My friends at the Working Families Party have been under withering attack recently. But Tuesday saw a reversal of fortune — the settling of a frivolous lawsuit that was distracting the WFP from its good work.

A group of reactionary ex-Guiliani staffers had filed a campaign finance suit, not because they had a rightful claim, but to undercut the WFP’s power. In truth, the suit was as much a compliment as anything. It recognized that the party has gained tremendous power in Albany in the past few years. This has NYC’s corporate and real estate interests understandably worried. And when the powerful are threatened, they take steps to defend their power — in this case, attacking the populist WFP.

Tuesday’s decision puts this threat to an end. It surely won’t be the last attack the WFP endures, though. Hopefully in the future, those attacks will be called out as phony political theater they surely will be.

I had an adventure last weekend, and it left me hungry.

Jesse, Andy, Roan, Roy and I went upstate for a wilderness trip, with one central rule — we could eat only what we foraged, fished or hunted. No outside food was allowed. Roan wrote it all up in this funny, well-illustrated blog post.

The idea for the weekend came to me earlier in the summer, while walking around Brooklyn at dinnertime. Shawna and I were trying to choose from one of ten zillion delicious restaurants. I felt overwhelmed with choices … and overwhelmed by the modern cornucopia that we take for granted every day. What would happen if the modern food system broke down? Would we survive?

For 36 hours, the answer was yes. We came away hungry, but no worse for wear. More importantly, we all came away with an appreciation for the bounty that modern society brings to us every day.

Pancakes at Sweet Sues are sweet. The satisfaction of producing one’s own food is even sweeter!

Finally! After far too many years, I just relaunched StudioGuild.org, the website of my collaborative office space in New York City.

Know anyone looking for an office or a desk? We have a number of spots open. Send your friends to the Work Here page, or have them peruse the Floorplans.

(Thanks to Matthew Willse of The Coup for designing and installing the site. You always make it easy!)

Here’s something you don’t hear too often in New York: I’m proud of my State Senator.

As anyone vaguely familiar with New York politics knows, Albany is a mess. Right now, its a particularly ridiculous mess, with the biggest stink emanating out of the State Senate. It’s hard to underscore how incompetent the Senate is at passing legislation that helps New Yorkers.

And yet, I’m proud to say, my State Senator, Daniel Squadron, has stood out from the pack in his resistance to the mess. In a recent New York Times editorial, Squadron was the ONLY Senator called out by name as the counterweight to the madness in Albany. As a freshman Senator, he’s got a good reason to embrace reform — and a great time to do it.

Below is an email Squadron sent out to his supporters about the recent Albany mess. I repost it here because I think its a clear, sane explanation of why the recent disaster has unfolded, and what we can do about it. Enjoy.

[From Daniel Squadron, June 18, 2009]
Dear Friend,

With so much happening in Albany, I wanted to send along an update.

Over the last week and a half, I’m sure you have joined the rest of the state in looking on with horror and fascination as the State Senate has collapsed. A partially aborted attempt by two of my Democratic colleagues to enter into a pact with the Republicans has led to deadlock…and absurdity. For a period last week, the most significant question circling the capitol was, who holds the keys to the Senate chamber? The absurd truth is that control of the upper legislative house in the third largest state in the nation seemed for a period to hinge on an actual hinge.

There are lots of reasons we are in this mess. For one, it’s important to remember there are many who have been desperate to freeze action on important progressive goals from housing to jobs to ethics and campaign finance.

But things have gotten so bad so quickly for a simple reason. In the State Senate, the person, or people, who lay claim to the title of Temporary President and Majority Leader hold all the power. You are not witnessing a simple battle over titles or committee chairs. Rather you are witnessing a fight built on the question of who controls:

· All of the millions of dollars of internal Senate resources (staff, district mailings, member “lulu” stipends…even paper clips)
· All of the tens of millions of dollars of legislative grants and capital investment dollars
· All – that’s right all – of the legislation that moves through the house (in effect giving the leader of the Senate a non-overideable veto on all legislative matters in the State of New York)
· All other things you can imagine, except who gets elected to this body

New Yorkers are watching a woefully undemocratic process unfold because this is a battle for control of a woefully undemocratic place. After having been elected by the people, each legislator holds one powerful card – the vote for leader. In a sixty-two-member body in which members are so evenly divided between parties – and all sixty-two of us, not to mention advocates, lobbyists and special interests, understand the stakes – desperation, chaos, and stalemate are all too likely.

The only way out of this mess, assuming neither party suddenly gains a large majority, is for the entire body to enact real reform that fundamentally changes the power dynamic.

In the short-term, we need a bipartisan operating agreement that leaves the question of leadership aside while letting us pass the legislation that is so important for our city and our state. We cannot let the madness overwhelm the fact that the issues we fight for and the laws we pass have a profound effect on our constituents.

The proposal put forward by the Democratic Conference, modeled on what other states have done, is a fair way to get us back to the business of legislating, or at least a place to start the conversation. (On the other hand, the “proposal” put forward by the Republican Conference would give Pedro Espada and Dean Skelos absolute power and includes the insane idea that Senator Espada has two votes.)

Of course, whatever solution we come to now won’t get all of the legislation I’m fighting for passed or solve all of the Senate’s problems — and there are a lot of them. Real long-term reform is necessary; we need substantive changes on ethics, campaign finance and internal rules. This year we started to move the ball on each, but we have not done nearly enough. Beyond just getting support for ethics reform, which I was pleased to do, we have to enact it. Beyond just introducing campaign finance bills, we have to pass them into law. And beyond rules reform at the margins (or what the “coup” served up, which is a cynical attempt at headlines that masks leader-controlled business-as-usual), we need to fundamentally change the way the Senate is organized: if we had a real way to move bills to the floor, non-partisan administration of the Senate, and a fairer balance of power between the leader and the members, this sort of nuclear stalemate would be very, very unlikely.

New Yorkers are witnessing a fight over choosing a leader who will have near-absolute power, not just on a $130 billion budget but on issues from healthcare to the environment, housing to farming to civil rights. If there is any lesson from this standoff, it is that reform is not about idealism or feeling nice. It is about democracy, at its most basic core. Without democracy, the rot emanating from the Senate Chamber won’t stop in Albany; it is sure to spread, via bad laws and poor policy, across the state from Western New York to the eastern tip of Long Island.

I wish I could offer a prediction about what happens next; but the last week and a half has been so unpredictable, I’m convinced predictions are impossible. (A week and a half ago I would have bet that this week we would pass my ethics reform legislation, my housing, education and pedestrian safety proposals, and a raft of other bills I carry.)

As always, please let me know if you have any thoughts, suggestions — or predictions. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,
Daniel

Anyone out there looking for office space in New York City? The collaborative workspace that I manage, Studio Guild, is looking for new tenants.

Here’s the posting I just sent to friends and colleagues. Spread the word!

Office Space Open in Creative Flatiron Loft – $475

The Studio Guild, a collaborative office space on 27th St & Broadway, is looking for new tenants. We’re a collection of architects, writers, nonprofiteers, filmmakers, technologists and designers who occupy three floors of a sunny, historic building. We are mostly one- or two-person companies who need an inexpensive, productive place to work, without the stiffness of an “executive office suite.”

We rent out space in 7′ x 8′ desk areas. Each area costs $475 / month, and that includes everything — rent, utilities, web access, cleaning, water, etc. No hidden fees. The floorplan is fairly open; desk areas are separated by low, home-made dividers which can be moved anywhere. You can section off an area for privacy needs, or you can leave it totally open. Very flexible.

Leases are all month to month. There are two conference rooms and a shared kitchen. 24 / 7 access. Central neighborhood, good lunch places. We’re hardworking but friendly, we share lots of ideas and referrals, and we have great parties.

If you’d like to learn more, email tate@tatehausman.com with a short description of you and what you’re looking for. Thanks!

Any readers out there have suggestions of a house / retreat center / conference facility that could accommodate 13 progressives for a night in January?

I’m going to be leading a strategic planning retreat for a progressive think tank, and I need to find somewhere comfortable and quiet to elicit the teams’ best thinking. Ideally, somewhere within a one hour drive of Manhattan. I know of many places 2-3 hours away; but accessibility to NYC is key.

Even if it was only a house rental, that could work well. Modest budget, respectful group of people.

Any ideas at all are welcome — tate at tatehausman d-o-t com.

On Friday I slid 300 letters under 300 doors in my Brooklyn Heights building. They were invitations for anyone in the neighborhood to come to a party I’m throwing on August 20 for a new friend, Daniel Squadron.

Daniel is a progressive candidate running for State Senate in my district. I met him a few weeks ago and was thoroughly impressed. He’s young, energetic, and blessed with new ideas that he wants to take to Albany. He has serious endorsements, a serious warchest, and serious supporters behind him (including Senator Chuck Schumer). My friends at the Working Families Party have chosen Daniel as one of their top races this year, because he could be a poster child for the WFP’s strategy of replacing “bad” Democrats (centrist, corporate, do-nothings) with “good” Democrats (progressive, responsive, high integrity).

If you live in Daniel’s district, you are welcome to come meet him. This party is NOT a fundraiser. It’s simply a chance to meet the guy who easily could become your next State Senator.

What: Drinks and snacks with Daniel Squadron

Where: Tate & Shawna’s place, probably in our courtyard – 110 Livingston St, Brooklyn

When: Wed, August 20, 8pm

Why: Mostly this is an excuse to get our friends together and have fun. But also New York’s Sept 9 primary is coming up, and Daniel Squadron wants your vote. So come talk with him about the issues facing Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.

RSVP by emailing me at tate – at – tatehausman d.o.t. com.

The most persuasive reason yet to wear your bicycle helmet — the NYPD:

As a frequent bike commuter, and someone who has participated in many a Critical Mass ride, this makes me furious. A comment below the video sums it up for me: “My family is filled with decent, hard working police officers. So, I know a pig when I see one.”

Critical mass has long been plagued by tension with the police, starting in San Francisco but escalating in New York. However, after years of mass arrests and lawsuits, the city and bike organizers reached a reasonable understanding — no civil disobedience, no arrests, no harassment. The cops got what they want, which is an orderly procession. The bikers got what they wanted, which is a reclamation of the streets for a brief moment every month.

My read of this video is that cops are still suspicious and resentful of the semi-chaotic nature of Critical Mass. That makes sense to me — its hard to impose order on loosely joined crowds of highly mobile people. But taking it out physically on an innocent participant? Completely wrong.

Hope someone got the guy’s badge number.

An afternoon adventure movie, just for fun. See if you can spot Adrian Brody. (Hint: gesturing towards him with a potato chip in mouth is the height of subtlety.)

This morning, less than 20 seconds after my alarm went off, the radio news told me something completely depressing. NY State Assembly leader Sheldon Silver has blocked Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan for New York City. Bloomberg quickly unleashed a torrent of angry statements towards Silver. I’m adding mine to the pile.

Congestion pricing was a smart, bold plan that would have made New York a leader in reducing traffic and pollution, while investing billions more in public transit. That’s the future. By not even allowing the plan to come up for a vote in the Assembly, Shelly Silver kept us firmly in the past — for the sake of his own political clout. He did it because he doesn’t want to lose favor with the Assembly members from suburban communities; they are the ones that vote to keep him in leadership, after all.

The irony, of course, is that the Republican leader of the Senate, Joe Bruno, was in favor of the plan. So the major hurdle that most progressive legislation has to clear — the Republican State Senate — was a non-issue.

If Silver was in a competitive district, this never would have happened. Too bad he’s so entrenched. I’m sure he’ll deliver more wins for progressives in the future, as he’s done in the past. But this time, he traded the public trust for political gain. Cowardly is the nicest word for it.

What a crappy way to wake up!