<?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; Demographics</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/category/demographics/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster</link>
	<description>A blog about the views and spews of editorialists, bloggers and other unsavory opinionated New Yorkers.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:30:42 +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>Judge Sets June 26 Primary</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/judge-sets-june-26-primary/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/judge-sets-june-26-primary/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:53:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10501</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If there wasn&#8217;t enough going on regarding redistricting this week the whole sordid affair got a kick in the pants thanks to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe who has ruled that unless that state takes legislative action all of New York&#8217;s future federal non-presidential primaries will be held on the fourth Tuesday of June. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If there wasn&#8217;t enough going on regarding redistricting this week the whole sordid affair got a kick in the pants thanks to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe who has ruled that unless that state takes legislative action all of New York&#8217;s future federal non-presidential primaries will be held on the fourth Tuesday of June. Groups in favor of independent redistricting have been concerned for months that Gov. Andrew Cuomo might not want to veto LATFOR&#8217;s district lines because it could send things into chaos right before a possible Spring primary. That Spring primary is now a reality barring any action from the legislature. If the legislature does not act New York will have three primary dates: the June primary for House and Senate races, the April Republican Presidential Primary and the September Senate and Assembly Primary.</p>
<p>Sharpe wrote:</p>
<p>&#8220;Notwithstanding any current state law or administrative procedure to the contrary, New York shall conduct its 2012 non-presidential federal primary election on a date no later than 35 days prior to the 45-day advance deadline set by the MOVE Act for transmitting ballots to the State’s military and overseas voters, i.e., at least 80 days before the November 6, 2012 federal general election. In 2012, that date shall be June 26, 2012.</p>
<p>In subsequent even-numbered years, New York’s non-presidential federal primary date shall be the fourth Tuesday of June, unless and until New York enacts legislation resetting the non-presidential federal primary election for a date that complies fully with all UOCAVA requirements, and is approved by this court.&#8221;</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Notwithstanding any current state law or administrative procedure to the contrary, New York shall conduct its 2012 non-presidential federal primary election on a date no later than 35 days prior to the 45-day advance deadline set by the MOVE Act for transmitting ballots to the State’s military and overseas voters, i.e., at least 80 days before the November 6, 2012 federal general election. In 2012, that date shall be June 26, 2012.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">In subsequent even-numbered years, New York’s non-presidential federal primary date shall be the fourth Tuesday of June, unless and until New York enacts legislation resetting the non-presidential federal primary election for a date that complies fully with all UOCAVA requirements, and is approved by this court.</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/judge-sets-june-26-primary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>McEneny:Cuomo Was the Hold up</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/mcenenycuomo-was-the-hold-up/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/mcenenycuomo-was-the-hold-up/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:21:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jack McEneny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LATFOR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[redistricting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10496</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[LATFOR co chair Assemblyman Jack McEneny told Liz Benjamin of State of Politics last night that LATFOR delayed releasing its lines yesterday by the request of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
You can get the full interview and event timeline over at State of Politics.
As Liz points out&#8211;Cuomo spoke to the press earlier in the day and insisted [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>LATFOR co chair Assemblyman Jack McEneny told Liz Benjamin of State of Politics last night that LATFOR delayed releasing its lines yesterday by the request of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.</p>
<p>You can get the full interview and event timeline over at <a href="http://http://www.capitaltonight.com/2012/01/mceneny-latfor-lines-delayed-at-cuomos-request/">State of Politics</a>.</p>
<p>As Liz points out&#8211;Cuomo spoke to the press earlier in the day and insisted he hand&#8217;t seen the lines and was not ready to comment. After the lines were released Cuomo&#8217;s spokesperson issued a <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/cuomo-would-veto-lines/">statement saying</a> that &#8220;At first glance,&#8221; the Governor would likely veto the lines.</p>
<p>Cuomo has seemingly done his best to avoid actually saying he will veto the lines this year.</p>
<p>Cuomo, when pressed, did state numerous times last year that he would veto unfair lines but he has yet to make a firm public statement this year&#8211;redistricting was absolutely absent from his delivered State of the State remarks. It looks like the back-room wrangling for more significant redistricting reform and a constitutional amendment will continue. Meanwhile the public will get a chance to weigh in on LATFOR&#8217;s lines at a series of public hearings. The first hearing will take place in Albany on Monday at 10:30 a.m., on Tuesday LATFOR will be in the Bronx and Wednesday in Brooklyn. Check out the <a href="http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/hearings/docs/20120125hrg_schedule.pdf">full schedule here</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/mcenenycuomo-was-the-hold-up/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>McEneny Defends LATFOR</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/mceneny-defends-latfor/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/mceneny-defends-latfor/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:09:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gov. andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jack McEneny]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10491</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Albany Assemblyman Jack McEneny, who also happens to co-chair LATFOR, issued a statement defending the maps issued today. Maps that the New York Public Interest Research Group called the most gerrymandered in recent history. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would veto these lines if they stay as they are.
Here is McEneny&#8217;s statement:
&#8220;The Assembly plan [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Albany Assemblyman Jack McEneny, who also happens to co-chair LATFOR, issued a statement defending the maps issued today. Maps that the New York Public Interest Research Group called the most gerrymandered in recent history. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/cuomo-would-veto-lines/">would veto these lines</a> if they stay as they are.</p>
<p>Here is McEneny&#8217;s statement:</p>
<p>&#8220;The Assembly plan released today by the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR) is the culmination of a months-long process to reshape New York’s electoral map based on shifts in population that have occurred over the last decade. Our proposal is responsive to the many individuals across the state who offered oral or written testimony to the Task Force.<br />
<span id="more-10491"></span><br />
In particular, good government groups have asked that we make districts as nearly equal in population as practicable.  Toward that end we have drawn districts that have less disparity than is required by law and closer to equality than the current lines.  The proposed Assembly districts – with one exception, which was drawn to avoid crossing a county line – have a population deviation of less than four percent.   This is a plan which moves us more toward a key reform.</p>
<p>As part of the process, we took into consideration and incorporated many elements of proposals submitted in map form by numerous voting rights and good government groups, private citizens and public officials.  We are grateful to them all for helping us with this constitutionally mandated task and look forward to further interaction and suggestions as we make our way across the state a second time to receive more input.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/mceneny-defends-latfor/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cuomo Would Veto Lines</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/cuomo-would-veto-lines/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/cuomo-would-veto-lines/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:45:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Josh Vlasto]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10489</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s spokesperson Josh Vlasto says that lines released by LATFOR today are unacceptable.
“At first glance, these lines are simply unacceptable and would be vetoed by the Governor. We need a better process and product.”
Earlier today Cuomo said he would let the process &#8220;play out&#8221; but apparently the Governor did not like something he [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s spokesperson Josh Vlasto says that lines released by LATFOR today are unacceptable.</p>
<p>“At first glance, these lines are simply unacceptable and would be vetoed by the Governor. We need a better process and product.”</p>
<p>Earlier today Cuomo said he would let the process &#8220;play out&#8221; but apparently the Governor did not like something he saw in these lines.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/cuomo-would-veto-lines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Dadey Responds to LATFOR&#039;s Maps</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/dadey-responds-to-latfors-maps/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/dadey-responds-to-latfors-maps/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:30:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citizens Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dick dadey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LATFOR]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10487</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, says he still wants Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto LATFOR&#8217;s district lines, &#8220;If fairer lines are not created for 2012  and there is no structural reform.&#8221; Gotham Gazette is published by Citizens Union Foundation the sister organization to Citizens Union. Senate Democrats were taken aback by Dadey&#8217;s recent [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, says he still wants Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto LATFOR&#8217;s district lines, &#8220;If fairer lines are not created for 2012  and there is no structural reform.&#8221; Gotham Gazette is published by Citizens Union Foundation the sister organization to Citizens Union. Senate Democrats were taken aback by Dadey&#8217;s recent <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/109785/cus-dadey-a-veto-doesnt-get-us-reform/">interview with Jimmy Vielkind of the Times Union</a> where it seemed Dadey was giving Cuomo room not to veto the lines. Dadey told Vielkind: &#8220;“A veto is no guarantee that there will be fairer lines for 2012, and we wouldn’t get any structural reform,” he said. “We’ve always wanted the governor to use his veto threat to achieve reform, not to have these lines go into court. What does that get us at the end of the day? It doesn’t get us what we want — structural reform.”</p>
<p>Dadey told me: &#8220;I stand by what I said to Jimmy, but we expect if fairer lines are not created for 2012 and there is no structural reform the Governor should keep his veto promise. Citizens Union has always been about structural reform.&#8221;</p>
<p>The structural reform would likely be a constitutional amendment for the 2022 redistricting process. I asked Dadey if he would settle for one over the other&#8211;just improved 2012 lines or just structural reform and he had this to say:</p>
<p>&#8220;I cant imagine a scenario where we don’t get changes in 2012 and structural changes. They go hand in hand.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dadey made it clear that he is not happy with LATFOR&#8217;s proposed lines.</p>
<p>&#8220;What is clear is these maps are gerrymandered. That is what we get  when legislators are left to draw their own districts. It  makes the case of why we need permanent change and why the Governor should use his veto promise to get fair lines.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dadey said the Senate&#8217;s lines were particularly offensive.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is just abhorrent that somehow four Democratic incumbents are being forced into districts in interest of creating opportunity minority districts when nothing has changed on Long Island to create a minority opportunity district.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/dadey-responds-to-latfors-maps/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>UFO or 63rd Senate Seat?</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/ufo-or-63rd-senate-seat/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/ufo-or-63rd-senate-seat/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:09:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bill Mahoney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LATFOR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[redistricting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10483</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The 63rd Senate seat created by Senate Republicans looks uncannily to me like the evil Reaper spaceship from the popular Mass Effect video game series. It sweeps down from Montgomery County slices away half of Sen. Neil Breslin&#8217;s Albany County district, swallows Green County and its tentacles stab into the top of Ulster.
But I suppose [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The <a href="http://www.capitaltonight.com/2012/01/meet-the-new-senate-district/">63rd Senate seat</a> created by Senate Republicans looks uncannily to me like the <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/8/84/Sovereign_Codex_Image.jpg&amp;imgrefurl=http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Reaper&amp;h=343&amp;w=338&amp;sz=106&amp;tbnid=QZO9KyRQ_Akl4M:&amp;tbnh=96&amp;tbnw=95&amp;zoom=1&amp;docid=-mgmOyGTJ9LbEM&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=48AhT_GfM6ry0gG5uPjmCA&amp;ved=0CE0Q9QEwBA&amp;dur=357">evil Reaper spaceship</a> from the popular Mass Effect video game series. It sweeps down from Montgomery County slices away half of Sen. Neil Breslin&#8217;s Albany County district, swallows Green County and its tentacles stab into the top of Ulster.</p>
<p>But I suppose that is a rather insignificant observation when you look at what New York Public Interest Group&#8217;s Bill Mahoney has to say about the proposed maps as a whole.He says, the Senate&#8217;s maps are, &#8220;clearly the most gerrymandered lines in recent New York History.&#8221; He provided this statement and statistical breakdown to back up his claim. Check it out. <span id="more-10483"></span></p>
<p>Mahoney had this to say:</p>
<p>&#8220;There are several methods of measuring how representative of voters districts are.  The typical deviation from the ideal population is one of the few completely objective criteria that can be used.  While judging this set of proposed maps by this yardstick, the Senate’s maps are clearly the most gerrymandered lines in recent New York history.  The Assembly’s are slightly better than 2002’s final maps, but fall far short of providing mathematically equal representation.&#8221;</p>
<p>Senate: Districts 3% or further from ideal population:</p>
<p>1984: 0</p>
<p>1992: 0</p>
<p>2002: 19</p>
<p>2012: 50</p>
<p>Senate: Districts within 1% of ideal population (as proposed in Gov. Cuomo’s bill)</p>
<p>1984: 44 out of 61</p>
<p>1992: 47 out of 61</p>
<p>2002: 11 out of 62</p>
<p>2012: 3 out of 63</p>
<p>Assembly: Districts 3% or further from ideal population:</p>
<p>1984: 15</p>
<p>1992: 49</p>
<p>2002: 70</p>
<p>2012: 67</p>
<p>Assembly: Districts within 1% of ideal population:</p>
<p>1984: 92</p>
<p>1992: 46</p>
<p>2002: 18</p>
<p>2012: 26</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/ufo-or-63rd-senate-seat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>LATFOR&#039;s Maps Are Out</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/latfors-maps-are-out/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/latfors-maps-are-out/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:18:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[George Amedore]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10481</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[LATFOR has posted their proposed district lines for 2012. Both the Assembly and Senate maps are available here.
Senate Republicans have issued a statement defending their lines and the 63rd Senate District their maps create. Of the 63rd seat the statement says:
&#8221; The plan adds a 63rd Senate seat, as required by the formulas under  [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>LATFOR has posted their proposed district lines for 2012. Both the Assembly and Senate maps are available <a href="http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Senate Republicans have issued a statement defending their lines and the 63rd Senate District their maps create. Of the 63rd seat the statement says:</p>
<p>&#8221; The plan adds a 63rd Senate seat, as required by the formulas under  Article III of the State Constitution.  That seat is located in the  Capital Region and Upper Hudson Valley, which experienced the largest  percentage increase of population growth in the state since the 2000  U.S. census.&#8221; This seat is the one that Assemblyman George Amedore is <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/waiting-on-the-lines/">expected to run for</a>.</p>
<p>The statement calls the process by which the lines were created, &#8221; open and transparent.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here is the full statement from Senate Republicans: <span id="more-10481"></span></p>
<p>The bipartisan Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment &#8211;co-chaired by Senator Michael F. Nozzolio and Assemblyman John J. McEneny  &#8211;  today released new Senate district lines, based on population shifts which occurred over the last ten years.</p>
<p>The Senate plan is fair, legal and protects minority voting interests.  It complies with the State Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, state and federal laws, and the Federal Voting Rights Act.</p>
<p>The new draft district lines are the result of an open and transparent process.  The boundaries were drafted after the Task Force coordinated 14 public hearings in every corner of the state, taking 55 hours of testimony from more than 375 witnesses.</p>
<p>The population of each Senate district fully complies with the requirements of the state constitution, including “town on border,” “block on border” and is well within the standard required by the U.S. Supreme Court.</p>
<p>The plan provides continuity by largely preserving the cores of existing districts.  In fact, the vast majority of new districts contain three-fourths or more of their old districts.</p>
<p>Consistent with the Voting Rights Act, the Senate plan protects minority representation by maintaining or strengthening every African American district in New York City &#8211; - despite the loss of nearly 100,000 African Americans since the last census.</p>
<p>The plan maintains Hispanic populations in currently represented Hispanic districts, and even increases the Hispanic population in a number of districts.</p>
<p>The Task Force maintains “communities of interest” together whenever possible, including consolidation of the Orthodox Jewish community into one Brooklyn Senate district rather than five Senate districts.  The Senate plan also includes a first-ever majority Asian-American Senate district anchored in Flushing, Queens.  The Task Force will also seek additional public input on uniting “communities of interest” in the coming weeks.</p>
<p>The plan adds a 63rd Senate seat, as required by the formulas under Article III of the State Constitution.  That seat is located in the Capital Region and Upper Hudson Valley, which experienced the largest percentage increase of population growth in the state since the 2000 U.S. census.</p>
<p>Nine additional public hearings will also take place, beginning on Monday, January 30 at 10:30 a.m. in Albany, in Hearing Room A on the second floor of the Legislative Office Building.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/latfors-maps-are-out/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Waiting on The Lines</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/waiting-on-the-lines/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/waiting-on-the-lines/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:22:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bob Reilly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[George Amedore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jim Tedisco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Liz Krueger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Neil Breslin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10479</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[All week LATFOR members have told the press that they should expect the new district lines any day now. In fact Assemblyman Jack McEneny has given a time and date a few times only to have the lines not be made public. The most recent expectation is that the lines will be revealed at 2 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>All week LATFOR members have told the press that they should expect the new district lines any day now. In fact Assemblyman Jack McEneny has given a time and date a few times only to have the lines not be made public. The most recent expectation is that the lines will be revealed at 2 p.m..</p>
<p>Assembly members reportedly were emailed their lines late last night. It is unclear when Senate Republicans will reveal their maps. Some details have leaked out and it looks like the maps could be majorly disruptive to a number of upstate incumbents including Sen. Neil Breslin,  Assemblymen Bob Reilly and Jim Tedisco. The Times Union <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/GOP-plans-63rd-district-2681707.php">reported</a> that Breslin&#8217;s district could be cut in half to create the 63rd Senate seat in an effort to allow Republican Assemblyman (and reality TV star) George Amedore to run for the Senate. Breslin <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20111226/204/3662">predicted to the Gazette</a> late last year that the lines would be decided in a court battle and that the Giants would win the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>The Republican announcement could be tied to negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about a constitutional amendment to institute non partisan redistricting for the next go around&#8211;in ten years.  One has to wonder if they have waited til Thursday to release the lines, why they wouldn&#8217;t just wait until Friday. Friday is always the preferred day to bury unpleasant news.</p>
<p>Sen. Liz Krueger is getting tired of waiting and wants to know what all the secrecy is about. She released this statement: &#8220;All this week we&#8217;ve seen leaks, rumors, and a tiny trickle of information, some good, some bad, and some very, very ugly. What the public hasn&#8217;t seen is the map, even though we all know it exists. Why the holdup? It&#8217;s deliberate. The Republicans have been keeping the public in the dark, trying to manage expectations instead of letting New Yorkers see what they&#8217;ve cooked up and judge it for what it is.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/26/waiting-on-the-lines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bloomberg&#039;s Record on Poverty</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/22/bloombergs-record-on-poverty/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/22/bloombergs-record-on-poverty/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:05:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bloomberg administration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fernando ferrer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[frances fox piven]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homeless]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[joel berg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York city poverty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poverty initiative]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10145</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For many months, the Bloomberg administration has boasted that as poverty rose elsewhere in the country, it remained constant here, thanks in part to his policies.
Unfortunately, he can no longer say that. 
New census figures, as reported in the Times this morning, show that poverty rose more rapidly in New York City – by 1.4 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For many months, the Bloomberg administration has boasted that as poverty rose elsewhere in the country, it remained constant here, thanks in part to his policies.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, he can no longer say that. </p>
<p>New census figures, as <a href=" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/nyregion/one-in-five-new-york-city-residents-living-in-poverty.html">reported in the Times</a> this morning, show that poverty rose more rapidly in New York City – by 1.4 percentage points &#8212; than in the nation as a whole from 2009 to 2010. This brought the number of people living in poverty in the city to 20.1 percent, the highest level since 2000. Child poverty <a href=" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903791504576585191483768526.html">rose even more</a> – by 3 percentage points – leaving three out of every 10 city children in homes below the poverty level.</p>
<p>A <a href=" http://www.alignny.org/?p=3008">report by Alliance for a Greater New York</a> said the situation may be even worse than those numbers would indicate because of the high cost of living in New York – a luxury brand, as the mayor has called it. </p>
<p>Incomes across the city fell by 5 percent. But some people continue to do very well. In Manhattan – the county in the country with the biggest income gap – the average earning of the top fifth of the population came to $371,754,</p>
<p>While deploring this high level of poverty, advocates quickly responded that the figures only confirm what they see every day – an increasing level of need in the city. More homeless. Longer lines at soup kitchens and food pantries. People desperate for work.</p>
<p>More reaction and a review of Bloomberg administration poverty policies after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10145"></span></p>
<p>So far there has been no official response top this from the Bloomberg administration, as far as we know.  (The mayor today though has celebrated the friendship between the city and the French with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and <a href=" http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2011/09/questions-about-deputy-irk-mayor-bloomberg">responded testily</a> to questions about where Deputy Mayor Robert Steel lives.)</p>
<p>Advocates have not been so reticent. Joel Berg of the <a href=" http://www.nyccah.org/">New York City Coalition Against Hunger</a> said the numbers offer the &#8220;latest proof our city and state policies are failing in fundamental ways.”</p>
<p>While saying the figures in and of themselves are not surprising, the <a href=" http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/">Coalition for the Homeless</a>&#8216; statement said they paint &#8220;a shocking picture of reality.&#8221; </p>
<p>Renewing its call for a so-called <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/work/20100115/22/3147">Living Wage</a> – a move the Bloomberg administration has <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/12/living-wage-gets-its-hearing/">rejected</a> – the <a href=" http://www.livingwagenyc.org/">Living Wage NYC</a> coalition blamed the mayor for the rising level of need in the city. </p>
<p>&#8220;The Bloomberg administration&#8217;s economic policy has prioritized the interests of corporations and developers, and neglected the needs of most New Yorkers,&#8221; its statement said in part. &#8220;It has given corporations and developers billions of taxpayer dollars and allowed them to create poverty-wage jobs with impunity. &#8230; This aristocratic agenda of protecting the rich and ignoring the most vulnerable has clearly failed countless New Yorkers across the city.&#8221;</p>
<p>Despite occasional forays into poverty policy the administration has had a spotty record on the issue. The Bloomberg rarely mentioned poverty – political opponent Fernando Ferrer said he never did –during his first term. During his second term he did <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/iotw/20060619/200/1887">launch a poverty initiative</a>, but it never gained the kind of traction and mayoral enthusiasm that has marked his public health campaigns, for example.</p>
<p>In 2009, Bill de Blasio, then running (successfully) for public advocate, <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/socialservices/20091023/15/3063">told Gotham Gazette</a> he &#8220;never felt social services was one of the chief concerns&#8221; of the mayor. While the motivation for the policy initiative, was good, de Blasio said, it &#8220;did not create meaningful&#8221; change.</p>
<p>At that time Frances Fox Piven, an expert on poverty programs who teaches at CUNY, gave Bloomberg credit for not following his predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, in punishing the poor. But she added, the Bloomberg administration failed to revamp &#8220;the policies that keep the poor poor. Moreover, it has presided over a real estate boom that has steadily encroached on the neighborhoods of poor and working class people, replacing affordable housing with glass towers of multi million-dollar condos.&#8221;</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Gotham Gazette public finance columnist Glenn Pasanen <a href=http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/finance/20110518/8/3529>looked back</a> on the five years since the initiative and concluded,&#8221; it is hard to find any changes in city policy, practice or theory to ameliorate city poverty.&#8221; While pilot program to fight poverty have served only a few thousand of New Yorkers, Pasanen wrote, the mayor&#8217;s budget cuts have affected programs that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of low-income New Yorkers rely on.</p>
<p>Ironically, despite their failure to do much here, Bloomberg has spearheaded an effort to replicate his anti-poverty programs in other cities – and gotten funding to do so. One popular idea involved giving cash to poor people in return for certain behavior – making sure their children go to school, say, or taking them to a doctor. Although these programs show some sign of success in developing countries, Pasanen <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/finance/20110719/8/3568">found little evidence</a> they do any good in the United States as a hole, let alone in New York City.</p>
<p>&#8220;The weak premise that cash-incentive, self-help pilot programs will alleviate poverty in New York City has effectively obscured the real conditions of poverty in the city: unemployment, limited childcare, poor schools and job training, etc.&#8221; Pasanen wrote.</p>
<p>(This summer Gotham Gazette looked at program and policies in a number of areas affecting low income New Yorkers. To see our series – The Tattered Safety Net – go <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/socialservices/20110831/15/3593">here</a>.)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/22/bloombergs-record-on-poverty/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Poorer State</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/13/a-poorer-state/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/13/a-poorer-state/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:58:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fiscal policy institute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income gap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city coalition against hunger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poverty level]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10078</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One in six New York state residents &#8212; more than 3 million people &#8212; live in poverty, according to statement by theNew York City Coalition Against Hunger on census figures released this morning. 
The figure 2009-10 represents an 11 percent increase from 2007-2008, the coalition said. The numbers become particularly striking when one considers just [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One in six New York state residents &#8212; more than 3 million people &#8212; live in poverty, according to statement by the<a href=" http://nyccah.org/ ">New York City Coalition Against Hunger</a> on census figures released this morning. </p>
<p>The figure 2009-10 represents an 11 percent increase from 2007-2008, the coalition said. The numbers become particularly striking when one considers just how low an income a family must have to be seen as living in poverty –- less than $18,310 for a family of three.</p>
<p>In its statement, the coalition anticipated a rise in poverty for New York City alone, although it noted those numbers are not yet available. In 2009, more than one in five New York City residents lived in poverty, with experts <a href=http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/economy/20100927/21/3372> saying</a> the level would have been higher without the federal economic stimulus program.</p>
<p>While critics have warned of increased need in the city – longer lines at food pantries and the like &#8212; the Bloomberg administration has <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/nyregion/21poverty.html>  maintained</a> that poverty remained relatively constant during the recession and the weak &#8212; if that &#8212; recovery. </p>
<p>&#8220;To a large degree, economic stimulus programs and policy initiatives aimed at bolstering family income succeeded in preventing a rise in poverty in New York City,&#8221; concluded a <a href=" http://nyccah.org/ ">report</a> issued in March by the mayor’s <a href=" http://www.nyc.gov/html/ceo/html/home/home.shtml ">Center for Economic Opportunity</a>.</p>
<p>What no one can deny, though, is that the disparity in wealth in the city has increased. The wealthiest 1 percent of city residents has 44 percent of all income in New York, nearly four times as much as they did just 30 years ago, <a href=http://www.fiscalpolicy.org/FPI_GrowTogetherOrPullFurtherApart_20101213.pdf>according to the Fiscal Policy Institute</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/13/a-poorer-state/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quinn and ICE</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/17/quinn-and-ice/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/17/quinn-and-ice/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:12:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9989</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Council Speaker Christine Quinn introduced legislation today that would prohibit New York City&#8217;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:
&#8220;The announcement by Speaker Quinn and Council Members Mark-Viverito and Daniel Dromm that the New York City Council will [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Council Speaker Christine Quinn introduced legislation today that would prohibit New York City&#8217;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:</p>
<p>&#8220;The announcement by Speaker Quinn and Council Members Mark-Viverito and Daniel Dromm that the New York City Council will prohibit New York City&#8217;s Department of Corrections from subsidizing and supporting the deportation of thousands of non-criminal New Yorkers each year is fantastic news.</p>
<p>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.&#8221;</p>
<p>Quinn&#8217;s legislation follows Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s decision to <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20110523/204/3531">pull out of the federal Secure Communities Program</a> and the US government&#8217;s insistence that New York legally must take part in the program. <span id="more-9989"></span></p>
<p>Make the Road New York released statements of support for Quinn&#8217;s legislation from a number of Democratic legislators:</p>
<p>&#8220;Speaker Quinn&#8217;s proposal will ensure that the focus is where it should be: On those the Obama administration has said it would focus on in Immigration Enforcement.&#8221; state Senator Jose R. Peralta. &#8220;I applaud Speaker Quinn and urge her City Council colleagues to pass this bill.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I applaud Speaker Quinn for her leadership on making the city of New York a safer city for immigrants who call it home. We cannot continue to have immigration officials in Riker&#8217;s and in our jails working with local law enforcement to identify and deport any and all immigrants detained there &#8212; even those who are found innocent of any crime. I applaud this effort to ensure that immigrant New Yorkers feel they are safe and that cooperating with local police is in everyone&#8217;s best interest to ensure the safety of our communities,&#8221; said State Senator Gustavo Rivera.</p>
<p>&#8220;I am happy that Speaker Quinn is taking action on this important issue &#8212; saving the City up to $50 million a year while also protecting immigrants with no prior criminal record from unfair, lengthy detention periods. This proposal is tough on crime too, making sure that cooperation does take place in other cases.&#8221; said Assemblyman Francisco Moya. &#8220;Those who are innocent will be treated fairly regardless of their immigration status, but this proposal also allows for the necessary cooperation between law enforcement agencies.&#8221;</p>
<p>Assemblywoman Grace Meng stated, &#8220;I commend Council Speaker Christine Quinn&#8217;s bill to create a detainer discretion policy. Speaker Quinn&#8217;s actions are a strong and confident indication that our great city will not stand for collaborations between agencies that target immigrant communities. In my district, one of the largest and most common issues that we have seen are families who are torn apart by immigration issues. I am fully committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in government to promote policies that actually make our communities more secure, not waste government resources in deporting immigrants. I also want to thank Make the Road NY for all its hard working in leading this campaign to withdraw ICE from Riker&#8217;s Island.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I applaud Make the Road for its dedication and tenacity in addressing this matter and congratulate them on achieving this important step in ensuring that New York residents are treated justly and fairly regardless of immigration status. I stand firmly with Make the Road and support their worthwhile mission,&#8221; said Assemblyman Matthew Titone.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/17/quinn-and-ice/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Challenging the Census</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/10/challenging-the-census/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/10/challenging-the-census/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:42:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[census bureau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charles schumer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kirsten Gillibrand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york population]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[u.s. census]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9974</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As expected the city has filed a formal challenge of the Census Bureau&#8217;s 2010 count of New York City residents. In its filing, the Bloomberg administration contends the census incorrectly counted as vacant a number of homes in Astoria, Jackson Heights, Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, which it says &#8220;are among the most vibrant areas in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As expected the city has <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&#038;catID=1194&#038;doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2011b%2Fpr291-11.html&#038;cc=unused1978&#038;rc=1194&#038;ndi=1">filed a formal challenge</a> of the Census Bureau&#8217;s 2010 count of New York City residents. In its filing, the Bloomberg administration contends the census incorrectly counted as vacant a number of homes in Astoria, Jackson Heights, Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, which it says &#8220;are among the most vibrant areas in New York City.&#8221;</p>
<p>In his letter to Census Bureau director Robert Groves, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, &#8220;It is our expectation that the city&#8217;s population could increase by tens of thousands of New Yorkers if the errors &#8230; were corrected.&#8221; The city does not anticipate a correction would have a major effect on redistricting – or save on of the state&#8217;s two lost congressional seats – but it does think a recount could increase the amount of money the city would receive from various aid programs.</p>
<p>Various New York officials issued statements in support of the administration&#8217;s effort. Sen. Charles Schumer, for one, called the federal government&#8217;s numbers &#8220;dead wrong.&#8221;</p>
<p>Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand noted that the census found only very modest population growth in Brooklyn and Queens and expressed concern &#8220;that this inaccuracy may be the result of the difficulty in ascertaining accurate counts in immigrants communities such as Jackson Heights, Astoria and Sunset Park.&#8221;</p>
<p>As Andrew Beveridge <a href="http://gothamgazette.com/article/demographics/20110616/5/3515/"> wrote</a> in Gotham Gazette this spring, the census found some 246,0000 fewer city residents than the administration had anticipated, and grew by 2.1 percent, not 5.2 percent. The numbers cast cold water on the mayor&#8217;s prediction that 9 million people would call New York City home by 2030. In his column Beveridge wrote that, while the mayor&#8217;s disappointment is understandable, evidence exists to support the Census Bureau&#8217;s count.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/10/challenging-the-census/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bloomberg and the Achievement Gap</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/04/bloomberg-and-the-achievement-gap/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/04/bloomberg-and-the-achievement-gap/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:34:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9939</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg&#8217;s announcement earlier today of a major initiative to help young black and Latino men today, includes a big focus on education. Few would debate the wisdom of that.
Bloomberg has long patted himself on the back for narrowing the gap in academic achievement between the city&#8217;s white and Asian students on one hand [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mayor Michael Bloomberg&#8217;s <a href=" http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2011b/pr283-11.html">announcement earlier today</a> of a major initiative to help young black and Latino men today, includes a big focus on education. Few would debate the wisdom of that.</p>
<p>Bloomberg has long patted himself on the back for narrowing the gap in academic achievement between the city&#8217;s white and Asian students on one hand and blacks and Latinos on the other. Today Chancellor Dennis Walcott <a href=" http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2011b/pr282-11.html">sounded the theme</a>. “We’ve come a long way in improving achievement for black and Latino young men, helping to narrow the racial gaps in state exams and graduation rates,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>But as Bloomberg basks in praise (and some almost fawning <a href=" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/nyregion/new-york-plan-will-aim-to-lift-minority-youth.html?ref=nyregion">press coverage</a>) for tackling a truly tough issue, his record on ending education disparities is  &#8212; to put it charitably – mixed.  </p>
<p>The mayor noted the city had narrowed the gap in high school graduation rates between the races. And the evidence backs that up. But in myriad other areas &#8212; test scores, admission to elite high schools, admission to gifted and talented elementary programs, <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/education/20110401/6/3503">suspensions</a> &#8212; the gap has remained essentially the same or widened under the Bloomberg regime. </p>
<p>Let&#8217;s looks at the numbers – after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-9939"></span></p>
<p><b>High school graduation rates:</b> The <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/mediarelations/NewsandSpeeches/2010-2011/2010gradratesrelease61411.htm"> figures</a> compiled by the state and released by the city show an increase in graduation rates among all groups during the Bloomberg years. While 46.5 percent of all students graduated in four years in 2005, in 2010 almost two thirds – 65.1 percent – did. Black and Latino students remain less likely to graduate than their white and Asian counterparts, but the gap between groups has narrowed over the past five years: from a 23.89 percentage point difference between blacks and white  in 2005 to a 17.6 point gap in 2010.</p>
<p>Certainly some dispute how meaningful this figure &#8212; and a New York City high school diploma &#8212; is. They note, for example, that about three quarters of students entering City University of New York <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/education/20110413/6/3509">community colleges</a> last fall <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/nyregion/04remedial.html>needed remedial work</a> in at least one key area. Slicing and dicing various numbers, education expert Aaron Pallas, a frequent Bloomberg critic, has <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/same-data-different-story-debating-progress-in-nyc-schools/2011/06/29/AGBMXXrH_blog.html"> calculated</a> that of black and Latin students who entered ninth grade in 2006 and graduated, only 12 percent were considered ready for college, according to state measurement.</p>
<p>An investigation, <a href="http://gothamschools.org/2011/08/03/probe-underway-after-staff-blows-whistle-on-illicit-credit-recovery/"> reported yesterday</a> in Gotham Schools, into possible abuse of the so-called credit recovery system, which allows students to make up credits, could cast doubt on some of the graduation gains in doubt. The school in question – <a href=" http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/06/M540/default.htm">A. Phillip Randolph High School</a> – reported an increase in its graduation rate of nearly 30 points. </p>
<p>The state is set to release data on the use of credit recovery as early as next month. &#8220;The data, which will show how widespread the use of credit recovery is, could challenge the credibility of the higher graduation rates that have taken place during the Bloomberg administration,&#8221; Gotham Schools wrote.</p>
<p><b>Standardized tests</b>:  For years -– most notably in 2009 when the mayor ran for re-election &#8212; Bloomberg and his then schools chancellor, Joel Klein, <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/mediarelations/NewsandSpeeches/2008-2009/20090601_math_scores.htm"> trumpeted</a> the narrowing gap &#8212; and increase scores overall – on the state standardized reading and math tests for third through eighth graders. But then last year, everything changed.</p>
<p>The state, in response to rising concerns about alleged dumbing down of tests, recalibrated the scoring system. That <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/education/122928/ny1-exclusive--achievement-gap-wider-than-expected--data-shows"> reopened the gap</a>, sending it back to its levels in 2003 –- before the Bloomberg/Klein reforms had taken place.</p>
<p>&#8220;Almost all of the progress that has supposedly been made since 2003 in the achievement gap has been wiped out by this new re-scaling of the tests,&#8221; Megan Hester of the <a href=" http://www.annenberginstitute.org/">Annenberg Institute for School Reform</a> told NY1.</p>
<p>As the administration released test scores last year, we <a href="href=http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/07/28/parsing-the-test-scores/>calculated a gap of more than 40 percentage point between blacks and Asians on math tests.</p>
<p>Parsing the numbers for the Daily News, Juan Gonzalez <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/30/2010-07-30_ed_scores_dont_pass_smell_test_kids_losers_in_mike_and_joels_game.html"> found</a> that in 2003, 73.3 percent of white fourth graders and 46.3 percent of black fourth graders met state standards according to the tests, for a gap of 26.9 point. Last year, the gap rose to 31.7 percent. (The 2011 test scores <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/07/29/summer-school-summer-scores/">have not been released</a>.) The gap for Hispanics increased, too, though only slightly. </p>
<p><b>High school admissions</b>: The number of black and Latino eighth and ninth graders admitted to the city&#8217;s academically elite high school has <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/02/11/racial-admissions-gap/">continued to decline</a>. This year, blacks accounted for only 5 percent and Latinos only 6 percent of those offered a place in one of the city&#8217;s so-called <a href=" http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/High/Summer+SHSAT+and+LaGuardia+Auditions.htm">specialized high schools</a> that  admit students based on their scores on one exam given in the fall. At the most selective school –<a href=" http://stuy.enschool.org/">Stuyvesant</a> – the figures were even lower: 1.2 percent for blacks and 1.3 percent for Latinos. This even though 23 percent of the students who took the exam were black and 21 percent Latino. (Together blacks and Latinos account for more than 70 percent of city public school students.)</p>
<p>The city has expanded the number of specialized high schools but at the three older ones that use the test &#8212; Stuyvesant, <a href=" http://www.bxscience.edu/">Bronx Science</a> and <a href=" http://www.bths.edu/">Brooklyn Tech</a> &#8212; black and Latino enrollments has been on the decrease since the mid 1990s. In, 1994-95, for example, blacks accounted for 37.3 percent of Brooklyn Tech students. In 2008-2009, that number had fallen to 13 percent.</p>
<p>At the other end of the academic scale, the Independent Budget Office <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/01/27/students-at-closing-schools/">found </a> that the student bodies at the &#8220;failing&#8221; school the administration moved to <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/12/07/more-school-closings-part-ii/">shut</a> this year were 52 percent black and only 3 percent white, compared to 31 percent and 14 percent respectively for all city schools.  (There was no significant difference for Latino students.)</p>
<p><b>Kindergarten admissions</b>: The gap shows up early. This year 11 percent of all students <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/more-preschoolers-test-as-gifted-even-as-diversity-imbalance-persists/#more-321639"> admitted to gifted and talented kindergarten programs</a> were black, down from 15 per cent just a year earlier. Latino youngsters accounted for 12 percent both years.</p>
<p>The Department of Education <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/nyregion/22gifted.html?scp=4&#038;sq=gifted%20andtalented%20admitted%20city%20department%20of%20education&#038;st=cse"> changed the system</a> for admitting children to the programs in 2008, in response to charges the old admissions process led to favoritism and little racial diversity. The city now relies on a test. That critics say allows wealthier families to game the system by hiring tutors and sending four-year-old to test prep classes. </p>
<p>A 2008 New York Times <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/council-will-examine-drop-in-gifted-admissions/?scp=6&#038;sq=gifted%20andtalented%20admitted%20city%20department%20of%20education&#038;st=cse">analaysis</a> found that while blacks accounted for 24 percent of students in gifted programs, their percentage would fall to 13 percent under the Department of Education&#8217;s new criteria.</p>
<p>None of this means the mayor&#8217;s focus and funding for programs aimed at reducing racial disparities does not deserve praise. It does mean, though, that after nine and a half years of Bloomberg, we also need to look at the record, not just the spin.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/08/04/bloomberg-and-the-achievement-gap/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New Yorkers Want Wal-Mart (UPDATE)</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/18/new-yorkers-want-wal-mart/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/18/new-yorkers-want-wal-mart/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:28:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quinnipiac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wal-Mart]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9289</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Photo (cc) Wal-Mart
Despite fierce opposition from the city&#8217;s unions and a majority of the City Council, New Yorkers favor bringing the world&#8217;s largest retailer to the five boroughs. 
According to a new poll from Quinnipiac University, 57 percent of New York City voters say officials should allow Wal-Mart to open up in the the city, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/5266815680_ec09e9d38f.jpg"><img src="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/5266815680_ec09e9d38f.jpg" alt="5266815680_ec09e9d38f" title="5266815680_ec09e9d38f" width="400" height="325" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9292" /></a>
<div class="photocredit">Photo (cc) Wal-Mart</div>
<p>Despite fierce opposition from the city&#8217;s unions and a majority of the City Council, New Yorkers favor <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110214/203/3463">bringing the world&#8217;s </a><a href="http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/factsheets/">largest retailer</a> to the five boroughs. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1302.xml?ReleaseID=1569">new poll from Quinnipiac University</a>, 57 percent of New York City voters say officials should allow Wal-Mart to open up in the the city, while 36 percent say the retailer should be kept out. If Wal-Mart set up shop in the Big Apple, 68 percent of New York City voters would shop there if it was convenient. </p>
<p>In response to the poll, Steven Restivo, director of community affairs for Wal-Mart, sent over the following statement: </p>
<blockquote><p>The results affirm what we have been hearing for months: New Yorkers want Walmart.  Whether it&#8217;s physically leaving the city to shop our stores, responding favorably in polls or just voicing their opinion on Facebook and at neighborhood rallies, city residents show their support for Walmart every day.  With too many communities living with double-digit unemployment and limited access to affordable groceries, we continue to evaluate local opportunities that will allow us to do what we do best: open stores, create jobs, stimulate economic development and lower the cost of living for customers.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x2011.xml">Mickey Carroll</a>, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement: &#8220;Voters agree that Walmart can be tough on its employees and on its mom-and-pop competitors, but even voters in union households say 63 &#8211; 34 percent they&#8217;ll shop there anyway.&#8221; </p>
<p>For months &#8211;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/nyregion/24walmart.html"> years actually </a>&#8211; city officials have been blocking Wal-Mart&#8217;s attempt to infiltrate the New York City market. They claim the retailer&#8217;s wages are below average, they have a poor record of providing health care and discriminate against certain employees, <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/12/supreme_court_to_decide_if_whe.html">specifically women</a>. Officials have also said Wal-Mart would drive out New York City&#8217;s mom and pop shops. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the five boroughs already is home to Target, Costco, Best Buy and other big-box retailers. We looked into whether there were stark differences between them. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110214/203/3463">Here</a> is what we found. </p>
<p>UPDATE: Wal-Mart Free NYC sent over this response to today&#8217;s poll: </p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;New York didn&#8217;t become great because of Walmart, it became great because of the thousands of small businesses owners who worked hard to make our mom and pops the engine of our economy &#8212; the  same neighborhood mom and pops that New Yorkers agree Walmart would destroy,&#8221; said Eric Koch, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Free NYC
</p></blockquote>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/18/new-yorkers-want-wal-mart/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Racial Admissions Gap</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/02/11/racial-admissions-gap/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/02/11/racial-admissions-gap/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:52:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brnk high school of science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brooklyn tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cathie Black]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city department of educationm catheen black]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[specialized high school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stuyvesant high school]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9105</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The number of black and Hispanic eight graders admitted to the city&#8217;s most selective public high schools continues to decline, according to figures just released by the Department of Education.
Only 5 percent of the students offered admission to eight of the city&#8217;s specialized high school are black and only 6 percent are Hispanic. These eight [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The number of black and Hispanic eight graders admitted to the city&#8217;s most selective public high schools continues to decline, according to figures just released by the Department of Education.</p>
<p>Only 5 percent of the students offered admission to eight of the city&#8217;s specialized high school are black and only 6 percent are Hispanic. These eight schools all chose students entirely on the basis of a test given in the fall. The other specialized high school &#8212; LaGuardia, an arts school &#8212; is not included in the figures because it selects students on the basis of other criteria, such as an audition.</p>
<p>The percentage of blacks and Hispanics admitted to the eight schools fell by one percentage point from 2010, continuing a recent trend.</p>
<p>At the city&#8217;s three oldest specialized high schools  &#8211;Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and Stuyvesant&#8211; the figures were no better. Blacks accounted for only 4.5 of those offered admission to the schools; Hispanics, 5.5 percent.  At Stuyvesant&#8211; traditionally the most selective &#8212; the numbers are even more jarring: Only 1.2 percent of students offered admission were black and only 1.3 percent Hispanic.</p>
<p>More number crunching after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-9105"></span></p>
<p>The administration&#8217;s efforts to bring up black and Latino enrollment in academically selected schools by creating more of the specialized schools seems to be only a partial success. Of those admitted to the five new schools, 7 percent are black and 9 percent Hispanic &#8212; a higher percentage than for the three older schools, but hardly representative of the school system&#8217;s overall <a href=" http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015/tables/table_7_3.asp">demographics</a>. About 32 percent of the students in the system are black and about 40 percent Hispanic.</p>
<p>The problem does not appear to be that black and Latino kids don’t take the test. Twenty-three percent of those taking the test were black, 21 percent Hispanic. But while 35 percent of Asians and 30 percent of whites who took the test got an offer of admission, only 4 percent of blacks and 6 percent of Hispanics did.</p>
<p>In a press release Chancellor Cathleen Black hailed the students who did well on this test, saying, &#8220;Those students have admirably pushed themselves and we look forward to watching them succeed in high school and beyond.&#8221; </p>
<p>The release did not address the racial disparities.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/02/11/racial-admissions-gap/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bloomberg Joins It Gets Better Campaign</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/01/04/bloomberg-joins-it-gets-better-campaign/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/01/04/bloomberg-joins-it-gets-better-campaign/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:25:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gay rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[it gets better]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lgbt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lgbt youth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=8940</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The latest in the It Gets Better Project from Hizzoner himself. 

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The latest in the <a href="http://www.itgetsbetter.org/">It Gets Better Project</a> from Hizzoner himself. </p>
<p><object width="350" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1qRuJhnFjhk&#038;hl=en_US&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1qRuJhnFjhk&#038;hl=en_US&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="350" height="300"></embed></object></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/01/04/bloomberg-joins-it-gets-better-campaign/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Divide in the Charter Commission?</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/05/10/divide-in-the-charter-commission/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/05/10/divide-in-the-charter-commission/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 May 2010 17:14:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waterfront]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[city charter review commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hope cohen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matthew Goldstein]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=7411</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some Charter Revision Commission members seemed split this morning over whether the commission could thoroughly vet the more serious issues scheduled for review and still get them on the November ballot.
The commission approved a resolution today outlining five issue areas to explore and scheduled public hearings and expert panels on those specific topics for May [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Some <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/charter/">Charter Revision Commission</a> members seemed split this morning over whether the commission could thoroughly vet the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20100308/203/3204">more serious issues scheduled for review</a> and still get them on the November ballot.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/charter/html/commissioners/commissioners.shtml">commission</a> approved a resolution today outlining five issue areas to explore and scheduled public hearings and expert panels on those specific topics for May and June. The issues include term limits, voter participation (including <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/governing/20030122/17/196">nonpartisan elections</a>), land use (especially the <a href="http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=4453">ULURP process</a>), balance of powers (including the roles of <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/communitydevelopment/20090608/20/2936">community boards,</a> the borough presidents and the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/fea/20091109/202/3093">City Council</a>) and fiscal responsibility.  </p>
<p>Just before approving the resolution, the <a href="http://www.fordham.edu/student_affairs/inside_fordham/inside_fordham_archi/february_2003/news/father_mcshane_named_17174.asp">Rev. Joseph M. McShane</a> proposed an amendment to require the commission to <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/03/19/commissions-first-meeting-with-cheesecake/">revisit its timeline</a> before proposing anything for November&#8217;s ballot. To get anything on the ballot this fall, the commission would have to solidify its proposals by September. </p>
<p>Commission <a href="http://www.nycfuture.org/content/articles/article_view.cfm?article_id=1180">Chair Matthew Goldstein</a> rejected McShane&#8217;s amendment, saying it was already &#8220;embedded&#8221; in the document. The commission, Goldstein said, will have a deliberative process. </p>
<p>After the meeting, Goldstein told reporters, &#8220;I&#8217;ve always said that this year was a much better opportunity, because there will be more and more active participation because we&#8217;re going to have statewide elections. If I wanted to bring something or we wanted to bring something, it would make a lot of sense not to lose that opportunity. The opportunity cost would be higher.&#8221;<br />
<span id="more-7411"></span></p>
<p>Given the depth of the issues the commission is exploring and the fact that many of its hearings will be held over the sleepier summer months, some wonder whether the commission can adequately review every facet of an issue before the September deadline. </p>
<p>&#8220;If it&#8217;s something small enough to fully work through than it&#8217;s fine,&#8221; said <a href="http://www.rpa.org/staff/hope-cohen.html">Commissioner Hope Cohen</a>, also the associate director of the Center for Urban Innovation at the Regional Plan Association. But, she added, &#8220;we are researching and exploring very far reaching issues.&#8221;</p>
<p>Once a commission puts anything on the ballot and it goes to the voters, the body automatically disbands, Cohen said. If this commission were to look at issues piecemeal over two election seasons, the mayor would have to recall and name the commission all over again. </p>
<p>When asked if she was confident that every issue would be reviewed thoroughly before going to the voters, Cohen said definitively, &#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/05/10/divide-in-the-charter-commission/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Specialized High School Admissions</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/02/08/specialized-high-school-admissions/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/02/08/specialized-high-school-admissions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:32:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=6612</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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&#8217;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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>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&#8217;s best public high school. Only 7 of those proud students are black.</p>
<p>The figures announced Friday represent a <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/ ">continuing decline</a> in the number of black and Hispanic kids admitted to the city&#8217;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.<br />
<span id="more-6612"></span><br />
The city uses a test, given in the fall, as the sole means of determining who gets admitted to Stuyvesant, Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Tech, along with five newer academic high schools. Overall 7 percent of the students admitted to any of the eight schools are black and 8 percent are Hispanic. Asians account for about for 57 percent of those admitted and whites 28 percents.</p>
<p>The number of blacks and Hispanics in the top schools has declined markedly since the 1990s, according to a 2006 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/education/18schools.html"> analysis</a> by the Times. At Stuyvesant, blacks accounted for 4.4 percent of the students in 1994-95. In 2007-2008, that had fallen to 2 percent. In next year&#8217;s first-year class, it seems likely they will account for less than 1 percent.</p>
<p>Figures for blacks and Hispanics at Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech have declined as well. </p>
<p>As these figures have appeared over the past few years, the administration has expressed concern about them but has not conducted any overall review of the test, the admissions policies or the elite schools themselves.</p>
<p>It has introduced more specialized school with some success.  &#8220;Those schools, which are often referred to as “second tier,” are typically more diverse, but not extraordinarily more so. Of the 178 students offered admission to the school at [The High School for Math, Science and Engineering at] City College, for example, 20 -– or 11 percent -– were black and 15 percent Hispanic,&#8221; Jennifer Medina <a href=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/at-top-city-schools-lack-of-diversity-persist/">wrote</a> in City Room.</p>
<p>The city runs something called the Specialized High School Institute, which aims to level the playing field. Writing on NYC Public School Parents, Paola de Kock, a former Stuyvesant parent and Parent Association officer there, <a href=http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/02/closing-achievement-gap-black-hispanic.html>faulted</a> the city for offering &#8220;more test prep rather than more instruction.&#8221;</p>
<p>She continued, &#8220;There&#8217;s little reason to believe test prep will make a real difference for a child who isn&#8217;t already adequately prepared in the subjects the test covers.&#8221; </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Steve Koss <a href="http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/2010/02/gender-gap-at-nyc-specialized-high.html ">found</a> that boy are far more likely to be admitted to the eight schools than girls &#8212; a somewhat surprising result given that in general girl are seen as outperforming boys in schools. Among those admitted to Stuyvesant, Koss reported, 42 percent were female, 58 percent male.  Koss compared these numbers to admissions at science oriented high schools in the city, such as NEST and Midwood High School, where girls slightly outnumber boys, although by a far narrower margin.</p>
<p>&#8221; There certainly does appear to be a possible male bias in the [specialized high school test] based on these figures,&#8221; Koss concluded.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/02/08/specialized-high-school-admissions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Night of Counting</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/01/26/a-night-of-counting/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/01/26/a-night-of-counting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:47:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brian lehrer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[count]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homeless]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HOPE survey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[population]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=6513</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last night thousands of volunteers scoured the city for men, women and children who call the streets home. 
It happens every year since 2003, and it&#8217;s called the HOPE Street Survey &#8212; or the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate. Volunteers for the city&#8217;s Department of Homeless Services tour the five boroughs from 11 p.m. until 4 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last night thousands of volunteers scoured the city for men, women and children who call the streets home. </p>
<p>It happens every year since 2003, and it&#8217;s called the <a href="https://a071-hope.nyc.gov/hope/welcome.aspx">HOPE Street Survey</a> &#8212; or the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate. Volunteers for the city&#8217;s Department of Homeless Services tour the five boroughs from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. looking for people living on the streets. The count is supposed to capture an estimate of the city&#8217;s homeless population that do not use the shelter system. </p>
<p>Every year, according to the department, the numbers have declined, and since 2005 they have <a href="https://a071-hope.nyc.gov/hope/statistics.aspx">almost been cut in half</a> &#8212; from 4,375 to 2,328. </p>
<p>Advocates dispute the study&#8217;s findings. Patrick Markee of the Coalition for the Homeless <a href="http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/undercounting-the-homeless-2010">wrote</a> that the survey has &#8220;an inherently flawed methodology.&#8221; The survey, he continued, fails to count the homeless that are in hard to reach locations and it doesn&#8217;t factor in inclement weather. </p>
<p>Last night, for instance, was <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/sitting-down-to-be-counted/">unseasonably warm.</a></p>
<p>Either way, we won&#8217;t know last night&#8217;s results anytime soon. According to the press office at the Department of Homeless Services, the count can take weeks to compile. </p>
<p>For more, listen to this segment from <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2010/01/26">Brian Lehrer this morning</a>.</p>
<p><object width="350" height="36"><param name="movie" value="http://www.wnyc.org/flashplayer/mp3player.swf?config=http://www.wnyc.org/flashplayer/config_share.xml&#038;file=http://www.wnyc.org/stream/xspf/148932"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.wnyc.org/flashplayer/mp3player.swf?config=http://www.wnyc.org/flashplayer/config_share.xml&#038;file=http://www.wnyc.org/stream/xspf/148932" id="WNYC_Mp3_Player_148932" name="WNYC_Mp3_Player_148932" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" wmode="transparent" height="36" width="350"></embed></object></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/01/26/a-night-of-counting/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Immigration&#039;s Female Face</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2009/07/15/immigrations-female-face/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2009/07/15/immigrations-female-face/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:51:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=4717</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This post was filed by Jackie Pearce.
The face of immigration in America is changing, according to experts, advocates and media representatives who gathered at the Ford Foundation auditorium this afternoon.  That face, they say, is a woman’s.
The panel discussion focused on a poll recently released by  New American Media, which looked at the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><i>This post was filed by Jackie Pearce.</i></p>
<p>The face of immigration in America is changing, according to experts, advocates and media representatives who gathered at the Ford Foundation auditorium this afternoon.  That face, they say, is a woman’s.</p>
<p>The panel discussion focused on a poll recently released by <a href="http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/"> New American Media</a>, which looked at the problems and experiences of the often-silent female immigrant. Women  now account for the majority of immigrants coming to the U.S. &#8212; 53 percent.  <span id="more-4717"></span></p>
<p>For the report, women from over 44 countries were questioned on issues of discrimination, healthcare access, language acquisition and other obstacles confronting them. </p>
<p>Many of the panelists said they expected the poll&#8217;s results to change the discussion surrounding immigration, creating a more personal look.</p>
<p>&#8220;They [lawmakers] are not used to thinking of immigrants as women,&#8221; said Angela Kelley, vice president for immigration policy and advocacy at the <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/"> Center for American Progress</a>.</p>
<p>She said the poll’s results present the immigrant as a mother and the core of the family, as opposed to a figure on a chart. She thinks American women, in particular, will recognize &#8220;shared values,&#8221; helping to humanize the debate.</p>
<p>The poll found that immigrant women have been tremendously successful in keeping their families together, despite the challenging process of group relocation.  According to the survey, 85 percent said all their children were in the U.S. with them, and the majority would take their children with them if deported.  </p>
<p>However, despite their successes, the women face enormous obstacles.  During their first year in the U.S., their incomes averaged $500 a month, and many were paid under the table or for temporary projects.  As much as 30 percent have no form of health insurance and use the emergency room as their primary care.</p>
<p>According to Sergio Bendixen of the polling firm <a href="http://www.bendixenandassociates.com/"> Bendixen &#038; Associates</a>, &#8220;keeping their kids healthy is something that weighs heavy on them.&#8221;</p>
<p>Bendixen also spoke about the results on questions related to discrimination. While the numbers of cases vary depending on ethnic group, he said, &#8220;They were unanimous in letting us know it has gotten worse.&#8221;</p>
<p>Kelley said the discrimination results partly from the political tactics of &#8220;separatism.&#8221; She said that certain lawmakers and pundits &#8212; &#8221; <a href="http://loudobbs.tv.cnn.com/"> Lou Dobbs</a> with a big ol’ megaphone&#8221; &#8212; have people convinced that immigrants are inherently different than people born in the United States. &#8220;The beat of the drum that they are different than us has unleashed a real ugliness,&#8221; including an increase in hate crimes, Kelley said.</p>
<p>Despite some of the depressing statistics, Bendixen emphasized the role women play in the continuity of society and the importance of hearing their voices. &#8220;It’s about a timeless truth that women are the lynchpins of the family, of the community, of many nations,&#8221; he said. </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2009/07/15/immigrations-female-face/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

