Vito Lopez calls on Andrew Cuomo to fondle NY Const. Art., 1, Sec. 3

and see that Nassau OTB is open 365 days of the year without religious preference. Andrew Cuomo can't prefer Roman Catholic Easter Sunday to close Nassau OTB  over Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday. ditto for Roman Catholic Palm Sunday and Greek Orthodox Palm Sunday.

Gentleman may prefer blondes or not, but Andrew Cuomo can't prefer religious holidays for the closure of public benefit corporations when bettors want to bet and some workers want to work before their employer drops dead (eg goes bankrupt like NYC OTB did and Suffolk OTB is trying to do having filed for bankruptcy)
 

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Cuomo Calls for Resignation of Brooklyn Assemblyman

By THOMAS KAPLAN

Published: August 26, 2012

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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday became the latest Democratic official to call for the resignation of a powerful Brooklyn assemblyman who was censured on Friday after allegations of sexual harassment.

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The assemblyman, Vito J. Lopez, who leads the Brooklyn Democratic Party, was accused of verbally harassing, groping and kissing two staff members this summer, charges that the Assembly’s ethics committee found credible.

“Sexual harassment at the workplace cannot be tolerated in any shape or form,” Mr. Cuomo’s spokesman, Josh Vlasto, said in a statement. “These are serious allegations and if true, the governor believes he should resign.”

Mr. Lopez, who was first elected to the Assembly in 1984, has long been a Democratic kingmaker in Brooklyn. His lawyer, Gerald B. Lefcourt, denied the charges on Friday and strongly criticized the Assembly’s investigation as “lawless.” Mr. Lefcourt declined to comment Sunday on Mr. Cuomo’s statement.

Mr. Lopez’s denial has not discouraged Democratic officeholders from urging the assemblyman to resign. On Saturday, Senator Charles E. Schumer called for Mr. Lopez to step down, and a day earlier, a number of top Democrats from New York City urged him to vacate his office, including Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker; Bill de Blasio, the public advocate; Representative Jerrold Nadler; and Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president.

A Daily News editorial on Saturday also called for Mr. Lopez to step down, and an online petition by the New Kings Democrats, a political organization, urging him to resign his party chairmanship had attracted more than 250 signers by Sunday night.

Mr. Cuomo’s statement came after The New York Times reported on Saturday that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver had quietly settled at least one other sexual harassment accusation against Mr. Lopez this year. The previous complaint was not reported to the Assembly’s ethics committee.

On Friday, Mr. Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, removed Mr. Lopez from his post as chairman of the Assembly’s Housing Committee, stripped him of his seniority and barred him from employing interns. A spokesman for Mr. Silver declined to comment on Mr. Cuomo’s call for Mr. Lopez to step down.

William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.

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Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.