Gov. Paterson took a break from his executive duties to shake it at Chelsea club Taj on Wednesday night.
Gawker was first to report that Paterson had hit the club on West 21st Street, and it said patrons saw him partying until 1 a.m. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was also at the party, sources said.
A club spokesperson told the Observer that Paterson was celebrating a birthday -- and hey -- politicians are people, too. They're entitled to a little nightlife, right?
Well, one NYC blogger thinks not.
Tionna Smalls, of Brooklyn, tipped off Gawker. She wrote:
"I don't want to put down my black brother, but come on, this is ridiculous," said Smalls. "He's the governor. You never see Bill Clinton just hanging out in Harlem."
Smalls said Paterson was "just chilling and talking" and didn't see him doing anything unseemly.
We think Paterson was celebrating an early legal victory, as Richard Ravitch, his pick for lieutenant governor, passed another legal hurdle in a Brooklyn courtroom Thursday.
