Albanese et al v. New York City Campaign Finance Board et al

Filing 9

ORDER denying 2 Motion for TRO. So ordered by Judge Raymond J. Dearie on 10/31/17. (Ryan, Victoria)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
X

SAL F. ALBANESE,CURTIS SLIWA,and
FRANK MORANO,
Plaintiffs,

-against-

ORDER
17 CV 6254(RJD)

NEW YORK CITY CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD,
THE CITY OF NEW YORK,and THE CITY
UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK GRADUATE CENTER,
Defendants.

DEARIE,District Judge

Before the Court is a motion by plaintiffs, Sal F. Albanese, Curtis Sliwa, and
Frank Morano,for a temporary restraining order preventing defendants. New York City
Campaign Finance Board ("CFB"),the City of New York, and the City University of New York
Graduate Center,from administering and hosting the New York City Mayoral Debate (the
"Debate") on Wednesday, November 1, 2017, unless plaintiff. New York State Reform Party

Candidate, Sal F. Albanese, is permitted to participate in that debate. For the reasons stated
below and in the memorandum of opinion to follow, the Court denies the relief requested.
The standards for injunctive relief are well established and do not require repetition at
this time. S^ Fed. R. Civ. P. 65; see also Countv of Nassau. N.Y. v. Leavitt, 524 F.3d 408,414

(2d Cir. 2008). The evidence before the court does not warrant the relief requested.' While the
Court understands plaintiffs' obvious displeasure with the use of certain financial criteria for

^ Indeed, neither side presented any testimony at the hearing. Defendants move to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
12(b)(6).

debate eligibility, it finds no evidence to suggest that the challenged CFB Rules are partisan,

subjective, or discriminatory,^N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 3-709.5(5), or that they infringe upon
plaintiffs' constitutional rights. The court understands the genuine public interest in limiting
debates to candidates perceived as viable and acknowledges that financial criteria may be a
logical measure of a candidate's strength.

Plaintiffs' applications for injunctive relief is denied.
SO ORDERED.

Dated: Brooklyn, New York
October 31,2017
0. 'Deance
RAYMOND J. DEARIE

United States District Judge