State lawmakers yesterday fumed over Gov. Paterson’s cozy weekend lunch date, saying New York’s chief executive should be working on looming deadlines instead of dallying with a pretty female pal.
As The Post reported yesterday, Paterson was spotted having an intimate lunch at the celeb-friendly River Palm Terrace in Edgewater, NJ, with an attractive woman who was not his wife. They were affectionate and physical, according to two witnesses.
“He’s got all these things on his platter to worry about,” said one prominent state Democrat. “The budget he has to present on Tuesday, the Race to the Top [federal charter-school funding] due Tuesday, his campaign and its lack of cash — and he’s out dressed like an actor from ‘Saturday Night Fever’ over at a New Jersey restaurant on a Saturday afternoon?”
Paterson spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein said nothing but “a business lunch with a friend” was going on. “The story . . . was an outright lie, and any insinuation of improper behavior is absolutely false,” she said.
Shorenstein identified the woman as Jennifer Jones, 34, a married mom who was asking the governor for advice on setting up an after-school program.
At the eatery, Paterson had told a Post reporter the woman “works with me.” Waiter Tony Martinez also said Paterson introduced the woman as “a campaign manager or someone from his campaign.” With Cathy Burke