May 26, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

Gotham Gazette
Loading
Archive for September, 2007
Recent Posts
NYC Blogs
Click here for a list of NYC blogs
Newsfeeds
Search This Blog

Justice in the Justice Department
September 18th, 2007

Most of the papers this morning are backing up their fellow New Yorker, praising President Bushs nominee, Michael Mukasey, as the next attorney general.

The Post cautions Congress not to stall the nomination process, while The News says Mukasey towers over former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and could restore the justice in the Justice Department.

But The Times isnt rushing to judgment just yet, either for or against his confimation. He may be worthy of confirmation, but the nation can only know for sure after careful, probing hearings, The Times states, pointing to Mukaseys support of the Patriot Act and his interpretation of the Constitution a view that he sees allows enemy combatants to be held indefinitely.

By Courtney Gross on September 18, 2007, 9:05 am
In category: Gotham City | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Primary Preferences
September 17th, 2007

With the primary set for tomorrow, Diana Johnson has picked up more backing in her bid to be a judge in Brooklyn Surrogate Court. In an editorial Friday, the Daily News raises the issue of whether Johnsons opponent, ShawnDya Simpson, really lives in New York State as the law requires. Although noting that Johnson is a product of the machine, the News says she has the required experience for the job.

Citizens Union, the good government group whose sister organization publishes Gotham Gazette, gave Johnson a similarly restrained preference. While the group felt both candidates were qualified to serve, [it] but was concerned with each candidates political ties to different elements of the Brooklyn party. On balance, the organization felt that Judge Johnsons greater experience as a jurist gave her the edge.

Also in its editorial, the News endorsed Karen Yellen in her race to be a Civil Court judge in Brooklyn. The News praises Yellen as an able judge who had to step down after she clashed with Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman, who is now in jail. Her opponent Noach Dear, on the other hand, has little, if any, legal experience.

The New York Times and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York seem to agree with the News on their relativelylow opinion of Dear. A longtime City Council member who, since being forced out by term limits has been a kind of perennial (and perennially unsuccessful candidate), Dear does have the backing of Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. According to the Brooklyn Paper, Markowitz is so enamored of Dear that, he couldnt bring himself to mention Dears name preferring to call him this candidate. Despite all this, Dear is favored to win.

For more on tomorrows election including Dear’s ethical lapses and races you wont read about almost any place else go to Gotham Gazette.

By Gail Robinson on September 17, 2007, 5:21 pm
In category: Electoral Politics, Law | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


The Latest from the Feds on Insuring Kids (UPDATED)
September 17th, 2007

The fate of a federal and state subsidized children’s insurance program continues to be threatened, despite a likely compromise in Congress on a boost to the initiative’s funding.

The compromise, reported in The New York Times this morning, would give the State Children’s Health Insurance Program $60 billion of federal funding over the next five years – that’s an increase of $35 billion from the program’s current level.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on September 17, 2007, 12:17 pm
In category: Gotham City, Health, Social Services | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Great Expectations Deferred
September 17th, 2007

Last week, US News and World Report ran a piece by Rick Newman that compared the aftermaths of the attacks of 9/11 on the Pentagon with those of the World Trade Center. Beyond the vastly higher number of dead, the inability to rebuild is what differentiates New York’s experience from that of Washington in Newman’s eyes.

“Memories of the acts of ordinary people doing extraordinary things are now competing for attention with quarrels, litigation, and a measure of weariness,” he says.

By Mike Muller on September 17, 2007, 1:23 am
In category: Community Development, Environment, Land Use | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Bad Choice by the Voice's Editor?
September 14th, 2007

Why would the Village Voice seemingly attempt to discredit an award winning article from its own pages about the health of 9/11 workers? Could it be because the paper’s editor fired the journalist who wrote it before she won the award? The Observer’s Leon Neyfakh seems to think so.

By Mike Muller on September 14, 2007, 5:18 am
In category: Health | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


The Mobilization of Mexican Immigrants
September 14th, 2007

What happens to the mobilization of Mexican immigrants in the city now that some older groups have attained legalization while more recent immigrants are denied such a prospect? To answer that question, Alyshia Glvez, a New York University professor, looks at two successful but competing South Bronx parish-based Mexican volunteer associations that take different approaches towards empowerment. In an article for the International Migration journal, she compares the two groups, which both emphasize amnesty as a primary goal of their actions, but take different approaches to solving the problems their communities face.

The first, run by legalized Mexican immigrants, promotes a transcendence beyond an identity as an immigrant to that of a citizen, although becoming one is impossible for the majority of members of the group. This they argue, will prove their worth to the broader community.

The other is rooted in the collective experience of exploitation from the vulnerable position of an undocumented population. It is organized by undocumented Mexican migrants with a personal stake in the results it gains.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Mike Muller on September 14, 2007, 1:34 am
In category: Immigrants | 1 Comment »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Hands Off Silverstein's Lease!
September 13th, 2007

In a new editorial for the conservative City Journal, Nicole Gelinas writes that a real estate slump would hurt Lower Manhattan’s rebound much more than it would Midtown.

Developers in Midtown could simply just not build until the market swings around again, she writes. But developer Larry Silverstein would have no such luck with his property in Lower Manhattan because of restrictions in his lease with the Port Authority as well as public perception, “particularly since many politicians and media outlets would love to see him fail.”

With her ever weary view of government, she hopes politicians will recognize the cyclical nature of the economy if a downturn comes and restrain themselves from “tinkering” with Silverstein’s lease.

Her piece came on the heels of a feature on the developer on ABC’s Nightline.

By Mike Muller on September 13, 2007, 6:42 am
In category: Economy, Land Use | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Newtown Creek Oil Spill Documentary
September 13th, 2007

With Newtown Creek oil spill in the news todays, some of you might be interested in this documentary from a couple months ago by channel 13’s New York Voices.

By Mike Muller on September 13, 2007, 6:15 am
In category: Environment | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Gallagher Gets on the Primary Ballot
September 12th, 2007

For the first time post-rape charges, City Councilmember Dennis Gallagher will make an appearance on the ballot in the city’s primary election next week.

Gallagher, who is accused of raping and assaulting a woman in his Middle Village district office, is running for a seat on the Queens County Republican Committee and as a delegate to the judicial convention from the 28th Assembly District.

According to the city’s Conflict of Interest Board, council members are allowed to hold seats on party committees, as long as they are not in a leadership role. Although the city charter does not specifically address elected officials serving as a delegate to the judicial convention, Mark Davies, the executive director of the Conflicts of Interest Board, said the board would not see it as an issue.

When Gallagher was first indicted, he voluntarily, and temporarily, relinquished his role as minority whip and his positions on several council committees. Apparently, though, he intends on keeping his seat in the political party machinery.

Although Gallagher admits to having sex with the woman, he insists it was consensual.

A call to Gallagher’s office for comment is pending.

By Courtney Gross on September 12, 2007, 12:29 pm
In category: Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Beyond Congestion Pricing
September 12th, 2007

Last weeks taxi strike offered a hint of one way to cut New Yorks traffic jams: reduce the number of taxi cabs. Writing in todays News, Sam Schwartz, the former city transportation commissioner known popularly as Gridlock Sam, also recommends creating a medallion for black taxis — car services and instituting tolls and fees to keep truck drivers who use Manhattan as the cheapest route from point A to point B off city streets. And Schwartz wants to crack down on what he calls privileged parkers: 150,000 government workers [who] either park free in reserved spaces or just plain park illegally.

Congestion pricing is a good idea, too, Schwartz writes, But we don’t need to wage an all-or-nothing battle on congestion pricing to combat traffic.

By Gail Robinson on September 12, 2007, 8:22 am
In category: Environment, Transportation | 1 Comment »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Spin City Schools
September 12th, 2007

Statistics say whatever you want them to say. That seems to be the lesson from the current dispute over a survey of parents on city schools. The results have become the latest battleground in the ongoing fight over how important it is to reduce class size in public schools.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on September 12, 2007, 8:05 am
In category: Education | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Covering and Commenting on 9/11
September 11th, 2007

Six years is often a sidestepped anniversary. It’s not gold or silver or any other metallic element. But today, stories of September 11, 2001 are being repeated at workplaces, in homes and, certainly, on the blogs.

While some say it is time to move on and put aside the ceremonies, others have vehemently chastised the idea. On City Room, 116 readers have posted their thoughts here, and CNN.com has compiled emails here.

City Room has also posted personal accounts from reporters on 9/11, and Joyce Wadler, former Metro reporter turned Styles, has gotten considerable attention. Her minute-by-minute account has been called offensive and honest from readers in the city and around the world.

To The Post, moving on is winning the war against terror, while The News spreads out its opinion content on 9/11 with a piece on letting victims names be heard, a call to care for those sickened by working at Ground Zero and a plea to reopen the Statue of Liberty’s crown to visitors.

Straying from the traditional coverage of the anniversary of the attacks, The Times editorial page solicited works from five artists in remembrance of September 11, 2001.

By Courtney Gross on September 11, 2007, 3:49 pm
In category: Gotham City | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Election Endorsements
September 9th, 2007

There will not be much happening at the polls on primary day September 18 but todays Times weighs in on three races all in Brooklyn and all the paper says “darkened by the shadow of a patronage and corruption scandal involving cozy clubhouse-courthouse ties.

In the race for Surrogate Court judge, the Times does not like either candidate but grudgingly says that ShawnDya Simpson is a better judge than her opponent, Diana Johnson.

The paper sees a clearer choice in the Civil Court races. In one, former City Councilmember (and perennial candidate) Noach Dear Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on September 9, 2007, 5:24 pm
In category: Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law | 1 Comment »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Rancor and Remembrance
September 8th, 2007

Six years after the 9/11 attacks, the unity that marked the citys observance of the tragedy has started to fray, the Washington Post says today. As evidence, the paper points to the controversy over whether Rudolph Giuliani should be allowed to read at the memorial ceremony as he tries to ride his record on 9/11 straight to the Oval Office. The dispute over the government s handling of demolition of the Deutsche Bank the Ground Zero building where two firefighters died last month exacerbated tensions. And then there is the
debate
about how much 9/11 remembrance is too much.

In one indication of the controversy WABC-TV, which originally planned not to cover the full ceremony after 9 a.m., reversed course following a public uproar. In an editorial today, the Daily News called the stations original plan to cut to Regis and Kathie Lee, rather than to the reading of the names, boneheaded management decision.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on September 8, 2007, 4:26 pm
In category: Gotham City | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Ravitch Lambasts City's Education System
September 7th, 2007

Education historian Diane Ravitch was a guest on Brian Lehrer’s show on WNYC this week, where she calls the Education Department’s initiative to empower principals another part of the “overall scheme to dismantle the public education system” by “sitting each of the schools on their own bottom.” But she tells Lehrer that, ironically, principals do not actually have more power. They are still bound by city, state, federal, and union mandates.

And that includes curriculum, which is test oriented, she asserts. “The Department of Education is totally test obsessed,” Ravitch laments. “Our kids are being turned into test taking puppets.” Ravitch then calls for an independent monitor for state tests after the Daily News’ Erin Einhorn talks about her article that found that state math tests have been made easier.

Ravitch finishes off her appearance by saying the mayor has done nothing for the children in the city’s schools, except exclude citizen involvement in their education and cause turmoil amongst teachers and principals.

By Mike Muller on September 7, 2007, 5:58 am
In category: Education | 1 Comment »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Poking Fun
September 7th, 2007

(to view the full cartoon, click the image)

By Mike Muller on September 7, 2007, 5:16 am
In category: Albany | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Watch the Subway Lines Be Built
September 7th, 2007

For the history buffs: an animated subway map that adds subway lines in the order they are built. (Visit Appealing Industries for a larger image.)

From Very-Appealing.com via SecondAvenueSagas.

By Mike Muller on September 7, 2007, 5:04 am
In category: Transportation | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Techie Solutions not Enough to Fix the MTA
September 6th, 2007

When the subway system was brought to a halt from the recent rains, solutions and complaints focused on technology: The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s website crashed, the subways need cell service, the transit authority will text message riders.

But the Manhattan Institutes’s Hope Cohen thinks “slick new technology alone” isn’t enough. If the transit agency had a culture of communication, she argues, the storm wouldn’t have been nearly as disruptive.

After outlining a few enlightening examples to back her theory up, she uses the incident to talk about the general problem of keeping the city’s infrastructure in check.

By Mike Muller on September 6, 2007, 8:57 am
In category: Tech, Transportation | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Shareholders Push Action on Global Warming
September 6th, 2007

A shareholder proposal by the New York City Pension Funds for a company they invest in, Allegheny Energy, received a record number of supporters for a global warming resolution. Although the proposal failed vote is advisory only, almost 40 percent of voting shareholders voiced support for it. If passed, it would have mandated that the company disclose publicly how it is responding to global warming.

Shareholder resolutions on climate-related issues enjoyed tremendous support and brought new successes this year, said City Comptroller William Thompson. There still is much work to be done, however, as some companies have not responded adequately to these important issues.

The comptroller’s office had argued that by not acting on global warming, “Allegheny’s shareholders bear significant financial and competitive risk.”

Although the funds hold millions of dollars in shares in a company, they usually account for a small percentage of total votes, somewhere around 1 percent. This means that there was broad support for the measure beyond the city’s pension funds.

Ceres, an environmental investment coalition that the city and state comptrollers are part of, has placed Allegheny Energy on its watch list of 10 companies because it is lagging its competitors in addressing climate change.

By Mike Muller on September 6, 2007, 8:33 am
In category: Economy, Environment | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed


Little Impact from Hacks
September 5th, 2007

It seems the taxi strike has caused little annoyance for New Yorkers today some bloggers have even said they will relish in the next two days free of cabbies cruising and clogging the streets.

On Streetsblog, New Yorkers mocked the taxi strike. One reader asked, “Oh, there was a strike today?”

The Post is siding with the city, stating the seemingly limited support for the strike makes sense.

At a press conference earlier today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a similar stance. The mayor said an estimate that 80 percent of drivers bailed on work today is an exaggeration, and the strike has had “limited impact, if at all.”

Still, others found extra long lines at La Guardia, JFK and Pennsylvania Station, which at one point left commuters waiting in line for a half hour to catch a cab.

By Courtney Gross on September 5, 2007, 3:35 pm
In category: Gotham City, Tech, Transportation | No Comments »

| More

RSS Feed RSS Feed



RSS Feed