demographics and dynamics of its people. With no further ado, we boldly present City & State‘s first-ever New York City Power 100 List. We hope it gets you talking.

To read the full list, please visit cityandstateny.com.

The East River Ferry (via nycedc.tumblr.com)

The closure of the flooded subway system frustrated commuters earlier this month but it was a godsend for the East River Ferry.

Over 7,400 commuters crowded into the boats on Nov. 1, a number more than double the average ridership for the season. The weekend saw heavy ridership numbers as well, with 5,000 on Nov. 3, 3,000 on Nov. 4, and more than 7,700 people on Tuesday, Nov. 6, one of the highest totals of the year. When the L train returned on Friday, Nov. 9, some 3,200 people rode the ferry over the East River, an average figure for this time of year.

Ferry officials say that the high figures show the service is a necessary transit alternative for the city. “The return of the East River Ferry service was a significant step in providing a quick and safe transit option for commuters heading back to work in the wake of Hurricane Sandy,” said Paul Goodman, CEO of Billybey Ferry Company.

To read more New York political coverage, visit cityandstateny.com.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is pushing for high-tech investment in New York, has touted the University of Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. (Photos from College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering)

New York City isn’t the only part of the state that has been attracting a growing number of high-tech companies.

In upstate areas struggling to rebound from the recession and recover from the longer-term decline in manufacturing, the state has been recruiting companies like Yahoo! and IBM to add or expand operations, create new jobs and assist in rebuilding the economy.

To read the full article, please visit cityandstateny.com.

The embattled legislator had already lost his coveted housing committee and Brooklyn Democratic Party chairmanships this summer when news broke of allegations that he sexually harassed four female staff members.

To read the full article, please visit cityandstateny.com.

When I started this piece I found myself writing the same story everyone else has about the emergence of President Clinton as the star of the 2012 election cycle. His incredible Democratic convention speech made the arguments on behalf of President Obama better than the candidate himself – leaving pundits speechless and the party faithful hungry for more. And by cleverly extending his speech into the local evening news, he grabbed millions of viewers otherwise disinterested in politics.

The Obama cultivation and inclusion of Clinton in his reelection effort is no real surprise. Recent polling shows that 68 percent of Americans view Clinton favorably – 18 points higher than President Obama and more than 50 points higher than Congress. President Clinton oversaw the greatest economic expansion in recent history, creating 22 million jobs under his watch. But it’s not just his record that is appealing. Democrats appreciate the Clintons more in hindsight because they remember not only his ability to connect with voters, and enthusiasm for the Party faithful – but also his political acumen. Everyone misses the old days, when no one was above a good partisan fight, but politics wasn’t nasty or mean.

If Obama’s embrace of President Clinton is inherently logical, the opposite could be said about Mitt Romney. At first glance, it is stunning to think that the GOP nominee would ever see any advantage in playing up Clinton. But it was the best option he had.

While the GOP faithful still hold President Ronald Reagan in the highest esteem–and Mitt Romney referred to Reagan during the GOP primary–Reagan’s presidency was almost 25 years ago. A nice chunk of the electorate just isn’t familiar with Reagan, and think of him more as an historical figure rather than relevant to the politics of today. So while invoking Reagan might work with seniors, Reagan is not a useful standard-bearer for the voters Romney needed to reach.

Of course, Mitt Romney’s campaign also knew they couldn’t associate with President George W. Bush — the person most Americans still believe wrecked our economy and got us entangled in an unnecessary war in Iraq that cost us dearly in both lives and monies. Romney has gone out of his way not to discuss George W. Bush, and Romney is quick to change the subject if the Bush Presidency comes up.

So that left Clinton as the ‘go to’ guy. Romney may have made the calculation that Obama and Clinton had too much baggage between them to ever join forces. He was wrong.

I also believe that Romney may see much in common with President Clinton: a former governor with a focus on creating jobs; a politician who worked across the aisle when necessary, and a politician who believes he can triangulate himself in the model of Clinton. The Clinton association for Romney is about appealing to the middle, about beginning perceived as moderate. But here’s where Romney miscalculated.

The politics of the Great Recession are very different than in the Clinton era. In our hyper-partisan, Internet-fueled news cycle, Romney’s attempts to grab the middle just aren’t credible. Voters are paying more attention to the details than ever before. In the Bush years, they felt they were sold a false bill of goods – and they are now sensitive to Romney’s blatant flip-flops, like claiming credit for the auto bailout and now supportive of leaving Afghanistan in 2014 — that are spin rather than moderation.

We are now days way from determining the next President of the Untied States, and this is arguable an even more important election than 4 years ago.  We have two very different choices for president with very different ideas about government.

While both candidates have tried to associate themselves with President Clinton, only one can do so with credibility. There is a reason Bill Clinton is happily packing his schedule full of events to help re-elect President Obama, which I’m certain Clinton is enjoying. He knows that America cannot afford a President who says one thing, but will do another.  We had 8 years of that recipe and it was a disaster.

I know Bill Clinton, and Mitt Romney is no Bill Clinton. And the good news is the American people know it too.

Most recently, Clyde Williams was a congressional candidate for CD 13.  He served as National Political Director at the Democratic National Committee under President Barack Obama, Domestic Policy Advisor to President Bill Clinton, a Vice President at the Center for American Progress, and as Deputy Chief of Staff of the U S Department of Agriculture. You can follow him on Facebook@clydewilliams2012, on twitter@clyde2012.

NYC Board of Elections Commissioner “J.C.” Polanco (via Twitter)

With Election Day rapidly approaching, the devastation from Hurricane Sandy could have residual consequences that may alter the outcome of local and federal elections. With many polling sites still without power and thousands of residents displaced due to flooding and damage to their homes, the New York City Board of Elections has been scrambling to come up with solutions that would allow voters to cast their ballot.

To read the complete article please visit www.cityandstateny.com.

A tree blocks two lanes of traffic on Bedford Avenue at Avenue T in Brooklyn.

Their offices were flooded, their phones were down and the power has been out, but that hasn’t stopped lawmakers in Zone A from helping their constituents.