Ailsa Chang

New York, NY —

Former State Senator Hiram Monserrate and Assemblyman Jose Peralta had their first, and probably only, face-off before the March 16th special election for state Senate. WNYC's Ailsa Chang was in Jackson Heights last night to hear the candidates answer questions from voters.

REPORTER: All night long ...

In the home stretch before the March 16 special election for the District 13 state Senate seat, Democratic Assemblyman Jose Peralta is running his first TV campaign ad. The commercial launches immediately into an attack on his opponent, former Queens state Sen. Hiram Monserrate. It opens with security video footage ...

New York, NY —

Voters in Queens will decide if former State Sen. Hiram Monserrate should get his job back after being expelled from the Senate last month by a vote of 53-8. He’ll be running against Assemblyman Jose Peralta in a special election on March 16. Although Peralta ...

New York, NY —

Influential black leaders across the city say Gov. David Paterson should not resign right now.

A group convened by Al Sharpton met at the Harlem restaurant Sylvia's last night, and they decided that the investigations against Paterson should run their course before a decision is made.

New York, NY —

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is setting up a "Conviction Integrity" unit in his office to help prevent wrongful convictions. One of the unit's outside advisors will be Barry Scheck, who directs the Innocence Project -- a national group that helps exonerate wrongfully convicted people.

Scheck ...

New York, NY —

Religious leaders in Queens have pledged their support for Hiram Monserrate in the special election to fill the expelled State Senator's seat on March 16.

They say they appreciate Monserrate's vote against gay marriage last year. One local leader, Rev. Gilbert Pickett says he applauds Monserrate ...

Residents in former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's district are getting their first mailings from "Fight Back New York."

State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs says now that Gov. David Paterson won't run in the fall, momentum will build to support Andrew Cuomo as the Democratic candidate for governor.

New York, NY —

State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs says now that Gov. David Paterson won't run in the fall, momentum will build to support Andrew Cuomo as the Democratic candidate for governor. Jacobs says he'll definitely endorse Cuomo if he announces he'll run.

"I would be surprised if ...

New York, NY —

Residents in former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's district are getting their first mailings from "Fight Back New York." In the lead-up to the March 16 special election, the political action committee is targeting Monserrate for voting against New York's gay marriage bill.

Alex Navarro-McKay is coordinating ...

New York, NY —

New York's highest court has ruled that governors and legislators violated the state constitution by failing to give judges raises for 11 years. The court found lawmakers violated the separation of powers by tying judicial pay to legislation affecting lawmakers' pay.

Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau ...

New York, NY —

A federal judge will decide today whether former State Senator Hiram Monserrate should remain expelled by the State Senate.

WNYC's Ailsa Chang watched lawyers for Monserrate and lawyers for the state make their arguments in court yesterday.

Former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate appeared with five lawyers in federal court Thursday to ask a judge to block his expulsion from the state Senate and cancel the special election scheduled for March 16th. Six voters in his district joined as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Monserrate says this legal battle ...

New York, NY —

After Attorney General Eric Holder announced he was planning to try the 9/11 defendants in Lower Manhattan, a lot of residents there have been saying their neighborhood is no place for a terrorism trial. But for decades, federal prosecutors have been trying some of the ...

New York, NY —

When Attorney General Eric Holder announced last November that he planned on trying the 9/11 defendants in New York City, the Obama Administration acted like it was a done deal. Until residents in Lower Manhattan –- like Jan Lee -– began pushing back. "Terrorists pose ...

New York, NY —

State Sen. Hiram Monserrate was hoping a federal judge would grant a temporary restraining order today to stop the Senate from expelling him.

But Judge William Pauley in federal court Manhattan said there was no need to grant the order immediately since the state Senate doesn't ...

The New York state Senate voted late last night to expel Sen. Hiram Monserrate by a vote of 53 to 8. Monserrate was convicted last fall of a misdemeanor assault charge. Gov. David Paterson has already called for a special election on March 16 to fill Monserrate's seat. ...

New York, NY —

The state Senate on Tuesday voted to expel Sen. Hiram Monserrate following his conviction last year for assaulting his girlfriend. The Senate motion passed 53-to-8.

Monserrate has vowed to fight the chamber in court, saying the state constitution has no provision for expelling its own. Monserrate ...

New York, NY —

The State Senate will likely vote today on whether to expel Senator Hiram Monserrate who was convicted of a misdemeanor for assaulting his girlfriend. WNYC's Ailsa Chang talked to Monserrate's lawyers who say Monserrate's pending appeal of that assault conviction is one reason the Senate ...

New York's State Senate expects to vote tomorrow on whether Senator Hiram Monserrate should be censured or expelled from office.