<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>The Wonkster &#187; Gail Robinson</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/author/gail/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster</link>
	<description>Gotham Gazette&#039;s blog about New York policy and politics</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:38:29 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>Cuomo: Carrots and Sticks for Schools</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/17/cuomo-carrots-and-sticks-for-schools/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/17/cuomo-carrots-and-sticks-for-schools/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:23:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[board of regents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gov. cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john king]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael bloomerg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael mulgrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ne york state department of education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york state budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york state united teachers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[state of the city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teacher evaluatin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[united federation of teachers. race to the top]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10468</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Two weeks after he signaled his intention to focus on education, Gov. Andrew Cuomo today filled in some of the details and inserted himself squarely in the dispute over teacher evaluation.
In his budget address Cuomo confirmed that, as announced previously, the state would up its aid to districts by 4.1 percent or $805 million next [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Two weeks after he <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Education/20120117/6/3668">signaled his intention</a> to focus on education, Gov. Andrew Cuomo today filled in some of the details and inserted himself squarely in the dispute over teacher evaluation.</p>
<p>In his <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/17/budget-highlights-from-cuomos-office/">budget address</a> Cuomo confirmed that, as announced previously, the state would up its aid to districts by 4.1 percent or $805 million next year for a total of about $20 billion.</p>
<p>Unlike last budget year &#8212; when the governor cut spending across the board regardless of a district&#8217;s needs &#8212; the increase would be weighted toward higher needs areas. These parts of the state will receive 76 percent of the hike and 69 percent of all school aid, according to Cuomo&#8217;s  <a href="http://www.budget.state.ny.us/pubs/executive/eBudget1112/fy1112littlebook/BriefingBook.pdf">Budget Briefing Book</a>.This means New York City stands to gets almost $6.4 billion next year, an increase of 2.6 percent over the approximately $6.2 billion it is getting this year.</p>
<p>Districts also would be able to compete for some $200 million in special state grants, under a New York version of the federal <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html">Race to the Top</a> program.</p>
<p><strong>The Road to the Money</strong></p>
<p>But Cuomo put a big condition on all the additional money. To get it, districts will have to come up with a new evaluation system for teachers.</p>
<p>Details after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10468"></span></p>
<p>Not a single district has yet implemented a new evaluation system as required under the state&#8217;s Race to the Top grant from the federal government, Cuomo said. The dispute has <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/york-state-faces-losing-1-billion-federal-education-funds-teacher-evaluation-issue-article-1.1006256?localLinksEnabled=false"> jeopardized</a> up to $1 billion in federal funding for New York schools.</p>
<p>Cuomo said the reason to change the way the state grades its teachers goes beyond financial considerations. &#8220;If we&#8217;re serious about education, we have no choice. This is the way to improve education,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Cuomo outlined a three-step plan to make a new evaluation system a reality.  First, he said, <a href="http://nyust.org">New York State United Teachers</a> and the state <a href="http://www.nysed.gov">Education Department</a> must end the legal wrangling over evaluations and agree to a new system incorporating observations, students achievement (test scores) and more. (The union successfully sued the state to halt such a plan last summer.)</p>
<p>If they can&#8217;t do it, Cuomo will propose a system.</p>
<p>The districts then will have until September to implement the state&#8217;s evaluation plan. Any that fail to do that will not qualify for the state&#8217;s competitive grants.</p>
<p>And finally &#8212; and this is huge &#8212; any districts that one year from today have not implemented a system will lose their chunk of the 4 percent increase in state education aid. This puts teacher evaluations smack in the middle of the state&#8217;s budget process.</p>
<p><strong>Bloomberg&#8217;s Bluster</strong></p>
<p>In pushing for his change, Cuomo picked up the mantle of the so-called reform movement that, he said, has shifted the country to a greater focus on students and their achievement (and, critics say, to an excessive reliance on test scores). He invoked both President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush.  And he styled himself as a champion of kids. &#8220;This was not supposed to be about the adults. It was supposed to be about the children,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>For all that, though, he did not single out teachers for criticism. In fact, he said, they &#8220;deserve the best evaluation system and help when they need it&#8221; as well as rewards and bonuses.</p>
<p>While that puts him at odds with the teachers union, it represents a very different tone from that used by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his <a href="http://http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20120113/203/3667">State of the City speech</a> last week. Bloomberg then blamed teachers for the impasse over evaluations. In his comments on Cuomo&#8217;s speech today, he kept up that refrain.</p>
<p>&#8220;The governor has made it clear that he is determined to be a champion for our students – and that he will not allow the teachers union to drag its feet any longer on implementing new teacher evaluation systems across the state. I hope the [United Federation of Teachers] will not recklessly jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools by insisting on endless obstacles to removing ineffective teachers from our classrooms,&#8221; Bloomberg said in a <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&amp;catID=1194&amp;doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2012a%2Fpr023-12.html&amp;cc=unused1978&amp;rc=1194&amp;ndi=1">statement</a>. He seemed not to notice that Cuomo had said he would not allow &#8220;adults&#8221; and the &#8220;bureaucracy&#8221; &#8212; not just the union &#8212; to drag their feet.</p>
<p>Michael Mulgrew, the president of the city&#8217;s teachers union, though clearly thinks he has spotted a bit of sunlight between Bloomberg and Cuomo. Earlier this week, Mulgrew <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/nyregion/cuomo-and-bloomberg-on-attack-on-teacher-evaluations.html">told the Times</a> that he has &#8220;“no disagreement with the governor over the evaluations,” and welcomes his involvement. As for Bloomberg, though, Mulgrew accused him of &#8220;political grandstanding.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mulgrew even has tried to enlist Cuomo as a kind of ally, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/01/ny-statewide-teacher-evaluations-on-the-skids">saying</a>, according to the Daily News, that the governor&#8217;s proposal provides &#8220;all the more reason why Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Education should come back to the negotiations they walked out on and work to resolve the remaining issues.”</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, in his speech Cuomo did address Bloomberg&#8217;s plan for the city to remove up to half the teachers from struggling schools &#8212; whether the union likes it or not and even if it costs the city millions of dollars. The state education department, which is independent of the governor , gets to rule on that, not Cuomo.</p>
<p>For his part the state education commissioner, John King, struck a conciliatory note with the union today saying in his <a href="http://statepolitics.lohudblogs.com/2012/01/17/education-commissioner-welcomes-cuomos-proposals-hopes-they-will-spur-negotiations/?utm_medium=twitter&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed">statement</a> that  the department and the union should use the next &#8220;30 days to have a healthy public debate on evaluations.&#8221; The department, he said, is ready to sit down and start talking.&#8221;</p>
<p>The city &#8212; justifiably or not &#8212; broke off its negotiations with the city teachers union on Dec. 30. At least officially, those discussion have not resumed.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/17/cuomo-carrots-and-sticks-for-schools/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quinn Sues Bloomberg</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/29/quinn-sues-bloomberg/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/29/quinn-sues-bloomberg/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:44:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10337</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The New York City Council today will ratchet up its efforts to block the city’s proposed change in eligibility requirements for homeless shelters. At its meeting this afternoon, the council will take steps to file suit against the controversial change, which will require homeless adults seeking to enter the shelter system to prove they have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The New York City Council today will ratchet up its efforts to block the city’s proposed <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/change-for-the-homeless/">change in eligibility requirements</a> for homeless shelters. At its meeting this afternoon, the council will take steps to file suit against the controversial change, which will require homeless adults seeking to enter the shelter system to prove they have no other place to go.</p>
<p>The suit is the first filed by the council against the Bloomberg administration since Christine Quinn, a frequent ally of the mayor, became speaker in 2006. In addition to highlighting the policy itself &#8212; which Quinn has called “inhumane” and “cruel” &#8212; the suit also takes aim at the way the city has attempted to implement the change. By most accounts, council members learned of the new rules through a <a href=”http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Homeless-Shelter-Policy-Change-Temporary-Housing-Requirement-Court-133213703.html”>report on WNBC</a> less than two weeks before the change was to take effect.</p>
<p>“I cannot just turn away when it is clear the City of New York has not followed rule making requirements,” Quinn said.</p>
<p>The shift has come <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/socialservices/20111109/15/3634">under sharp attack</a> since it was announced earlier this month. While a similar policy exists for homeless families, council members and advocates note that homeless single adults are a far more vulnerable group &#8212; with high levels of substance abuse and mental illness. Under the change, these individuals would have to document any places they had stayed and show why they could not return to that bed. People would risk being denied a shelter slot if they had a relative with a spare bedroom &#8212; even if that relative refused to take them in.</p>
<p>The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homless have already filed suit to block the change, prompting the Department of Homeless Services <a href=”http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/shelter-rules-delayed/”> to postpone</a> its implementation pending a court hearing. In addition, the state has <a href=”http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/state-does-not-support-new-shelter-rules-afterall/”>raised serious concerns</a> about the new policy and the city’s apparent rush to put it in place.</p>
<p>In the face of this, the city has stuck by the policy, saying it makes the best use of scarce resources.</p>
<p>“You’d rather not end up in court,” Quinn said yesterday. “We’ve exhausted our other options, and that’s why we’re here.”</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/29/quinn-sues-bloomberg/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Testing the Wonkster</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/26/testing-the-wonkster/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/26/testing-the-wonkster/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
		
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10335</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are some changes in the back end taking place at Gotham Gazette, changes we don&#8217;t think readers will even notice. But just to make sure everything is working, this is a test of the new system.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are some changes in the back end taking place at Gotham Gazette, changes we don&#8217;t think readers will even notice. But just to make sure everything is working, this is a test of the new system.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/26/testing-the-wonkster/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rodriguez on His Arrest</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/16/rodriguez-on-his-arrest/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/16/rodriguez-on-his-arrest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:01:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10334</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For the second time in less than three months, reporters, members of the City Council and other public officials clustered under the overhang at City Hall in the rain to hear a City Council member describe his alleged mistreatment by the New York City Police Department.
This time it was Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, who spent about [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For the second time in less than three months, reporters, members of the City Council and other public officials clustered under the overhang at City Hall in the rain to hear a City Council member describe his alleged mistreatment by the New York City Police Department.</p>
<p>This time it was Councilmember <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/council10">Ydanis Rodriguez</a>, who spent about 20 hours in police custody after being arrested by police near Zuccotti Park early Tuesday morning. Rodriguez, who has emerged as a major supporter of Occupy Wall Street, said he received a text message at about 1 a.m. Tuesday alerting him that police seemed to be moving in on the protesters in Zuccotti Park. After his wife repeatedly cautioned him to avoid getting arrested, Rodriguez said he proceeded downtown to see what was happening.</p>
<p>A couple of blocks from Zuccotti Park – and across Broadway from the plaza &#8212; Rodriguez said he was confronted by a group of police officers who began pushing him. Even after, he said, he identified himself as a council members — he also said he was wearing a suit, not exactly the standard garb of the Occupy Wall Street crowd – the police kept pushing. Rodriguez said he fell, sustaining a cut, and was arrested.</p>
<p>In the time that followed, Rodriguez said he was kept in a van for two hours. He eventually was taken to 1 Police Plaza, where his lawyers were not allowed to see him – in keeping with police policy that apparently lets attorneys visit their clients in other jails and station houses – but not police headquarters. He was finally released at around 8 p.m. – after being charged with resisting arrest.<br />
<span id="more-10334"></span></p>
<p>Rodriguez denies he resisted the police and has called for an investigation of the incident.</p>
<p>To some officials at the conference, the incident seemed all too similar to the far <a href=" http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/09/05/2011-09-05_councilman_jumaane_williams_arrested_after_altercation_with_nypd_at_west_indian_.html">briefer arrest</a> of Councilmember <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/45">Jumaane Williams</a> and Kirsten John Foy, an aide to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, following the West Indian Day Parade on Labor Day. Calling if &#8220;odd,&#8221; to be back under such similar circumstances, City Council Speaker <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/3">Christine Quinn</a> said she had already contacted Police Commissioner Ray Kelly telling him the council would want answers to a variety of question about Rodriguez, including why police pushed him to the ground, why he was arrested and charged, and why he was held in the van.</p>
<p>Quinn wondered if Rodriguez had been singled out because he was a council member. Councilmember <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/14">Fernanado Cabrera</a> wondered if it might have been because Rodriguez is Latino. Williams, he noted, is black (as is Foy).</p>
<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s going to be next – an Asian America?&#8221; Cabrera asked. &#8220;We have two of them.&#8221;</p>
<p>Others tied Rodriguez&#8217;s arrest to the police arrests of journalists during yesterday&#8217;s events. </p>
<p>&#8220;What has become of New York when people in the media, people who are just doing their jobs, are hauled away and arrested,&#8221; State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who, like Rodriguez, represents Washington Heights, said. </p>
<p>Beyond this issues of police conduct, many speakers –- though  not all &#8212; proclaimed support for Occupy Wall Street and urged people to demonstrate tomorrow, which is being touted as a day of protest culminating in a 5 p.m. rally at Foley Square.</p>
<p>As for the Williams&#8217; case, an Internal Affairs investigation <a href=" http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/3-officers-to-face-discipline-for-detaining-city-officials-at-parade/">reportedly determined</a> police did use excessive force with him and Foy. Two officers and a supervisor received command disciplines, which often involves a loss of vacation days.</p>
<p>Williams has sought to use the incident to push for changes in the way police treat black and Latino men in the city. If the Rodriguez casesprovides any indication, that has not happened.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/16/rodriguez-on-his-arrest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Shelter Rules Delayed</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/shelter-rules-delayed/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/shelter-rules-delayed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:50:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[annabel palma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homeless]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10327</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Correction: Apparently contrary to what we originally reporterd, the court did not order the delay. The city postponed its plans after the Legal Aid Society filed suit to block the new rules. The item has been corrected to reflect that.
 The new intake procedures for single adults seeking to enter the city&#8217;s shelter system apparently [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>Correction:</strong> Apparently contrary to what we originally reporterd, the court did not order the delay. The city postponed its plans after the Legal Aid Society filed suit to block the new rules. The item has been corrected to reflect that.</em></p>
<p> The <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Social%20Services/20111110/15/3634">new intake procedures</a> for single adults seeking to enter the city&#8217;s shelter system apparently will not go into effect Monday after all. <del datetime="2011-11-11T14:29:38+00:00">Although we could not confirm this, a statement from the City Council said that a court has order postponement of</del> After the Legal Aid Society filed suit Thursday, the city reportedly <a href="http://http://online.wsj.com/article/APc71cd1386de44701adebf138da08134f.html">agreed to postpone</a>  implementation of the rules until next month. According to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APc71cd1386de44701adebf138da08134f.html">Wall Street Journal</a>, the city did this &#8220;because of the possibility of a state judge issuing a preliminary injunction.&#8221;</p>
<p>Arguments in the case are now scheduled to begin Dec. 9.</p>
<p>In a statement issued Thursday evening, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, &#8220;I am pleased that, as a result of today’s court hearing, the city&#8217;s dangerous new policy changing the intake procedure for single adults seeking shelter will not go into effect on Monday.  I am encouraged that this matter will be heard by the court, and I continue to call on [the Department of Homeless Services] to permanently reverse course and prevent these harmful changes from going into effect.”</p>
<p>And City Council General Welfare Committee chair Annabel Palma hailed the move as well. &#8220;I am pleased with the court&#8217;s favorable decision to stop the city from implementing its proposed eligibility changes for single adults. Absence of leadership from the administration on this issue, once again, has the city;s homeless policies shaped more by the court system rather than through collaboration and partnership with stakeholders,&#8221; Palma said.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/shelter-rules-delayed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>State Does Not Support New Shelter Rules After All</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/state-does-not-support-new-shelter-rules-afterall/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/state-does-not-support-new-shelter-rules-afterall/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:54:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elizabeth berlin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homeless]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[office of temporary and disability assistance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seth diamond]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10319</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At yesterday&#8217;s acrimonious hearing on changes in the city&#8217;s procedures for admitting single adults to homeless shelters. Council Speaker Christine Quinn pressed Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond over whether the state had –- as Diamond contended &#8212; actually approved the change.
To some in the audience it may have seemed as though Quinn was [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At yesterday&#8217;s acrimonious <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Social%20Services/20111110/15/3634">hearing</a> on <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/change-for-the-homeless/">changes in the city&#8217;s procedures</a> for admitting single adults to homeless shelters. Council Speaker Christine Quinn pressed Department of Homeless Services Commissioner <a href=" http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/html/press/pr041910.shtml">Seth Diamond</a> over whether the state had –- as Diamond contended &#8212; actually approved the change.</p>
<p>To some in the audience it may have seemed as though Quinn was splitting hairs. Diamond certainly seemed peeved at her approach.</p>
<p>Now, though, it looks as though she was correct. In a letter to Diamond dated yesterday and released this morning by Quinn&#8217;s office, Elizabeth Berlin of the <a href=" http://otda.ny.gov/">Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance</a>, says that any suggestion that her office approved the new eligibility procedure is &#8220;inaccurate.&#8221; </p>
<p>And Berlin went further: </p>
<blockquote><p>Moreover, this office has serious concerns that DHS failed to submit this proposal to the New York Supreme Court for review.  For over 30 years, such a review process has been DHS&#8217;s practice when making a policy change relating to the <a href=" http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/the-callahan-legacy-callahan-v.-carey-and-the-legal-right-to-shelter">Callahan Consent Decree</a>. Given DHS’s failure to share this policy with the court, OTDA finds the Nov.14 implementation date – a mere 10 days after the policy change was announced – to be completely unreasonable and is not supported by the state.</p></blockquote>
<p>The Callahan decree, reached between the city, state and advocates in 1981 provides a right to shelter for adults who qualified for welfare or who are homeless &#8220;by reason of physical, mental or social dysfunction.&#8221;</p>
<p>To read more on the issue and the debate over it, go <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Social%20Services/20111110/15/3634">here</a>. And more on the exchange between Quinn and Diamond  after the jump.</p>
<p>At the hearing yesterday, Diamond told the council that the state had informed his office that the change, which seeks to compel people to find alternatives to shelters including staying with relatives or even leaving the country, is  &#8220;consistent with state rules.&#8221; Quinn countered that that did not mean the state approved it. &#8220;Our understanding from the governor&#8217;s office is that they have not approved it,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>Diamond responded that the department did not need approval. &#8220;We have the flexibility to implement procedure that are consistent with state laws and regulations,&#8221; Diamond said, adding he believed his office had &#8220;what is needed to allow us to go forward.&#8221;  </p>
<p>Berlin&#8217;s letter explicitly addresses that point. &#8220;OTDA has not commented on the substantive merits of the proposed change, but instead determined that the proposal was not inconsistent with state law,&#8221; her two-paragraph letter said, </p>
<p>We&#8217;ll try to get some reaction and pass it along. </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/10/state-does-not-support-new-shelter-rules-afterall/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Races for DA</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/the-races-for-da/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/the-races-for-da/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:58:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bar association of the city of new york]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bronx district attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daniel Donovan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Molinaro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike ryan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[queen district attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[robert johnson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[state island district attorney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Three of New York City&#8217;s five district attorneys are up for re-election this year, but for only one &#8212; Staten Island Daniel Donovan &#8212; is the contest&#8217; outcome in any doubt. 
(For more on who can vote and how this year, go here. For more on the judicial contests, go here.)
Two of the veteran prosecutors, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Three of New York City&#8217;s five district attorneys are up for re-election this year, but for only one &#8212; Staten Island Daniel Donovan &#8212; is the contest&#8217; outcome in any doubt. </p>
<p>(For more on who can vote and how this year, go <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/10300/">here</a>. For more on the judicial contests, go <a /href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/here-come-the-judges/">here</a>.)</p>
<p>Two of the veteran prosecutors, <a href="http://www.queensda.org/dabiography.html">Richard Brown</a> in Queens and <a href="http://bronxda.nyc.gov/office/biography.htm">Robert Johnson</a> in the Bronx &#8212; will appear on the Democratic, Republican and Conservative lines and will not face any opposition.</p>
<p>Brown, who will turn 79 later this month, is <a href="http://www.qgazette.com/news/2011-10-19/Political_Page/DA_Brown_Headed_For_6th_Consecutive_Election_Victo.html"> headed</a> to his sixth-term.</p>
<p>Johnson, who already is in his sixth term, was the first black district attorney in the state. In a somewhat strange twist, he received a rating of &#8220;not approved&#8221; by the city bar association this year. Johnson attributed the rejection to his not agreeing to an interview with the association and said he thinks it make little sense for the group to rate candidates in uncontested elections.</p>
<p>&#8220;If they think that I have not demonstrated the qualifications to hold this office,&#8221; Johnson <a href="http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/New_York/News/2011/10_-_October/City_bar_association_gives_thumbs-down_to_veteran_Bronx_DA/">told Reuters</a>, &#8220;they must have been stuck in a cave for the past two decades.&#8221;</p>
<p>The bar does not explain or amplify on its ratings although they do not endorse candidates they can&#8217;t interview.</p>
<p>The Staten Island race offers a reprise of the 2007race in which Republican <a href=" http://www.dandonovan.org/2011/"> Donovan</a> <a href=" http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/top_stories/150288/district-attorney-candidates-spar-over-staten-island-crime-rate">defeated</a> Democrat <a href=" http://www.mikeryanforda.com/">Mike Ryan</a> with about 70 percent of the vote.  Donovan has the backing of the Independence Party too, while &#8212; perhaps owing to a <a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/10/24/si_beep_molinar.php">long-standing rift</a> between Donovan and Conservative Borough president James Molinaro, Ryan has the Conservative Party line.<br />
<span id="more-10306"></span><br />
Donovan, who <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20101021/204/3389">ran unsuccessfully</a> for state attorney general last year, first became Staten Island district attorney in 2004. He previously worked for the Manhattan district attorney and served as deputy borough president in Staten Island.</p>
<p>Ryan, who began his career as a probation officer, served as the city&#8217;s acting deputy criminal justice coordinator and was a commissioner on the Board of Elections. He is currently in private practice.</p>
<p>By most accounts the contest between the two men has been spirited. They have <a href="http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/contest_for_staten_island_dist.html">clashed</a> over the borough&#8217;s crime rate, <a href="http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/donovans_camp_rips_staten_isla.html">effort to fight prescription drug abuse</a>, the sharp increase in rape in the borough &#8212; which Donovan attributed largely to a rise in statutory rape &#8211; and Ryan&#8217;s conducts as an attorney, in particular his <a href="http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/former_bp_guy_molinari_slams_c.html">defense of a woman</a> whose pit bulls killed an elderly man. Donovan has <a href="http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/both_candidates_cite_numbers_i.html">cited the relatively low crime rate</a> on the island and his conviction rate, while Ryan has charged him with not taking on touch cases. </p>
<p>Both side have snagged some high profile endorsements. Former mayors Ed Koch and Rudolph Giuliani <a href="http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/dan_donovans_the_man_for_rudy.html">back Donovan</a>, as do an <a href=" http://www.dandonovan.org/2011/endorsements">array of law enforcement unions</a> and the <a href=" http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/uft_endorses_donovan_in_staten.html">United Federation of Teachers</a>. Gov Andrew Cuomo is <a href=" http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/gov_andrew_cuomo_endorses_demo.html">supporting Ryan</a> as are a large number of labor unions. </p>
<p>Donovan had a clear lead in fund-raising. Eleven days before the election, he <a href=" http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=C19538&#038;rdate_in=28-OCT-2011&#038;reportid_in=E&#038;eyear_in=2011">reported</a> raising $117,375 and had a closing balance of $194,170.01. Ryan had <a href="http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=C85261&#038;rdate_in=28-OCT-2011&#038;reportid_in=E&#038;eyear_in=2011">raised</a> almost $27,000 and had more than $21, 659 on hand.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/the-races-for-da/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Here Come the Judges</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/here-come-the-judges/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/here-come-the-judges/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:54:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bar association]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carl landicino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civil court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservative party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gabriel tapalaga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kate christoforatos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york state supreme court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paul atansio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tom long]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10303</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Occupants for 29 seats on the bench in New York City will be selected Tuesday &#8212; at least theoretically. In many cases, though, the primary process and political insiders have filled the posts already &#8212; leaving voters with nothing more than the opportunity to ratify the choice.
All candidates for Manhattan judgeships &#8212; including places of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Occupants for 29 seats on the bench in New York City will be selected Tuesday &#8212; at least theoretically. In many cases, though, the primary process and political insiders have filled the posts already &#8212; leaving voters with nothing more than the opportunity to ratify the choice.</p>
<p>All candidates for Manhattan judgeships &#8212; including places of the state Supreme Court and Civil Court &#8212; face no opposition. All have  the Democratic Party line; a few also have the GOP nod. In no case, though, have the Republicans &#8212; or any other party for that matter &#8212; put forth candidate who is not the Democratic standard bearer. In the one judicial race on Staten Island the sole candidate &#8212; Acting Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7023807">Joseph J. Maltese</a> &#8212; has support from the Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Independence parties.</p>
<p>The contested elections come in Brooklyn and Queens. There are no judicial races &#8212; contested or otherwise &#8212; in the Bronx. </p>
<p>(For more on who can vote and how this year, go <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/10300/">here</a>. For more on the district attorney contest, go <a /href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/here-come-the-judges/">here</a>.)</p>
<p>More on the individual judicial races after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10303"></span></p>
<p>In Queens, 12 candidates are competing for six available state Supreme Court seats. Six of the candidates are Democrats &#8212; Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JCEC2011/Bio2011.php?ID=1486">Janice Taylor</a>, Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7025810">Allan Weiss</a>, Civil Court Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JCEC2011/Bio2011.php?ID=1436">Rudolph Greco</a>, Acting Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JCEC2011/Bio2011.php?ID=1407">Timothy Dufficy</a>, Acting Supreme Court Justice and Civil Court Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=8000549">Pam Jackman-Brown</a> and Criminal Court Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7030007">Ira Margulis</a>. Facing them are six candidates with Republican and Conservative backing: Administrative Law Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/jcec/Bio.php?ID=154">Robert Beltrani</a>, criminal defense attorney <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/jcec/Bio.php?ID=154">Gabriel Tapalaga</a>, Ozone Park attorney <a href="http://www.myspace.com/268930313#!/joseph_kasper">Joseph Kasper</a>, Astoria attorney <a href="http://www.votechristoforatos.com/">Kate Christoforatos</a>, Elmhurst attorney <a href="http://www.florezlaw.com/index.htm">Milton Florez</a> and administrative law judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JCEC2011/Bio2011.php?ID=1245">John Casey</a>. </p>
<p>All the Democratic candidates have been <a href="http://www.abcny.org/media-aamp-publications/press-releases/press-archives-2011/1326-new-york-city-bar-association-rates-general-election-candidates-for-district-attorney-supreme-court-and-civil-court-in-new-york-city">rated as approved</a> by the city bar association. Among the Republicans, though, Christoforatos was the only candidate listed as approved; the others were ranked unapproved, (The bar does not provide any back-up for or explanation of its determinations.)</p>
<p>The Democrats <a href="http://www.qgazette.com/news/2011-10-19/Political_Page/DA_Brown_Headed_For_6th_Consecutive_Election_Victo.html"> have an edge</a> in the contests, the Queens Gazette believes, largely because of their advantage in party registration in the borough. In addition, the paper said, &#8220;All six Democrats have won previous elections, five of them for Civil Court judgeships and the sixth for a Housing Court judge’s position, which boosts their favorite status.&#8221;</p>
<p>Democrats currently hold all the Supreme Court seats in Queens, Conservative Party Chairman Tom Long <a href="http://www.qgazette.com/news/2011-11-02/Features/Brown_Seeks_Sixth_Straight_Term_On_Tuesday.html">has said</a>.</p>
<p>Fundraising tends to be light for these contests. Most of the candidates had not filed with the state elections boa4rd, meaning they have raised less than $1,000 for their races this year. </p>
<p>One exception was Christoforatos who, in her 11-day pre-general election filing, <a href="http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=A86329&#038;rdate_in=28-OCT-2011&#038;reportid_in=E&#038;eyear_in=2011"> reported </a>contributions of $28,520 and $13,740.73 on hand. In addition, Tapalaga <a href="http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=A86358&#038;rdate_in=28-OCT-2011&#038;reportid_in=E&#038;eyear_in=2011">reported</a> $11,525 in donations and $10,7095.67 on hand.</p>
<p>On the surface at least, the Brooklyn election seems less open.  Six of the candidates &#8212; Associate Appellate Division Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JCEC2011/Bio2011.php?ID=1256">David Freidman</a>; Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JCEC2011/Bio2011.php?ID=1283">Lawrence Knipel</a>; Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7026644">Betsy Barros</a>; <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Carl_J._Landicino">Carl Landicino</a>, a lawyer for the Brooklyn Democratic Party who <a href="http://www.cityhallnews.com/2011/09/how-a-brooklyn-democratic-functionary-became-a-brooklyn-judge/">reportedly</a> has spent much of his court time trying to knock challengers to the party establishment off the ballot; Acting Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7029688">Rachel Adams</a> and Acting Supreme Court Justice and Civil Court Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7030078">Johnny Baynes</a> &#8212; have the Democratic and Republican endorsements. All but two of them &#8212; Adams and Knipel &#8212; also have the Conservative Party&#8217;s backing.</p>
<p>Two candidates with just the Conservative Party lines &#8212; attorney <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Paul_M._Atanasio">Paul Atanasio</a> and <a href="http://www.connorsandsullivan.com/Bio/RenataLandskind.asp">Renata Landskind</a> &#8212; are running, presumably against them. Given the Conservative Party&#8217;s modest membership in Brooklyn &#8212; and the fact that Atanasio and Landskind are the only Brooklyn Supreme Court candidates without bar association approval &#8212; makes the odd against them seem pretty daunting . And Atanasio cannot be helped by his alleged role in the patronage hiring of a project leader on a school construction project. A falling brick from the site killed a 17-year-old girl in 1998, a death a city investigation later <a href=""http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/44/all_electiondayprimer_2011_11_04_bk.html">blamed</a> on incompetent contractors, halfway safety measures and laissez-faire supervision.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here, too fundraising seems light. Many candidates reported no activity. Knipel <a href="http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=A84377&#038;rdate_in=28-OCT-2011&#038;reportid_in=E&#038;eyear_in=2011">reported</a> having about $3,700 in campaign funds on hand. While Adam&#8217;s 11-day <a href="http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=A84238&#038;rdate_in=28-OCT-2011&#038;reportid_in=E&#038;eyear_in=2011">pre-general election filing</a> found her $466.18 in the red.</p>
<p>The contest for Civil Court in Brooklyn looks more competitive. Two Democrats &#8212; Sharen Hudson, a court attorney at the <a hrf="http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/red-hook-community-justice-center">Red Hook Community Justice Center</a> who has the <a href="http://www.kensingtonprospect.com/tag/democratic-primary-civil-court-judge">support of the party organization</a>, and Supervising Civil Court Judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7029861">Peter Sweeney</a> &#8212; are running against two Republican/Conservatives &#8212; attorney <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JCEC2011/Bio2011.php?ID=1417">Joseph Elhilow</a> and lawyer <a href="http://www.rocketlawyer.com/profiles/view-profile-VINCENT+F+MARTUSCIELLO.aspx">Vincent Martusciello</a> &#8212; for two seats. Only Hudson reported campaign finance activity with a <a href="http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=C85233&#038;rdate_in=28-OCT-2011&#038;reportid_in=E&#038;eyear_in=2011">negative balance</a> late last month of $672.36.</p>
<p>All of them are approved by the bar association except for Martusciello.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/here-come-the-judges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Quiet Election Day</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/10300/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/10300/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:39:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bronx district attorney robert johnson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daniel Donovan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike ryan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[qeens district attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ruben wills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[special election]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[staten island district attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[uncontested elections]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/10300/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even by the standards of the off-off-year election &#8212; those contests in odd-numbered years when there is no mayoral race &#8212; this is a non-election election year. 
There are no contested races of any kind in the Bronx or Manhattan, according to the Board of Elections&#8217; lists of candidates. In Queens and Brooklyn, the sole [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Even by the standards of the off-off-year election &#8212; those contests in odd-numbered years when there is no mayoral race &#8212; this is a non-election election year. </p>
<p>There are no contested races of any kind in the Bronx or Manhattan, according to the Board of Elections&#8217; <a href=" http://vote.nyc.ny.us/pdf/documents/boe/2011GeneralElection/CandidacyList.pdf">lists of candidates</a>. In Queens and Brooklyn, the sole seats up for grabs are judgeships. Only Staten Island residents will have the chance to vote for or against someone they might actually have heard of: Republican District Attorney <a href="http://www.dandonovan.org/2011/">Daniel Donovan</a>, who faces a challenge from Democrat <a href=" http://www.mikeryanforda.com/">Mike Ryan</a>. It&#8217;s a repeat of their 2007 contest.</p>
<p>(For details on the district attorney race, go <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/the-races-for-da/">here</a>. For more on the judicial contests, go <a /href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/here-come-the-judges/">here</a>.)</p>
<p>Sleepy elections occur about once every four years in New York, Unlike the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/iotw/20071105/200/2339">one in 2007</a>, this year&#8217;s features no ballot measures, fewer contests for the bench and no particularly high profile ones. As is often the case in general elections in New York City, many candidates including those for some important posts face no opposition.</p>
<p>More voting details after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10300"></span></p>
<p>In Queens, for example, <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/28">Ruben Wills</a>, a Democrat, faces no opposition for the City Council seat he originally <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20101025/203/3392">won in a special election</a> last fall. Bronx District Attorney <a href="http://bronxda.nyc.gov/office/biography.htm">Robert Johnson</a> has the Republican, Democratic and Conservative party lines in his quest for another term. The Bar Association of the City Of New York <a href="http://www.abcny.org/media-aamp-publications/press-releases/press-archives-2011/1326-new-york-city-bar-association-rates-general-election-candidates-for-district-attorney-supreme-court-and-civil-court-in-new-york-city">lists</a> Johnson as not approved for the post but voters have little choice  &#8212; but he&#8217;s unopposed anyway. So is Queens DA <a href="http://www.queensda.org/dabiography.html">Richard Brown</a>, who is &#8220;approved.&#8221;</p>
<p>For those of you who do plan to vote, polls will be open on Tuesday, as usual, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. To find out if you can vote or the location of your poll site, call (toll-free) 866-868-3692.</p>
<p>Going to the Board of Election <a href="http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm">poll site locator</a>, will not only enable you to find out where to vote but – for the first time – will also provide a sample ballot for your area. (Note you will see a sample ballot – and can even vote – if all candidates running from your area are unopposed. You may decide it&#8217;s not worth the trouble, though.)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/10300/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mayor Vetoes Contract Bill</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/mayor-vetoes-contract-bill/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/mayor-vetoes-contract-bill/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:16:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contract budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city council]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10295</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As expected, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vetoed the Outsourcing Accountability Act. The measure, passed by the City Council last month, would subject city contracts to a kind of cost-benefit analysis and require agencies to publicly disclose what services they plan to contract out in the coming year.
The veto represents the latest in an escalating fight [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As expected, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vetoed the <a href=" http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=917950&#038;GUID=A68C3D66-0740-4248-AD4F-B54747BE8E10&#038;Options=ID|Text|&#038;Search=624">Outsourcing Accountability Act</a>. The measure, <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20111006/203/3615">passed by the City Council</a> last month, would subject city contracts to a kind of cost-benefit analysis and require agencies to publicly disclose what services they plan to contract out in the coming year.</p>
<p>The veto represents the latest in an escalating fight over the city&#8217;s growing contract budget between the Bloomberg administration on the one hand and City Council members and municipal employee unions on the other. As city spending on the contracts has increased, a number of scandals have erupted, particularly with technology contracts. </p>
<p>The mayor, however, has said contracts help cut costs and reduce government efficiency. &#8220;To put impediments to us getting the best deal for the taxpayers particularly during this economy is something we can not tolerate. We are just not going to have this bill,&#8221; Bloomberg said after it passed.</p>
<p>In her statement on the veto, though, Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the measure would save money. &#8220;The council simply wants city agencies to consider costs and thoughtfully review decisions to outsource,&#8221; she said. &#8220;These tough economic times demand nothing less.&#8221;</p>
<p>Since the bill passed unanimously, the council has the votes to override the veto. Bloomberg, though, has said he thinks the measure could be unconstitutional, meaning the whole issue could end up in the courts.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/mayor-vetoes-contract-bill/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Change for the Homeless</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/change-for-the-homeless/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/change-for-the-homeless/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:28:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[annabel palma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[emergency shelters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homeless]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seth diamond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[steve banks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Advocates for the homeless and some City Council members are reacting with alarm to reports that the city will institute a policy later this month that will make it more difficult for single adults to gain admission to city shelters.
According to WNBC, which first
reported on the move, workers will subject people applying to stay in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Advocates for the homeless and some City Council members are reacting with alarm to reports that the city will institute a policy later this month that will make it more difficult for single adults to gain admission to city shelters.</p>
<p>According to WNBC, which first<br />
<href =http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Homeless-Shelter-Policy-Change-Temporary-Housing-Requirement-Court-133213703.html>reported on the move, workers will subject people applying to stay in shelters to more questions about where they have lived recently and whether they have another place to stay. This could create a problem for someone who, say, lost her apartment, doubled up with a sister for a  short time and then was asked to leave.</p>
<p>The  move – apparently an effort to save money – has been in the works for a while but needed state approval. City officials told NBC they received the OK yesterday. The city already conducts similar reviews for homeless families.</p>
<p>Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond <a href=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/newyorkcity-homeless-singles-idUSN1E7A30VQ20111104>told</a> Reuters that many people applying to shelters these days may have other options. They include, he said, &#8220;a lot of people who are working or capable of work, who may have gone through a little bit of a rough time &#8212; their employer may have reduced their hours, or they may have lost their jobs.&#8221;</p>
<p>But advocates dispute such arguments. &#8220;The city is playing with fire by implementing this policy, particularly in the winter,&#8221; Steven Banks of the <a href="http://www.legal-aid.org/en/home.aspx">Legal Aid Society</a> told WNBC. &#8220;It&#8217;s certainly going to result in vulnerable New Yorkers ending up on the streets.” He said the society would go to court to try and block the change.</p>
<p>Earlier today, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and General Welfare Committee chair Annabel Palma. Issued a statement condemning the move. &#8220;This policy is cruel, risky, unacceptable and will not reduce homelessness in the city of New York. Denying people shelter because they have found another option for some period of time is punishing people for trying to do the right thing,&#8221; they said.</p>
<p>The council will hold an emergency oversight hearing on the policy at 1 p.m. Wednesday.<br />
</href>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/change-for-the-homeless/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>City Council Takes to the Streets</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/city-council-takes-to-the-streets/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/city-council-takes-to-the-streets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:20:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Atlantic Yards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barclays arena]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bike lanes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community biards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gale brewer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[james vacca]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[letitia james]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lew fidler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city department of transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[residential parking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[speaker quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transportation alternatives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vincent ignizio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yankee stadium]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10289</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On the same day, it tackled the issue of undocumented immigrants (for that story, go here), the City Council took on something really controversial: the battle for spaces on the city&#8217;s crowded streets.
At its stated meeting Thursday, members enacted two  measures.
One reflected concerns that the Bloomberg administration, in its zeal for bike lanes, has [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On the same day, it tackled the issue of undocumented immigrants (for that story, go <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20111104/203/3630">here</a>), the City Council took on something really controversial: the battle for spaces on the city&#8217;s crowded streets.</p>
<p>At its stated meeting Thursday, members enacted two  measures.</p>
<p>One reflected concerns that the Bloomberg administration, in its zeal for bike lanes, has sometimes <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/transportation/20110225/16/3472">ignored wishes</a> of local residents. <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=803592&#038;GUID=A9FD01B1-E217-4AA6-BC43-5127068542F3&#038;Options=ID|Text|&#038;Search=412">Intro 412</a>, which passed unanimously, would require that the city <a href=" http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/home/home.shtml">Department of Transportation</a> provide community boards with at least 90 days notification of any planned bike lanes in their area, allowing the board to hold hearings. If the board wanted, transportation officials would have to make presentations to the affected boards. </p>
<p>This does not mean the board could veto bike lanes, but simply that it be informed and consulted.</p>
<p>More on the bike law bill and residential parking permits after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10289"></span></p>
<p>The bill&#8217;s sponsor, Councilmember <a href=" http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/home/home.shtml">Lew Fidler</a>, whose district has been roiled by some <a href=" http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2010/09/fidler-bike-lanes-should-not-drop-out-of-the-sky/">bike lane disputes</a>, said it does not take a position on bike lanes themselves but is &#8220;pro community input.&#8221;</p>
<p>Some bike advocates, though, disagree. Caroline Samponaro of <a href=" http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2010/09/fidler-bike-lanes-should-not-drop-out-of-the-sky/">Transportation Alternatives</a> <a href=" http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/150180/city-council-passes-controversial-bike-lane-legislation">told</a> NY1 the bill is simply &#8220;a way to just slow down safety improvements.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;Bike lanes are loved by some neighborhoods and not so much by others,&#8221; Council Speaker <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/3">Christine Quinn</a> said, adding she hoped the bill &#8220;would calm some of the bike lane debate.&#8221;</p>
<p>One can always hope.</p>
<p>The other bill &#8212; a home rule message actually &#8212; could set in motion a plan for residential parking permits in the city. In some other parts of the country &#8212; <a href=" http://dmv.dc.gov/serv/parking/RPP.shtm">Washington, D.C.</a> &#8212; for one, residents of a particular neighborhood purchase a parking sticker that gives them priority for parking places close to their homes. The impetus for the resolution, <a href=" http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=991736&#038;GUID=A796C711-4598-4B4D-A072-35812E3EE219&#038;Options=ID|Text|&#038;Search=14">SLR14</a>, came from people living near the new <a href=" http://barclayscenter.com/">Barclay Arena</a> at Atlantic Yards, who worry they won&#8217;t be able to find parking once the Nets begin playing there next year, as well as residents of the Yankee Stadium area who already complain of difficulty parking. </p>
<p>The bill, according to transportation committee chair <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/13">James Vacca</a>, does not institute the permits but merely asks the state legislature, which has jurisdiction over this, to allow the city to look into whether the permits would make sense in some parts of the city. &#8220;We want people who live in local communities to be allowed to park somewhere near their homes,&#8221; Vacca said.</p>
<p>Councilmember <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/35">Letitia James</a>, who represents areas near Atlantic Yards, said the parking could serve as a &#8220;disincentive&#8221; for people to drive to the new arena. &#8220;Individuals who come to Barclays Arena should use mass transit,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>The bill though, attracted considerable opposition (by the council&#8217;s standards), particularly from members who represent communities whose residents drive to other neighborhoods – neighborhoods where they do not live – and park for the day before getting on a bus or subway. Eight members <a href=" http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/11/03/city-council-signs-off-on-residential-parking-permits-next-stop-albany/">voted</a> against the resolution and one abstained.</p>
<p>One, <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/51">VIncent Ignizio</a> of Staten Island, dismissed  the notion that people who live in an area have more of a right to park on the streets there than residents of other areas. &#8220;The spot in front of my home is not mine,&#8221; he said. People from his district should be able to park near Yankee Stadium, he said, and residents of the Bronx should feel free to park in Tottenville. (Don&#8217;t all drive there at once, folks.)</p>
<p>Some raised the specter of the fee that the city might charge for the permits. &#8220;I&#8217;m just concerned we&#8217;re now going to start taxing open space and the right to park in front of our homes,&#8221; Fidler said. </p>
<p>While opponents lost yesterday&#8217;s round, the residential parking has to make it through many hoops before becoming a reality in New York. Councilmember <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/6">Gale Brewer</a>, who voted in favor, said she did not think it would pass in Albany.</p>
<p>The two Republican state senators from the city oppose the measure, making its passage in the GOP-controlled Senate unlikely, the Daily News <a href=" http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-council-greenlights-resident-parking-permits-albany-lawmakers-approve-article-1.972005">reported</a> today.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/city-council-takes-to-the-streets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Union on School Cuts</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/01/the-union-on-school-cuts/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/01/the-union-on-school-cuts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:09:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charter schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[class size]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dennis Walcott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael mulgrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[uft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United Federation of Teachers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10277</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the city facing a multibillion dollar shortfall – and the Bloomberg administration demanding further cuts, the United Federation of Teachers went on the offense today, with a study it says shows that fiscal constraints already have taken a toll on the city&#8217;s more than 1.1 million students. 
A survey of union chapter leaders (perhaps [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the city facing a multibillion dollar shortfall – and the Bloomberg administration <a href=" http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/bloomberg-letter-budget-cuts-layoffs-20111005">demanding further cuts</a>, the <a href=" http://www.uft.org">United Federation of Teachers</a> went on the offense today, with a <a href=" http://www.uft.org/press-releases/one-million-city-students-schools-hit-budget-cuts">study</a> it says shows that fiscal constraints already have taken a toll on the city&#8217;s more than 1.1 million students. </p>
<p>A survey of union chapter leaders (perhaps not the most objective of sources) found, the UFT reports, that 74 percent of elementary schools have seen class size increase this year. The number of students in a class rose at 61 percent of the middle schools reporting and 59 percent of the high schools.</p>
<p>More than half of elementary schools responding have scaled back services to help academically struggling students, and almost two thirds cited reductions in supplies. In general, the chapter leaders at high schools cited fewer effects from cuts than those in elementary schools. And despite Chancellor Dennis Walcott&#8217;s pledge to focus on improving middle schools, 63 percent saw their afterschool programs curtailed and 59 percent lost extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>While the administration enthusiastically supports charters schools, which often offer after school and or weekend programs, it has ramped back efforts to expand instructional time for students in its conventional public schools, according to the report. About 60 percent of schools at all levels reported cuts in afterschool programs, and about 40 said weekend programs had been reduced.</p>
<p>In a statement on his union&#8217;s report UFT president Michael Mulgrew said, &#8220;Based on our survey, an estimated 91 percent of our school population &#8212; nearly 1 million children &#8212; are in schools where budget cuts are having a direct and immediate effect on their education.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/01/the-union-on-school-cuts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Closing Public Spaces</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/31/closing-public-spaces/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/31/closing-public-spaces/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:06:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jerome kayden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city zoning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Occupy Wall Street]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zuccotti park]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(Gotham Gazette parks reporter Anne Schwartz filed this post.)
Last week, Crain&#8217;s   reported that landlords, taking action in response to Occupy Wall Street’s weeks-long occupancy of Zuccotti Park, want the city to revamp its laws covering the city’s privately owned public parks to set hours of operation and prohibit large gatherings. Crain&#8217;s has a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><b><i>(Gotham Gazette parks reporter Anne Schwartz filed this post.)</i></b></p>
<p>Last week, Crain&#8217;s <a href="http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/blogs/polls/2011/10/should-private-parks-be-allowed-to-set-their-own-hours/">  reported</a> that landlords, taking action in response to Occupy Wall Street’s weeks-long occupancy of Zuccotti Park, want the city to revamp its laws covering the city’s privately owned public parks to set hours of operation and prohibit large gatherings. Crain&#8217;s has a survey asking readers whether they think &#8220;private parks&#8221; should be allowed to set their own hours. As of today, the 201 people who bothered to respond said yes by a margin of almost two to one.</p>
<p>The business paper, however, did not note that these spaces are actually public places that developers were required to create &#8212; and keep open &#8212; in return for the right to build taller buildings under city zoning laws. Having already received the financial benefits of the added floor space, the landlords now  are seeking to restrict some of the public benefit.</p>
<p>A study conducted in 2001 by Jerold Hayden, a Harvard professor of urban planning and design, with the Department of City Planning and the Municipal Art Society, found that 40 percent of these parks &#8220;were and are practically useless, with austere designs, no amenities and little or no direct sunlight. Roughly half of the buildings surveyed had spaces that were illegally closed or otherwise privatized.&#8221; (For Gotham Gazette&#8217;s report on that study, go <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20010205/997/232http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20010205/997/232">here</a>.) </p>
<p>The results still hold today, Kayden wrote in a recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/opinion/zuccotti-park-and-the-private-plaza-problem.html"> New York Times piece</a>.<br />
Kayden said he welcomes the attention the protesters have called to the city&#8217;s privately owned public spaces, but calls for a much broader discussion on how they can contribute meaningfully to city life. &#8220;They need a champion, an independent steward or curator who actively promotes their use, not only by assuring that spaces are provided as legally promised but also by encouraging improvements, activities and public educational opportunities,&#8221; Kayden said.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/31/closing-public-spaces/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quinn Ducks and Parries</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/06/quinn-ducks-and-parries/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/06/quinn-ducks-and-parries/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:55:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[annabel palma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bloomberg administration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chris quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[living wage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike blomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oliver Koppell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outside contractors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paid sick leave]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10188</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn presided over the passage of a bill that Mayor Michael Bloomberg adamantly opposes. Will she do it again?
This issue yesterday was the city&#8217;s increasing reliance on outside contractors. The City Council &#8212; obviously with strong backing from Quinn or else it wouldn&#8217;t have happened &#8212; unanimously passed a bill [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Yesterday, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn presided over the passage of a bill that Mayor Michael Bloomberg adamantly opposes. Will she do it again?</p>
<p>This issue yesterday was the city&#8217;s <a href=" http://gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110603/203/3537">increasing reliance</a> on outside contractors. The City Council &#8212; obviously with strong backing from Quinn or else it wouldn&#8217;t have happened &#8212; unanimously <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20111006/203/3615">passed a bill</a> requiring a kind of cost-benefit analysis of proposed contracts.</p>
<p>Bloomberg later, according to WNYC&#8217;s Bob Hennelly blasted the measure. &#8220;To put impediments to us getting the best deal for the taxpayers particularly during this economy is something we can not tolerate. We are just not going to have this bill,&#8221; Bloomberg said. </p>
<p>The next issue could be the so-called <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/work/20100115/22/3147">Living Wage bill</a>, a measure that would require businesses that get a city subsidy to pay their workers, not just the minimum wage but a living wage of $10 to $11.50 an hour, depending upon benefits.  </p>
<p>The administration opposes that one too &#8212; usually trying to obscure the fact that it would only apply to employers getting city money. Yesterday Bloomberg somehow linked it to the Soviet Union.</p>
<p>Quinn wants the mayor&#8217;s business supporter and backing for her mayoral quest. She&#8217;s also probably like at least some unions on her side and a stamp of approval from the many council members who are for the living wage. And so despite repeated questioning from reporters who phrased and rephrased the question yesterday, Quinn  would not be pinned down.</p>
<p>The verbal dueling after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10188"></span></p>
<p>She said she hadn&#8217;t looked at the administration&#8217;s <a href=" https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/254818-report-on-impact-of-living-wage-mandate.html">study</a> on the living wage because she was watching a baseball game. She said she didn&#8217;t know what the changes offered by sponsors <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/council11">Oliver Koppell</a> and <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/18">Annabel Palma</a> might be because they had not yet been introduced. She said she could not rely on <a href=" http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111003/LABOR_UNIONS/111009986">press accounts</a> of those amendments. </p>
<p>Asked what she thought about the spirit of the bill, she ducked again, saying, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know that the spirit of the bill or the content of the bill hasn&#8217;t changed.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pressed again, Quinn answered, &#8220;It&#8217;s not that I have no opinion. It&#8217;s that I have nothing to give an opinion on. &#8230; I will have an opinion but I can&#8217;t give opinion on things that don&#8217;t exist or things I haven&#8217;t read.&#8221;</p>
<p>If this sounds familiar it should. For months Quinn dodged giving answers on a pieces of legislation &#8212; also backed by labor and by council progressives&#8211;  that would have require city employers to <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/20091116/212/3103">give paid sick days</a> to their workers. (In fact the maneuvering on the issue is so familiar that one reporter, Azi Paybarah of Capital, confused them when questioning Quinn yesterday.)</p>
<p>What happened then? Quinn  came out <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20101015/203/3384">against the measure</a>, and it seems to be all but dead.</p>
<p>As to the living wage bill> Quinn says it&#8217;s in &#8220;suspended animation.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/06/quinn-ducks-and-parries/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Education Councils: Weak by Design</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/03/education-councils-weak-by-design/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/03/education-councils-weak-by-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:20:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community education council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city department of education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[panel for educational policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[patrick sullivan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scott stringer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10184</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Whatever else it has and has not done, the system of mayoral control of schools as practiced in New York City must have set some kind of record for the creation of toothless bodies.
The chief one of course is the Panel for Educational Policy, which as Patrick Sullivan, a member, wrote on New York Public [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Whatever else it has and has not done, the system of mayoral control of schools as practiced in New York City must have set some kind of record for the creation of toothless bodies.</p>
<p>The chief one of course is the <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/AboutUs/leadership/PEP/default.htm">Panel for Educational Policy</a>, which as Patrick Sullivan, a member, <a href=" http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2011/09/bloomberg-education-record-stained-by.html">wrote</a> on New York Public School Parents, routinely rubber stamps Department of Education contracts – even ones dripping with corruption such as the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/29/bloombergs-technology-pit/">agreement</a> with <a href="http://www.fta-llc.com/main/Index.aspx">Future Technology Associates</a>.  </p>
<p>The impotence of the PEP is hardly surprising – Bloomberg always vowed the body would not do anything.  But committed parents across the five borough hoped the <a href=" http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/CEC/GPInformation/CommunityEducationCouncils/one.htm">Community Education Councils</a>, heirs to the former Community School Board – might function a bit better. They were, alas, wrong.</p>
<p>A report released by four of the five borough presidents  (all but Staten Island James Molinaro), Pubic Advocate Bill de Blasio and parent leaders, tells some of the sad history of the councils under this administration, focusing to a large extent on the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/10/elections-and-education/">repeatedly botched election</a> for members in 2011.</p>
<p>To remedy this and other ills, the report calls for major changes in the current two-tier voting system, where parents first cast an advisory vote and then leaders of parent organizations in the respective area make the final choice. The borough presidents et al would replace that with an actual election among parents. They would also improve training for council members, call for the councils to do more outreach and revise the council&#8217;s responsibilities. (Now the most meaningful thing they do is approve school zones within the district, influencing which neighborhood sends its children to what school.)</p>
<p>Perhaps most notably, the report&#8217;s writers would take the responsibility for the councils away from the Department of Education and give it to an independent nonprofit or government body.<br />
<span id="more-10184"></span></p>
<p>&#8220;It’s time for us to give [the councils] a role in our city&#8217;s public schools &#8212; and to unleash the full, untapped potential of our CECs,&#8221; Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said in a statement accompanying the report.</p>
<p>That is precisely what the administration does not want. As far as the administration is concern things are pretty, pretty good just the way they are.</p>
<p>Just look back to the fight over <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/measuringup/20090427/209/2897">renewing mayoral control</a> of schools in 2009, the administration staunchly resisted governance changes. It used its substantial muscle and money no doubt to block a modest proposal to have the PEP members serve fixed terms. The mayor would still have controlled an overwhelming majority – he just couldn&#8217;t fire them on a whim. (Something, of course, that he has done.)</p>
<p>There is no reason to think the mayor is not happy with the Community Education Council as they now stand – except of course that the effort to keep them weak sometimes kicks up some negative publicity – as happened with the elections last year. When it comes to the panel and the councils, the administration has gotten what it wanted. </p>
<p>&#8220;Parents feel that their voices have been diminished, not strengthened, by the current system,&#8221; Stringer said in his statement. </p>
<p>Well, yes, that was the idea, wasn&#8217;t it?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/03/education-councils-weak-by-design/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Questioning Police Power</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/30/questioning-police-power/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/30/questioning-police-power/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:52:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10181</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Following a meeting with leaders of city civil rights groups and other organizations, City Councilmember Jumaane Williams and Kirsten John Foy, an aide to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, are still awaiting a public apology for their detention and handcuffing by police following the West Indian Day Parade earlier this month.
And Mayor Michael Bloomberg has [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Following a meeting with leaders of city civil rights groups and other organizations, City Councilmember Jumaane Williams and Kirsten John Foy, an aide to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, are still awaiting a public apology for their <a href=" http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/09/05/2011-09-05_councilman_jumaane_williams_arrested_after_altercation_with_nypd_at_west_indian_.html">detention and handcuffing</a> by police following the West Indian Day Parade earlier this month.</p>
<p>And Mayor Michael Bloomberg has apparently not responded to their proposal that he and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly meet with Williams, Foy and young black and Latino New Yorkers that have been affected by what Williams, Foy and may others see as <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/06/jumaane-williams-and-the-police/">unfair and discriminatory police tactics</a>. Instead Bloomberg, calling the police action a &#8220;misunderstanding,&#8221; had <a href=" http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/councilman-williams-passes-on-bloombergs-beer-summit">suggested</a> he and Williams sit down over a beer &#8220;and work it out.&#8221;</p>
<p>Williams and Foy have repeatedly said their arrest highlights the effects of police policies &#8212; most notably stops and frisks &#8212; widely used against young black and Latino men in the city. In their statement issued last night, the two said they plan to hold town-hall style meetings in all five boroughs where others stopped by police can tell their stories. And they want the city Department of Education to &#8220;mandate &#8216;Know Your Rights&#8217; training in middle and high schools.&#8221;</p>
<p>The statement comes as police are under scrutiny for other alleged abuses of power &#8212; police <a href=" http://www.lawofficer.com/article/news/ap-nypd-developed-detailed-mus">surveillance of Muslim New Yorkers</a>, unwarranted <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/26/a-change-on-marijuana-arrests/">marijuana arrests</a>, and the <a href=" http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-09-24/news/30219815_1_pepper-spray-protesters-unarmed-man">pepper spraying</a> of Wall Street demonstrators last weekend. Police have reportedly begun probing the latter <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576599223685769818.html?mod=googlenews_wsj"> incident</a>, which has been viewed by hundreds of thousands, if not millions on YouTube.</p>
<p>All of these occurrences come after years that saw a massive expansion of police powers in the city, as Jim Dwyer <a href=" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/nyregion/a-harsh-view-of-police-power-in-pepper-spray-episode.html">writes</a> in today&#8217;s Times. The department, Dwyer says, &#8220;has done so in a bubble of isolation from ordinary democratic processes. It exists in a world apart. &#8221;</p>
<p>In their statement, Williams and Foy expressed hope this might be change. &#8220;We are all excited that our communities are focused and working together,&#8221; they said. &#8220;This is a fight for civil rights, and we are hopeful that civil rights will ultimately prevail.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/30/questioning-police-power/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bloomberg&#039;s Technology Pit</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/29/bloombergs-technology-pit/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/29/bloombergs-technology-pit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:24:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10177</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another day, another disturbing revelation about the city&#8217;s handling of its technology contracts.
This time it&#8217;s the latest chapter in the scandal involving computers at the Department of Education. The company the department paid $75 million to do technical work on its purchasing, payroll and finance systems – Future Technology Associates &#8212;  bilked the city [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Another day, another disturbing revelation about the city&#8217;s handling of its technology contracts.</p>
<p>This time it&#8217;s the latest chapter in the scandal involving computers at the Department of Education. The company the department paid $75 million to do technical work on its purchasing, payroll and finance systems – <a href="http://www.fta-llc.com/main/Index.aspx">Future Technology Associates</a> &#8212;  <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576599404035575830.html">bilked the city</a> out of at least $6.5 million, according to a <a href="http://www.nycsci.org/reports/09-11%20FTA%20Report%20letter.pdf">report</a> by Richard Condon, the city&#8217;s special commissioner of investigation.</p>
<p>Among other things, Future Tech set up shell companies and then vastly inflated its claims of how much those companies charged. So the Department of Education was being charged between $55 and $110 an hour for work that actually cost Future Tec $10 to $14 an hour.</p>
<p>Concerns about Future Technology have been circulating for some time.</p>
<p>According to a letter-report from the city comptroller&#8217;s Bureau of Audit, given to Gotham Gazette today (posted <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/pdf/futuretechassociates.pdf">here</a>), in 2005 the department submitted a request that Future Tech get a no-bid contract. (No-bid contracts at the Department of Education have <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2009/05/19/a-lesson-in-school-contracts/">raised concerns</a> in the past.) &#8220;This request appears to have contained inaccurate and misleading statements from FTA, which, if DOE had known, should have precluded FTA from being awarded this contract,&#8221; says the report from the comptroller&#8217;s office, which went to  Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and Condon&#8217;s office.<br />
<span id="more-10177"></span></p>
<p>The executive director of the department&#8217;s Division of Finance &#8220;provided an unsupportable vote of confidence for FTA, indicating that it had the ability and integrity to provide the specific services,&#8217; the letter report by Deputy Comptroller Tina Kim says. But, it continues, the department did not do proper research, which would have shown FTA was a new company with &#8220;no prior business record by which it could be judged.&#8221;</p>
<p>In addition, the reports says, the city did not follow standard business practice in letting Future Tech use Tier Technology employees who were then working as consultants at the Department of Education. And it found Future Tech did not submit time sheets as required by the agreement between the company and the city. Because of this, Kim writes, &#8220;we could not verify that time records were accurate and concluded that time records totaling $1.7 million (pertaining only to billing invoices provided) were paid in contravention of the board&#8217;s stated policy.&#8221;</p>
<p>All of this becomes less surprising than it might otherwise be when one learns, as Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/09/29/2011-09-29_alleged_massive_fraud_by_future_technology_associates_was_like_taking_millions_f.html">reminded</a> readers today, that the chief of financial operations during this time was one Judith Hederman, who, investigators say, was romantically involved with Jonathan Krohe, one of the two owners of Future Tech. Investigators in Condon&#8217;s office believe that Hederman tipped off Krohe whenever the department seemed to be having doubts about the cost of the project. </p>
<p>Hederman <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2011/05/13/2011-05-13_education_dept_official_who_oversaw_43m_contract_resigns_amid_corruption_investi.html">resigned</a> in May.</p>
<p>But Hederman, Gonzalez notes, was not the only department of education official involved with Future Tech. Vincent Giordano, now retired, reportedly engineered the no-bid contract. And when Gonzalez first questioned what Future Tech was up to – noting the company had not track record or even, apparently, an office, Photeine Anagnostopoulos, who was the Department of Education&#8217;s chief of operations, defended the company&#8217;s arrangement with the city. &#8220;Their rates are better than competitive,&#8221; she told the reporter. &#8220;You don&#8217;t have to bid every plumbing job in your house because you know what [the] rates are.</p>
<p>Anagnostopoulos <a href=" http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/01/22/2011-01-22_2nd_school_deputy_chancellor_resigns_since_black_hire.html">resigned</a> last year, the day after Cathie Black was appointed chancellor. </p>
<p>Condon has referred his findings to prosecutors. </p>
<p>Prosecutors have already turned their attention to another city technology project, the CityTime computerized timekeeping system for city employees. Last December, federal prosecutor <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/nyc-bigtime-citytime-fraud-charges-ripples-on">charged</a> four consultants to the city with operating a fraudulent scheme that ended up bilking the city of $80 million as CityTime&#8217;s cost soared by more than tenfold. </p>
<p>And this summer, they added to the list, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/nyregion/criticism-for-citytime-project-grows-as-a-manager-is-arrested.html?_r=1">charging</a> an executive with <a href=" http://www.saic.com/">Science Applications International Corp.</a>, which oversaw CityTime, with taking more than $5 million in kickbacks. </p>
<p>Only a few days before, discussing CityTime on his radio show, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, &#8220;We actually did a pretty good job here, in retrospect.”</p>
<p>And there may be further problems on the horizon. Last week, the Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/nyregion/bloombergs-computer-project-for-personnel-data-leads-to-waste.html?scp=2&#038;sq=techology%20city%20bloomberg%20adninistration&#038;st=cse">reported</a> that a $66 million project to computerize city personnel information had already mushroomed to cost $363 million and, according to the Times, &#8220;the work is far from done.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;It was a runaway project,&#8221; Raj Agarwal, the city official who once tried to mange it, told the paper. </p>
<p>And in this case, too, there were warning signs about the New York City Automated Personnel System or Nycaps. In March 2003, the administration&#8217;s own contract monitors warned, &#8220;No sense of economy, efficiency or value is evident in any area of the project,”</p>
<p>On Monday, the City Council <a href=" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/nyregion/city-council-to-investigate-bloombergs-personnel-project.html?scp=1&#038;sq=technology%20city%20council&#038;st=cse">announced</a> it would investigate cost overruns on the project, and a number of officials expressed dismay that a major technology project had once again been over budget and underperforming. In additional to probing Nycaps, the council will reportedly consider a bill that would require the administration to tell City Council when a project is over budget – and explain why.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/29/bloombergs-technology-pit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Dicker Question</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/28/the-dicker-question/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/28/the-dicker-question/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:47:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10174</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The New York Post&#8217;s Fred Dicker was not (at least as far any any of us could tell) at the New School last night for the discussion on Cuomo and the Media. But his ears must have been burning anyway.
To the four journalists on the panel it was clear that in Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s handling [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The New York Post&#8217;s Fred Dicker was not (at least as far any any of us could tell) at the New School last night for the discussion on <a href="http://www.newschool.edu/eventDetail.aspx?id=69524">Cuomo and the Media</a>. But his ears must have been burning anyway.</p>
<p>To the four journalists on the panel it was clear that in Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s handling of the press, there&#8217;s Fred Dicker and then there&#8217;s the rest of us ink-stained wretches. (For more on that relationship, see <a href="http://nyspublicradio.org/">Cuomo Cultivates His Media Messenger</a>.)<br />
<span id="more-10174"></span><br />
Cuomo, said the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times</a>&#8216; Nick Confessore &#8220;almost never goes on the record in a free setting&#8221; &#8212; except in his regular appearances &#8220;on a <a href="http://www.talk1300.com/">radio show with a few listeners in Albany</a>.&#8221; </p>
<p>This really seemed to stick in the craw of Wayne Barrett, formerly of the Village Voice and now with the <a href="http://www.nationinstitute.org/">Nation Institute</a>, who does not even cover Cuomo any more. Barrett said he could not think of anything Cuomo had done that Dicker would disagree with that. (Some of his fellow panelists took issue with that.)</p>
<p>&#8220;Pandering to the New York Post is not any better than pandering to the public employee unions,&#8221; Barrett said.</p>
<p>But as Barrett pushed for others on the panel to get the kind of access Dicker has, none them seemed eager to take up the cause .&#8221;I don’t think its unusual for an elected official to have preferred people that they speak to,&#8221; Liz Benjamin of <a href="http://www.capitaltonight.com/">State of Politics</a> said.</p>
<p>Karen DeWitt of <a href="http://nyspublicradio.org/">New York Public Radio</a> said she had had an interview &#8211; one apparently as opposed to Dicker&#8217;s almost one a week &#8212; and seemingly dismissed the disparity. &#8220;There were a lot of radio interview I the last few days,&#8221; she said. </p>
<p>&#8221; I have no idea why people who are the victims of this are not with me on this,&#8221; Barrett said of the panelists. &#8220;You&#8217;re sending the message you have to be Freddy to get access.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/28/the-dicker-question/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Discussing Cuomo&#039;s Glow</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/28/discussing-cuomos-glow/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/28/discussing-cuomos-glow/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:45:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fracking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gov. cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hydraulic fracturing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liz benjamin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[redistricting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wayne barrett]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10170</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even on a day a public employee union dealt him a serious setback few would deny that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has emerged as an exceedingly adroit politician. And none of members of a panel on Cuomo and the Media at the New School last night even tried to.
If their assessments of the governor varied at [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Even on a day a public employee union <a href=" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/nyregion/public-employees-federation-rejects-albany-contract.html?_r=1&#038;ref=nyregion">dealt him a serious setback</a> few would deny that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has emerged as an exceedingly adroit politician. And none of members of a panel on <a href=" http://www.newschool.edu/eventDetail.aspx?id=69524">Cuomo and the Media</a> at the New School last night even tried to.</p>
<p>If their assessments of the governor varied at all, they ranged from skilled to brilliant. And the four reporters, joined by one pollster, did differ on how long the governor could keep his glow.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is an administration incredibly interested in managing their message. They are enormously good at it. They are artists,&#8221; Liz Benjamin of <a href="http://www.capitaltonight.com/stateofpolitics/">State of Politics</a> and the evening&#8217;s moderator said, setting the tone from the get-go.</p>
<p>To control his image and his message, the governor and his minions call and lobby reporters ceaselessly but rarely publicly. &#8220;He almost never goes on the record in a free setting,&#8221; said the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times</a>&#8216; Nick Confessore.</p>
<p>The panelists seemed almost in awe of Cuomo&#8217;s skills &#8212; his ability to listen to people and engage with them, his focus on two or three key things and skill at avoiding distractions, his hard work, his smarts, his ease with &#8220;working a room.&#8221; (Panelists declined to discuss his capacity observed on at a lake in the Adirondacks last month, to walk on water)</p>
<p>&#8220;His job is to manage his positive image, and he&#8217;s doing an excellent job,&#8221; said Steve Greenberg, pollster with the <a href="http://www.siena.edu/sri">Siena Research Institute</a>.</p>
<p>So will his star ever fade?</p>
<p>Possible answers after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10170"></span><br />
Not necessarily.</p>
<p>Noting that Cuomo had managed to achieve huge –- over 70 percent – -approval ratings in grim fiscal times, Greenberg said he saw &#8220;nothing on the horizon&#8221; that could touch him.</p>
<p>Others had doubts. Wayne Barrett, formerly of the Village Voice and now with the <a href="http://www.siena.edu/sri">Nation Institute</a>, said thinks redistricting could trip Cuomo up. Redistricting, he said, &#8220;is the test of whether there&#8217;s some moral fiber to Andrew Cuomo.&#8221; (For more on where that stands – and speculation about what Cuomo might do – see <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20110928/204/3612">Groups Split, Rumor Fly as Redistricting Reform Remains Elusive</a>.)</p>
<p><a href="http://nyspublicradio.org/">New York State  Public Radio</a>&#8217;s Karen DeWitt offered the continuing bad economy as a hazard.  Confessor wondered about possible service cuts and what would happen when (this is Albany we&#8217;re talking about so you can&#8217;t say if) a legislator is indicted – despite the passage of <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20110606/204/3538">Cuomo&#8217;s ethics bill</a>.</p>
<p>While not debating the importance of such matters, Greenberg thought many voters really would not care – not enough, anyway, to tarnish Cuomo. &#8220;The public doesn&#8217;t pay attention the way I and the folks on this panel pay attention to these issues,&#8221; Greenberg said. &#8220;The governor is a great reader of polls. He&#8217;s going to know what the public cares about and focus on those issues.&#8221;</p>
<p>Greenberg even felt Cuomo could renege on his promise to veto the redistricting plan and survive. &#8220;If he wants to do it,&#8221; the pollster said, &#8220;there will be plenty of wiggle room, and he will not pay a serious price..&#8221;</p>
<p>But even Greenberg thought one issue the governor might not be able to finesse is whether to <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20110421/204/3513">allow drilling for natural gas</a> using a hydraulic fracturing or fracking in parts of the state.</p>
<p>&#8220;People feel incredibly passionate about this,&#8221; Benjamin said, adding that no matter what the governor does lots of people on one side or the other &#8220;are going to be pissed.&#8221; </p>
<p>Greenberg agreed. &#8220;this is a losing issue for the governor either way.&#8221;</p>
<p>But given his political skills and the lack of much credible opposition, things look pretty good for the governor. Barrett said, &#8220;Andy can be governor as long as he wants to be&#8221; – or, some might add, until he wants a bigger job  &#8212; and that might present a challenge. </p>
<p>&#8220;A great moral issue of our time is whether you’re willing to tax rich people,&#8221; Barrett said, &#8220;and if you&#8217;re not willing to tax rich people, you’re not going to be the Democratic nominee in 2016.&#8221; </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/28/discussing-cuomos-glow/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
