Morning Politics: ‘We’re Sitting on a Powder Keg’

Scene at derailment of F train south of the 65 St. station in Woodside, Queens on Friday. (Photo: Marc Hermann/MTA)

Headline of the Day: "Who had the worst week in Washington? Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.)."

Later this morning, Bill de Blasio is expected to announce plans "for the construction or preservation of 200,000 affordable housing units in New York City during the next decade -- an effort to fulfill a campaign promise he has said would benefit half a million residents," Newsday reports. "City Hall as of Sunday had released few concrete details on the plan, and a mayoral spokesman did not respond to requests for comment."

"De Blasio is right that high rent in New York City squeezes many residents. He’s right too about needing more units," the New York Post editorial board writes. "And there’s even a good case to be made for a trade-off he appears willing to accept: higher density and taller buildings coupled with more affordable units. We look forward to the details."

Also later today, former Councilman Oliver Koppell is expected to launch his Democratic primary campaign against State Senator Jeff Klein. “Senator Jeff Klein looks forward to a spirited debate of ideas,” a Klein spokeswoman told The New York Times, “and is eager to address his record of legislative accomplishments and his vision for the people of his district."

The Staten Island Advance's Tom Wrobleski looked at the post-indictment landscape for Congressman Michael Grimm: "So a little more than a week after the ground shook in Island politics, only two things are clear: Grimm has been indicted and he’s running for re-election, and could win. And for some, that’s amazing enough all by itself."

"Even a prison sentence itself would not bar someone from running for Congress, even though it's been more than 200 years," the Staten Island Advance also noted. "In 1798, Vermont Rep. Matthew Lyon ran for Congress from prison and won. He assumed his seat in Congress after serving four months in prison for 'libeling' President John Adams. The House tried to expel him but failed."

Meanwhile Mr. Grimm's Democratic challenger, former Councilman Domenic Recchia, is launching his "Kitchen Table Listening Tour" today in the Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. "The issues that are discussed at the kitchen table of working families across Staten Island and Brooklyn are the same issues that Congress should be focused on," Mr. Recchia said in a statement.

Senator Chuck Schumer dropped some quiet puns into his anti-powdered alcohol press release. "With powdered alcohol on its way to store shelves by this fall, we're sitting on a powder keg," Mr. Schumer said in a statement published by News 8 Rochester. "[E]xperts must step in before this mind-boggling product, surely to become the Kool-Aid of teen binge drinking, sees the light of day."

And in case you missed it, Vice President Joe Biden and Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfusrecorded a skit for the White House Correspondents Dinner: