So, there’s less than 12 hours to go before New York City’s mayoral control law expires, and the New York Senate remains in utter chaos, with few signs that sanity will prevail fast enough for members to settle on who is in charge of that chamber and to actually hold a vote on anything. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been using some pretty over the top rhetoric in recent days, said in a news conference earlier today that if the law that gave him authority over the city’s public schools is allowed to lapse, “the lawyers take over New York City.”

All kinds of interest groups are making contingency plans for the midnight death of mayoral control, including Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, who has already selected his appointment for the possible return of the city’s Board of Education. A group that opposes mayoral control has promised to stage a celebration of the law’s demise that includes a formal “eviction” of Chancellor Joel Klein.

Check out GothamSchools for the full ticktock of all the zaniness.