Shhhh! Two Northern Manhattan landlords have been named to the Village Voice’s 10 Worst Landlords list for 2010. The Voice took notice when, before he was elected, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio started his Slumlord Watchlist by holding a press conference in front of a building owned by Bahram “Danny” Hakakian in Washington Heights.

Shhhh!

Two Northern Manhattan landlords have been named to the Village Voice’s 10 Worst Landlords list for 2010. The Voice took notice when, before he was elected, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio started his Slumlord Watchlist by holding a press conference in front of a building owned by Bahram “Danny” Hakakian in Washington Heights. The building at 206 Audubon Avenue had exposed wiring and a slew of violations – 338 by the Voice’s count. The alternative free weekly newspaper reports that 76 of those were classified as immediately hazardous. Hakakian owns five buildings in Northern Manhattan. Voice Reporter Elizabeth Dwoskin even quoted the Manhattan Times article quoting de Blasio at the press conference.

Shhhh!

Former City Council Member and Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Guillermo Linares is ready to throw his hat in the ring for the next round of elections in Northern Manhattan.

The political future of Northern Manhattan is much discussed these days, and indeed many of the long-held seats may soon be contested. Senator Eric Schneiderman has all but officially declared he is running for attorney general, and is just waiting for current AG Andrew Cuomo to give up his seat to run for the open seat of governor against Republican Rick Lazio.

A matter of when – not if – that happens, 12-year-incumbent Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat will most likely get the go-ahead from his Senate Exploratory Committee to pursue Schneiderman’s seat. He will battle long-time community organizer and political hopeful Mark Levine for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the seat.

In a sit down with the MT, Linares said he will decide which seat he wants to run for, Assembly or Senate, when the time comes.

“I could run if Eric decides to run statewide,” he said. He could also run for Assembly, he said.

Linares, who ran unsuccessfully against Schneiderman for Senate in 2002, left his post as Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs to run for City Council last year after then City Council Member Miguel Martinez stepped down. Linares’ run ended after a successful court challenge from now-Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez.

“When I left city government last year … it was precisely to commit myself to the community,” Linares said. “I felt I needed to present myself as an option.”

If everything goes as expected, Linares will be an option again.

Shhhh!

Three cheers for The New York Times for not only exploring the Southern Heights in the weekly “Local Stop” feature of the Sun., Mar. 28 Metropolitan section, but for prominently featuring Marjorie Eliot’s Parlor Jazz concerts. The article, “Amid the Hilly Landscape, Hidden Gems,” covered an extensive swath of the neighborhood, from the Little Red Lighthouse to Malecon restaurant and Carrot Top Bakery to the Morris-Jumel Mansion. But it was the inclusion of Eliot’s unbelievable 18-year dedication to hosting public concerts in her living room every Sunday afternoon that demonstrated that the paper did its legwork. Check out the slideshow at www.nytimes.com.