Spin Cycle

Freshman Democratic state Sen. Brian Foley, assigned to head up the Ethics Committee in the first round of appointments when the Dems secured the majority last week, is now getting a little bit more of a plum assignment according to his office -- chairmanship of the Banking Committee.

Portions of his Suffolk district have faced some of the highest foreclosure rates in the state, and the new post will put him in a position to push legislation to address the mortgage and housing crisis. "Sen. Foley is honored to get this major assignment and is looking forward to advancing legislation," said Ibrahim Khan, Foley's spokesman.

He'll get only one stipend, and apparently it's pretty likely that he'll give up the chairmanship of the Ethics Committee.

Update: Bureau chief James Madore spoke to Foley about the new job, who sees it as a sign that new Democratic majority leader Malcolm Smith, whose conference is dominated by urban districts, still cares about LI: “He’s very concerned…his [Queens] district abuts Long Island.”

Maybe so. But, as Madore notes, even with Foley's new assignment added to Craig Johnson's leadership of a Govt Ops/Investigations Committee, LI's clout is significantly diminished from just a month ago, when "Republicans from Long Island headed six Senate committees that dealt with consumer protection, corporations and public authorities, environmental conservation, finance, health and higher education."