“I’ve worked on the urban agenda all my life. All. My. Life.”

As my Sicilian grandfather used to say, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, right?

To be clear no one is above the law.

The time has come to return integrity, performance and dignity to New York and make it the Empire State once again.

I don’t think bonuses are always bad.

The Declaration of Independence says when government fails, the people have the right to replace it. Well, New York State government has failed and the people have the right, indeed the people have the the people have the obligation, to act.

I’m a harsh critic of the status quo.

I’ve been not only articulating the dissatisfaction with Albany, I’ve been acting on it. I’ve been very aggressive in bringing public integrity cases and public corruption cases and bringing cases against sitting legislators

People who assume I want to run for elected office may be dealing from a bad assumption.

I think there’s a lot to learn from Rockefeller on how to pass legislation.

I believe global warming and climate change are real threats to our planet.

New York State is upside down and backwards; high taxes and low performance.

I was elected to come to an incredibly dysfunctional capital and make the government work better, and that’s what I’m doing.

Politicians are good listeners. Because if they’re not, they aren’t politicians for very long.

I haven’t lost my head yet.

I am fiscally prudent and socially progressive. I believe in protecting a woman’s right to choose. I believe in marriage equality.

I don’t think anyone would argue with the notion that there have been serious abuses on Wall Street.

I think towards the end of my career, I’m the man. But right now, I’ve still got that underdog mentality to keep on proving myself time and again. I’m not going to believe the hype.

No doubt about it, in my career Ron Lyle hit me the hardest. One time he hit me so hard I didn’t see it until I saw it on film when I woke up!

I love any time you can enlighten people to mistakes, that’s how I started my career.

Playing with Queen was the biggest moment of my career. It was like living a childhood fantasy.

No offence to Nicki Minaj, but her career has essentially been a Lil’ Kim tribute

The most common misconception people have had in the past is about my own control and calculation of my career.

I take pride in working very hard. You need to understand that hard work doesn’t instantly pay off. My career grew gradually and taught me a lesson every step of the way.

I come from a long line of teachers. Not only did I not go into the family business; I had an aborted law career and I played in bands. ‘Disco Pigs’ was my first professional acting experience.