BP Diaz' Gambling Ways

The cover story in the latest issue of City Hall features a lengthy piece on our very own Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr, called "The Gambler,"--homage to Diaz' sometimes risky political moves, from his running for Assembly at the tender age of 22, to taking on Mayor Bloomberg over the Kingsbridge Armory to his speculated run for Mayor in 2013.

The story, of course, delves into the Kingsbridge Armory battle and the uncertain future of the still-vacant building, which Diaz said lies ultimately in the hands of Bloomberg, his political enemy number one.

"The decision on whether or not something's going to be developed there is going to come from City Hall," Diaz told the paper. A final proposal for the Armory will be made this spring or summer, the story says, and then will be at Bloomberg's disposal.

The article goes on to discuss Diaz Jr.'s relationship with his controversial father, State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., and says that the Rev. could be the BP's "biggest liability of all" if he does make a run for Mayor.

You can read the whole piece here. Share your thoughts in the comments section.

City Hall News Ranks Council Members

Who's the most powerful City Council member representing the Bronx? It's Annabel Palma, according to a list ranked by City Hall News that came out last month. Palma was number 3 on a list of 50 city reps (Christine Quinn was not included, since as Council Speaker she was automatically ranked the most powerful member).

The bi-monthly political paper based their choices on a formula that considered five factors: the number of bills the Council Member has passed, the number of bills they've introduced, the number of committee hearings they've chaired this year, how significant those committees are, and the amount of member item money they've scored.

Here are the complete (Bronx) rankings. The full list of all 50 Council members and how they fared was in the July 28 edition of City Hall News. 

#3--Annabel Palma

#6--James Vacca 

#14--Maria del Carmen Arroyo

#17--G. Oliver Koppell

#24--Melissa Mark-Viverito

#31--Joel Rivera

#47--Fernando Cabrera 

#48--Larry Seabrook

We were surprised to see Joel Rivera's name at number 31 out of 50, since he holds the important  position of Majority Leader. According to the list, Rivera has passed 2 bills and has introduced 13 since he succeeded his father, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, in the 15th Council District back in 2001 (Palma, by comparison, has passed 11 bills and introduced 102 since she took office in 2003).