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Good Government or Free Speech Violation?
February 17th, 2006

Seeing the scandals in Washington, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn decided to push for the toughest lobbying restrictions in New York City history.

Good government groups applauded the move, but said whether they would be effective depends on enforcement.

“You can have the best law in the world. If it’s just gathering dust on the pages, it just doesn’t do anybody any good,” said Gene Russianoff of New York Public Interest Research Group.

But the New York Sun sees the city’s move as part of an “anti-first Amendment fad” that is keeping people from “exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights of speech and petition.” Aside from being wrongheaded, the city is being impractical, the Sun writes, because “cutting off the obvious channels for that money will only force it even deeper under cover.”

Meanwhile, it’s pretty obvious that the current laws are gathering dust rather than forcing money into deep cover. The city clerk’s office says no one has been fined for violating its lobbying laws in at least four years.

By Joshua Brustein on February 17, 2006, 11:34 am
In category: Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Law | 2 Comments »

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Upstate Districts That Exist Because of NYC Prisoners
February 17th, 2006

Two state senate districts in upstate New York wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for their prisons full of inmates from New York City, Ezekiel Edwards points out on the DMI blog. The United States Census Bureau counts prisoners as residents of these districts, even though they are not allowed to vote. Without them, the districts would be short of the needed populations.

One of these senators, Republican Michael Nozzolio, is Chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee. The other one, Republican Dale Volker, is also on that committee, and is Chairman of the Senate Codes Committee, which is influential in shaping the state’s criminal justice policy.

Edwards compares this situation to the one embedded in the Constitution, and lasting until the Civil War, that counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of giving slave-holding states greater political representation.

Activists like Edwards, and groups like Demos, have been pushing to give felons the right to vote.

By Mike Muller on February 17, 2006, 1:00 am
In category: Crime & Safety, Demographics, Electoral Politics, Governing | 3 Comments »

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Governors Island Gondola
February 16th, 2006

Architect Santiago Calatrava imagines a “futuristic elevated gondola system linking Brooklyn to Manhattan by way of Governors Island on a tramway.”

By Joshua Brustein on February 16, 2006, 5:02 pm
In category: Gotham City, Transportation, Waterfront | 4 Comments »

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Critical Mass
February 16th, 2006

Bicycle friendly blogs in NYC are buzzing with the news that a state judge has ruled that the city cannot bar Critical Mass rides, an “impromptu” cycling event that occurs on the last Friday of every month. The city and the bikers have been locked in an 18-month battle that has resulted in numerous arrests and lawsuits.

While the ruling is a setback for the city which wants the bike riders to apply for a parade permit, the Village Voice blog Power Plays points out that the legal decision doesn’t mean the police will tolerate the next event scheduled for February 24.

“The ruling doesn’t do anything to stop the cops from making arrests,” the blog writes, “though lawyers for the cyclists said it would be ‘bad faith’ for the city to continue charging people for ‘parading without a permit.’”

The Web site also includes a response from NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne: “Nothing in the decision prevents the police from arresting individuals who block intersections or otherwise break the law.”

By Mark Berkey-Gerard on February 16, 2006, 1:01 pm
In category: Gotham City, Transportation | No Comments »

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Ownership of New York’s Ports
February 16th, 2006

News that Dubai Ports World, a company based in the United Arab Emirates, recently purchased a British company that operates the Port of New York has set off a debate about who should be managing the city’s waterways.

 On Sunday, the New York Post warned that the deal puts “the ports of New York and New Jersey in the hands of a Middle East country with ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers.”

Today, the The New York Times agrees, criticizing the Bush administration for approving deal and warning that “putting port management in the hands of a country with such a mixed record in the war on terror is a step in the wrong direction.”

 When asked about the deal yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that security should be the city’s top concern, but also urged openness to global business.

“The shipping business is a big international business,” the mayor said. “We are not going to lock ourselves into a cocoon.”

By Mark Berkey-Gerard on February 16, 2006, 8:18 am
In category: Gotham City, Transportation, Waterfront | 1 Comment »

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NYC Gets The Job Done; Washington Doesn't
February 15th, 2006

After another sunny day, what was billed as the biggest snowstorm in New York City’s history seems like old news. The streets are clear (even if the corners are still a bit slushy), the subways, commuter trains and airports are up and running, and alternate side parking is back in effect tomorrow.

In the International Herald Tribune, Roger Cohen contrasts the city’s speedy response to the “Blizzard of 2006″ with the Bush administration’s bungling of the latest story that it can’t make go away. The next time the vice president shoots someone, writes Cohen, the White House might want to consult Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help it avoid the “carelessness and hubris and silences and lost information” that has characterized the administration’s response not only to this most recent incident but also its response to more serious events like Hurricane Katrina.

The thing about New Yorkers is they get the job done,” writes Cohen. “The thing about the Bush administration is they tend not to.”

By Joshua Brustein on February 15, 2006, 5:38 pm
In category: Gotham City | No Comments »

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Lobbying Reform
February 15th, 2006


(Newsday/Walt Handelsman)

By Oates Ritthichai on February 15, 2006, 3:45 pm
In category: Gotham City, Governing | 1 Comment »

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Kids Leaving School
February 15th, 2006

In the wake of new state figures on the dropout rate (which could be summed up as “it’s even worse than you thought”), bloggers look for who to blame.

To sum up, the state numbers released this week set the graduation rate at 43.5 percent, ten percentage points lower than Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “Management Report.” And it’s even more appalling for special education students, according to the teachers union blog, Edwize. It says only 17 percent of them graduated in four years with a Regents or local diploma, compared with 45 percent of similar students in the rest of the state.

Calling the dropout rate “unacceptable.” New York Young Republican Record says the fault lies more with parents than with the schools. So he calls on “our Mayor, City Council and the rest to …finally start publicly calling parents out on how they’re failing their children and the future of this country. …The ones failing the children are the ones that should be caring the most.”

Tim Frederick’s ELA Teaching Blog disagrees. “Who’s to blame?” he asks  “Schools.  We haven’t made school relevant to students or made them believe that we believe in them.  If students felt some kind of success in school and felt engaged in what they were doing, the numbers would not be this low.

And Gothamist wonders, “If the state thinks high school graduation rates are so disturbing, why won’t they do anything about them?”

For a look at why kids drop out and efforts to keep them in class, go to Gotham Gazette’s Keeping Kids in School.

By Gail Robinson on February 15, 2006, 2:37 pm
In category: Education, Gotham City | 1 Comment »

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Public Money for Private Schools
February 15th, 2006

Supporters of Governor George Pataki’s proposed $500 tax credit for education expenses, rallied in Albany yesterday. While the governor says most of the money would go to help public schools parents pay for tutoring and the like, much of the support seemed to come from religious schools and the parents who send their children to them. In an editorial, The Sun praised the rally saying, it “marked another step in the remarkable progress of the tax credit proposal. It was initially greeted with skepticism in many quarters, but has been building momentum ever since.”

With the Senate backing the measure, the Assembly and Speaker Sheldon Silver, an Orthodox Jew and supporter of more funds for public schools, is seen as key to its passage. Eyes are also on the teachers union, which has traditionally opposed public money going to private schools. But some observers see a deal in the works.

The Sun reports that teachers union president Randi Weingarten told Catholic leaders that she might be flexible on the issue of tax credits — if they support demands that Albany spend billions of more dollars on New York City public schools. And Ezra Friedlander, a political consultant from Borough Park, Brooklyn, told the Times that Silver might support some kind of tax credit proposal. “I’m sure Shelly Silver understands that this is an important issue for his community, for the observant community,” Friedlander said.

Others question the effect of the plan on schools and families. Richard Iannuzzi, president of the state teachers’ union, assailed spending $400 million on a tax credit while the state balks at a court order saying city schools need billions of dollars more. “It’s almost an affront,” he said.

New York Archbishop Cardinal Egan said the credit would give “the middle class and working class the kind of opportunities that the wealthy have.” And the
Orthonomics
blog said $500 can make a big difference “to struggling parents looking to make ends meet.” Perhaps, but with private (not parochial) school tuition topping $20,000 in the city, wealthy parents will still have options that many poor and middle class families will not.

By Gail Robinson on February 15, 2006, 1:47 pm
In category: Education, Gotham City, Public Finance | 1 Comment »

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School Construction -- Whose Fault?
February 14th, 2006

Two newspapers reacted differently to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s press conference yesterday — accompanied by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Council Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten — announcing that 21 new school construction projects will remain unbuilt unless the city gets the money from the state that has been ordered by a federal judge in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit.
An editorial in El Diario approved of the “dramatic show of unity,” and blasted Governor George Pataki’s “appalling” effort to overturn the court ruling. An editorial in The New York Sun, by contrast, criticized Bloomberg: “Few myths are more persistent than the notion that more money itself improves education.” The mayor, the Sun said, should focus on bringing down costs and “fighting for…vouchers or other mechanisms that would maximize parental choice…”

By Jonathan Mandell on February 14, 2006, 6:36 am
In category: Education, Public Finance | 1 Comment »

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Record-Breaking Snow
February 13th, 2006

Although not officially the Blizzard of 2006 – it wasn’t windy enough to fit the formal definition of a blizzard, according to the National Weather Service –- the 26.9 inches of snow that fell in Central Park yesterday was the most snow for a single storm since record-keeping started in 1869.

Reactions have varied.

“Snow fights and snow angels – it was a lot of fun!”
blogger Anu wrote.

Others are not as pleased, thanks to several other records the snow has broken: Several airports were closed, including New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airport, which shut for the first time in five years. More than 500 flights were canceled. Delays on commuter trains Monday morning reportedly were as long as 90 minutes.

By Jonathan Mandell on February 13, 2006, 9:53 am
In category: Environment, Gotham City, Parks, Transportation | No Comments »

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Cost of a Judgeship?
February 13th, 2006

The Daily News focuses on the dealings of Frank Seddio, a new surrogate judge thanks to Democratic Party bosses. After the state created a new Surrogate Court seat in Brooklyn, Seddio won the endorsement of Democratic Party leaders for the post. And the paper’s editorial said, it may not be due to Seddio’s legal prowess: “Campaign filings indicate he doled out far more money to the machine in his quest for elevation to the bench than previously reported.” The paper found he gave out at least $32,000, including $22,500 to the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, $5,000 to the judicial campaign of Larry Knipel, $2,000 to the judicial campaign of Richard Velasquez and $2,000 to Councilmember Lew Fidler, also a district leader.

Seddio did, however, join with his fellow surrogate, Margarita Lopez Torres, who won election as a reformer, to fire Louis Rosenthal, counsel to the court’s public administrator. The state Court of Appeals last June removed Surrogate Michael Feinberg from the bench for improperly awarding Rosenthal nearly millions of dollars in fees, but Rosenthal had managed to hang on to his job until earlier this month.

In case this all sounds fairly arcane, It Takes a Blogger reminds us why it matters: “The Surrogate Court is the cash cow of the local political machines. Political bosses and their cronies have amassed fortunes from the fees for court work assigned by that court.”

By Gail Robinson on February 13, 2006, 8:54 am
In category: Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law | No Comments »

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Restricting Gifts from Lobbyists is Just the Beginning
February 13th, 2006

Though most of the public interest in influence peddling has been focused on what is happening in Washington, D.C. with the scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the New York State Capitol has its very own lobbying problems.

In an act reminiscent of those junkets that came to light during the Abramoff scandal, two companies have asked the lobbying commission for a ruling on the appropriateness of taking close to 150 legislators, staffers and state agency employees on a train excursion to Montreal.  Bizarrely, the State Ethics Commission gave the trip the green light.

It would seem impossible for the ethics commission to have approved this excursion, given that for the past few years, state legislators have been prohibited from receiving any gift, such as a dinner, golf outing, etc., in excess of $75.  But the problem is in how that law has been interpreted.  In what sounds like a bad joke, a legislator could be treated to a $30 breakfast, a $50 lunch and a $70 dinner from the same person all in one day and be within the legal definition, because no single gift exceeded $75. 

There is a state agency, called the New York Temporary State Lobbying Commission, which is charged with making such interpretations. Until this past week, the commission didn’t even have its full complement of six members; the governor finally has filled his two vacancies. Still, the commission has reportedly postponed until next month any official decision on whether to enforce a new stricter interpretation of the $75 gift limit.

 Helping to push this issue is a report and analysis prepared two weeks ago by the Brennan Center and endorsed by NYPIRG, Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters, and released in an effort to advance a series of legislative recommendations intended to close many loopholes in the way in which ethics are enforced.  (Citizens Union has not yet taken a formal position on the large and sweeping package of reforms. It is likely to support many, but not all of the proposals.)  

Such an effort cannot occur too soon given the unbelievable way in which the “gravy train” operates in Albany

But even if the gift restrictions go through and the ethics law is ultimately strengthened, there are still many other ways in which legislators are able to benefit from the public office in underwriting many of their expenses.  As Danny Hakim writes in the New York Times, even if legislators become limited in the size and number of gifts they receive from lobbyists, their ability to use their campaign funds liberally to cover many of their related expenses will remain unchecked.  Campaign funds – to which lobbyists can make contributions of several thousand dollars as opposed to the stingy gift limit of $75 – will still be allowed to be used for car payments, cell phones, parties, events, etc.

As Wonkster pointed out: Republican State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has used campaign donations from lobbyists to pay for $10,000 worth of restaurant meals over the last six months and a trip to Italy last fall. Not to be outdone, Democratic State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver used his campaign funds to attend conferences in Hawaii. 

  So while ethics reform is critically needed, any true reform effort needs to include restrictions on how campaign funds can be used if we are to have any success in limiting the way in which lobbyists can aid — and therefore influence — the legislators.

By Dick Dadey on February 13, 2006, 7:30 am
In category: Eye on Albany | No Comments »

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Damning the Sin Of Backroom Wheeling-Dealing -- Not the Sinner
February 12th, 2006

Talk about trying to have it both ways. In an editorial today, the NY Times criticizes the system that allows party insiders in effect to select who will fill vacant state legislative seats in mid term. Most people in the affected districts — three of them in the city — are unaware of the elections for the posts February 28.

Democratic insiders have picked the party’s candidate in the three overwhelmingly Democratic districts, and given the power of incumbency, these three products of the backrooms will probably keep the seats for many years to come. “The election that really shines the spotlight on this unfair, party-driven method of choosing legislators is taking place for the Assembly seat from Manhattan’s Upper West Side,” the editorial says. It goes on to explain the party pick — Linda Rosenthal — is a longtime aide to Representative Jerrold Nadler, who had the Assembly seat before handing it to Scott Stringer (who now has vacated the seat to become Manhattan borough president).

But then, who does the Times endorse? Linda Rosenthal. But maybe just for now. The paper urges her two opponents to try again in November “when voters actually realize that there is an election going on.”

By Gail Robinson on February 12, 2006, 9:43 pm
In category: Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing | 2 Comments »

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Are High Cigarette Taxes Good Policy?
February 12th, 2006

The New York Post has an editorial today criticizing Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to increase the cigarette tax by another 50 cents per pack. The Post argues that rises in the cigarette tax do not reduce smoking, but they do increase crime.

Even though New York has had high taxes since the early 1990’s surveys by the Centers for Disease Control show that smokers in New York smoke no less than the national average.

But high taxes provide an incentive for criminals to get involved in filling the demand with cheaper cigarettes. In the report that the editorial is based on, George Kim, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says that “there has been a marked increase in the theft of cigarettes while in interstate transportation.” And the Post notes that there have been at least three deaths in New York City since 2003 in “cigarette wars”. There is also evidence of involvement by terrorists looking for a way to fund their operations.

By Mike Muller on February 12, 2006, 5:22 pm
In category: Crime & Safety, Health, Public Finance | No Comments »

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Mayor Bloomberg's "Civil War" With the GOP
February 11th, 2006

Many words have been generated over Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s threat to support a Democrat in the race in Queens for the State Senate seat currently held by Republican Serph Maltese.

Some say it was revenge for Maltese having supported a Bloomberg rival for mayor. Some say the revenge was against the Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno for opposing the West Side Stadium and other actions. The mayor’s aides contend that Bloomberg is opposing politicians that do not support the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit calling for greater funding of the city’s public schools.

After the mayor’s aides leaked the news of Bloomberg’s possible opposition, Bruno responded by calling the mayor an ingrate. The next day, NBC4 reported a new leak from mayoral aides — the mayor would consider supporting challengers for FOUR seats around the state, which would be enough for the Republicans to lose their long-held majority in the State Senate. Bruno backtracked, saying he “loves” the mayor (”I wish I had his money, I wish I had his looks.”)

Maybe it will all work out for the Republicans in the end, according to Capitol Confidential, the Albany Times-Union election blog. It reports that Bruno is arguing that if Bloomberg really does start this “civil war”, it could prove an advantage for upstate and suburban GOP Senators, because NYC is demanding more money even though it is in the best economic shape in the state. Presumably, this would increase resentment towards the city among voters in other regions.

Other comments:
From the New York Times: “we applaud his lack of servility.”

From The Staten Island Advance: Bloomberg is in a position to “put the city’s welfare before the dictates of state Republican honchos….Mr. Bloomberg’s shot at Mr. Bruno where and when he is most vulnerable is just the right move for a mayor tired of seeing his city short-changed.”

From the NY Observer:”…if Mayor Bloomberg jumps into this race on the side of the Democrats, he should be sure that his motivation is truly to serve the best interests of the city, and not just a desire for political revenge. Payback will be hell if he backs a losing cause.”

From Gothamist: The editor is delighted, seeing the scuffle as proof that Bloomberg really does hate the New York State Republican Party.

From the 51st State and Urban Elephants: Bloomberg is not the only Republican who doesn’t like Maltese.

By Mike Muller on February 11, 2006, 9:36 pm
In category: Electoral Politics, Gotham City | 2 Comments »

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Progress and Property Rights at Ground Zero
February 10th, 2006

Things are definitely getting heated at Ground Zero. The city recently commissioned a report showing why Larry Silverstein should have a smaller role on the site (as the Wonkster wrote yesterday). Now Silverstein is saying the city is engaged in a “Soviet Style takeover”.

“There is nothing ‘fair’ about taking the two best sites and giving one to government and the other to an outside developer,” says the statement. “Larry Silverstein has cooperated in a four-year process of planning and re-planning the site, though it delayed rebuilding. He even re-designed the Freedom Tower when government miscommunication led to a change in the security standard. And, most important, he has continued to pay approximately $10 million in rent to the Port Authority every month since 9/11, even though the buildings that he leased are gone.” (The Real Estate has the entire statement.)

The New York Sun agrees:

“We tend to be sympathetic to Mr. Silverstein on this point. He took the risk and he deserves the reward,” it writes in an editorial. “We have come to respect the standing of the mayor as a custodian of the taxpayers’ interest. But if all this is resolved in a way in which Mr. Silverstein’s property rights are taken for granted, it will inflict an enormous amount of damage on the city.”

The New York Post also has some questions, but not about Silverstein’s property rights. In an editorial today it wants to know, among other things, why the mayor thinks the Port Authority can be trusted to do things faster, and why the mayor is so gloomy about rents for downtown and so upbeat about the Far West side “whose only ’subway’ is, well, unbuilt“.

“Bloomberg is clearly stepping in where lame-duck Gov. Pataki long ago stepped out. That’s good,” the Post writes. “But he’ll need to prove to New Yorkers that his plan will actually work before they can agree to switch gears at this late date. Stay tuned.”

By Joshua Brustein on February 10, 2006, 10:17 am
In category: Land Use | No Comments »

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Can Community Boards Be Reformed?
February 9th, 2006

Newly elected Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is trying to make good on his campaign promise to reform Manhattan’s 12 community boards, launching a month long effort to recruit new members and proposing a series of actions to “depoliticize the appointment process, empower local residents and strengthen the role community boards play in shaping the future of the borough.”

Several bloggers in Manhattan (particularly those upset at the proliferation of new bars) are already welcoming the move.

The HoratioStreet blog writes that “the need for community board reform has recently become all too evident” in board 2, an institution plagued by “political maneuvering” and “conflict of interest.”

SohoPolitics writes that the new efforts are “a break from the [former Borough President] Virginia Fields tradition of only appointing bar owners who vote with liquor license buddies.”

“Hopefully, Mr. Stringer, a well-liked and widely admired politician will enable those on the boards to see the light,” the blog continues, “whether that be the bright white light of the sunlight laws or, for some undeserving board members, the inevitable light of an oncoming train.”

By Mark Berkey-Gerard on February 9, 2006, 3:58 pm
In category: Community Development, Gotham City | 8 Comments »

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No Real Limits on Lobbyists
February 9th, 2006

Yesterday the head of the state’s Lobbying Commission said he will begin enforcing a $75 annual gift limit for lobbyists, restraining their ability to shower money on legislators.

But as the New York Times wrote last weekend, huge loopholes remain – particularly in the state’s campaign finance laws. According to the Times, Republican State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has used campaign donations from lobbyists to pay for $10,000 worth of restaurant meals over the last six months and a trip to Italy last fall. Not to be outdone, Democratic State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver used his campaign funds to attend conferences in Hawaii.

That is why blogger AlbanyInsanity is calling for even more stringent measures. “We need to limit the influence of all lobbyists first, then make them illegal altogether,” he writes. “Then and only then will we start to see things happen and possibly change the direction in Albany.” 

By Mark Berkey-Gerard on February 9, 2006, 6:41 am
In category: Governing | 1 Comment »

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Sewage Spill
February 8th, 2006

Gothamist is a little queasy after reading the New York Times report today that the city dumped 30 million gallons of “untreated human waste” into the East River because the city’s backup generators didn’t work during the 2003 blackout. “We’ll be making sure we don’t try to dip our toes into the East River,” writes Jen Chung

And Chung isn’t the only one upset. After the city’s Department of Environmental Protection admitted to a failure to maintain the generators, a federal judge ordered the agency to submit to court oversight for at least three years during which the department and its employees cannot violate federal, state or local laws. (Does this mean they can violate laws after three years?)

The ruling marked the second such action against the department in the last five years. In 2001, a federal investigation found some workers in the upstate watershed essentially ignored federal environmental laws and so allowed mercury into upstate reservoirs and used equipment contaminated with toxic PCBs.

By Gail Robinson on February 8, 2006, 10:55 am
In category: Environment, Gotham City | No Comments »

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