NY Observer > John Sweeney http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/24219/feed Articles from Observer.com en Plaza Watch! Irish Hotelier's Nine Million Lucky Charms http://www.observer.com/2008/real-estate/plaza-watch-irish-hotel-magnate-boys-9-million-condo

The Irish equivalent of the Plaza is the Shelbourne Hotel, give or take a couple hundred condos.

Built in 1824, in a landmark building overlooking a park in the heart of Ireland's capital, the Shelbourne has had a long reign as what The New York Times called "the princess of Dublin hotels." Like the Plaza, the 225-room hotel never lost its cache with tourists, even as more luxurious competitors popped up and service started to decline--in October 2004, an Irish court ruling stripped the Shelbourne of its five-star status, and the hotel decided to become unclassified.

A few months later, Irish oil magnate/hotelier John Sweeney swooped in with a consortium of investors and bought the down-at-the-heels hotel for 120 million Euros and promised to restore it to its former splendor with a 40 million Euro makeover.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/real-estate/plaza-watch-irish-hotel-magnate-boys-9-million-condo#comments Real Estate Elad John Sweeney The Plaza The Shelbourne Hotel Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:16:15 -0400 Lysandra Ohrstrom 71977 at http://www.observer.com Tonight: Lancman, Gillibrand http://www.observer.com/2007/tonight-lancman-gillibrand

Here are a couple of events that got left off our list yesterday.

A new political club in Assemblyman Rory Lancman’s district - which used to be represented by Brian McLaughlin before he was implicated in a contract-rigging scandal - is having its first meeting tonight in Fresh Meadows, featuring as guest speaker Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Another event happening tonight, unrelated, is the first in a series of planned New York City fund-raisers for Democratic Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, who defeated incumbent John Sweeney in a Republican-leaning district upstate and has been the target of Republican challenges ever since.

If you've got any others, feel free send them in or plug them in the comments section. Details for the Gillibrand fund-raiser are after the jump.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/tonight-lancman-gillibrand#comments O2 Politics Brian McLaughlin John Sweeney Kirsten Gillibrand Richard Brown Rory Lancman Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:50:30 -0400 Azi Paybarah 58085 at http://www.observer.com Sweeney: Just a Family Problem http://www.observer.com/node/31969 In one of his first interviews since losing a re-election campaign in his upstate district last year, former Representative John Sweeney said that a 911 call made by his wife where she complained that he was "knocking her around the house" was "simply what happens sometimes in families."

Speaking on WROW just now, Sweeney said that when it became public that a 911 call had once been made by his wife, "We didn't deny that a call was made. We didn't deny there had been problems in my family at that particular time."

Sweeney said he still isn't sure how the call was made public.

"As of today, we still haven't gotten a conclusive report back," he said. "We know somebody violated the law. They know somebody violated the law. Probably from within the New York State police, but it may have been within some other law enforcement entity that had access to this information. And we may never get the final story on that. "

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/31969#comments Politics John Sweeney Mon, 09 Apr 2007 07:10:55 -0400 Observer Staff 31969 at http://www.observer.com Sweeney Loses, Reynolds Leads http://www.observer.com/node/30657 Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand upset incumbent Rep. John Sweeney, who was dogged by allegations that he beat his wife. CNN has the results at 53-47 percent.

Another embattled upstate congressman, Tom Reynolds, is holding off his challenger, Jack Davis, 54-46 with about 7 percent of the votes counted.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30657#comments Politics Cable News Network LP LLLP Jack Davis John Sweeney Tom Reynolds Tue, 07 Nov 2006 18:19:26 -0500 Observer Staff 30657 at http://www.observer.com Sweeney's Good News http://www.observer.com/node/30595 No matter the outcome today, there is some good news for upstate Rep. John Sweeney, whose re-election has been in jeopardy since a story surfaced about a domestic abuse 911 call by his wife.

"The good news today is, it ends, the smearing ends," Sweeney told reporters.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30595#comments Politics Google Inc. John Sweeney Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:15:33 -0500 Observer Staff 30595 at http://www.observer.com The Other Maureen http://www.observer.com/node/30531 Anybody who shares a name with an elected official, candidate, or press aide, can sympathize with Maureen Donovan whose last name is one letter off from the very busy press aide to congressman John Sweeney (of the infamous 911 calls).

Here's Donovan's automated response to from Donovan's Yahoo account:

If you are trying to e-mail Maureen Donovan w/info re: political campaigns, news stories, or visits to NYC, you have the wrong Maureen Donovan! From the many e-mails I have received in error, my guess is that this person's e-mail address is "maureenodonovan@yahoo.com." Note the "o" in the middle of the address. Subtle difference, but one that has caused me to get dozens of e-mails, some of which seem to contain rather sensitive information, that are not intended for me. Please check and correct this in your e-mail address book. THANKS!

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30531#comments Politics John Sweeney Maureen Donovan New York City Yahoo! Inc. Thu, 02 Nov 2006 10:03:09 -0500 Observer Staff 30531 at http://www.observer.com Sweeney's Wife http://www.observer.com/node/30527

Here is congressman John Sweeney's wife - the one who called 911 from her home - defending her husband and, of course, blaming Kirsten Gillibrand for the whole thing.

As Ben and Liz noted, she doesn't deny, or even address, that December 2005 incident. -- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30527#comments Politics John Sweeney Kirsten Gillibrand Thu, 02 Nov 2006 08:45:11 -0500 Observer Staff 30527 at http://www.observer.com Elsewhere: Hillary, Callaghan's Driver http://www.observer.com/node/30520
tax-less-driver.JPG

John Sweeney's wife briefly discussed the incident in her home which led her to call 911. And Liz has the script for the new ad she's doing [added].

A Republican congressional candidate in the neighboring upstate district subsequently endorsed Sweeney's Democratic opponent, calling it an "act of conscience." That other Republican, Warren Redlich, went on to say Sweeney is "what's wrong with Washington."

Hillary Clinton said John Kerry's "botched joke" about students who don't study getting "stuck" in Iraq was inappropriate.

Some of those stuck soldiers offer their own response.

Ben explains that Freddy Ferrer joining a mostly-Republican consulting firm means "Freddy is showing about as much loyalty to his party that many of its prominent figures showed him."

Eliot Spitzer's campaign gave $250,000 to the Working Families Party.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver - who doesn't have a race, does he? - received $669,116 in contributions.

Sue Kelley tries making an issue of John Hall's stock portfolio.

Early and Often notes that Alan Hevesi isn't the only one with chauffeur problems.

And pictured above is the guy driving Chris Callaghan's Tax-Less Express, pictured -- strangely enough -- between two cars from Hillary Clinton's motorcade outside the Poughkeepsie Journal. -- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30520#comments Politics Hillary Clinton John Kerry John Sweeney Poughkeepsie Journal Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:03:32 -0500 Observer Staff 30520 at http://www.observer.com GOP Candidate Backs Gillibrand http://www.observer.com/node/30516 First, reports surfaced that a domestic disturbance in upstate Republican congressman John Sweeney's home led his wife to call 911.

Then, a Republican congressional candidate in the neighboring upstate district endorsed Sweeney's Democratic opponent, calling it an "act of conscience."

That other Republican, Warren Redlich, went on to say Sweeney is 'what's wrong with Washington."

Ouch.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30516#comments Politics John Sweeney Washington Wed, 01 Nov 2006 10:22:41 -0500 Observer Staff 30516 at http://www.observer.com The Morning Read: November 1, 2006 http://www.observer.com/node/30509 Sparks fly in close races over what to do in Iraq.

John Kerry responds to the White House criticism of his "botched joke" about Iraq.

The News gets a hold of a 1995 2005 police report of an incident in which Rep. John Sweeney's wife called the police to report that her husband was "knocking her around the house."

Charles Schumer and Mike Bloomberg write an op-ed [subscription] about what New York can learn from London, and say an independent firm will issue a report next month on how to lure businesses here.

After his meteoric rise in politics, Ned Lamont is once again the underdog.

Republicans are donating a lot of money to keep the state Senate out of Democratic hands.

Jeanine Pirro paid her driver $150,000 in overtime over two years.

Andrew Cuomo is endorsed by the Albany Times Union.

Alan Hevesi's lawyer said the State Ethics Commission ignored threats to the comptroller outlined in a 2003 letter from state police.

John Faso told the New York Sun he has no regrets about how his gubernatorial race is going.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30509#comments Politics Iraq John Kerry John Sweeney The White House Wed, 01 Nov 2006 04:00:00 -0500 Observer Staff 30509 at http://www.observer.com