​Hey, if you didn't fill out your census -- and it was easy, seriously -- now is when we all get to point our fingers at you and growl, or extract whatever means of punishment seems suitable (kick you out of New York?). The Census Bureau is set to announce this month that our state's Congressional delegation "will shrink to the smallest it has been in 200 years, continuing to erode the state's clout in Washington," per the New York Times.

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Doesn't John Liu, the city's youngest comptroller in nearly four decades, often appear not-ready-for-prime-time?

After previous befuddling behavior, Liu took to the podium at the recent state Democratic convention to put state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's name in nomination, an odd speaker selection that merely highlighted the paradox of their opposing positions on a key reform promulgated by fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo, the gubernatorial nominee.More >>

​New York's next hot tourist destination will have 87 acres of green space, a view of the Manhattan skyline, and a moat.

Governor Paterson announced today that the state is turning over control of development on a 150-acre patch of Governors Island to the Governors Island Operating Entity, which will have 9 seats controlled by the mayor, and one of which has to go to someone from Brooklyn. The rest of the board will be chosen by the 64th District state assembly member (Shelly Silver), the 25th District state senator (Daniel Squadron), Manhattan Community Board 1 (in Silver's district), and the governor. Silver, Squadron and Bloomberg shared the announcement. The city has committed $41.5 million from its capital budget for infrastructure investment and renovations of the Island's historic district.

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State Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza

​State Assembly Deputy Majority Whip Ann-Margaret Carrozza of Queens, who faces a residency investigation by AG Andrew Cuomo and questions from the press about her self-described "abysmal" attendance record in Albany, announced yesterday that she's dropping her bid for re-election.

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​Everyone hates the non-diet soda tax that Governor Paterson keeps proposing -- except residents of New York City, whose once-famous will was long ago broken by the constant health-nannying of Michael Bloomberg.

In case there are any Gothamites who have not yet seen the wisdom of the soda tax, the Mayor recently lectured on it. You will be unsurprised to hear that it is all, all For The Children.

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​Today former mayor Ed Koch, 85, tells the Times that he's so disgusted with all the corruption in the state legislature these days he's going to "throw myself into" an effort to "do something about it."

As described by the Times, that means "assembling a coalition of powerful civic groups" by sending them a letter, in which Koch, along with former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern and Dick Dadey of the Citizen's Union, calls for the "defeat of those incumbents, regardless of party, who are responsible for this odious situation, and the election of new candidates, committed to a reform agenda..."

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​Ben Smith and Glenn Thrush of Politico do a big piece on New York politics, citing the myriad scandals of recent years, which they portray as unprecedented (they get our own Wayne Barrett to say "I've never seen anything like this"). They claim it "hastens a decades-long diminution of the state's 20th century pre-eminence."

Nowhere in the article appear the names Tammany Hall, Boss Tweed, Jimmy Walker, William Sulzer, Frank Serpico, John W. Flaherty, Harry Gross, Clubber Williams, Jotham P. Allds, Craig D. Harvey, Willowbrook State School, et alia.

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One thing about having a billionaire mayor: When the city cuts back, people are less inclined to say, "My, New York's going down the drain" than they would if, say, Abe Beame were in charge.

And so we expect it will be with this: Mayor Bloomberg suggested today that New York may cut back on street fairs. On his radio show he cited the fairs' disruptions of traffic (not an issue at Times Square, we guess) and the drain on local businesses' sales (though we haven't noticed many funnel cake and roasted corn stores around here) before getting to the nut: "It just may be something we can't afford."

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​Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has been trying to further tax alcoholic beverages in the state to fund "alcoholism and substance abuse prevention and treatment." So far the assembly has bottled that one up, so to speak, in ways and means.

But now the City Department of Health is looking at a new booze tax*.

(*Update: The DOH calls to say that the Daily News story linked above is wrong: "The City does not have a proposal to raise the alcohol tax." The News hasn't corrected, though they add that their estimated tax amount is from the Citizens' Committee for Children, as well as color commentary from local drinkers; our own, based on the original report, remains after the jump.)

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​In his crusade against guns, Mayor Bloomberg has sometimes used sting operations against out-of-town vendors, sending decoys to gun shows to act like they don't have legal standing to make a purchase, and publicizing the resulting illegal sales. Now a West Virginia state legislator is trying to make it illegal for Bloomberg to do so.

State senator Jeffrey Kessler has proposed what he calls a "Bloomberg bill," making it a felony to draw vendors into such stings. He cites the Second Amendment, but also claims Bloomberg's actions "may well be compromising actual law enforcement activities" to curb such sales.

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