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Why NYCHA Owes the City Money
July 7th, 2008

The Times is reporting that the New York City Housing Authority owes the city close to $200 million for basic services like utilities and police protection. Those of us wondering how it’s possible for a public agency to be in debt to the government of which it is supposedly a part are given something of a brush-off:

The Housing Authority’s payments are the result of agreements the agency made with the city, some dating back a few years and others several decades….

The Housing Authority, a state-chartered public benefit corporation, is one of the few such entities in the city with Pilots (payment in lieu of taxes) and police service fees.

Hmmm. If NYCHA is state-chartered then why is its Web site under the nyc.gov domain? Who, exactly, is responsible for it, and what sort of arcane loophole in this country’s vaunted federalist system forces a state-chartered city agency to make payments to the city that’s running it?
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By armin on July 7, 2008, 3:10 pm
In category: Gotham City, Housing, Public Finance | 1 Comment »

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Pit Bull Bans: A Short History
July 3rd, 2008

Chances are this week’s string of pit bull attacks will bring back calls to ban ownership of the dogs in New York. There have been routine attempts at banning the animals since 1989, when the city’s health department put a temporary freeze on the pit bull population. And in 2004 — and again in 2006 — Staten Island City Councilmember Michael McMahon proposed a bill that condemned the State Assembly’s standing ban on “breed specific” dangerous dog-related legislation. If the the latest pit bull rampage does open up debate, expect some opposition from the animal rights crowd — one pro-pit bull Web site lists McMahon, now running for Congress, under “[people] who want to kill your dog.”
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By armin on July 3, 2008, 3:51 pm
In category: Crime & Safety, Gotham City, Health | 7 Comments »

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Can Lebron James Save Bruce Ratner?
July 1st, 2008

Today, from a website that probably isn’t the first place you would look for New York land use-related news: a nugget that will fill the New York Post editorial board with glee, and this scrappy, widely-read Web site with fear:

“My favorite borough? Brooklyn,” James said, choosing the proposed future home of the New Jersey Nets over the borough of Manhattan, where the Knicks play their home games. “Brooklyn is definitely a great place here in New York City, and some of my best friends are from Brooklyn, so I stick up for them.

A little background for the non-SLAM Magazine-reading set: The James here is Lebron, who is buddies with rap mogul and Nets minority owner Jay-Z. The Nets’ principal owner is Forest City Ratner, which wants to move them to an as-yet unbuilt, 18,000-seat, Forest City-developed, Frank Ghery-designed arena in Atlantic Yards by 2010. James, arguably the world’s most marketable athlete, becomes a free agent in 2010. He currently plays in Cleveland, which we’re told is a much less interesting and exciting place than New York.

Could James’ apparent interest in Brooklyn have any impact on Atlantic Yards?
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By armin on July 1, 2008, 3:56 pm
In category: Land Use | 2 Comments »

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