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Charter Debate Heats Up
March 19th, 2010

Things got contentious this morning between State Sen. Bill Perkins and “Morning Joe” host, Joe Scarborough, when the subject of charter schools in Harlem came up.

Perkins has become one of the most outspoken critics of charter schools in the city.

Watch below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By Courtney Gross on March 19, 2010, 10:25 am
In category: Albany, City Hall, Civil Rights, Education, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law, Measuring UP, Public Finance | No Comments »

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A Discrimination Finding Against DOE
March 12th, 2010

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a determination that the Department of Education discriminated against an employee who was playing a key role in the creation of school focusing on Arab culture and language by, for all intents and purposes, succumbing to a media frenzy against her.

The case involves Debbie Almontaser, long-time education department employee who has been active in promoting racial and religious harmony, particularly after 9/11. IN 2007, Almontaser was project director and interim principal during the planning of the Khalil Gibran Academy, a small public school, and seemed a likely candidate to be the school’s principal when it opened. (The copy of the determination came Almontaser’s lawyer; the commission said it is barred from commenting on discrimination complaints – or even confirming they exist.)

All that changed as a number of blogs and the New York Post stepped up attacks on the proposed school, calling it a madrassa and trying to portray Almontaser as a jihadist who would seek to spread radical Islam in city schools. The breaking point came after the New York Post interviewed Almontaser about the meaning of the word “intifada” and some t-shirts bearing the word.

The resulting story bore the headline “City Principal is Revolting.” Writing on behalf of the commission, district director Spencer Lewis Jr. concluded, “The most inflammatory parts of the article as published were neither quotations from Ms. Almontaser nor legitimate background information; they were characterizations and opinions either from the reporter or as attributions to unnamed others.”

Despite that, the Bloomberg administration urged Almontaser to step down from her post as interim principal and rejected her application to become permanent principal. Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on March 12, 2010, 3:58 pm
In category: Civil Rights, Education, Gotham City, Law | 3 Comments »

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Rose Gets Civil Rights
March 3rd, 2010

Rose HEADSHOT

More on the fallout from the indictment of Councilmember Larry Seabrook: Councilmember Debi Rose was selected this morning to take over his chairmanship of the Civil Rights Committee.

Seabrook stepped down as chair of the committee in February after he was charged with extortion and fraud. The committee chairmanship comes with a $10,000 stipend.

Rose is Staten Island’s first black councilmember. She was also the center of a lawsuit about the Working Families Party’s private consulting arm, which was recently settled.

By Courtney Gross on March 3, 2010, 2:02 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Law, nextNY | No Comments »

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Assembly Passes Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act
March 2nd, 2010

Yes, despite all the drama surrounding the the resident of the Executive Mansion the legislature is in session. Sure the Senate is in a bit of a deadlock while it waits for the March 16 special election to fill Hiram Monserrate’s seat, but legislators are still showing up to work.

In fact the Assembly kept up a legislative tradition it has observed for the past few years — it passed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act. The bill is intended to protect transgender New Yorker’s from discrimination.

According to the Assembly press office the bill would, ” include transgender people within the protections provided by the Human Rights Law and prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression. Often targets for intolerance and outright bias, transgender people whose gender identity, appearance and behavior differ from those attributed to their sex at birth are vulnerable to hate crimes and face discrimination in housing, employment, credit and public accommodation.”

Its unclear what sort of support the legislation will enjoy in the Senate.

This is an important and overdue protection of human rights, said Assemblyman Richard Gottfried of Manhattan. The experiences of transgender individuals and the discrimination they face, are unique, and should be specifically identified and unambiguously rejected in our states civil rights laws, just like discrimination based on age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, race, disability or ethnicity.

By David King on March 2, 2010, 6:36 pm
In category: Albany, Civil Rights, Eye on Albany | 1 Comment »

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City Announces New Press Rules
March 2nd, 2010

For all those “new media” journalists out there, the city revealed new press credential rules today — rules that are “for the online age,” officials say.

For years, the Police Department has pretty much denied a press pass to any working journalist that works online only — including reporters here at Gotham Gazette. Not having a press pass for us has restricted our access to important events integral to our coverage of city government — like the last mayoral debate. Meanwhile, reporters from more traditional newsgathering outlets — regardless of beat — were given unfettered access simply because they had press credential cards hanging around their necks.

These new rules would for the first time explicitly include online journalists as part of the city’s working press. If these rules are enacted, a reporter will now have to show six stories he or she covered within the last two years where the city restricted access.

The public comment period on the new rules starts today and continues through April 7, 2010, when the rules will have a public hearing at police headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

The full release is after the jump. The rules were published in the City Record today.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on March 2, 2010, 10:58 am
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Gotham City, Law, nextNY | No Comments »

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CCRB Agreement Victory for de Blasio?
February 19th, 2010

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio made reforming the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board a pillar of his campaign last year.

His first recommendation as a candidate was to give the board, which (just like it sounds) investigates complaints of police misconduct, independent power to prosecute the cases it substantiates. Currently, whenever the board substantiates police misconduct, it hands over the case to the Police Department, which prosecutes it at its own discretion.

Reports today reveal the department and the board have agreed to a pilot program that will allow the CCRB to prosecute some of its cases. So far, it is unclear how many of these cases the board’s attorneys will be allowed to prosecute.

The move, however, did not completely satisfy the newly minted public advocate.

In response to the agreement, de Blasio released the following statement this morning:

We respect and appreciate this step as an acknowledgment of the need for change at the CCRB. But another pilot program is not enough. It is already abundantly clear that the city needs a more independent, responsive, and effective CCRB. When I was elected to office, I pledged to substantially reform the CCRB and help establish its power to conduct thorough, timely investigations and prosecute all appropriate cases. In the months ahead I will continue fighting to achieve that goal.

Citizens Union, the sister organization to Gotham Gazette’s publisher, also recommended the CCRB independently prosecute cases in a report released in 2008.

By Courtney Gross on February 19, 2010, 11:56 am
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law, nextNY | No Comments »

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Another One Bites the Dust: Part II (update)
February 9th, 2010

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Councilmember Larry Seabrook has surrendered.

In a press release, the office announced, “Seabrook, 58, surrendered to authorities this morning, and is expected to be presented later today in Magistrate court in Manhattan federal court.”

Elsewhere, the City Council is expected to take up the issue at its first Standards and Ethics Committee meeting, according to Azi. The committee is chaired by Councilmember Inez Dickens.

UPDATE: And this just in from the Yankees:

Statement by Alice McGillion, spokesperson for the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees have cooperated fully in this investigation. The Southern District of NY has told us that there is no allegation of wrongdoing on part of anyone within the Yankees organization. The New York Yankees are simply a fact witness. The Southern District of New York has told us that as well. There was no knowledge by anyone in the New York Yankees organization of any wrongdoing.

This contract was of a type encouraged by the Community Benefits Agreement and was performed satisfactorily. When the New York Yankees learned of this situation, they asked their monitor Ed Stier of Thacher Associates to look at it and he confirmed this.

By Courtney Gross on February 9, 2010, 1:38 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Law, Public Finance, Social Services, nextNY | No Comments »

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Another One Bites the Dust
February 9th, 2010

Councilmember Larry Seabrook, who served in the state Assembly and just started his third term at the City Council, is being charged with money laundering, extortion and fraud, according to an indictment released today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District.

seabrook

Some of the charges directly stem from the City Council’s slush fund scandal — which brought down former Councilmember Miguel Martinez last year.

But they also go beyond that.

According to the indictment, Seabrook also solicited payments from a Bronx subcontractor competing for a boiler contract for the new Yankee Stadium and subsequently used the payments for personal expenses.

Between May and October of 2007, that subcontractor was paid more than $283,000 for work done on Yankee Stadium. Between July 2006 and April 2009, checks were made out by the contractor to Seabrook’s local political organization — North East Bronx Community Democratic Club. The checks were made out to the club at Seabrook’s discretion, according to the indictment. On occasion, the councilmember directed those payments to his personal checking account or to the Bronx African American Chamber of Commerce, which he is closely aligned with, the indictment states.

Those “corrupt payments” totaled $50,000, according to the indictment.

Seabrook funneled the money for his personal use by claiming he had purchased expenses for the club, according to the indictment. He allegedly received reimbursements that he then used for personal expenses, including airfare to Florida, parking tickets, and flowers for his sister.

Seabrook then allegedly forged receipts to try to show his expenses were club-related. On one occasion, he submitted a receipt for a sandwich and beverage purchased near City Hall that originally cost $7. The receipt was doctored, the indictment alleges, to cost about $177.

Beyond that, the indictment alleges Seabrook directed more than $2.5 million in the City Council’s discretionary funding to nonprofits he in fact controlled. Seabrook negotiated office space for the groups (which was reported in the Times last year) and often made decisions for the groups, the indictment states.

Through these nonprofits, Seabrook paid “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to his girlfriend, sisters, nephews and brother in consulting fees. At the same time, these groups fell far short of meeting goals laid out in the council’s discretionary funding initiatives. Some of the groups included the North East Bronx Redevelopment Corp., the Bronx African American Chamber of Commerce, the New York African American Legal and Civil Hall of Fame, and others.

Of the money designated to these groups through the City Council, about $530,000 of it went to Seabrook’s girlfriend and family members, the indictment states. Through this process, Seabrook also allegedly inflated expense and rent payments.

The U.S. Attorney’s has scheduled a press conference for 12:30 p.m. downtown.

Seabrook’s attorney Murray Richman was in court and not available for comment.

The 65 page indictment, which is part of a years-long federal and city investigation, is below.

Seabrook, Larry Indictment

By Courtney Gross on February 9, 2010, 12:01 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Community Development, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Law, Public Finance, Work and Labor, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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Specialized High School Admissions
February 8th, 2010

Some 958 students received the good news last week that they had been admitted to Stuyvesant High School, considered by many to be the city’s best public high school. Only 7 of those proud students are black.

The figures announced Friday represent a continuing decline in the number of black and Hispanic kids admitted to the city’s academically elite schools. Last year, 12 blacks got into Stuyvesant. Seventeen Hispanic students received admission to Stuyvesant this year, compared to 24 a year ago.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on February 8, 2010, 11:32 am
In category: Civil Rights, Demographics, Education, Measuring UP | No Comments »

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Counting Inmates
January 29th, 2010

Sen. Eric Schneiderman, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Rev. Al Sharpton took the redistricting war public yesterday when they announced their support for legislation that would see inmates counted for redistricting purposes at their last known addresses, not at the prisons that hold them.

The 2010 census will reshape the electoral map, and currently upstate prisons give the districts that hold them a large boost in population. Democrats know counting prisoners by their addresses will likely give them an edge in the redistricting fight, as a good deal of the inmate population is from downstate. They say the poor districts these largely minority prisoners come from are in desperate need of resources and suffer because their true population is not tallied.

The present rule takes people who come from and return to poor or black and Latino communities and transfers their value for reapportionment purposes to rural upstate districts that really have nothing to do with them, said Schneiderman. Read the rest of this entry »

By David King on January 29, 2010, 1:34 pm
In category: Albany, Civil Rights, Eye on Albany | No Comments »

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Simcha's Farewell
January 22nd, 2010

felder

There were tears, some light roasting and — appropriately — laughter.

Besides the business of yesterday’s council meeting (which included the appointment of new committee chairs), it was also the last day that Councilmember Simcha Felder would take his seat as the representative of district 44. Felder resigned from the council to become deputy comptroller for accounting and budget.

On the council floor Thursday, members old and new reminisced on Felder’s often jocular presence. And he responded with both humor and humility.

“You try to think back on an annual basis, whether it’s Rosh Hashanah, the new year or January. The levity of celebrating is good. The introspection is more important. And through life I think there are invitations and certainly very special times where you have to spend time thinking about the past and what you’ve done wrong,” Felder said.

“And throughout the time there have been times that I’ve said things or done things to people that I feel was inappropriate,” Felder explained, his voice cracking with emotion. He continued: “So I want to apologize before I leave. Some of them are not here anymore but that’s not my fault,” he said. The chamber broke out in laughter.

“This is a last opportunity, because we believe repenting is good. With sins against God you can do whatever you want and speak to God about how you’re sorry. But against man, it doesn’t work. The only way it works is by saying sorry,” Felder said. “Having said that I can expect apologies from many people in the room.” The crowd erupted in laughter again.

“Lastly,” he said moments later, “I just want to say had we known I would be getting this opportunity maybe I would have voted differently on extending term limits,” Felder said. He voted to extend term limits. “But having said that you never know. September is just around the corner and if I don’t like the job, I’m coming back.”

Even before Felder has taken his new position at the comptroller’s office, gay rights groups and leaders have criticized Comptroller John Liu for selecting him. Felder, an Orthodox Jew, has refused to support certain human rights bills or gay rights bills, and skipped both votes for council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is the council’s first openly gay speaker.

A special election will be called by the mayor to fill Felder’s seat as soon as the councilmember officially leaves the council on Jan. 31. The special election will likely take place sometime in March.

By Courtney Gross on January 22, 2010, 12:47 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, nextNY | No Comments »

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Musical Chairs
January 19th, 2010

As promised, today starts the seat swapping in the Bloomberg administration.

For the next three weeks, first deputy commissioners will be assigned to another agency in the hopes of breaking down bureaucratic barriers. The idea was integral to the mayor’s inauguration address on New Year’s Day. Some assignments have been done with specific policy proposals in mind, such as the swap between Department of Consumer Affairs and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, who are tasked with focusing on foreclosure prevention.

Here are the assignments:

Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) — DOE
Administrative Justice Coordinator (AJC) — CCPC
Business Integrity Commission (BIC) — DSNY
Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) –CUNY
City University of New York (CUNY) — CEO
Citywide Events Coordination and Management (CECM) — NYC & Co
Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) — CHR
Commission for the United Nations Consular Corps and Protocol (UN) — MOIA
Commission on Human Rights (CHR) — CCRB
Commission on Women’s Issues (CWI) — MOCDV
Commission to Combat Police Corruption (CCPC) — AJC
Community Affairs Unit (CAU) — CECM
Criminal Justice Coordinator (CJC)– Law
Department for the Aging (DFTA) — MOPD
Department of Buildings (DOB) — NYCHA
Department of City Planning (DCP) — HDC
Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) — SCA
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) — HPD
Department of Corrections (DOC) — DHS
Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) — EDC
Department of Design and Construction (DDC) — DCLA
Department of Education (DOE) — Parks
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) — DOF
Department of Finance (DOF) — MOO
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DoHMH) — DOC
Department of Homeless Services (DHS) — HHC
Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) — DCA
Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) — MOFTB
Department of Investigation (DOI) — MOCS
Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks) — DEP
Department of Probation (DOP) — ACS
Department of Sanitation (DSNY) — BIC
Department of Small Business Services (SBS) — HRA
Department of Transportation (DOT) — DDC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) — DOP
Design Commission (Design) — DOT
Economic Development Corporation (EDC) — SBS
Fire Department* (FDNY) — NYPD*
Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) — CAU
Housing Development Corporation (HDC) — LPC
Human Resources Administration (HRA) — DoHMH
Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) — DOB
Law Department (Law) — DOI
Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) — DFTA
Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS) — CJC
Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting (MOFTB) — DoITT
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) — UN
Mayor’s Office of Operations (MOO) — DCAS
Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA) — CWI
Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence (MOCDV) — MOVA
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) — DCP
NYC & Company (NYC & Co) — DYCD
Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) — TLC
Office of Emergency Management* (OEM) — FDNY*
Office of Labor Relations* (OLR) — OMB*
Office of Management and Budget* (OMB) — OLR*
Police Department* (NYPD) — OEM*
School Construction Authority (SCA) — Design
Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) — OATH

Those with an asterisk are participating in the second phase of the program starting February 1.

By Courtney Gross on January 19, 2010, 2:32 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Community Development, Economy, Education, Electoral Politics, Environment, Governing, Housing, Immigrants, Land Use, Law, Measuring UP, Parks, Transportation, Waterfront, nextNY | No Comments »

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De Blasio Takes on Bloomberg on Homelessness
January 19th, 2010

homeless

Take a look at the numbers, and the mayor’s homeless policies just aren’t working.

That was the message Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and homeless advocates sent this morning at a press conference urging the administration to rethink its homeless policies five years after it committed to reduce homelessness by two-thirds. Since the mayor took office, according to Mary Brosnahan of the Coalition for the Homeless, the number of homeless New Yorkers has increased by 45 percent.

“Their original goal was gutsy and noble and I think it took a lot of commitment and focus to even put that goal out,” said de Blasio. “But they did not follow up on it with the same kind of fervor and focus as they have in some other areas. So now acknowledge that the previous strategies have not worked, and borrow from old strategies that did work and create new ones and work with the people that are some of the experts right here next to me,” the newly minted public advocate said from his 15th floor office in the municipal building.

Act one, said de Blasio, should be giving homeless families priority for Section 8 vouchers, which was the practice under the three previous administrations before Bloomberg. The practice was suspended in 2005. The administration should also stop referring homeless individuals to three-quarter houses — small residential buildings that operate as illegal boarding houses, according to the public advocate’s office.

In the council, de Blasio introduced a bill that would have banned the city from referring homeless individuals to facilities that failed to meet occupancy standards.

In a letter to Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs dated January 18, de Blasio implored the administration to hold homeless services harmless in the upcoming budget negotiations by keeping open shelters slated for closure or by securing replacement facilities before their doors are locked. De Blasio also urged the administration to focus more on prevention.

This latest dispute is one of many more likely to come with de Blasio as public advocate.

By Courtney Gross on January 19, 2010, 2:03 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Community Development, Crime & Safety, Economy, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Housing, Public Finance, Social Services, nextNY | No Comments »

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Moving toward Sean Bell Way
December 21st, 2009

Try as they might, City Council members cannot seem to resist getting embroiled in controversies over street naming.

The latest, has arisen over a proposal to rename a part of the Queens street where Sean Bell died for the unarmed man killed in a barrage of police bullets as he left his bachelor party in 2006. (The police were acquitted of criminal charges arising from the shooting.) Councilmember Peter Vallone has asked Speaker Christine Quinn to take SeanBell Way out of the omnibus street naming bill council is set to consider this afternoon.

The dispute echoes the 2007 controversy over a proposal to name a street after black activist Sonny Carson. That effort, which sharply split the council, failed. And it echoes earlier controversies that, in the eyes of some, trivialized and distracted the council for years. In 2001, Councilmember James Oddo called for the council to get “out of the name changing game” and suggested community boards handle renamings.

But council cannot seem to help itself. Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on December 21, 2009, 2:30 pm
In category: Civil Rights, Crime & Safety, Gotham City | No Comments »

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Scoring the Math Test Results
December 9th, 2009

During the mayoral campaign both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Christopher Cerf, a former Education Department official who had moved over to the campaign, predicted that the city’s scores on a national math test would show an increase. Yesterday the figures for the National Assessment of Educational Progress told a different story: Between 2007 and 2009 city fourth and eight graders showed no significant improvement on the test. This represents a sharp contrast to results on state tests, where city students have improved dramatically during Bloomberg’s tenure.

What does that mean? It depends whose spin you chose to believe. The Department of Education painted the results as good news. “SchoolsChancellor Joel Klein today applauded consistent and sustained gains by New York City public school students” on the math exam, the department release said.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on December 9, 2009, 2:33 pm
In category: Civil Rights, Education, Gotham City, Measuring UP | No Comments »

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Bloomberg and Quinn on Same Sex Marriage
December 2nd, 2009

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the defeat of same sex marriage in the State Senate:

Ive been urging the State Senate to stand up and be counted on an issue of importance to me and millions of other New Yorkers: marriage equality. Although Im deeply disappointed with todays result, and know that the sense of anguish and frustration is even more pronounced among gay and lesbian New Yorkers, at least we now know where individual legislators stand. And so now, we begin a new effort to secure the additional votes needed to pass this bill. I want to thank the leaders of the State Senate finally bringing this bill to the floor for a vote and I applaud the 24 senators who courageously and compassionately voted yes. Historic change does not come easily, but this vote was a crucial step that, I believe, will ultimately lead the State to extend full marriage rights to all couples.

From Christine Quinn, the City Council’s first openly gay speaker:

Today the New York State Senate rejected an opportunity to declare that all citizens in New York are equal. The depth of sadness that I and many New Yorkers feel today is difficult to express. This is a loss for every family in New York. This is a loss for every Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender New Yorker.

I want to thank Senator Tom Duane, Senator Sampson and the rest of the Senate leadership for bringing this issue to a vote on the Senate floor. I applaud them for their dogged leadership on this issue.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on December 2, 2009, 6:19 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Civil Rights, Electoral Politics, Gotham City | No Comments »

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Same Sex Marriage Defeated
December 2nd, 2009

After months of maneuvering, same sex marriage finally came to a vote on the State Senate floor this afternoon and, contrary to some earlier predictions, did not pick up any support from Republicans, Gotham Gazette’s David King reports from the Capitol. The measure failed by a vote of 24 to 38, with all Republicans voting no. They were joined by several Democrats including, from the city, Hiram Monserrate, Carl Kruger and Ruben Diaz. Pedro Espada, who has been allied with those three on many issues, voted in favor. Sen. Joseph Addabbo, a Queens Democrats also voted no.

No Republicans spoke during the debate on the measure nor did any offer comments during a “slow roll call,” which allow members to explain their votes on the issue at hand.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an outspoken supporter of same sex marriage, was in the chamber for the vote.

By Gail Robinson on December 2, 2009, 3:08 pm
In category: Albany, Civil Rights, Eye on Albany | No Comments »

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Another Audit Day
October 8th, 2009

Take two, or three or ten (I lost count).

Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson released another audit from his comptroller’s office this morning, slamming the administration for failing to secure contracts for minority and women owned businesses. This is the second audit this week that criticizes the administration’s fiscal policies, in what some say has become a politically-motivated trend for Thompson to use his office in the mayoral race.

Thompson said that in fiscal year 2008 the city had more than $369 million in prime contracts with a goal to spend nearly $108 million with women and minority owned businesses. According to Thompson, the city spent $14,882,561 on minority and women owned businesses — about 4 percent of all of the city’s prime contracts. The mayor signed legislation in 2005 to boost the number of women and minority owned businesses with city contracts. Thompson said this morning that the administration has shown “indifference” to that law.

“The agency has demonstrated a stunning pattern of inaction,” Thompson said in front of the City Hall steps this morning regarding the Department of Small Business Services. “We found that SBS was sitting on its hands.”

Just last month, the Bloomberg administration said it had spent more than $1 billion with minority and women owned businesses since fiscal year 2007. Thompson alleges the vast majority of that goes to businesses that were not targeted by the city’s 2005 program. His office said certain minority businesses don’t have issues getting certain contracts. The focus of the law was to get minority firms typically overlooked in certain fields city contracts.

As Thompson berated the administration this morning (the precursor to a term limits rally the candidate held immediately after), Bloomberg’s campaign office announced another endorsement. This time it was from a women and minority owned business advocate: Maria Alvarez Castro, the president of the Manhattan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on October 8, 2009, 12:43 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Community Development, Economy, Governing, Public Finance | 1 Comment »

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Watch Out Betsy
July 29th, 2009

Councilmember Simcha Felder is out to get you.

Felder will introduce legislation this afternoon which would call for a referendum to eliminate the office of the public advocate.

It is clear to me that given the services provided by the citys 59 community boards, five borough presidents, and numerous city, state, and federal elected officials, the office of the public advocate could easily be eliminated without a loss of service to city residents, Felder said in a press release. People in the city will finally have a chance to decide whether they want or need this office.

The position, as we know it, was created in 1993 by a charter revision. It was supposed to replace the old position of City Council president. Currently, the public advocate is second in line in a mayor’s succession. Felder would like the comptroller to be second in line.

Felder’s press release is in full after the jump. You can imagine his proposal won’t be popular among several of his colleagues, Bill de Blasio and Eric Gioia (as well as Civil Rights Lawyer Norman Siegel and former advocate Mark Green) who are running for the office.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on July 29, 2009, 9:36 am
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Electoral Politics, Governing, Law, Public Finance, nextNY | No Comments »

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De Blasio Back On
July 28th, 2009

The City Board of Elections put councilmember and public advocate candidate Bill de Blasio back on the ballot this afternoon by a vote of 9 to 0 with one abstention.

De Blasio had been removed from the ballot because of a typo in his cover sheet. The councilmember’s campaign had written that it had submitted 131 volumes of petitions to the Board of Elections when it had submitted 132.

Now de Blasio can rest assured he will face off against former advocate Mark Green, civil rights attorney Norman Siegel and Councilmember Eric Gioia in this fall’s Democratic primary — with some added sympathy publicity. All of the candidates are scheduled to appear tonight at a forum sponsored by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Elsewhere, other council members appear to be having some ballot trouble, including Alan Gerson, who was kicked off today, and Robert Jackson.

By Courtney Gross on July 28, 2009, 3:27 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law | No Comments »

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