New York on the Political Brink: What's Next?

"I have no plans to resign,'' he said Friday evening. "I will clear my name."

While his administration teeters on the brink, the collateral damage inflicted on the state's reputation, the Democratic Party and the city's black political establishment is difficult to determine.

Paterson, 55, son of a former New York secretary of state, was one of the brightest lights among the city's new generation of black politicians. Now both he and Congressman Charles B. Rangel, 79, a member of the legendary Harlem Old Guard, are confronting separate state and federal investigations into an array of violations. (Separately, Rep. Eric Massa of New York, who faced a House probe into allegations he harassed an aide, said on Friday he will resign immediately.)

Under pressure in Congress after being admonished for ethics violations, Rangel, a 20-term Harlem representative who has served for 40 years, reluctantly gave up his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, a position he assumed three years ago. He has given no sign he will resign. Though a high-level political adviser says he will run for re-election this fall, Rangel's prospects have certainly dimmed.

For Paterson, the avalanche of accusations, allegations and missteps has undermined his credibility and eroded his power. Looking befuddled and harried this week, Paterson faces five investigations, a fast-crumbling administration and diminishing public support. Typical of the souring mood in the city is the front page of the New York Post on Friday, which ran a fake resignation letter and demanded, "Just Sign It, Dave!"

But the governor is believed to have been encouraged by a meeting of the city's black establishment on Thursday night in Harlem, where his resignation was debated. The camps were split, but the group decided to support the governor.

Still, he faces hard facts. In quick order, he lost three top administration officials, and has to deal with an investigation by the office of the state attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, into his role in a domestic violence case involving a top aide. Paterson is accused of having intervened to protect his aide from the accusation. Cuomo, who will run for governor this year and is expected to win, is looking into the steps the State Police and the governor may have taken to keep the episode quiet. After prosecutors questioned Paterson's communications director, Peter E. Kauffmann, he decided to resign on Thursday, saying, "Unfortunately, as recent developments have come to light, I cannot in good conscience continue in my current position." Paterson also faces accusations that he lied under oath during an investigation into the way he came by free tickets to a World Series game at Yankee Stadium last fall.

Meantime, Paterson has hired a lawyer, Theodore V. Wells Jr., who represented former Gov. Eliot Spitzer when he was under investigation in 2008 for hiring prostitutes. Wells persuaded prosecutors not to charge Spitzer. A Democratic political consultant who doesn't work for Paterson told me that he believes the governor is looking for a deal to save face.

Paterson's latest setbacks came after Rangel stepped down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday after being admonished by the House Ethics Committee for taking corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean. Rangel faces even more serious accusations related to his fund-raising and failure to pay federal taxes on a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.

According to a report in the New York Times, Rangel, who is reported to have a net worth of between $1 million and $2.4 million, accepted four rent-stabilized apartments from a Manhattan real estate developer. Rangel paid thousands of dollars a month under the market value of the apartments. By doing so, he may have violated a ban on taking gifts worth more than $50.

Reacting to the investigations, Rangel said his decision to step down was temporary. But few in Washington and New York circles believe he will take back his chairmanship and many predict he will not run for re-election.

An insider in Rangel's camp chafed at questions about Rangel's future. He didn't want to discuss any talk about how Rangel had damaged the reputation of the Old Guard, the elders in the black establishment, including Rangel, who built a political powerhouse in Harlem that helped elect black candidates. "We're tired of all those stories about the Harlem Old Guard,'' he said. "We have plenty of young good black politicians in this city," he said, pointing out that Harlem has changed and that many blacks moved out of Harlem to other boroughs, diluting the power of the old Harlem political club house. "We're concentrating now on the positive and getting ready for the campaign," he said, referring to Rangel, but he did not forecast victory. "Never know what's going to happen,'' he said. "Look around."

The travails of Paterson and Rangel are unraveling just as other prominent characters in the city's black political landscape are facing their own investigations for ethical and other law violations. Among them are Congressman Gregory W. Meeks and State Senator Malcolm A. Smith, who together founded a nonprofit organization that federal prosecutors are investigating for potential misuse of funds. At the same time, the state inspector general's office is investigating the bidding process in the Aqueduct Racetrack project. One of the investors is the Rev. Floyd Flake, a prominent figure in the African-American community.

"There's a sense of financial entitlement among these officials," a Democratic Party insider told me. "They feel they are exempt from the law. It has nothing to do with race, but it is a problem."

New York City hardly stands alone at the top charts of political corruption. There's Chicago, and Miami, and Washington, D.C. In the District of Columbia, the council voted this week to censure Marion Barry, the former mayor, over a report accusing him of violating conflict-of-interest laws. In 2006, Barry was sentenced to three years' probation in connection with charges that he failed federal and local tax returns.

But there is something bigger and perhaps more troubling happening in New York.