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A Precedent for the Mayor
September 2nd, 2011

As Mayor Michael Bloomberg reportedly dodges venues where he might face questions abut his handling of the resignation of former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, Bloomberg might be wondering how he might have done things differently. Well, given the mayor’s reluctance to doubt himself, maybe not.

But if he does have second thoughts, he might want to consider his own handling of a previous problematic resignation.

In 2008, the city’s then commissioner for the aging Edwin Mendez-Santiago, abruptly resigned. His departure came amid a heated debated over plans to revamp the city’s services for the elderly, and some wondered if that explained his sudden resignation.

But it soon emerged that, like Goldsmith, Santiago-Mendez had left under a cloud. About a week later, Mendez-Santiago’s former secretary filed suit against him, charging the former commissioner with sexual harassment and discrimination.

While the mayor and his staff did not address this explicitly in announcing Mendez-Santiago’s departure, they also did not say anything that was out and out deceptive. Mayoral spokesman Stu Loeser told reporters only that Mendez-Santiago was leaving for personal reasons.

In his release, Bloomberg thanked Mendez-Santiago for his services, said he had served the city’s older resident well and gave no explanation for the departure.

Later he showed a bit of the legendary Bloomberg loyalty, but still did not seem to stray from the truth: Mendez-Santiago “left for totally personal reasons, and it had nothing to do with any policy whatsoever of the Department for the Aging,” Bloomberg said days later when he announced Mendez-Santiago’s successor. “Never even came up. He did a good job. I’m sorry he chose for personal reasons to resign.”

Now contrast that with the comments on Goldsmith, who it now turns out resigned after he was arrested in the District of Columbia on a domestic violence complaint.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on September 2, 2011, 12:52 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Gotham City | 1 Comment »

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The Goldsmith Fallout
September 1st, 2011

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s handling of the hurricane/tropical storm last week gave him a respite from the media criticism that has plagued much of his third term.

That probably came to an abrupt end this morning when the New York Post reported that Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith suddenly resigned last month not because he saw tempting opportunities in the private sector and not because of his botched handling of the last big storm – you remember, the blizzard – but because he spent two nights in a Washington, D.C. jail arising from a domestic violence complaint.

The Bloomberg administration knew the former mayor of Indianapolis, darling of the privatization crowd and high-level city official had spent time in jail. And, as the Wall Street Journal wrote today, “Goldsmith’s arrest precipitated his sudden departure from City Hall.”

Charges were dropped. In a statement released today, Goldsmith said he was innocent, and a statement by his wife seems to support that, calling the arrest “a big mistake.” (That may well be true, but it also is true that that many battered women later deny the violence ever took place.) Despite all that, Goldsmith said he resigned so as “not to be a distraction to the mayor and his important agenda for the city.”
At the press conference announcing Goldsmith’s departure, neither Bloomberg nor Goldsmith breathed a word about Goldsmith’s domestic travails. Instead Bloomberg praised his former right-hand man, saying, “As New Yorkers, we were extraordinarily lucky to have Steve Goldsmith make our city government more innovative and efficient.”

The way Bloomberg handled Goldsmith’s departure is now coming under criticism.

Who and what they’re saying after the jump.
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By Gail Robinson on September 1, 2011, 1:16 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Gotham City | 2 Comments »

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Quinn and ICE
August 17th, 2011

Council Speaker Christine Quinn introduced legislation today that would prohibit New York City’s department of corrections from subsidizing the work of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Make the Road New York issued this statement supporting the move:

“The announcement by Speaker Quinn and Council Members Mark-Viverito and Daniel Dromm that the New York City Council will prohibit New York City’s Department of Corrections from subsidizing and supporting the deportation of thousands of non-criminal New Yorkers each year is fantastic news.

Every day New York City benefits from the energy, initiative and hard-work of immigrants. In a city where forty percent of all New Yorkers are immigrants, and for the City to do its job, New York City government must not burn bridges to immigrant communities. Today, New York City is taking a clear stand that it refuses to be in the business of tearing apart of immigrant families and subsidizing the deportation of non-criminal New Yorkers.”

Quinn’s legislation follows Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to pull out of the federal Secure Communities Program and the US government’s insistence that New York legally must take part in the program. Read the rest of this entry »

By David King on August 17, 2011, 1:12 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Civil Rights, Crime & Safety, Demographics, Eye on Albany, Immigrants, Work and Labor | 3 Comments »

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Indigent Defense Aid to Start Flowing to Counties
July 29th, 2011

The State Office of Indigent Legal Services, which was created by the legislature last June, has taken one of the first steps to fulfill its role in overseeing and boosting the state’s indigent legal services.

The agency is charged with doling on $4.4 in aid to counties to help them bolster their public defender system. The agency solicited proposals from counties on ways to streamline their legal aid work and the agency decided which ideas to fund. Now the ILS is set to start handing out the cash. William Leahy, director of the ILS tells me that the first 11 contracts have been sent out to counties across the state–once they are signed and returned the counties will receive their part of the $4.4 million.

Counties that should be expecting contracts soon are: Chenango, Delaware, Franklin, Herkimer, Livingston, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Washington, Wyoming and Yates. Leahy said a steady flow of contracts to the rest of the state’s counties should begin in the next few weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

By David King on July 29, 2011, 2:20 pm
In category: Albany, Crime & Safety, Eye on Albany | 1 Comment »

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Cuomo Announces Prison Closings
June 30th, 2011

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office must want a four-day weekend as they have jumped ahead a day to dump all their potentially unpopular news into the media shark tank. First fracking–now Cuomo has released a list of prisons slated for closing across the state–including one prison in the Bronx and one on Staten Island.

Here is the list:

Buffalo Work Release (Erie County), Camp Georgetown (Madison County), Summit Shock (Schoharie County) and Fulton Work Release (Bronx County); and three male medium security facilities: Arthur Kill (Richmond County), Mid-Orange (Orange County) and Oneida (Oneida County).

According to the release: “Approximately 3,800 unneeded and unused beds will be eliminated, saving taxpayers $72 million in 2011-12 and $112 million in 2012-13. The offenders in these facilities will be moved to other prisons that have available space with no interruption. No maximum security facilities will close under this plan”  Read the rest of this entry »

By David King on June 30, 2011, 2:40 pm
In category: Albany, Crime & Safety, Eye on Albany | 3 Comments »

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It's a Budget!
June 29th, 2011

By a vote of 49 to 1, the City Council today approved a $66 billion budget for New York City for fiscal year 2012. The measure contains no teacher layoffs and does not shut any fire companies — but it does include layoffs for at least 1,000 other city workers and cutbacks in some popular programs, such as scholarship for student at the City University.

Despite that most council members clearly thought they had done a pretty good job.

This is, Speaker Christine Quinn said, “not a perfect budget. It would be impossible to have a perfect budget when the city and our tax revenues are still feeling the effects of the recession.”
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on June 29, 2011, 2:31 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Education, Gotham City, Public Finance | No Comments »

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Quinn, Recchia Offer More Budget Brainstorms
June 6th, 2011

The City Council leadership continues the drumbeat against the city’s burgeoning contract budget. In a release issued today, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Finance Committee Chair Domenic Recchia contend that cutting 5 percent of the contract budget in four areas — unspecific general contractual services, data process equipment and commuter consultants, legal services and other professional services — would free up money to save all 20 fire companies slated for the ax.

The contract budget has surfaced as a key point of contention this year, fueled by scandals over CityTime and various education department technology deals — and by its sheer size. The contract budget has grown by more than 70 percent since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office and is slated to top $10.3 billion next fiscal year. (For more on the dispute over city contracts and consultants, see Officials Call for Holding the Line on Contracts.

Recchia and Quinn also target some particular programs, raising them as alternatives to some areas the mayor has called for cutting. Under the council, the city’s sustainability play — PlanNYC would take a big hit — losing $4.4 million for a parks plan and$2.6 million for an air quality study. Other proposed savings of a million or more would defer or cut evaluation in the Center for Economic Opportunity ($2.2 million), reduce parking meter collection staff ($2.3 million), reduce the subsidy to the Central Park Conservancy ($1 million); reduce the strategic planning group division ($1.1 million) and the research and policy unit ($1.1 million) in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and eliminate the sanitation department’s public information budget ($2 million).
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By Gail Robinson on June 6, 2011, 1:59 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Gotham City, Public Finance | No Comments »

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Morgenthau and Silver On Secure Communities
June 1st, 2011

Former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has nothing but praise for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s  decision to suspend New York’s involvement in the Secure Communities program.

A number of law enforcement officials from across the state also have praised Cuomo for the move — along with a number of legislators and civil rights groups. The Gazette reported last week that Cuomo was considering withdrawing from the program and was likely to make a decision soon.

“I have long been concerned about the issues that arise when local police indiscriminately share information with federal immigration authorities. Specifically, cooperation with federal immigration officials creates a lack of trust in law enforcement among the public. This makes it hard for police and prosecutors to do their jobs because immigrants become reluctant to report crimes or cooperate with investigations,” said Morgenthau in a detailed statement. “That is why, during the 35 years I was district attorney in Manhattan, my policy was to never share the names of individuals involved with the criminal justice system to immigration authorities until after they were convicted of a serious crime. ”

Morgenthau’s full statement and comments from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
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By David King on June 1, 2011, 7:46 pm
In category: Albany, Civil Rights, Crime & Safety, Eye on Albany, Immigrants | 2 Comments »

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Make the Road Praises Cuomo
June 1st, 2011

Make the Road New York has released a statement congratulating Gov. Andrew Cuomo from suspending New York’s participation in the Secure Communities program:

“We applaud Governor Cuomo for his courageous leadership to protect all New Yorkers from the consequences of a misguided immigration enforcement strategy. Secure Communities erodes trust between local government and immigrant communities because community members perceive that local police are funneling immigrants into a broken immigration system. Immigrants, then, are less likely to report crimes, to seek needed services or to serve as witnesses,” said Javier H. Valdés, Deputy Director of Make the Road New York. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Governor to protect and improve the immigrant community’s relationship with local law enforcement in order to create a stronger and safer New York.”

By David King on June 1, 2011, 4:44 pm
In category: Albany, Crime & Safety, Eye on Albany, Immigrants | 1 Comment »

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Bloomberg Releases Budget, Slashes Teachers
May 6th, 2011

As expected, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a $65.7 billion budget this morning, which slashes 6,166 teaching positions, would close 20 fire companies and shutter four swimming pools this summer.

Bloomberg deflected all of the blame for the fiscal pain. Instead, he pointed towards Albany and Washington.

“Both places are keeping our tax dollars to close their budget deficits,” Bloomberg said. “If the state was paying 50 percent of the Department of Education, we would not be talking about laying off teachers.”

While Bloomberg did not hesitate to blame Albany, he also acknowledged the city was unlikely to receive any reprieve from the state or federal government. For now, the city will use the remainder of its surplus to close the budget hole.

The mayor’s executive plan did back away from slashing 16,000 child care slots — the result of a loss in federal funding. The administration plans to save the positions by expanding after school programs and increasing funding for the Administration for Children’s Services. The cost of the slots was originally put at $91 million. Officials said the program could be saved with just $40 million.

Advocates and council members, however, questioned the mayor’s calculations.

“With the budget released today, the administration is continuing its assault on early childhood education by cutting $50 million from our city’s child care,” said Councilman Steve Levin. “It is an outrageous sleight of hand that this administration would present itself as the savior of child care while simultaneously destroying it for thousands of New Yorkers. It’s like someone starting a fire, just so he could take the credit for putting 40 percent of that fire out.”

In a joint statement, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Finance Chairman Domenic Recchia identified teacher layoffs, the child care cuts, a 29 percent cut to libraries and fire companies as their top priorities.

“Since the recent financial crisis and recession, the City Council has worked aggressively to control spending and manage the city’s budget in a fiscally responsible manner while protecting vital services,” they said. “That’s why we have grave concerns about a budget that allows for teacher layoffs, which would be immensely damaging to our education system and children’s opportunities for a quality education. Make no mistake, we will do everything in our power to prevent teacher layoffs.”
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By Courtney Gross on May 6, 2011, 2:13 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Crime & Safety, Economy, Electoral Politics, Eye Opener, Gotham City, Governing, Health, Housing, Law, Measuring UP, Parks, Public Finance, nextNY | No Comments »

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Another Black Eye for Ed Dept. Tech Effort
April 28th, 2011

The Times is reporting that a former Department of Education consultant has been charged with stealing $3.6 million from the city. Federal prosecutors say Willard Lanham persuaded subcontractors to overbill the city for their work and then kept the difference for himself.

Fernanda Santos writes, “Verizon and I.B.M., the largest of the vendors involved in the projects, played a role in the scheme and profited from it, according to the city’s special commissioner of investigation, Richard J. Condon.” Verizon said it would “return any inappropriate profits.”

Lanham, who reportedly already made $200,000 a year, supposedly used the money to buy fancy cars and Long Island real estate. He has denied any wrongdoing. The crime allegedly occurred between 2002 and 2008.

The projects involved were supposed to provide internet access in city schools. The case — assuming the charges are true — involves a number of issues that continue to prove extremely nettlesome for the Bloomberg administration.

(What those problems are — and some connecting of dots — after the jump.)
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By Gail Robinson on April 28, 2011, 5:25 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Education, Tech | 1 Comment »

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Advocates Protest SWMP Delays (UPDATE)
April 12th, 2011

Five years after the City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed to a solid waste management plan for the five boroughs – one that spread out the city’s garbage burden — council members and environmental justice advocates say the adminsitration is backpedaling.

In its preliminary capital budget, the adminsitration has delayed the construction of four waste transfer stations, three of which are in Manhattan. The cut, said Eric Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council, could delay funding for these facilities between five and eight years. Advocates fear the stations will never occur. Five years from now, there will be a new occupant in City Hall — one perhaps with different priorities.

“We are very troubled,” said Goldstein.

The waste transfer stations are a crucial part of the 2006 solid waste management plan, which attempts to get garbage off of diesel-spewing trucks and onto rail cars and barges instead. The plan was also meant to spread stations throughout the five boroughs to ease the burden on communities inundated with city waste — like the South Bronx, Greenpoint and Williamsburg. The delayed stations in Manhattan are the only ones slated for the borough, which currently sends the vast majority of its trash to New Jersey.

We are waiting for a response from the Department of Sanitation.

Advocates also decried the administration’s recent exploration of waste-to-energy — a controversial technology that typically involves burning or heating trash to create electricity (We reported on it here two weeks ago). Laura Haight of the New York Public Interest Research Group decried the move.

“The types of technology they want to pilot have not been proven successful commercially anywhere in the country,” said Haight. “We believe this is a waste of energy.”

A conversation on the equal distribution of these types of facilities is occurring right now at a hearing of the Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses Subcommittee. Councilmember Brad Lander, the committee’s chair, blasted the adminsitration for refusing to testify (his letter appears below).

“We’ve concentrated those facilities in low-income communities, in communities of color,” Lander said this afternoon on the City Hall steps.

A spokesperson for the Bloomberg adminsitration said they would not send a representative, because “fair share,” as it’s commonly referred to, is currently the subject of litigation.

UPDATE: We just got this response from City Hall spokesperson Jason Post:

Because of the economy, the City has been forced to reduce all of its expenditures, including its capital program.

The preliminary capital budget for the Sanitation Department includes deferred spending on four Marine Transfer Stations.

The Administration remains fully committed to SWMP’s principles of borough equity, using rail and barge to transfer solid waste, relieving the burden of waste receiving from certain communities, strengthening our recycling infrastructure and piloting new technologies to derive clean energy from waste.

We have made great progress on SWMP already—long term rail contracts are in place and two marine transfer stations are under construction, as is the City’s new recycling facility—and we are exploring cost-effective alternatives to expedite the construction schedule outlined in the preliminary capital plan. We will make a decision before the Mayor’s executive budget presentation.

CM Lander Letter to Mayor Bloomberg Re Fair Share Hearing(2)

By Courtney Gross on April 12, 2011, 2:22 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Community Development, Crime & Safety, Environment, Gotham City, Governing, Health, Land Use, Waterfront, nextNY | 2 Comments »

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Blizzard Bills at the Council
April 6th, 2011

The City Council is set to approve a package of bills this afternoon which regulate the city’s snow procedures — a response to last year’s Boxing Day blizzard.

Among the proposals, the Department of Sanitation will be required to create a snow removal plan for every borough, and the Office of Emergency Management will be forced to review the previous year’s snow removal process in an annual report. The package would establish emergency protocols for the city and high-volume protocols for 311.

When first introduced, the Bloomberg administration spoke out against the package, claiming it needed its regulations to be “flexible.” But in an apparent flip-flop, a Bloomberg spokesperson said the adminsitration worked with the council on the bills and now supports them.

By Courtney Gross on April 6, 2011, 3:10 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Environment, Gotham City, Parks, Public Finance, Work and Labor, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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Council to Move Forward Bus Bill
March 23rd, 2011

The City Council is voting on a home rule message today that would give Albany the authority to pass legislation to require the regulation of intercity buses.

The move is an indication that the legislation will be approved in Albany.

The bill, introduced in Albany in February by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, would require discount buses register with the city. It would affect the types of discount buses involved in recent fatal accidents in New Jersey and in the Bronx. Supporters say it would give city officials a better indication of who is operating what vehicles, from where and when.

Currently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is charged with monitoring safety conditions on these vehicles. Council officials said the bill would not regulate safety and would not supersede federal authority.

The City Council must approve a home rule message before the legislation can move in Albany.

By Courtney Gross on March 23, 2011, 2:35 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Transportation, nextNY | No Comments »

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Brennan Tries to Block Crash Tax (UPDATE)
March 18th, 2011

Assemblymember Jim Brennan is taking aim at the Fire Department’s proposed crash tax by introducing legislation in Albany that would prohibit the city from charging drivers for services provided at the scene of an accident.

The controversial tax is part of the FDNY’s attempt to close a looming budget gap. The department already has 20 fire companies on the chopping block.

The tax, which other cities across the country have implemented, would require drivers to pay between $365 and $490 if the Fire Department responds to a motor vehicle accident. The tax would not need City Council approval and is scheduled to go into effect in July.

“City residents already pay taxes for these core, fundamental, public-safety services. People should not have to check their wallets before calling for the police or fire departments to respond to an accident,” Brennan said.

Though dozens of officials have criticized the tax, it’s unclear whether the proposal has support of the full State Legislature.

UPDATE: Brennan’s office said they don’t know whether the State Senate would support the measure, but they have 23 co-sponsors in the Assembly.

By Courtney Gross on March 18, 2011, 12:24 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Eye Opener, Gotham City, Law, Measuring UP, Public Finance, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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Regulation of Bus Companies Questioned
March 15th, 2011

Just hours after officials called for stricter safety regulations for discount buses departing from Chinatown yesterday, another fatal accident took the lives of two more passengers.

A Super Luxury Tours bus headed for Philadelphia slammed into a guardrail on the New Jersey Turnpike, killing the driver and another passenger. The crash came just three days after a brutal accident in the Bronx, which killed 15 people.

“Saturday morning’s crash was a heartbreaking tragedy and requires us to look closely at the safety regulations in place for the discount tour bus industry,” said Sen. Charles Schumer in a prepared statement yesterday. “While it’s vital we get to the bottom of what caused Saturday’s crash, we must make sure that the regulations that govern the overall safety of this industry are effective and being followed by operators.”

Schumer wants to see the National Transportation Safety Board investigate the entire industry.

According to the release, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver introduced legislation last month that would require these discount bus companies, many of which operate from the curbside in Chinatown, to get permits from the city. They are now regulated exclusively by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. His bill would also designate where they can drop off and pick up passengers.

According to a study from the Department of City Planning, these companies conduct 2,000 trips from Chinatown every week.

We covered the issue last year. For an in-depth look at the controversy, go here.

By Courtney Gross on March 15, 2011, 2:07 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Community Development, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Eye Opener, Gotham City, Land Use, Law, Measuring UP, Transportation, nextNY | No Comments »

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Fire Department Cuts to Affect 'Every Community'
March 11th, 2011

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Photo (cc) Just Us 3

Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano didn’t sugarcoat how fire company cuts would affect the city during a City Council hearing this morning.

“Every community in the city will be affected, not just those communities in the first-due areas of the closed companies,” said Cassano in prepared testimony. “Twenty closures would require us to make adjustments in our operations, which will make it extremely challenging to maintain the same levels of service to the communities we serve.”

To close a multi-billion dollar budget gap, the Bloomberg adminsitration is proposing to shutter 20 fire companies to save $55 million next fiscal year. The adminsitration has already reduced staffing from five to four firefighters on 60 engines — a move fire unions are challenging.

The City Council successfully averted fire company closures for the past three years by plugging the department’s budget with its own discretionary funding. One councilmember this morning couldn’t promise they would be able to do the same this year.

“This council has worked really hard within our body to save these cuts,” said Councilmember Jimmy Oddo of Staten Island. “If [Bloomberg] is relying on the council to put this money back, that’s a lift.”

(We cover the cuts to the Fire Department in depth today here.)

It’s still unclear what companies would be affected. The Fire Department does not have to release a list until 45 days before the companies are scheduled to close.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on March 11, 2011, 4:10 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Eye Opener, Gotham City, Governing, Law, Work and Labor, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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Then There Was One
March 9th, 2011

Assuming all the reports are correct (see below) and State Sen. Carl Kruger does turn himself in to federal authorities tomorrow, he will be only the latest in a stream of miscreant state legislators, many of them from New York City. As Rachael Fauss wrote on Gotham Gazette today, “Between 1999 and 2010,17 legislators left office because they were facing or had been convicted of criminal or corruption charges — one out of every 11 legislators who left office. Twelve of those were from New York City.

And two of them were close to Krueger.

The longtime legislator from Brooklyn was among the architects of a coup by four dissident Democrats that brought the State Senate to a standstill for weeks in 2009. Another coup participant — Hiram Monserrate — was expelled from the Senate in February after being convicted of a misdemeanor charge resulting from a possible assault on his girlfriend. He then ran for the Senate seat in the subsequent special election and for the Assembly in November, losing both contests.

And then there is the third of the so-called amigos: Pedro Espada. In September he will go on trial on federal embezzlement and conspiracy charges. He also faces a civil lawsuit charging him with looting more than $14 million from the network of non-profit healthcare clinics he founded.

While no verdicts have been reached in these cases, residents in Espada’s Bronx district already made their decision. In September, they resoundingly rejected Espada and elected Gustavo Rivera to take his place in Albany.

We have no idea what Kruger’s plans for the future are, but if he is charged and convicted of a felon, he must surrender his seat.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering — the fourth member of the so-called Gang of Four: Ruben Diaz Sr.

By Gail Robinson on March 9, 2011, 8:34 pm
In category: Albany, Crime & Safety, Eye on Albany | No Comments »

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A Case Against Kruger?
March 9th, 2011

In another indication that the State Capitol may be the most lawless tracts in the state, powerful State Sen. Carl Kruger will turn himself in to federal authorities tomorrow, the press is reporting.

“The veteran Brooklyn Democrat will be charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors with using his influence as a public official to line his pockets, according to multiple sources,” the Daily News .reports.

Kruger — the ranking head (and former chair) of the Finance Committee — has been under investigation for doing favors in return for campaign contributions. Although Kruger usually had little to no competition for his seat from Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach, he raised massive amounts of money. On Election Day last year he had amassed more than $2 million despite facing only a little known Conservative Party candidate. Not having to fork out money for electioneering expenses — and benefiting from the state’s lax laws on using campaign cash — Kruger reportedly spent lavishly on restaurants, hotels and his car.

Earlier this month, one of Kruger’s donors, Michael Levitis, who is suspected of serving as an intermediary between the senator and those seeking favors, pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators probing the connections. In April 2009, Levitis was caught on a secretly tape saying that he needed to pay off a Kruger aide to get help with an upcoming official business inspection.

The Post though, says the charges facing Kruger tomorrow may have nothing to do with that. Instead, the paper reports, “Kruger will be the biggest name among a number of political and public people who will be charged or linked to the heretofore unknown Manhattan corruption case.”

Stay tuned.

By Gail Robinson on March 9, 2011, 7:40 pm
In category: Albany, Crime & Safety, Eye on Albany | No Comments »

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Bike Lanes on the Agenda
February 16th, 2011

The latest bike battle is rolling into the City Council today with several pieces of legislation, including a requirement to report bike and pedestrian accidents more frequently.

One bill will force the Police Department to report on its Web site the number of traffic moving violations, crashes and injuries or fatalities on a monthly basis. It will also force the Department of Transportation to study all traffic crashes involving a serious injury or fatality every five years.

In recent months, bicyclists and communities have clashed over the number of bike lanes across the city. Today, Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the package of legislation would help communities and bicycle advocates understand why bike lanes go in certain areas.

“Getting people out of cars and on to bikes is a good thing,” said Quinn. “Bike lanes work great in some neighborhoods and don’t work well in others.”

We’ll report back later on how the council voted.

By Courtney Gross on February 16, 2011, 2:50 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Economy, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law, Parks, Transportation, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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