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	<title>The Wonkster &#187; Eye Opener</title>
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	<description>Gotham Gazette&#039;s blog about New York policy and politics</description>
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		<title>CityTime Manager Fudges Timesheets</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/25/citytime-manager-fudges-timesheets/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/25/citytime-manager-fudges-timesheets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 May 2011 21:41:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bloomberg administration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CityTime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Liu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[saic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science Application International Corp]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9570</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an impromptu press conference, Comptroller John Liu revealed even the project manager of the Bloomberg administration&#8217;s plagued time keeping project couldn&#8217;t keep his own time. 
According to a letter Liu received today, Science Application International Corp., the prime contractor on the project, put Gerard Denault on administrative leave in December after the project manager [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In an impromptu press conference, Comptroller John Liu revealed even the project manager of the Bloomberg administration&#8217;s <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/nyregion/16citytime.html">plagued time keeping project</a> couldn&#8217;t keep his own time. </p>
<p>According to a letter Liu received today, <a href="http://www.saic.com/">Science Application International Corp</a>., the prime contractor on the project, put <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100613/REG/306139981">Gerard Denault </a>on administrative leave in December after the project manager fudged his own time sheets. As a result, the company will refund the city $2.5 million.</p>
<p>&#8220;The very company entrusted by our city to build a time keeping system for New York City employees has grossly mismanaged their own time keeping and in the process overcharged the city taxpayers for sums of money still to be determined,&#8221; Liu said. &#8220;This is a sad day for New York City taxpayers.&#8221;</p>
<p>Liu said today he would ask the adminsitration to work with him on this issue. He also called for the administration to freeze all payments to SAIC and force the Department of Investigation to conduct a comprehensive review of other possible violations. </p>
<p>In response, Bloomberg spokesperson Marc LaVorgna sent over the following statement: </p>
<blockquote><p>
We will withhold any and all payments until the completion of the Department of Investigation’s ongoing review, which includes a forensic accountant we added last year. The project is essentially fully online and operational and SAIC’s contract with the city expires on June 30th. We already had stated we were not renewing the contract. SAIC is owed $32 million for the completion of the project; no payments will be made until the review is completed.</p></blockquote>
<p>CityTime has been the bane of Bloomberg&#8217;s third term. Mired by delay and cost overruns, the debacle <a href="http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/4240/feds-indict-6-for-defrauding-controversial-citytime-program">culminated</a> in December when federal authorities indicted six employees for using shell companies to divert city money into their own pockets. Originally the project was supposed to cost about $60 million. Its price tag now is <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576341880233533122.html">more than $700 million. </a></p>
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		<title>Living Wage Gets Its Hearing</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/12/living-wage-gets-its-hearing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/12/living-wage-gets-its-hearing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 May 2011 22:37:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic development corp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[living wage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mayor michael bloomberh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oliver Koppell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tokumbo shobowale]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9524</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Labor and city leadership collided this afternoon at a packed and feisty hearing on legislation to require city subsidized developers pay a living wage.

Under a bill introduced nearly a year ago, recipients of more than $100,000 in financial assistance would have to pay all of their employees either $11.50 or $10 an hour plus benefits. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Labor and city leadership collided this afternoon at a packed and feisty hearing on <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=664291&#038;GUID=A83A5A5B-9589-4589-AAD7-5B2C6884610F&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">legislation</a> to require city <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20100413/203/3240">subsidized developers pay a living wage.<br />
</a><br />
Under a bill introduced <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/11/koppell-would-consider-motion-to-discharge-for-living-wage/">nearly a year ago,</a> recipients of more than $100,000 in financial assistance would have to pay all of their employees either $11.50 or $10 an hour plus benefits. The <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/10/clash-at-ida-board-over-study/">controversial</a> bill has garnered 30 sponsors at the council, but it does not have the Bloomberg administration&#8217;s support. Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who controls the council&#8217;s agenda, has yet to <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=664291&#038;GUID=A83A5A5B-9589-4589-AAD7-5B2C6884610F&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">take a position on the measure</a>. </p>
<p>At today&#8217;s hearing, the chief of staff to the deputy mayor for economic development, Tokumbo Shobowale, endured two and half hours of back and forth with council members &#8212; the vast majority of those in attendance support the proposal. Shobowale attempted to convince the council that the adminsitration agrees with the premise of raising the standard of living for the working poor. It questions, Shobowale argued, whether a wage mandate is the way to do it. </p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not a philosophical difference,&#8221; Shobowale said. &#8220;It&#8217;s looking at the data.&#8221;</p>
<p>The hearing followed the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/09/living-wage-study-says-policy-costs-jobs/">release of a study</a> on Monday by the Economic Development Corp., which argued the living wage proposal would result in between 33,000 and 100,000 job losses for the city. The study&#8217;s methodology and findings drew ire from supporters of the bill today. </p>
<p>&#8220;The administration is so full of it, you might want to consider a high-fiber diet,&#8221; said Councilmember Jumaane Williams. &#8220;It might help with that situation.&#8221;</p>
<p>The hearing amounted to a clash of academics and methodology &#8212; with supporters citing studies that supported living wage mandates, and the adminsitration calling its recently released analysis solid, current and comprehensive.  </p>
<p>Just this morning, supporters of the bill <a href="http://www.nelp.org/page/-/Justice/2011/AssessmentEDCStudyMay2011.pdf?nocdn=1">released a counter analysis</a> of the city&#8217;s living wage study, which argued its modeling did not rule out other factors that could affect job growth (like an economic downturn). Supporters also claim the city-sponsored study examines the wrong population of projects &#8212; it includes an as-of-right subsidy for industrial and commercial properties the bill is not meant to capture.<br />
<span id="more-9524"></span><br />
“Our current assessment, based on the executive summary, is that the study is an inaccurate and unreliable guide for policymakers. It contains a series of fundamental errors in methodology and analysis that simply render the study invalid,” said Paul Sonn of the National Employment Law Project.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Bloomberg adminsitration questions whether the City Council would even have the authority to legislate wage standards at economic development projects. Shobowale said legitimate legal concerns have been raised over whether the bill amounted to a minimum wage for a small segment of the economy. That power, his testimony says, is reserved for the State Legislature. </p>
<p>Beyond the legal ramifications, said Shobowale, the numbers don&#8217;t lie. Data showed 39 cities with wage standards of $10 had a 2.2 percent dip in employment of low-skilled workers, according to Shobowale&#8217;s testimony. </p>
<p>Immediately following the administration&#8217;s testimony, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who initially pushed the living wage proposal, delivered his own figures. He cited the research of <a href="http://www.peri.umass.edu/staff/">Robert Pollin of the University of Massachusetts.<br />
</a><br />
The living wage debate first came to the fore when the City Council rejected a proposal to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, because the developer refused to sign onto a living wage mandate. At today&#8217;s hearing, Diaz contended it was the Bloomberg administration who walked away from the deal for fear of &#8220;starting a precedent.&#8221;</p>
<p>Regardless, the decision whether to act on the mandate &#8212; at least for now &#8212; rests with Quinn. In what could be a sign of her feelings about the proposal, today&#8217;s hearing was relegated to a small hearing room in the council&#8217;s office building instead of the larger hearing space at the Emigrant Savings Bank. Supporters of the bill said they requested to use the larger space.</p>
<p>&#8220;I guess the speaker&#8217;s office was unable to arrange it,&#8221; said <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/11/koppell-would-consider-motion-to-discharge-for-living-wage/">Councilmember Oliver Koppell,</a> one of the bill&#8217;s primary sponsors. </p>
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		<title>Koppell Would Consider Motion to Discharge for Living Wage</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/11/koppell-would-consider-motion-to-discharge-for-living-wage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/11/koppell-would-consider-motion-to-discharge-for-living-wage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2011 19:51:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></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[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[living wage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oliver Koppell]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9511</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Councilmember Oliver Koppell told Gotham Gazette today he would consider triggering a rare council rule to bring his living wage bill to the floor should Council Speaker Christine Quinn choose to oppose it. 
&#8220;I would consider it, yes,&#8221; said Koppell at the Emigrant Savings Bank. &#8220;I&#8217;m hoping it doesn&#8217;t come to that. I&#8217;m hoping to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://council.nyc.gov/d11/html/members/home.shtml">Councilmember Oliver Koppell</a> told Gotham Gazette today he would consider triggering a rare council rule to bring his <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=664291&#038;GUID=A83A5A5B-9589-4589-AAD7-5B2C6884610F&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">living wage bill</a> to the floor should Council Speaker Christine Quinn choose to oppose it. </p>
<p>&#8220;I would consider it, yes,&#8221; said Koppell at the Emigrant Savings Bank. &#8220;I&#8217;m hoping it doesn&#8217;t come to that. I&#8217;m hoping to convince the speaker to support this or some version of this.&#8221;</p>
<p>Typically legislation does not move at the City Council unless it has earned the support of the speaker. Quinn <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/11/quinn-mum-on-living-wage-decision/">refused to say</a> this afternoon whether she would bring the legislation to the floor or when she would decide whether or not to support it. </p>
<p>The bill, which has strong backing from many of the city&#8217;s unions, would require city subsidized developers pay a living wage. The Bloomberg adminsitration does not support the measure. On Monday, the city Economic Development Corp. <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/09/living-wage-study-says-policy-costs-jobs/">released a study</a> claiming a wage mandate would stall development and reduce jobs in the five boroughs. </p>
<p>Koppell said today, &#8220;The assumptions of the mayor are more than questionable.&#8221; </p>
<p>Koppell&#8217;s bill has been <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=664291&#038;GUID=A83A5A5B-9589-4589-AAD7-5B2C6884610F&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">stalled in committee</a> for nearly a year, despite the fact it has garnered 30 sponsors. </p>
<p>At the beginning of Quinn&#8217;s tenure &#8212; and in the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20100208/203/3165">name of transparency</a> &#8212; Quinn revised the council rules to make it easier to bring a bill to the floor if it was stalled in committee. A council member must get <a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2780/4149998185_aecea8a3bf_o.jpg">seven members to sign a memo</a> to bring the bill to the floor. The full council then determines whether the legislation should have a formal vote.  </p>
<p>This procedure is rarely ever used and is considered an affront to the speaker&#8217;s leadership. </p>
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		<title>Quinn Mum on Living Wage Decision</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/11/quinn-mum-on-living-wage-decision/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/11/quinn-mum-on-living-wage-decision/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2011 18:42:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></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[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9502</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Council Speaker Christine Quinn refused to take a position on legislation to require a living wage this afternoon, but instead said she would review a recently released study and forthcoming testimony on the matter. 
The Economic Development Corp. released a study Monday which found requiring a living wage mandate at city subsidized developments would result [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Council Speaker Christine Quinn refused to take a position on legislation to require a living wage this afternoon, but instead said she would review a <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/10/clash-at-ida-board-over-study/">recently released study</a> and forthcoming testimony on the matter. </p>
<p>The Economic Development Corp. <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/09/living-wage-study-says-policy-costs-jobs/">released a study Monday</a> which found requiring a living wage mandate at city subsidized developments would result in job losses. <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=664291&#038;GUID=A83A5A5B-9589-4589-AAD7-5B2C6884610F&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">Legislation to require such wage mandates</a> has been pending at the council for more than a year. </p>
<p>The bill will get its first hearing tomorrow, and both opponents and supporters are scheduled to make a strong showing. Quinn said today she would not attend the hearing. </p>
<p>&#8220;We are looking forward to a robust hearing,&#8221; Quinn said. &#8220;I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing the testimony from both the proponents and the opponents. Having the portions of the EDC report that are out there will make the hearing a more informed and interesting hearing.&#8221;</p>
<p>When asked if she knew when she would make a decision on whether to bring the bill to a vote, Quinn said: &#8220;When I have one.&#8221;</p>
<p>Quinn would not say whether the bill would eventually get to the floor.</p>
<p>Already 30 council members have signed on to the legislation. The lead sponsors of the bill, council members Oliver Koppell and Annabal Palma, could file a motion to discharge &#8212; which would send the bill to the floor if it had enough support outside of the speaker&#8217;s office. The move has only occurred once during Quinn&#8217;s tenure. </p>
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		<title>Case Management Back on the Chopping Block</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/10/case-management-back-on-the-chopping-block/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/10/case-management-back-on-the-chopping-block/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 May 2011 21:44:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bobbie sackman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[case management cuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[department for the aging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[senior centers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9489</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Back in March, the city&#8217;s Department for the Aging was prepared to close more than 100 senior centers thanks to a cut in the state budget. 
Those centers were eventually given a reprieve from the State Legislature. 
Some expected senior centers, a frequent target in the Bloomberg administration&#8217;s recent budget cuts, to make it back [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Back in March, the city&#8217;s Department for the Aging was <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/03/list-of-senior-centers-to-close-released/">prepared to close more than 100</a> senior centers thanks to a cut in the state budget. </p>
<p>Those centers were eventually given a reprieve from the State Legislature. </p>
<p>Some expected senior centers, a <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/city-selects-fifty-senior-centers-to-close/">frequent target in the Bloomberg administration&#8217;s recent budget cuts</a>, to make it back on the chopping block <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110509/203/3522">last week.</a> But it was the opposite.  </p>
<p>The city will open about 10 new &#8220;innovative&#8221; senior centers in the next fiscal year, said a spokesperson at the department. Some will be completely new centers, others will be expansions of existing facilities. One of the centers will be exclusively for LGBT elderly. </p>
<p>&#8220;Innovative senior centers will have bigger budgets, have focus on health and wellness and still provide meals, information and referrals,&#8221; said Christopher Miller, a spokesperson for the Department for the Aging. </p>
<p>The news has not quelled opposition from advocates for the elderly, who still say the mayor&#8217;s executive budget proposal hurts senior services. </p>
<p>Bobbie Sackman, the director of public policy at the <a href="http://cscs-ny.org/index.php">Council of Senior Centers and Services</a>, pointed to the largest cut in the department &#8212; a $6.6 million <a href="http://www.cscs-ny.org/advocacy/Case-Management-budget-cut-section.php">decrease for case management services</a>. The same <a href="http://www.ny1.com/Content/news_beats/politics/129192/senior-services-among-items-outlined-in-budget-cuts/">cut was proposed</a> by the Bloomberg adminsitration last year, but the City Council <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110107/203/3447">reversed it</a>. </p>
<p>This time around the department plans to cut about 30 percent from its case management contracts, which now link 18,000 seniors to services. </p>
<p>&#8220;Some of them are just going to drop through the cracks,&#8221; said Sackman. &#8220;There is only so much you can do when you lose a third of your work force.&#8221;</p>
<p>Sackman and other advocates will rally at City Hall tomorrow to draw attention to the cuts. </p>
<p>With so many other cuts under consideration, including thousands of teacher layoffs, it&#8217;s unclear whether this will become a priority at the City Council. </p>
<p>In response to the criticism, Miller said, &#8220;The Department for the Aging will work with its case management provider agencies to consider alternate ways to restructure the service to minimize the impact on the city’s most fragile and isolated seniors.&#8221; </p>
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		<title>Clash at IDA Board Over Study</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/10/clash-at-ida-board-over-study/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/10/clash-at-ida-board-over-study/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 May 2011 16:26:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Council Speaker Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic development corp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seth pinsky]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9475</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A small spat erupted at this morning&#8217;s Industrial Development Agency board meeting, when Bronx borough president appointee Albert Rodriguez questioned the legitimacy and release of the city&#8217;s living wage study. 
Rodriguez chastised the Economic Development Corp., which is the parent agency to the Industrial Development Agency, for hastily releasing the study&#8217;s executive summary to the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A small spat erupted at this morning&#8217;s <a href="http://www.nycedc.com/FinancingIncentives/NYCIDA/Pages/NYCIDA.aspx">Industrial Development Agency board meeting</a>, when <a href="http://www.nycedc.com/AboutUs/WhoWeAre/BoardOfDirectors/Pages/NYCIDAandNYCCRCDirectorBiographies.aspx">Bronx borough president appointee Albert Rodriguez</a> questioned the legitimacy and release of the city&#8217;s living wage study. </p>
<p>Rodriguez chastised the Economic Development Corp., which is the parent agency to the Industrial Development Agency, for hastily releasing the study&#8217;s executive summary to the press before giving a copy to the board on Monday. He also seriously questioned the report&#8217;s findings, which suggest a living wage mandate for city subsidized developments would result in job losses. <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=664291&#038;GUID=A83A5A5B-9589-4589-AAD7-5B2C6884610F&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">Legislation</a> to require similar wage standards is currently ruminating at the City Council. </p>
<p>Rodriguez called the study &#8220;political football for the interest of the Bloomberg adminsitration&#8221; and &#8220;very flawed.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;This was a waste of money,&#8221; Rodriguez said. &#8220;We could have hired nine more teachers.&#8221; </p>
<p>The IDA board authorized the agency to spend $1 million on the study, which was conducted by Boston-based consulting firm, <a href="http://www.crai.com/">Charles River Associates</a>. </p>
<p>The study&#8217;s executive summary was released yesterday afternoon in anticipation of a City Council hearing scheduled for Thursday, said <a href="http://www.nycedc.com/AboutUs/WhoWeAre/PresidentBio/Pages/PresidentsBio.aspx">EDC President Seth Pinsky</a>. The City Council had asked the agency to accelerate the study&#8217;s release so it could discuss the findings at the hearing. The full report will be released in the &#8220;coming weeks,&#8221; Pinsky said. </p>
<p>In defense of the study, Pinsky said it was &#8220;disappointing&#8221; officials would allege the agency was playing politics. </p>
<p>&#8220;I think [the study] is very similar, in fact, to the approach that&#8217;s been taken on many of the studies that have been cited by proponents of wage mandates,&#8221; Pinsky said. &#8220;What the study found was the legislation that has been proposed in the City Council here in New York is dramatically different from wage mandate legislation that has been proposed across the country. The additional requirements that are put into this particular legislation&#8230; they would make it extremely difficult and unlikely that people would continue to take the benefits.&#8221; </p>
<p>Pinsky said there are other ways to create better &#8220;living standards,&#8221; including expanding the benefits of the <a href="http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96406,00.html">earned income tax credit.</a> Any change in that tax credit would need federal, state and city approval. Pinsky also said the agency is conducting an internal study on how it can expand jobs in various middle income sectors, like construction or health care. </p>
<p>&#8220;There is nobody on either side of this debate who doesn&#8217;t want to figure out a way to raise the living standards of the least fortunate members of society,&#8221; Pinsky said. &#8220;The question is: Is this the right way to do it?&#8221;</p>
<p>The study found living wage policies would increase the standard wage at city subsidized developments, but could result in substantial job losses &#8212; anywhere from 33,000 to 100,000. Immediately after the executive summary was released, a Bloomberg spokesperson reiterated the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/09/living-wage-study-says-policy-costs-jobs/">administration&#8217;s opposition to the bill</a>. </p>
<p>Rodriguez too is not without political motives. His boss, <a href="http://bronxboropres.nyc.gov/">Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.</a>, proposed the living wage legislation after the City Council <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20091215/203/3126">rejected a proposal to develop</a> the Kingsbridge Armory in the borough. The proposal was defeated because the developer would not promise to force tenants to pay a living wage.<br />
<span id="more-9475"></span><br />
When asked whether the study would hurt the bill&#8217;s chances, Rodriguez told Gotham Gazette this morning: &#8220;It&#8217;s the council that will make this decision&#8230; We&#8217;re hopeful that the legislation will get passed and it will go to the floor. And if the mayor wants to veto it, we&#8217;ll have enough votes.&#8221;</p>
<p>Currently, the bill has 30 sponsors, but Council Speaker Christine Quinn has yet to take a position. Quinn controls the council&#8217;s agenda. </p>
<p>Both Quinn and Diaz are prospective mayoral candidates in 2013. You can bet that race will factor into Quinn&#8217;s decision to support or oppose the bill. </p>
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		<title>Living Wage Study Says Policy Costs Jobs</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/09/living-wage-study-says-policy-costs-jobs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/09/living-wage-study-says-policy-costs-jobs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 May 2011 22:11:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[living wage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national employment law projec]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[paul sonn]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9471</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After much anticipation, the city Economic Development Corp. released a $1 million study on living wage policy today, which finds implementing higher pay standards at city subsidized developments would cost jobs. 
The study examines legislation at the City Council to require any entity who recieves more than $100,000 in financial assistance from the city to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After much anticipation, the city Economic Development Corp. released a $1 million study on living wage policy today, which finds implementing higher pay standards at city subsidized developments would cost jobs. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/08/12/firm-selected-for-living-wage-study/">study</a> examines legislation at the City Council to require any entity who recieves more than $100,000 in financial assistance from the city to pay a living wage. Thirty council members have signed on in support of the measure. Council Speaker Christine Quinn has not revealed her position. Although the speaker has Ok&#8217;d a hearing on the bill, which is scheduled for Thursday. </p>
<p>The adminsitration <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/08/12/firm-selected-for-living-wage-study/">called for the study</a>, which was conducted by Boston-based consulting firm <a href="http://www.crai.com/">Charles River Associates</a>, last year after the City Council <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/work/20100115/22/3147">defeated a controversial development</a> at the Kingsbridge Armory. The developer refused to guarantee tenants of the proposal would pay a living wage. </p>
<p>The study found certain development projects would no longer be &#8220;financially feasible&#8221; if the city adopted a living wage mandate. As a result, it argues, the city would lose jobs. </p>
<p>In response to the study, Andrew Brent, a mayoral spokesperson, released the following statement: </p>
<blockquote><p>“The study is clear: the legislation would result in major job losses at all income levels and particularly among low-income New Yorkers. The biggest job losses would occur in the areas with the highest unemployment at a time when too many New Yorkers are without jobs as it is. The legislation would have a very harmful effect on growth opportunities of small businesses and the creation of affordable housing, and it would reduce overall private investment in New York City by an estimated $7 billion. Aggregate wages among low-skilled workers would not change because any gains among some workers would be more than offset by families losing employment opportunities entirely. The goal of increasing wages among New Yorkers of course is a good one, but this type of approach in other cities hasn’t just failed, it’s done so with severe consequences for job-seekers and businesses.”</p></blockquote>
<p>But not everyone was thrilled with the results. In response to the study, Comptroller John Liu (a frequent critic of the Economic Development Corp.) released the following statement: </p>
<blockquote><p>“The EDC’s claim that a living wage kills jobs shows just how distorted the agency’s operations have become.  The proposed living wage would be a requirement on new projects that are heavily subsidized by taxpayers.  It may curtail the number of new minimum wage jobs, with the hope that these new jobs would then pay a decent wage.  The claim of job losses is rhetoric at its worst.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Asked what he thinks the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/06/08/living-wage-study-gets-approved-with-skepticism/">study means for the living wage legislation</a> currently under consideration at the City Council, <a href="http://www.nelp.org/site/about_us/legal_co_director2">Paul Sonn</a>, legal co-director of the National Employment Law Project, still seemed optimistic. </p>
<p>&#8220;The council I&#8217;m sure will give it careful consideration,&#8221; Sonn said. &#8220;We expect them to look at more rigorous research, which includes other studies and hearing the real world experiences of other cities.&#8221;</p>
<p>And for your reading pleasure: </p>
<p><a title="View Living Wage Exec Summary_2011 05 09 on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/55044056/Living-Wage-Exec-Summary-2011-05-09" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Living Wage Exec Summary_2011 05 09</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/55044056/content?start_page=1&#038;view_mode=list&#038;access_key=key-10muu8v3360uh719kp8p" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.772727272727273" scrolling="no" id="doc_52795" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();</script></p>
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		<title>Bloomberg Releases Budget, Slashes Teachers</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/06/bloomberg-releases-budget-slashes-teachers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/06/bloomberg-releases-budget-slashes-teachers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 May 2011 18:13:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[budget]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[steve levin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9462</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As expected, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a $65.7 billion budget this morning, which slashes 6,166 teaching positions, would close 20 fire companies and shutter four swimming pools this summer. 
Bloomberg deflected all of the blame for the fiscal pain. Instead, he pointed towards Albany and Washington.
&#8220;Both places are keeping our tax dollars to close their [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/05/more-budget-cuts-more-budget-blame/">expected</a>, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/omb/html/publications/finplan05_11.shtml">$65.7 billion budget</a> this morning, which slashes 6,166 teaching positions, would close 20 fire companies and shutter four swimming pools this summer. </p>
<p>Bloomberg <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%2F2011a%2Fpr141-11.html&#038;cc=unused1978&#038;rc=1194&#038;ndi=1">deflected</a> all of the blame for the fiscal pain. Instead, he pointed towards Albany and Washington.</p>
<p>&#8220;Both places are keeping our tax dollars to close their budget deficits,&#8221; Bloomberg said. &#8220;If the state was paying 50 percent of the Department of Education, we would not be talking about laying off teachers.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Bloomberg did not hesitate to blame Albany, he also acknowledged the city was unlikely to receive any reprieve from the state or federal government. For now, the city will use the remainder of its surplus to close the budget hole. </p>
<p>The mayor&#8217;s executive plan did back away from slashing <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/138596/ny1-exclusive--ny1-marist-poll-finds-giuliani-has-most-state-republican-support--trump-trails-far-behind">16,000 child care slots</a> &#8212; the result of a loss in federal funding. The administration plans to save the positions by expanding after school programs and increasing funding for the Administration for Children&#8217;s Services. The cost of the slots was originally put at $91 million. Officials said the program could be saved with just $40 million. </p>
<p>Advocates and council members, however, questioned the mayor&#8217;s calculations. </p>
<p>&#8220;With the budget released today, the administration is continuing its assault on early childhood education by cutting $50 million from our city&#8217;s child care,&#8221; said Councilman Steve Levin. &#8220;It is an outrageous sleight of hand that this administration would present itself as the savior of child care while simultaneously destroying it for thousands of New Yorkers. It&#8217;s like someone starting a fire, just so he could take the credit for putting 40 percent of that fire out.&#8221;    </p>
<p>In a joint statement, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Finance Chairman Domenic Recchia identified teacher layoffs, the child care cuts, a 29 percent cut to libraries and fire companies as their top priorities. </p>
<p>&#8220;Since the recent financial crisis and recession, the City Council has worked aggressively to control spending and manage the city’s budget in a fiscally responsible manner while protecting vital services,&#8221; they said. &#8220;That’s why we have grave concerns about a budget that allows for teacher layoffs, which would be immensely damaging to our education system and children&#8217;s opportunities for a quality education. Make no mistake, we will do everything in our power to prevent teacher layoffs.&#8221;<br />
<span id="more-9462"></span><br />
The council is expected to identify other areas of the budget to cut instead. Already, council officials are calling on the mayor to find savings in its outside contracting. </p>
<p>This latest proposal represents the 10th round of cuts for the Big Apple in three years. In order for the council to stave off teacher layoffs, officials would have to identify $435 million in additional savings, according to the Bloomberg administration. To prevent the fire company closures, it would have to find another $55 million. </p>
<p>The council will kick off their budget hearings next week. The mayor and the council must reach a budget agreement before July 1. </p>
<p>More analysis and reaction to come later. </p>
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		<title>Walcott Visits the Council</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/08/walcott-visits-the-council/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/08/walcott-visits-the-council/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:32:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[letitia james]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Robert Jackson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9368</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In his first visit to the City Council as the schools chancellor designee, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott was informed, cordial and calm. 
Most council members lauded him. All of them offered congratulations. 
&#8220;You are much more knowledgeable than Cathie Black,&#8221; said Councilmember Letitia James. &#8220;You are much more accessible.&#8221;
And that praise came despite the fact [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In his first visit to the City Council as the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110408/203/3507">schools chancellor designee</a>, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott was <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/04/08/2011-04-08_dennis_walcott_speaks_to_the_daily_news_editorial_board_the_new_chancellor_chart.html">informed, cordial and calm. </a></p>
<p>Most council members lauded him. All of them offered congratulations. </p>
<p>&#8220;You are much more knowledgeable than Cathie Black,&#8221; said Councilmember Letitia James. &#8220;You are much more accessible.&#8221;</p>
<p>And that praise came despite the fact Walcott was the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110218/203/3468">bearer of bad news.</a> Toeing the administration&#8217;s line, Walcott slammed state budget cuts to the five boroughs, claiming the city was treated unfairly. While the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/education/20050217/6/1325">Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit</a> was supposed to give the city its fair share of education aid, Walcott said city revenue would cover 61 percent of non-federal education spending in next year&#8217;s budget. The state would only cover 39 percent.</p>
<p>Walcott claimed the vast majority of controllable costs at the Department of Education go to teachers&#8217; salaries. The only way to close a $1 billion budget gap, he said, would be to lay off teachers. </p>
<p>&#8220;That means, with a budget shortfall of this magnitude, a reduction in headcount is unavoidable,&#8221; Walcott said. </p>
<p>There was some dispute between Walcott and Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson on the administration&#8217;s proposal to repeal the <a href="http://tuskstrategies.com/index.cfm?objectid=7ADA619A-39DE-11E0-B3FE000C296BA163">city&#8217;s last in, first out policy</a> &#8212; which requires the city lay off teachers based on seniority. The policy&#8217;s repeal is a major goal of the Bloomberg adminsitration this year. </p>
<p>Walcott said the city has incentives for principals to keep teachers based on skill instead of how much their salary is. Jackson, however, said the repeal of LIFO could spur discrimination &#8212; with principals getting rid of the more senior, expensive instructors in favor of cheaper, younger ones. </p>
<p>Ultimately, Jackson said, the issue is moot.<br />
<span id="more-9368"></span><br />
&#8220;You and I know the issue of LIFO is a dead issue,&#8221; said Jackson, referring to the State Assembly&#8217;s opposition. &#8220;You can beat a dead horse to the ground.&#8221;</p>
<p>Council members also took issue with the administration&#8217;s claim it would take $700 million to prevent teacher layoffs. In its preliminary budget, the administration put the price tag at $269 million.  </p>
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		<title>Bloomberg Takes &quot;Full Responsibility&quot;</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/07/bloomberg-takes-full-responsibility/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/07/bloomberg-takes-full-responsibility/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:13:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Cathie Black]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dennis Walcott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Department of Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schools chancellor]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9359</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an unprecedented reversal for the Bloomberg adminsitration, Schools Chancellor Cathie Black stepped down this morning just after several of her top deputies resigned and a poll gave her a failing approval rating.

At City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he spoke with Black this morning, and they &#8220;mutually agreed&#8221; it was time for her to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In an unprecedented reversal for the Bloomberg adminsitration, Schools Chancellor <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/07/black-is-out/">Cathie Black stepped down</a> this morning just after several of her top deputies resigned and a poll gave her a <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/136765/ny1-exclusive--schools-chancellor-cathie-black-s-approval-rating-dips-further">failing approval rating.<br />
</a><br />
At City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he spoke with Black this morning, and they &#8220;mutually agreed&#8221; it was time for her to go. The decision follows a NY1/Marist College poll that put Black&#8217;s approval rating at 17 percent. <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.047d873163b300bc6c4451f401c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=nyc_photo_slide&#038;catID=1194&#038;doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2Fbios%2Fbio_om_dm_policy.html">Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott</a> will replace Black. </p>
<p>The announcement culminates what will likely be the shortest tenure as chancellor in history. Black was selected in November. Her stint was punctuated by <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2011/01/mayor-bloomberg-on-chancellor-cathie-blacks-birth-control-joke-she-apologized">embarrassing gaffes</a> and a <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/education/20110216/6/3465">lack of confidence in her ability</a> to improve the city&#8217;s public school system. Today&#8217;s announcement surprised and shocked many and represented a rare defeat for the third term mayor, who has often balked at admitting mistakes. </p>
<p>This morning, though, was different. </p>
<p>&#8220;I take full responsibility that this has not worked out,&#8221; Bloomberg said. </p>
<p>At the same time, Bloomberg was hesitant to reflect on why Black failed. He repeatedly urged the media to &#8220;look forward&#8221; and not dwell on her three-month stint. </p>
<p>&#8220;The story had become about her, and it should be about the students,&#8221; Bloomberg said. </p>
<p>During the humbling news conference, Bloomberg said Black had done an &#8220;admirable job&#8221; and had nothing but &#8220;respect and admiration for her.&#8221; He also said leading the nation&#8217;s largest public school system was &#8220;difficult.&#8221; </p>
<p>Unlike Black, who sent her children to private school and had no teaching experience, Walcott has taught kindergarten and served on the former Board of Education as well as an adjunct professor at York College. He sent his children to New York City public schools. </p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Black is Out</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/07/black-is-out/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/07/black-is-out/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:13:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cathie Black]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Department of Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9357</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The New York Times is reporting Cathie Black will step down as schools chancellor this morning following a tumultuous week of resignations and lowly poll numbers. 
Just yesterday, John White, a deputy chancellor, announced his resignation &#8212; the latest in a string of education officials to abandon the department.
Earlier this week, a Marist College/NY1 poll [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The New York Times is <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/cathie-black-is-out-as-chancellor/?hp">reporting</a> Cathie Black will step down as schools chancellor this morning following a tumultuous week of resignations and lowly poll numbers. </p>
<p>Just yesterday, John White, a deputy chancellor, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704101604576247522036202468.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTTopStories">announced his resignation</a> &#8212; the latest in a string of education officials to abandon the department.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, a Marist College/NY1 poll gave Black an <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/136989/sources--schools-chancellor-cathie-black-to-be-replaced">approval rating of 17 percent.<br />
</a><br />
Stay tuned. </p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Vote Breakdown for Koch Queensboro</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/24/vote-breakdown-for-koch-queensboro/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/24/vote-breakdown-for-koch-queensboro/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:08:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ed Koch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ed koch queensboro bridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[queensboro bridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vote]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9322</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We have had a number of requests for a breakdown of yesterday&#8217;s vote on the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. 
(We cover the debate this morning here.)
So, without further ado, here you go: 
Maria Del Carmen Arroyo &#8212; absent
Charles Barron &#8212; no
Gale A. Brewer &#8212; yes
Fernando Cabrera &#8212; yes
Margaret S. Chin &#8212; no
Leroy G. Comrie, Jr. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have had a number of requests for a breakdown of <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=824125&#038;GUID=EC42D52E-FB08-4A30-9BC6-8C49281FE074&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">yesterday&#8217;s vote</a> on the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110324/203/3495">Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.</a> </p>
<p>(We cover the debate this <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110324/203/3495">morning here</a>.)</p>
<p>So, without further ado, here you go: </p>
<p>Maria Del Carmen Arroyo &#8212; absent<br />
Charles Barron &#8212; no<br />
Gale A. Brewer &#8212; yes<br />
Fernando Cabrera &#8212; yes<br />
Margaret S. Chin &#8212; no<br />
Leroy G. Comrie, Jr. &#8212; no<br />
Elizabeth S. Crowley &#8212; yes<br />
Inez E. Dickens &#8212; yes<br />
Erik Martin Dilan &#8212; yes<br />
Daniel Dromm &#8212; yes<br />
Mathieu Eugene &#8212; yes<br />
Julissa Ferreras &#8212; yes<br />
Lewis A. Fidler  &#8212; yes<br />
Helen D. Foster &#8212; no<br />
Daniel R. Garodnick &#8212; no<br />
<span id="more-9322"></span><br />
James F. Gennaro &#8212; yes<br />
Vincent J. Gentile &#8212; yes<br />
Sara M. Gonzalez &#8212; yes<br />
David G. Greenfield &#8212; yes<br />
Daniel J. Halloran III &#8212; no<br />
Vincent M. Ignizio &#8212; yes<br />
Robert Jackson &#8212; yes<br />
Letitia James &#8212; no<br />
Peter A. Koo &#8212; yes<br />
G. Oliver Koppell &#8212; yes<br />
Karen Koslowitz &#8212; yes<br />
Brad S. Lander 	&#8211; yes<br />
Jessica S. Lappin &#8212; yes<br />
Stephen T. Levin &#8212; yes<br />
Melissa Mark-Viverito &#8212; yes<br />
Darlene Mealy &#8212; yes<br />
Rosie Mendez &#8212; yes<br />
Michael C. Nelson &#8212; yes<br />
James S. Oddo &#8212; yes<br />
Annabel Palma &#8212; yes<br />
Christine C. Quinn &#8212; yes<br />
Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. &#8212; yes<br />
Diana Reyna &#8212; yes<br />
Joel Rivera &#8212; yes<br />
Ydanis A. Rodriguez &#8212; yes<br />
Deborah L. Rose &#8212; no<br />
James Sanders, Jr. &#8212; yes<br />
Larry B. Seabrook &#8212; yes<br />
Eric A. Ulrich &#8212; yes<br />
James Vacca &#8212; yes<br />
Peter F. Vallone, Jr. &#8212; no<br />
James G. Van Bramer &#8212; no<br />
Albert Vann &#8212; no<br />
Mark S. Weprin &#8212; yes<br />
Thomas White, Jr. &#8212; yes<br />
Jumaane D. Williams &#8212; no</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Replacing Indian Point</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/23/replacing-indian-point/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/23/replacing-indian-point/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:32:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planyc 2030]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planyc 2939]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[steven cohen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waste-to-energy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9317</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today we cover the Bloomberg administration&#8217;s renewed interest in developing waste-to-energy facilities &#8212; or plants that burn or heat garbage to create energy. 
The administration&#8217;s interests are even more timely since Gov. Andrew Cuomo, experts and advocates have called for the closure of Indian Point. 
(It should be noted that Mayor Michael Bloomberg does not [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today we cover the Bloomberg administration&#8217;s <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110323/203/3494">renewed interest in developing</a> waste-to-energy facilities &#8212; or plants that burn or heat garbage to create energy. </p>
<p>The administration&#8217;s interests are even more timely since Gov. Andrew Cuomo, experts and advocates have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/nyregion/23indian.html?partner=rss&#038;emc=rss">called for the closure</a> of Indian Point. </p>
<p>(It should be noted that Mayor Michael Bloomberg <a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/03/18/skepticism-grows-about-safety-of-indian-point-nuclear-power-plant/">does not share their opinion</a>. He said last week: “We need energy in this city, and the first thing we have to do is take a very close look at what happened in Japan and see if there’s any lessons that we should learn from that and any improvements that we should learn and make at Indian Point.&#8221;)</p>
<p>Indian Point provides up to 30 percent of New York City&#8217;s electricity. Steven Cohen, the <a href="http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2252">executive director of Columbia University&#8217;s Earth Institute</a>, estimates waste-to-energy could provide about 10 percent of the city&#8217;s <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/games/switch/games/index.php?game=switch">needed megawatt hours.  </a></p>
<p>&#8220;Particularly if you&#8217;d like to get rid of the Indian Point plant, generating 10 percent of the city&#8217;s energy from garbage would be feasible,&#8221; said Cohen. &#8220;What would you rather have? Would you rather have these trucks driving around the city polluting and a nuclear power plant, or would you rather close that down and have a bunch of waste to energy plants?&#8221;</p>
<p>Cohen supports the development of small-scale plants throughout the city. </p>
<p>For more on the debate, go <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110323/203/3494">here</a>. </p>
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		<title>Brennan Tries to Block Crash Tax (UPDATE)</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/18/brennan-tries-to-block-crash-tax/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/18/brennan-tries-to-block-crash-tax/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:24:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alabny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crash tax]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fdny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jim brennan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9300</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Assemblymember Jim Brennan is taking aim at the Fire Department&#8217;s proposed crash tax by introducing legislation in Albany that would prohibit the city from charging drivers for services provided at the scene of an accident. 
The controversial tax is part of the FDNY&#8217;s attempt to close a looming budget gap. The department already has 20 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/James-F-Brennan">Assemblymember Jim Brennan</a> is taking aim at the Fire Department&#8217;s proposed <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/01/14/city_council_grills_fdny_over_propo.php">crash tax</a> by introducing legislation in Albany that would prohibit the city from charging drivers for services provided at the scene of an accident. </p>
<p>The controversial tax is part of the FDNY&#8217;s attempt to close a looming budget gap. The department already has <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110311/203/3485">20 fire companies on the chopping block. </a></p>
<p>The tax, which other cities across the country have implemented, would require drivers to pay between $365 and $490 if the Fire Department responds to a motor vehicle accident. The tax would <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2010/dec/10/bloomberg-backs-crash-tax/">not need City Council approval </a>and is scheduled to go into effect in July.</p>
<p>“City residents already pay taxes for these core, fundamental, public-safety services.  People should not have to check their wallets before calling for the police or fire departments to respond to an accident,” Brennan said.</p>
<p>Though <a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/12/11/local-lawmakers-line-up-against-fdny-crash-tax/">dozens of officials</a> have criticized the tax, it&#8217;s unclear whether the proposal has support of the full State Legislature. </p>
<p>UPDATE: Brennan&#8217;s office said they don&#8217;t know whether the State Senate would support the measure, but they have 23 co-sponsors in the Assembly. </p>
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		<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>
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		<title>Third Term Woes Upon Us</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/16/third-term-woes-upon-us/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/16/third-term-woes-upon-us/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:31:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[approval rating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quinnipiac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9282</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg&#8217;s approval rating has fallen to its lowest point in eight years, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released this morning. 
More than half of New York City voters &#8212; 51 percent to be exact &#8212; disapprove of the job the mayor is doing, while 39 percent approve of him. His approval [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://nyc.gov/">Mayor Michael Bloomberg&#8217;s</a> approval rating has fallen to its lowest point in <a href="http://www.nysun.com/new-york/poll-shows-mayors-approval-rating-reaching/23234/">eight years</a>, according to a new <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1302.xml?ReleaseID=1567">Quinnipiac University poll </a>released this morning. </p>
<p>More than half of New York City voters &#8212; 51 percent to be exact &#8212; disapprove of the job the mayor is doing, while 39 percent approve of him. His approval rating plummets further on <a href="http://www.silive.com/">Staten Island</a>, where only 27 percent of voters are happy with Hizzoner and 66 percent are unhappy. </p>
<p>Voters&#8217; vitriol is aimed squarely at Bloomberg. Every other elected official has their highest ratings ever &#8212; 44 to 16 percent for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, 54 to 16 percent for Comptroller John Liu and 55 to 25 percent for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly enjoyed the highest approval rating &#8212; 67 percent to 20 percent.</p>
<p>More than two-thirds of New Yorkers rated the administration&#8217;s handling of the December blizzard either &#8220;not so good&#8221; or &#8220;poor.&#8221; </p>
<p>However, there was some good news today for the mayor. </p>
<p>Nearly three-quarters of New Yorkers say where the mayor spends his weekends or vacations is a private matter and he should not have to disclose where he is. But 84 percent said Bloomberg should have to say who is in charge when he is not around. </p>
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		<title>Regulation of Bus Companies Questioned</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/15/regulation-of-bus-companies-questioned/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/15/regulation-of-bus-companies-questioned/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:07:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bronx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chinatown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chrales schumer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chuck Schumer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[discount buses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Super Luxury Tours]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9269</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just hours after officials called for stricter safety regulations for discount buses departing from Chinatown yesterday, another fatal accident took the lives of two more passengers. 
A Super Luxury Tours bus headed for Philadelphia slammed into a guardrail on the New Jersey Turnpike, killing the driver and another passenger. The crash came just three days [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just hours after officials called for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqiSssIbyEw">stricter safety regulations</a> for discount buses departing from Chinatown yesterday, another fatal accident took the lives of two more passengers. </p>
<p>A Super Luxury Tours bus headed for Philadelphia <a href="http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-breaking-major-bus-crash-on-nj-turnpike-20110314,0,1770630.story">slammed into a guardrail </a>on the New Jersey Turnpike, killing the driver and another passenger. The crash came just three days after a <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/15/ny-bus-drivers-trail-fatal-crash-probed/">brutal accident in the Bronx</a>, which killed 15 people.</p>
<p>“Saturday morning’s crash was a heartbreaking tragedy and requires us to look closely at the safety regulations in place for the discount tour bus industry,” said <a href="http://schumer.senate.gov/">Sen. Charles Schumer</a> in a <a href="http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/record.cfm?id=331866">prepared statement yesterday</a>. “While it’s vital we get to the bottom of what caused Saturday’s crash, we must make sure that the regulations that govern the overall safety of this industry are effective and being followed by operators.”</p>
<p>Schumer wants to see the National Transportation Safety Board <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/14/2011-03-14_sen_chuck_schumer_demands_ntsb_oversight_of_discount_buses_after_fatal_bronx_cra.html">investigate</a> the entire industry. </p>
<p>According to the release, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver <a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&#038;bn=A04578&#038;Summary=Y&#038;Text=Y">introduced legislation</a> last month that would require these discount bus companies, many of which operate from the curbside in Chinatown, to get permits from the city. They are now <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/nyregion/15bus.html?_r=1">regulated</a> exclusively by the <a href="http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/">Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration</a>. His bill would also designate where they can drop off and pick up passengers. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/transportation/td_chinatown_bus.shtml">study</a> from the Department of City Planning, these companies conduct 2,000 trips from Chinatown every week. </p>
<p>We covered the issue last year. For an in-depth look at the controversy, go <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/transportation/20100512/16/3265">here</a>. </p>
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		<title>Fire Department Cuts to Affect &#039;Every Community&#039;</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/11/fire-department-cuts-to-affect-every-community/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/11/fire-department-cuts-to-affect-every-community/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[budget cuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Council Speaker Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elizabeth Crowley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fdny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fire department]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jimmy oddo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uniformed Fire Officers Association]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uniformed Firefighters Association.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9260</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Photo (cc) Just Us 3
Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano didn&#8217;t sugarcoat how fire company cuts would affect the city during a City Council hearing this morning. 
&#8220;Every community in the city will be affected, not just those communities in the first-due areas of the closed companies,&#8221; said Cassano in prepared testimony. &#8220;Twenty closures would require us [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/truck.jpg"><img src="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/truck.jpg" alt="truck" title="truck" width="375" height="281" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9265" /></a>
<div class="photocredit">Photo (cc) <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73835037@N00/138398992/">Just Us 3</a></div>
<p>Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano didn&#8217;t sugarcoat how <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110311/203/3485">fire company cuts would affect </a>the city during a City Council hearing this morning. </p>
<p>&#8220;Every community in the city will be affected, not just those communities in the first-due areas of the closed companies,&#8221; said Cassano in prepared testimony. &#8220;Twenty closures would require us to make adjustments in our operations, which will make it extremely challenging to maintain the same levels of service to the communities we serve.&#8221;</p>
<p>To close a multi-billion dollar budget gap, the Bloomberg adminsitration is <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110218/203/3468">proposing</a> to shutter 20 fire companies to save $55 million next fiscal year. The adminsitration has already reduced staffing from five to four firefighters on 60 engines &#8212; a move fire unions are challenging. </p>
<p>The City Council successfully averted fire company closures for the past three years by plugging the department&#8217;s budget with its own discretionary funding. One councilmember this morning couldn&#8217;t promise they would be able to do the same this year. </p>
<p>&#8220;This council has worked really hard within our body to save these cuts,&#8221; said Councilmember Jimmy Oddo of Staten Island. &#8220;If [Bloomberg] is relying on the council to put this money back, that&#8217;s a lift.&#8221;</p>
<p><em><strong>(We cover the cuts to the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/home2.shtml">Fire Department</a> in depth today <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110311/203/3485">here</a>.)</strong></em></p>
<p>It&#8217;s still unclear what companies would be affected. The Fire Department does not have to release a list until 45 days before the companies are scheduled to close.<br />
<span id="more-9260"></span><br />
Some council members pressed the department this morning to release the list even earlier. Considering the council&#8217;s efforts to save the department from closing companies, Oddo called the lack of disclosure &#8220;an insult.&#8221;</p>
<p>Many council members and the speaker&#8217;s office have said preventing the company closures is a priority this year. But with <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/03/list-of-senior-centers-to-close-released/">105 senior centers</a> and more than <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/nyregion/28layoffs.html">6,000 teachers on the chopping block</a>, it&#8217;s unclear what the council can afford to save. </p>
<p>The chair of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services, Elizabeth Crowley, criticized the department&#8217;s proposed cuts this morning &#8212; in particular the staffing reductions on 60 engine companies. The priorities she laid out today are in line with those of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association and the Uniformed Firefighters Association. </p>
<p>Both of those unions have been <a href="http://councilpedia.org/index.php?title=Labor_(Elizabeth_Crowley)">major contributors</a> to her <a href="http://councilpedia.org/index.php?title=Labor_(Elizabeth_Crowley_2013)">campaign account</a> (For more on the connections between money and politics, see our new tool: <a href="http://councilpedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page">Councilpedia</a>). </p>
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		<title>Walmart Declines Hearing Invitation... Again</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/02/01/walmart-declines-hearing-invitation-again/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/02/01/walmart-declines-hearing-invitation-again/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:54:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Development]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[City Council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Council Speaker Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[walmart]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9053</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This should come as no surprise, but Walmart once again will pass on testifying at a City Council hearing on Thursday.

In a letter dated today, Walmart&#8217;s Philip H. Serghini attempts to strike down anti-Walmart sentiments wafting through the City Council, arguing the retail giant is committed to healthy foods, diversity and jobs. But Serghini says [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This should come as no surprise, but Walmart <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/nyregion/11walmart.html">once again</a> will pass on testifying at a City Council <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=133139&#038;GUID=FCE986EB-29A9-46CF-85C1-9B458C7F89B8&#038;Search=">hearing on Thursday.<br />
</a><br />
In a letter dated today, <a href="http://www.walmart.com/">Walmart</a>&#8217;s Philip H. Serghini attempts to strike down anti-Walmart sentiments wafting through the City Council, arguing the retail giant is committed to <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/19/wal-mart-donates-nyc-food-bank-critics-throw-tomatoes/">healthy foods</a>, diversity and jobs. But Serghini says he could not commit to attending the hearing, because the council is only focused on Walmart and ignores the impact of other big-box stores in the city. You can see his explanation below. </p>
<blockquote><p>The joint hearing, however, does not appear to consider the impact of the hundreds of NYC stores operated by these companies; rather it focuses solely on Walmart.  Since we have not announced a store for New York City, I respectfully suggest the committee first conduct a thoughtful examination of the existing impact of large grocers and retailers on small businesses in New York City before embarking on a hypothetical exercise.</p>
<p>For these reasons and more, we respectfully decline participation in the February 3rd hearing.  </p>
<p>Should the committee decide to conduct the hearing in a more comprehensive manner, we would be happy to revisit our decision.  In the interim, we do feel a responsibility to better inform the planned discussion and share some facts about the company that the committee can share with participants.</p></blockquote>
<p>Earlier this year, Walmart kicked off a major marketing campaign to persuade New Yorkers to support a store within the five boroughs. They are sending out mailers, taking out radio ads and have launched a <a href="http://www.walmartnyc.com/">NYC-centric Web site</a> to corral support. </p>
<p>So far, no one at the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/12/14/2010-12-14_quinn_stands_firm_against_walmart.html">council is budgeting.</a> </p>
<p>The full explanation from Walmart is below. </p>
<p><a title="View Final City Council Letter on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/47997683/Final-City-Council-Letter" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Final City Council Letter</a> <object id="doc_851471996685034" name="doc_851471996685034" height="600" width="100%" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" ><param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque"></param><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=47997683&#038;access_key=key-23d80pcci1c34bnga7is&#038;page=1&#038;viewMode=list"><embed id="doc_851471996685034" name="doc_851471996685034" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=47997683&#038;access_key=key-23d80pcci1c34bnga7is&#038;page=1&#038;viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed></param></object></p>
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		<title>Snow Update from Bloomberg</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/01/27/snow-update-from-bloomberg/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/01/27/snow-update-from-bloomberg/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:42:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[blizzard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[department of sanitation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plowing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9043</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg updated New Yorkers on the progress of snow removal status this morning at City Hall. His remarks, verbatim, are below: 

“Good morning. Let me bring you up to date on the storm that hit our city last night and this morning. The Police Commissioner is here. He has to go to another [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mayor Michael Bloomberg <a href="http://nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/?front_door=true">updated New Yorkers</a> on the progress of snow removal status this morning at City Hall. His remarks, verbatim, are below: </p>
<blockquote><p>
“Good morning. Let me bring you up to date on the storm that hit our city last night and this morning. The Police Commissioner is here. He has to go to another meeting, so unless anybody has any real questions for him – I don’t think you do – when he walks out it isn’t that he doesn’t care, it’s just that I’ve told him do the other meeting.</p>
<p> “When the snow stopped falling at about 4:00 AM, the official reading in Central Park was 19 inches. This is roughly twice the amount of snow that yesterday’s evening National Weather Service forecast told us to expect. And we have now had the snowiest January in New York City history. We have had 36 inches since January 1st, breaking a record last set in 1925.</p>
<p>“The heavy overnight snowfall – which amounted to a foot or more of new snow by the early morning hours – is why we decided to close schools today. Emergency agencies, like police, fire, and the public hospitals, have remained open. And as I said over the course of a dozen or so interviews with TV and radio stations this morning, as transportation options get better, City employees should come in to work.</p>
<p>“The weather emergency that we declared yesterday afternoon remains in effect. Street cleaning and meter regulations will be suspended today and tomorrow. Clearing the streets remains our number one job – and to do that, motorists should please, please refrain from driving.<br />
<span id="more-9043"></span><br />
“If you get stuck, your car will be towed at your expense, and you also prevent us from plowing. So it would be very helpful if people did not use their cars. Thankfully, most car owners appear to have heeded the emergency declaration we issued. We have relatively few reports of stuck vehicles on our roadways and traffic is light.</p>
<p>“First, let me give you an overnight update. The City’s tow truck task force – one of the elements of our new 15-point snow emergency plan that we developed this month – operated overnight out of the Emergency Operations Center at Office of Emergency Management headquarters in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>“OEM Commissioner Joe Bruno reports that dozens of ambulances were stuck at one point or another during the night. However, no patients were left in the stalled ambulances. The stuck ambulances were either rapidly towed out of snowdrifts, or patients were transferred to other ambulances that were dispatched to the scene. EMS reports that road and weather conditions made their response times higher than normal, but no calls ever remained in a queue. And OEM also dispatched snow removal equipment and crews from the Parks and Transportation Departments to clear some emergency entrances and driveways at City hospitals.</p>
<p>“All public and voluntary hospitals in the city remained, and remain, open.</p>
<p> “In terms of power, overnight there were two small, separate episodes of power outages on Staten Island, but as of 7 a.m., power had been restored in both of those cases.</p>
<p>“The MTA bus service was suspended about 12:30 this morning. MTA President Jay Walder is with us and will, in a few minutes, describe storm-related service changes.</p>
<p>“The Sanitation Department’s strategy is to plow as much as they can, where they can, and then return to remove stalled vehicles. </p>
<p>“City public schools, as you know, are closed for the day. After-school programs are closed as well. The combination of mass transit delays and suspensions, and difficult conditions on secondary and tertiary streets, made this decision the only right one for parents, students, and staff. As you know, this is not a decision that we make lightly; we never want our kids to lose a day of school, or their parents to lose a day of work. For the record, this is only the ninth time since 1978 that schools have been closed because of snow. Parents, students and staff should assume that all schools, and all after-school programs, will be open tomorrow.</p>
<p>“We are in discussion with State education officials about finding a solution for students who were unable to take the Regents exams scheduled for today. This is not a problem only for New York City, there are other cities in the southern part of the state that have exactly the same problem. </p>
<p>“Yesterday, the City’s human service agencies responsible for meal deliveries to shut-in or disabled New Yorkers made double deliveries of meals. And we really urge elderly neighbors with any such infirmities to remain in their homes until conditions permit them to get out and get about again. It is slippery and it will be slippery tonight when the warm weather, as it does every night, goes away and things freeze.</p>
<p>“At the moment, our Sanitation Department has 1,700 plows out on the streets cleaning snow. They are being assisted by a few hundred additional plows from the Department of Transportation, the Parks Department, and other agencies. We are also getting help from 128 hired pieces of equipment, including backhoes, bobcats and front-end loaders. And we’re calling in upwards of 1,500 day laborers to shovel out bus stops and crosswalks.</p>
<p> “All primary streets and highways have received at least one pass of the plow – and we’re now working on secondary and some tertiary streets. Our expectation is that by tomorrow morning’s rush hour, all of the city’s streets and roadways will have been plowed. Keep in mind, on some of the secondary and tertiary streets the snow gets plowed to the side where there are cars. When you shovel out your car, it would be helpful if you shovel the snow other than back into the middle of the street. When it gets into the middle of the street, it just gets messy and also gets to be dangerous.</p>
<p>“Even though the storms are passed, there are several steps that New Yorkers can continue to take to make the day easier and safer for everyone. First, people should please use nyc.gov for all information related to the snow. And keep 911 emergency calls to a minimum. If it’s an emergency, 911. If it’s not, please do not use 911. Leave it for people that really need it.</p>
<p>“Let me say something about 311, which is where you can go and we urge you to go. As of 8:30 this morning, 311 had received 145,000 calls since midnight – more than triple the normal number for a 24-hour period, and that puts us on track to match our highest total ever. The system is very busy.  Please go to nyc.gov and it will direct you to 311 online. That will get you quicker response than if you wait in the queue for a person to actually talk to you.</p>
<p>“Second, now that the snow is ended, property owners are obliged to clear the sidewalks in front of their houses and businesses – and if you have a fire hydrant in front of your property, please make sure it is shoveled out, as well. If God forbid there is a fire and fire engines show up, we want them to be able to get water on a fire as quickly as possible. It could save a life. And if they have to start by finding the hydrant and shoveling it out, that just takes precious seconds away from it and that could be life threatening.</p>
<p> “Don’t over exert yourself when you’re shoveling your driveway, sidewalk, walk, car out. This snow is heavy, and if you don’t exercise everyday just take it a little bit easy. Thousands of our fellow New Yorkers might need help shoveling out of their homes, so if you would like to volunteer to help them, please, once again, go to nyc.gov. We are a nation of volunteers as the President has asked us to be, particularly here in New York City, and we’re happy to help those who need it. Keep an eye on your neighbors and older New Yorkers who might be having a really rough time during this kind of weather. It’d be nice to knock on the door and say, ‘You okay? You have heat? Need a quart of milk or something? If you have to go someplace, can I walk with you so you don’t slip?’ Those kinds of courtesies make all the difference in the world.</p>
<p>“And for the latest details on services and alerts from the City, visit our new webpage at nyc.gov, which posts updates and other information. It makes it very easy to get everything in one place.</p>
<p> “Let me just try to summarize for our Spanish-speaking New Yorkers. Anoche tuvimos casi diez y nueve pulgadas de nieve, es mucho. Nuestras escuelas están cerradas hoy pero abrirán mañana.  Todos tenemos que limpiar las aceras.  Seguimos bajo una emergencia del clima y queremos que los coches se mantengan estacionados. No maneje al menos que sea necesario. Llame al nueve once solo en caso de emergencias. Para todo lo demás llame al tres once.”          </p>
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