New York Senate coup by Acorn becomes physical

ALBANY, N.Y. - Protesters closely aligned with Democrats nearly knocked a Republican senator to the floor and are accused of spitting in the face of his chief of staff. Sen. James Alesi, of Monroe County, walked out of the chamber later Thursday, not seriously harmed. He said he was disturbed by the crowd of at least 150 people, including those from Citizen Action the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. Both groups deny their supporters spat on anyone in the unusually intense protest, with pushing, elbowing, shouting and thrusting of placards outside the Senate. The groups said they were protesting the coalition of Republicans and two dissident Democrats who claim to have taken power of the Senate. Republican Sen. George Winner of Elmira blamed Angelo Aponte, secretary of the Senate, for not preventing the protest. Winner said Aponte violated chamber rules by allowing it to go on. Republicans have already sought Aponte's resignation, to no avail.

"Today's disgraceful actions outside the Senate chamber were clearly sanctioned by Secretary of the Senate Angelo Aponte," Winner said. "He put the well-being of staff and legislators in jeopardy by allowing a violent protest in a restricted area of the Senate lobby." Democratic Senate spokesman Austin Shafran said Aponte has handled his job with "decorum and stability ... and the utmost class" despite the coalition's efforts to illegally take over the chamber.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the ACORN crowd shouldn't even have been there in the first place: The Senate lobby is a restricted area, and public protests are explicitly prohibited.

Violence from ACORN hardly surprises: It has a history, dating to the '80s, of engaging in trespassing, illegal seizure of private property, physical harassment, intimidation and outright extortion.
Those tactics, along with its notorious, fraud-tainted "voter registration" efforts, have been bolstered not only with millions in union cash, but also with $53 million in direct federal aid since 1994.
All of which makes us wonder why Mayor Bloomberg felt the need to go to bat for the group and its anti-foreclosure efforts.
The mayor, along with some of his big-city counterparts, supports a "pilot" ACORN project that ostensibly "mediates" renegotiation's of distressed mortgages between borrowers and lenders to avoid foreclosures.
His housing commissioner, Rafael Cestero, hailed ACORN as "a solid housing provider in the city and a partner to the city of New York."
It remains to be seen whether this particular program is above board -- though ACORN, with its record, deserves the benefit of no doubts whatsoever.
But we wonder.
Will Bloomberg -- with his unfortunate history of doing business with noxious figures like Lenora Fulani and, now, ACORN -- be singing a different tune if the shoving and spitting come to City Hall?
Subscribe to the Electronic Edition and get the New York Post exactly as it appears in print.