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Update, 12:26 p.m.:
I just received a semi-heated call from the mayor’s press office in which objections were raised about my characterization of the mayor’s work habits. My point of my post isn’t that the mayor is lazy but that The Times’ coverage of Paterson’s work habits seems somewhat different than the way the paper has covered Bloomberg – and former Gov. Pataki -- over the years. But for the record:

• Sean Bell was fatally shot by police in the early morning of Nov. 25, 2006 – a Saturday. While City Hall officials still won’t say where the mayor was that weekend, they refer me to a Times story that notes: “…[Bloomberg] talked to prominent black elected officials and religious leaders throughout the weekend, and has spoken with Mr. Bell's fiancee on the phone.” Bloomberg’s first public event surrounding the shooting occurred that Monday.

• The blackout in Queens occurred on Monday, July 17th, 2006. The mayor was first asked about it by reporters during a heated news conference at Gracie Mansion on July 20th. He then visited the neighborhood later that afternoon. The mayor’s physical whereabouts during the blackout that week were never in question; he was in New York City – just not in Queens.

• To be clear: the mayor typically has a radio show on Friday and a radio address on Sunday – so technically those are “public” events on his schedule. When I wrote “public schedule”, I meant a press conference-type event somewhere in the five boroughs – events that Giuliani typically held most weekends.

On last night’s program, Haitian running star Steeve Gabart discussed the recent earthquake in his country and this weekend’s Run for Haiti in Central Park, an event organized by the New York Road Runners to benefit those affected by the tragedy. Watch the video above.

Tonight’s guests include: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and our Friday Reporters Roundtable.

The New York Times

The Times’ Danny Hakim focuses intensely on Gov. Paterson’s work habits – or lack of them. The article is interesting – and potentially devastating to the governor. While it’s certainly not Hakim’s fault, the Times is focusing on Paterson’s management style in a way that it never quite has about the work schedule of Mayor Bloomberg or, say, Gov. Pataki in his third term. For example: The mayor routinely has no public schedule three days a week and it’s entirely unclear whether he’s in the five boroughs from Friday until Monday morning. (The Times highlights Paterson’s absence following a major plane crash but no one in the press corps ever wrote about Bloomberg’s slow response to the controversial Sean Bell shooting where he said nothing for more than a day and his whereabouts were never publicly revealed. Ditto for the massive blackout in Queens.) Bloomberg’s three-day absences are particularly striking to anyone who followed Mayor Giuliani – who routinely held public events over the weekends and rapidly responded in person to any crisis striking the city. Because of its far tougher standard with Paterson, The Times looks like it has an axe to grind against the governor. Meanwhile, Governor-in-waiting Andrew Cuomo refuses to tell the Times, NY1, or any other major media outlet how he’d run the state. It’s not a pretty situation.

Sam Dolnick writes about the fall of Bernard Kerik: “Bernard B. Kerik, a former New York police commissioner who rose to national prominence, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to eight felony charges, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials.”

The Times notes: “Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said Thursday that some police officers accused of misconduct would not be prosecuted by the Police Department but by an independent panel that investigates police-abuse allegations.
Under the plan, the Civilian Complaint Review Board would have the power to both charge and prosecute officers deemed to have committed misconduct. The review board currently has the power to investigate complaints, but cases that it substantiates are referred to the Police Department for prosecution.”

Columnist Clyde Haberman writes about “Tennessee Harold” and E.B. White.

New York Post

Bernard Kerik unloads to gossip columnist Cindy Adams.

Haberman & Dicker report: “Gov. Paterson admitted yesterday that he's been getting advice from his disgraced predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, saying the former governor has many "very good ideas about the way government should work."
The statement from Paterson -- made through an aide -- came after The Post reported that the embattled governor has been getting counsel from Spitzer, whose fall from grace in 2008 is the reason the governor has his seat.”

Murray Weiss writes: “Expelled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate shamelessly blew off all three of his court-ordered counseling sessions and has barely begun his 250 hours of community service -- putting him in the cross hairs of furious city officials looking to revoke his probation, The Post has learned. As a result of his failure to heed repeated warnings to meet the terms of his sentence, the disgraced Queens Democrat may be forced to appear before a judge to explain why he shouldn't be hauled off to prison.”

Tom Topousis reports: “A fuming Larry Silverstein lashed out at the Port Authority over the long-delayed reconstruction of Ground Zero, calling the project ‘a national disgrace’ and lamenting ‘the tragic waste of time’ that's taken place since 9/11. ‘I describe this as a national disgrace. I am the most frustrated person in the world,’ Silverstein said in an interview for CBS's ‘60 Minutes’ to be telecast Sunday night.”

Dicker & Campanile write: “Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is prepared to kill the controversial Aqueduct slots contract awarded to a politically wired consortium because of ongoing federal and state probes, The Post has learned.”

David Seifman notes: “The fish are long gone, so City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants to turn the vacated Fulton Fish Market into a food market like Seattle's legendary Pike's Place.”

David Saltonstall notes: “Harold Ford extended his leave of absence from Merrill Lynch Thursday as he ratcheted up a war of words with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.”

Doug Feiden writes: “An iconic 79-story skyscraper long planned for Ground Zero that would have been taller than the Empire State Building appears to be dead. Developer Larry Silverstein has proposed a new financing scheme for the troubled site that discards the 1,270-foot Tower 2, sources familiar with the project say. In the past two weeks, he has come under intense pressure from Gov. Paterson to resolve his bitter war with the Port Authority.”

Have a great weekend. Until Monday.

Bob Hardt