Regulators continue to crack down on the infamous Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica, Queens -- site of the controversial 2006 police shooting that claimed the life of Sean Bell.

First, the State Liquor Authority stripped the notorious strip club of its liquor license. Now, health inspectors have shuttered the topless juice joint for a number of unsanitary conditions, including evidence of mice.

David Paterson invoked Hurricane Katrina while reiterating his opposition to the gas-tax holiday, a proposal that was supported by Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, and which recently passed the State Senate with Joe Bruno's backing.  read more »

At the unveiling of a playground initiative at a school in the Bronx just now, Michael Bloomberg was asked about the involvement of the House judiciary committee in reviewing police procedures in the wake of the Sean Bell incident.

The mayor made it clear that he didn’t regard it as helpful. “This is a police department that works and doesn’t exactly need more oversight [from the federal government],” he said. He also said that the judiciary committee should look into the police departments in other cities where the crime rate is higher.

SEIU Local 1199 has endorsed City Council candidate Elizabeth Crowley, one of the Democrats running in the special election to fill Dennis Gallagher's seat.

The union is hugely powerful politically, particularly in special elections. So this is fairly big, if not all that surprising.  read more »

This, a day after Sharpton blasted Obama for "grandstand[ing] in front of white people." Go figure.

Later today, Al Sharpton and others will be meeting at the 1199 SEIU building on West 43rd Street to organize citywide protests in response to the Sean Bell verdict. The union will be represented by president George Gresham and executive vice president Patrick Gaspard, according to a spokeswoman.

The union's involvement in the planned protests shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Bell’s mother is a former member of the union [clarified]. And union officials have been in touch with the family since the shooting in 2006. .
 read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/sharpton-and-1199-organize-sean-bell-responses#comments Politics 1199 SEIU Al Sharpton Sean Bell Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:58:56 -0400 Azi Paybarah 68492 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/sharptons-documentary

When Al Sharpton walked off the stage at his National Action Networks headquarters in Harlem this weekend, television cameramen and reporters packed up their things and left too. But Terrell Taylor picked up his camera and got to work

Taylor is a 38-year-old filmmaker who is working on a documentary about Sharpton, the National Action Network, and the modern civil right movement. After filming Sharpton for a project focusing on the 40th anniversary of the civil rights movement, Taylor said he approached Sharpton about doing a second project. And Sharpton, never one to shy away from reporters, was more than obliging.

Sharpton has granted Taylor and his six-man-crew behind the scenes access that no other reporter is getting. And since Sharpton is working on the Sean Bell case, that means lots of footage of Bell’s family and friends.

According to Taylor, “We were with the family 48 until the verdict. So, we had an opportunity to sit down while they ate their last dinner before the verdict, while they went to church and prayed. Also at the vigils. We were actually there at the breakfast before the trial.”  read more »

Tomorrow, Al Sharpton and others will meet at SEIU local 1199’s headquarters to plan citywide protests in light of the Sean Bell verdict, which seems to put the city’s most powerful union right at his corner.  read more »

How much credit does Michael Bloomberg deserve for the relative calm that’s followed the Sean Bell verdict? It’s a question that’s more than just academic, given the potential for racially fraught episodes just like this one to have a defining impact on a mayoral legacy – and on a mayor’s political fortunes moving forward.

According to veteran New York political reporter Andrew Kirtzman, who I emailed for his take on the question, Bloomberg has been more lucky than skillful in presiding over what has been, so far, a restrained fallout.

Here’s Kirtzman’s take, from early this weekend:  read more »

When asked, State Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith seemed to disagree with White, and quickly moved on to the next question.]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/sean-bell-and-race#comments Politics Malcolm Smith Ruben Diaz Jr. Sean Bell Tom White Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:13:24 -0400 Azi Paybarah 68385 at http://www.observer.com