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	<title>The Wonkster &#187; Gotham City</title>
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	<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster</link>
	<description>A blog about the views and spews of editorialists, bloggers and other unsavory opinionated New Yorkers.</description>
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		<title>City Releases First Wetlands Strategy for Comment</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/02/13/city-releases-first-wetlands-strategy-for-comment/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/02/13/city-releases-first-wetlands-strategy-for-comment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:09:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waterfront]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainability]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10508</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Parks Writer Anne Schwartz filed this story: 
In its first effort to create a comprehensive policy for protecting New York City’s last wetlands, the Bloomberg administration released a draft Wetlands Strategy in mid-January. The City Council held a hearing on the draft on January 31, and public comments are being accepted until February 18 at [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Parks Writer Anne Schwartz filed this story: </em></p>
<p>In its first effort to create a comprehensive policy for protecting New York City’s <a href="../../../article/parks/20070422/14/2156"></a><a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/parks/20070422/14/2156 ">last wetlands</a>, the Bloomberg administration released <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/downloads/pdf/wetlands_strategy.pdf ">a draft Wetlands Strategy</a> in mid-January. The City Council held a hearing on the draft on January 31, and public comments are being accepted until February 18 at <a href="mailto:planyc@cityhall.nyc.gov">planyc@cityhall.nyc.gov</a>.</p>
<p>Of the estimated 100 square miles of coastal marshes that once lined the city’s shores, just 14 remain. More than 90 percent of its freshwater wetlands have been lost. The wetlands that remain are key to the survival of waterbirds nesting in the harbor, migratory birds that funnel through the city in the spring and fall, and harbor fisheries. They also help prevent coastal flooding and soak up stormwater, an increasingly important role as climate change brings an expected rise in the number and severity of storm surges.<span id="more-10508"></span></p>
<p>In 2007, the Wetlands Transfer Task Force inventoried wetlands on city property and recommended the transfer of several hundred acres to the parks department. But the fate of numerous wetlands in the five boroughs, including many in private ownership, remains undecided. To fill this gap, Local Law 31, introduced by City Councilmember James Gennaro and signed by Mayor Bloomberg in 2009, required the city to create a strategy to “conserve, protect, enhance, stabilize, restore, and expand wetlands and associated buffer areas in the city,” with a particular focus on small vulnerable wetland parcels.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of wetlands in the city we know about that still need protection,” said Glenn Phillips, Executive Director of New York City Audubon and a member of the task force. “This plan is a critical first step in the process.”</p>
<p>Although in 2007, Mayor Bloomberg approved the transfer to the parks department of the city’s largest unprotected wetland&#8211;the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/parks/20071030/14/2333 ">70-acre Arlington Marsh</a> on the northwest shore of Staten Island&#8211;the strategy draft says that the transfer is pending the planned expansion of the adjacent New York Container Terminal. Advocates say, however, that the terminal can expand while still preserving the most ecologically significant sections of the marsh and there is no need to hold up the transfer.</p>
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		<title>UFT Wants Mediation With City</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/13/uft-wants-mediation-with-city/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/13/uft-wants-mediation-with-city/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:51:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael mulgrew]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10452</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The United Federation of Teachers is holding a press conference at 3:15 p.m today to announce that it asking the state labor board to mediate talks with the city because of the breakdown over teacher evaluation talks and the Mayor&#8217;s insistence in his State of the State speech that he will unilaterally move forward with [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The United Federation of Teachers is holding a press conference at 3:15 p.m today to announce that it asking the state labor board to mediate talks with the city because of the breakdown over teacher evaluation talks and the Mayor&#8217;s insistence in his State of the State speech that he will unilaterally move forward with a teacher evaluation system in low performing schools. Here is the full press release:</p>
<p>Teachers Union Asks State to</p>
<p>Order Mediation in Evaluation Talks</p>
<p>UFT seeks order from state labor board that would</p>
<p>force city to take part in mandatory mediation</p>
<p>on new teacher evaluation system</p>
<p>UFT President Michael Mulgrew holds news conference to announce that in the wake of the city’s walking out of negotiations on a new teacher evaluation system, the union has filed an impasse petition with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).  If PERB finds that an impasse exists, it will appoint a mediator and force the city to participate in attempts to resolve the issue.</p>
<p>WHEN:           Friday, January 13, 2012      3:  15 p.m.</p>
<p>WHERE:         52 Broadway, 2nd floor</p>
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		<title>Cuomo on Bloomberg&#039;s State of the City</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/12/cuomo-on-bloombergs-state-of-the-city/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/12/cuomo-on-bloombergs-state-of-the-city/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:26:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10449</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg may not be the best of buds but Cuomo found a lot to like in Bloomberg&#8217;s State of the City message&#8211;especially the parts about education and pension reform. &#8220;I commend Mayor Bloomberg for outlining a positive vision for New York  City&#8217;s future and the most important part [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg may not be the best of buds but Cuomo found a lot to like in Bloomberg&#8217;s State of the City message&#8211;especially the parts about education and pension reform. &#8220;I commend Mayor Bloomberg for outlining a positive vision for New York  City&#8217;s future and the most important part of building that future, our  students. The State and City&#8217;s education system is facing a crisis in  accountability and performance. Our continuing pattern of being number  one in the nation on spending in education and thirty-eighth in  graduation rates hurts our students across the State, including the over  1.1 million public school students in New York City,&#8221; said Cuomo in a statement.</p>
<p>Here is the full statement: <span id="more-10449"></span><br />
&#8220;I commend Mayor Bloomberg for outlining a positive vision for New York City&#8217;s future and the most important part of building that future, our students. The State and City&#8217;s education system is facing a crisis in accountability and performance. Our continuing pattern of being number one in the nation on spending in education and thirty-eighth in graduation rates hurts our students across the State, including the over 1.1 million public school students in New York City.</p>
<p>As I said in my State of the State Address, and Mayor Bloomberg reiterated in his State of the City today, we need an education system that puts students first. Both the Mayor and I agree that this starts with implementing a teacher evaluation system that holds teachers accountable for their performance. I look forward to working together to create an accountability system that puts the interests of students ahead of the interests of the education bureaucracy.</p>
<p>Additionally, I appreciate Mayor Bloomberg&#8217;s support for the much needed reform of our pension system. There is no longer any doubt that we need to reform the pension system by creating a Tier VI and we need to do it now.</p>
<p>I look forward to working with Mayor Bloomberg on these and other issues outlined in his speech today to build a better future for New York City and New York State.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Silver Applauds Bloomberg on Minimum Wage</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/12/silver-applauds-bloomberg-on-minimum-wage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/12/silver-applauds-bloomberg-on-minimum-wage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:26:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minimum wage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sheldon Silver]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10447</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg used his State of the State address to announce his support for an increased minimum wage. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver backs the idea big time and he issued this statement:
&#8220;I applaud and thank Mayor Bloomberg for joining our call to increase the minimum wage. As I have said, it is wrong to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mayor Michael Bloomberg used his State of the State address to announce his support for an increased minimum wage. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver backs the idea big time and he issued this statement:</p>
<p>&#8220;I applaud and thank Mayor Bloomberg for joining our call to increase the minimum wage. As I have said, it is wrong to expect anyone – let alone working families – to be able to afford the cost of living today and invest in their future on a salary of $7.25 an hour. Increasing the minimum wage would benefit more than 14 percent of our workforce. Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to helping the more than 1.2 million low wage workers in New York climb the ladder of financial security is welcome news.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>State of the City</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/12/state-of-the-city-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/12/state-of-the-city-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:17:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10445</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered his State of the City Address today at  Morris High School in the Bronx. Here are his prepared remarks:
“Thank you. Mayors Koch and Dinkins, Speaker Quinn and Minority Leader Oddo, Public Advocate De Blasio, Comptroller Liu, Borough Presidents, District Attorneys, members of the City Council and State Legislature, my fellow New [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered his State of the City Address today at  Morris High School in the Bronx. Here are his prepared remarks:</p>
<p>“Thank you. Mayors Koch and Dinkins, Speaker Quinn and Minority Leader Oddo, Public Advocate De Blasio, Comptroller Liu, Borough Presidents, District Attorneys, members of the City Council and State Legislature, my fellow New Yorkers – it’s great to be in the Bronx.</p>
<p>“This is the birthplace of legends like Justice Sonia Sotomayor and the workplace of legends like Mariano Rivera. And it’s also the home of future superstars like every member of The Celia Cruz High School Latin Band, the PS 32 Chorus and the Keltic Dreams Irish Dancers. Weren’t they fantastic?</p>
<p>“In a city that is the ‘Capital of Innovation’ – this one borough has given us some of the world’s great authors, artists and architects, not to mention the pioneers of hip-hop and salsa.</p>
<p>“The Bronx has always been a borough of innovators and we can see it most recently in the students here at the Academy for Collaborative Studies, who built an award-winning robot. How about the Robot Club?<span id="more-10445"></span></p>
<p>“It’s an honor to be introduced by a teacher like Ishmael Kamara, what an inspirational story, and by Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who we’ve been glad to work with on so many projects. And it’s a pleasure to be here at Gouverneur Morris High School Campus.</p>
<p>“In case you don’t recall Senator Gouverneur Morris from American history class, he was a Founding Father from this section of the Bronx – hence ‘Morrisania’ – and he’s credited with drafting much of the U.S. Constitution, including the phrase that still defines the spirit of our great nation: We the people.</p>
<p>“That’s the spirit that has defined our work here in New York City over the past decade and allowed us to accomplish great things.</p>
<p>“For instance, in 2011, we said we’d fight to make marriage equality a reality across the state. And thanks to the leadership of Governor Cuomo and both parties of the Legislature, and the hard work of my Chief Policy Advisor John Feinblatt – we did. Today, New Yorkers are free to marry the person they love.</p>
<p>“In 2011, we said we’d work with the State to bring taxi service to all five boroughs. And again, thanks to the Governor and legislative leaders, especially Bronx Assemblyman Carl Heastie, and also David Yassky and Micah Lasher – we did.</p>
<p>“We said we’d launch a new East River ferry service, balance the budget and hold the line on taxes. And in partnership with Speaker Christine Quinn and the City Council – we did.</p>
<p>“We said we’d make New York City safer and healthier than ever and with Commissioners Kelly, Cassano, Farley and Sadik-Khan leading the way, we did. In 2011, we had the lowest traffic fatalities in history, near record lows in crime and fire fatalities and life expectancy rates that are far surpassing the nation.</p>
<p>“We said we’d place a record number of New Yorkers in jobs and with Commissioner Rob Walsh leading our Small Business Services team, we did.</p>
<p>“We said we’d launch the most comprehensive effort to connect black and Latino young men to jobs and education, and thanks to Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and our commissioners, and the support we received from George Soros, we did.</p>
<p>“We said we’d seek to attract a world-class university to build a new science and engineering campus here – the brainchild of EDC President Seth Pinsky and Deputy Mayor Bob Steel – and we did.</p>
<p>“We said we’d open the new section of the High Line, break ground on the new Whitney Museum and complete the expansion of the Museum of the Moving Image, and because of the leadership of Commissioners Amanda Burden, Kate Levin and Katherine Oliver, we did.</p>
<p>“And we said we’d open the 9/11 Memorial in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks, and thanks to a great American who served this country in World War II and has served our country and our city ever since – John Whitehead – we did.</p>
<p>“Thanks to all these leaders, and so many other members of the city’s outstanding workforce and all of our partners in the private sector. We accomplished big things in 2011 – but don’t worry: we have even bigger plans for 2012.</p>
<p>“The beginning of our agenda for the year ahead is actually rooted here, in the history of this school. Gouverneur Morris High was created out of the School Reform Law of 1896 – 116 years ago. When the reform law was being debated, there were protests, rallies, controversy. Sound familiar?</p>
<p>“Well, we are here today because the work of school reform – as difficult as it can be – is still far from done. And it is now more important than ever.</p>
<p>“Nine years ago this month, on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, I gave a speech outlining our plans to transform a badly broken school system. Back then, the graduation rate had been stuck at 50 percent or less for decades. Violent crime, social promotion, hiring based on political connections – they all plagued our schools. Parents had too few choices about where to send their children to school, and they had even less information about how a school was performing. And the worst part was many people had stopped believing that anything in our schools could get better.</p>
<p>“Well, I know you didn’t believe that. And we didn’t believe that either. Together, we took on the broken system, and by stressing accountability and innovation and ending social promotion, we’ve made real progress turning it around.</p>
<p>“Today, graduation rates are up 40 percent since 2005, versus just 8 percent in the rest of the state – the whole rest of New York State. And the biggest gains have been made by black and Hispanic students, whose graduation rates are up more than 50 percent. We’ve cut the dropout rate – and school crime – nearly in half.</p>
<p>“And we’ve given our parents far more information about their kids’ schools – and far more top-quality school choices. In fact, a recent study by the non-partisan Brookings Institution found that we now have the most effective school choice program of any large district in the country. That’s right – the most effective in the United States of America.</p>
<p>“By almost any measure, students are doing better and our school system is heading in the right direction. Of course, we still have a long way to go. No doubt about that. But today, tens of thousands of students who may have ended up on street corners or in prison if the old system had remained in place – are now in college or starting their careers.</p>
<p>“Just think about where we are today. Ten years ago, the graduation rate here at Morris High was only 27 percent. Now, two-thirds of students graduate in four years, and three-fourths graduate within six years.</p>
<p>“And I have to say, those students who persevere beyond four years – often while dealing with family obligations or language barriers – really deserve to be celebrated because their determination and drive, their hunger for a better life, makes their accomplishment even more impressive. We have some students with us today who are on track to graduate, and I’d like to ask them – and their teachers and administrators – to stand up.</p>
<p>“The success our students have achieved demonstrates the promise of education reform. But the unemployment in the neighborhood surrounding this school demonstrates the urgency of fulfilling that promise now for all students, in all schools throughout our city. Unemployment is higher in the Bronx than in any other borough. People here want to work, but jobs are hard to come by. And in too many cases where jobs do exist, they require skills and diplomas that put them out of reach for many people.</p>
<p>“For my generation, a high school diploma was often enough to get a good job and enter the middle class. Today, graduating from high school without the grades to go to college, or the skills to enter a trade, generally means, at best, a low-wage job with limited prospects.</p>
<p>“Or, for far too many, it means beginning a life of unemployment and crime. We just cannot allow that to happen. If you come from a middle class family, as I do, and if you believe that education is the ticket to the middle class, as I do, then there is no escaping the fact that we cannot accept failing schools. And we cannot accept excuses for inaction or delay.</p>
<p>“All across the city, we face that same challenge – the challenge of building a 21st century economy and building the 21st century public schools that can drive it. It is the challenge of our time, and how well we meet it will define the state of our city for generations to come. So today, I’d like to share with you the new strategies we will adopt in 2012 to meet that challenge, and they all center on making our schools, our economy and our government the most innovative in the world.</p>
<p>“Let’s start with our schools. The education reforms we’ve pioneered over the past decade – no matter what the naysayers say – have been widely adopted by school systems across the nation, but this year we’ll be putting our foot on the gas and picking up the pace.</p>
<p>“Because we have to be honest with ourselves: we have only climbed halfway up the mountain, and halfway isn’t good enough. We want all of our children to see the view from the top, to see the world of possibilities that stretch out before them.</p>
<p>“Now, getting there won’t be easy. The climb gets steeper the higher you go. But we cannot allow fear of what lies ahead to stop us, we cannot allow obstacles to slow us down, and we cannot allow those who prefer the comforts of the base camp to the exhilaration of the summit to hold us back. We have to charge ahead. Our children deserve to make it to the top of the mountain. And we owe it to them to help guide them there. Today, with Chancellor Dennis Walcott leading the way, we are setting off for the summit, a summit that no other big city in America has ever reached.  But if any city can, it’s New York City.</p>
<p>“The course we are charting involves five main steps – and let me briefly outline each.</p>
<p>“Step number one: since the single most important factor in a student’s progress is the effectiveness of the classroom teacher we are going to find new ways to attract, reward and retain great teachers.</p>
<p>“We already have thousands of great teachers – some of the best in the world. And I have enormous respect for the extraordinary personal investments they make in their students. Over the past ten years, we’ve worked hard to invest in them – by expanding professional development and raising their base salaries by 43 percent. A teacher hired in 2002 at a starting salary of $31,000 can now make $78,000, similar to what their peers in the suburbs make.</p>
<p>“This year, we’ll do more to attract great new teachers by helping them with their college loans. The burden of paying back college loans can sometimes lead top-level students to cross teaching off their list of possible careers. But we need their talents in our classrooms. Our kids need them.</p>
<p>“And so we are proposing to create an incentive to anyone who finishes college in the top tier of the class: come teach in our schools, and if you commit to stay, we’ll pay off up to $25,000 of your student loans. Our teachers deserve that, and so do our children.</p>
<p>“The marketplace keeps showing us that we have to be competitive if we’re going to attract the best and as everyone knows college loans have become a major issue for our young people. We expect the UFT will support the Department of Education in this effort. But if not, there are other ways to achieve it through the private sector. One way or another, we will attract those talented teachers.</p>
<p>“We’ll also work to retain the best teachers – by offering them a big raise. Today, we’re making an offer to all New York City teachers: If you are rated highly effective for two consecutive years we will hike your salary by $20,000 per year.</p>
<p>“Historically, teachers unions around the country have opposed rewarding great teaching through merit pay, but more and more teachers are asking why, and we’ve seen how well this can work in other cities. A recent article in the New York Times explained how cities with merit pay have found that rewarding great teachers keeps them from leaving the system. Again, our teachers deserve that. And so do our children.</p>
<p>“With an evaluation system now required by law, rewarding great teaching is an idea whose time has come. We hope the UFT will join us in this effort, because it’s the right thing to do for our schools and our teachers. Their excellence deserves to be rewarded and compensated.</p>
<p>“Now, how do we determine which teachers are highly effective?</p>
<p>“Well, that brings us to step number two in our journey to the mountaintop. And here again, we’re building on the work we’ve already done. Two years ago, we directed principals to adopt a more rigorous tenure evaluation system. It used to be that 97 percent of teachers got tenure as a matter of course. Many of them deserved it. But others did not. Tenure should be something that is earned – not automatically granted.</p>
<p>“And now, that is exactly what’s happening. Principals decide who should and should not get tenure with the school superintendent signing off.</p>
<p>“Last June, the percentage of teachers receiving tenure dropped from almost everyone receiving it – 97 percent, to about half who received it – 57 percent. That doesn’t mean the rest won’t earn it someday – we hope most will. We have a big investment in them. But we are raising the bar for teachers, just as we are for students.</p>
<p>“This year, we’ll do more to make sure every classroom has an effective teacher –</p>
<p>and to remove those who don’t make the grade.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, for all the changes we’ve made in our schools, evaluating teachers is one area where nothing has changed. Teachers continue to be rated simply as ‘satisfactory’ or ‘unsatisfactory.’ It’s a pass/fail system – with a 98 percent passing rate. Our students don’t have the luxury of being graded pass/fail. Neither do people in other professions, who have to make a living to feed their families. And neither should our teachers.</p>
<p>“The debate over teacher evaluations began when the Obama Administration rightly made them part of the Race to the Top grant competition. To qualify for the money, the State passed a law requiring districts to adopt teacher evaluation systems, but gave the unions veto authority. As Governor Cuomo recently said, the law hasn’t worked. Like many other districts around the state, we are at an impasse.</p>
<p>“And let’s be clear about what the stakes are: A recent study by Harvard and Columbia economists found that students with effective teachers are less likely to become pregnant, more likely to go to college and more likely to get higher-paying jobs. Nick Kristof has a column about it in today’s Times and I encourage everyone to read it. Great teachers make an enormous difference and ineffective teachers are hurting our students’ futures – we can’t allow that.</p>
<p>“We need to be able to identify those ineffective teachers and give them the support they need to grow. And if that doesn’t work, we need to be able move them out.</p>
<p>“A real evaluation system that is based on measurable improvement in student performance and principal assessment and allows us to make real changes is the only way we can do that.</p>
<p>“We have a model that works well in deciding tenure – and this should be exactly the same process. But when we tried to get approval for such a system for just 33 struggling schools – 33 out of 1,700 – the UFT insisted on provisions that would make it even harder to remove ineffective teachers. Not easier, but harder. As a result, those 33 schools lost $58 million in School Improvement Grants from the State. And if nothing changes, it could cost students in every borough hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top funds.</p>
<p>“Well, I can tell you this: We’re not going to accept that. We’re not going to wait around while ineffective teachers remain in those schools.</p>
<p>“Under a school turnaround program already authorized by Federal and State law and consistent with a provision of the existing union contract, the City can form school-based committees to evaluate teachers on merit and replace up to 50 percent of the faculty.</p>
<p>“Under this process, the best teachers stay; the least effective go. And now, that is exactly what will happen.</p>
<p>“We plan to move forward with this approach for the 33 schools that should’ve gotten state grants. We believe that when we take this action, we will have fulfilled the State’s requirements and the schools will be eligible for the $58 million in funding.</p>
<p>“But this is about much more than the money. The students in those 33 schools deserve effective teachers. And so does every student in every school. Our 1.1 million school children can’t afford to wait. There is too much at stake.</p>
<p>“They are counting on us – and we will not let them down.</p>
<p>“Now, step number three in our journey involves continuing to give parents even more top-quality school choices.</p>
<p>“The four new schools here at the Morris campus are among the 500 new schools we’ve created over the past decade, including 139 new charter schools. This year, we’ll phase out another 25 schools and open smaller schools in the same buildings.</p>
<p>“All told, our goal is to open 100 new schools over the next two years – including 50 new charters. And we’ll do that by asking our most successful charter school operators to expedite their expansion plans, including the KIPP Academy and Success Academy networks.</p>
<p>“We’ll also begin recruiting high-performing charter school operators who have yet to come to New York. And I’m glad to announce today that one of the most successful, Rocketship, has just committed to opening schools here.</p>
<p>“Step number four in our journey will prepare students for what awaits them at the top: college and careers.</p>
<p>“Today, far too many of our graduates are leaving without the skills they need to succeed beyond high school. Not every student wants to go to college, nor is college right for everyone. But all students should leave prepared to succeed in the next phase of their lives.</p>
<p>“Over the past year, we’ve worked with the State to re-align the Regents exams with college readiness standards, and that will happen in the years ahead. But our students cannot wait.</p>
<p>“In the weeks ahead, we will make every public school student complete new study lessons and assignments in both Math and Literacy that involve the kind of critical thinking skills that are aligned to college readiness standard and we will share the results of their work with parents at parent-teacher conferences this March.</p>
<p>“We’ll also begin doing intensive college and career readiness work with 40 additional high schools as part of our Young Men’s Initiative. And the Department of Education will continue forming partnerships that expose our students to exciting career pathways.</p>
<p>“For instance, last September, we opened an innovative new school in partnership with IBM that focuses on computer science. It’s a six-year high school – grades 9 through 14, that’s right: 14 – so students graduate with a Regents degree and an associate’s degree and they also get a place in line for a job at IBM.</p>
<p>“It’s a new way of thinking about secondary school based on today’s economic realities.</p>
<p>“And now, thanks to support from CUNY, we plan to open three more schools using this same model including one right here in the Bronx. In addition, with support from venture capitalist Fred Wilson, this September we’ll open a Software Engineering Academy, the brainchild of one of our own teachers – Mike Zamansky from Stuyvesant High School. We’re honored to have both Fred and Mike with us today.</p>
<p>“The new school will be located in Union Square – home to a growing tech community that includes companies like Yelp and General Assembly. Those are the kinds of companies we want our students to work for, or to start.</p>
<p>“And to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs in every field, we’ve launched a pilot program for 2,200 students who are developing business plans with other students around the world.</p>
<p>“Over the next two years, we’ll open at least a dozen new Career and Technical Education schools and programs aligned with trends in the global economy. Students will get out-of-school internships tailored around their coursework and interests. Now to do this, we need more private sector partners.</p>
<p>“In recent weeks, many of our city’s leading corporate citizens have joined a new mentoring program for high school students called i-Mentor. It’s part of our innovative new effort with NYC Service to reduce school truancy.</p>
<p>“And now, I am issuing a second challenge to them – and to the leaders of our hospitals, hotels, nonprofits and small businesses of every kind, including our growing tech community: join us in this new effort to connect high school students to career paths. One of the companies that has already agreed to participate, I’m proud to say, is Bloomberg LP.</p>
<p>“I can tell you from personal experience how much an internship means. When I was in high school, I was lucky enough to get a job working at an electronics company. That job is the only reason I applied to Johns Hopkins University – and without it, I’m not sure where I’d be today.</p>
<p>“The fifth and final step of our journey to the educational mountaintop is making sure that when our children are ready to continue their education or training, they can afford to do it. This year, under a new partnership with the Obama Administration, we’ll be informed about which of our students hoping to attend college failed to apply for Federal financial aid – and we’ll help make sure they get their applications in.</p>
<p>“We’ll also help lead the charge for the New York State Dream Act, so children who were brought here illegally can apply for State-sponsored college loans, grants, and scholarships. We can’t blame them for being brought here as infants or teens. And since they are here to stay, it’s in New York City’s best interest to make sure they are able to become productive members of society.</p>
<p>“I took out loans to get through college, so I know how important that money is. And I believe that all of our students should be eligible for the financial aid they need to succeed. The five steps I just outlined aren’t about politics. They’re about children.</p>
<p>“When we sit down with the UFT, there are two groups in the room: the UFT and our school children – they are who we work for and we will. We have an obligation to stand up for their lives, their futures, their hopes and dreams. Their voice is the voice we listen to and I thought all of us should hear it today.</p>
<p>“Those are the leaders of tomorrow: the doctors, the lawyers, the mayors. They will lead the economy of tomorrow, if we give them the tools to do it and if we begin building that economy right here and now.</p>
<p>“That’s the second major challenge I’d like to address: making our economy a global capital of innovation for the 21st century. Last month, we took a big step toward re-defining our economic future by forming a historic partnership with Cornell University and The Technion &#8211; Israel Institute of Technology to build a new science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island.</p>
<p>“Building the new campus will generate up to 20,000 construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs, not just for PhDs, but for building staff and office workers. Cornell and Technion will also create educational programs for 10,000 New York City students and 200 teachers annually – a partnership that will begin this fall.</p>
<p>“It’s going to be a transformative project – and today, we’re glad to be joined by the Dean of Computing and Information Science at Cornell, Daniel Huttenlocher and the Director General of the Technion, Dr. Avital Stein. As we work to create the jobs of tomorrow, we’ll also plan for and create the space that the companies of tomorrow will need to grow.</p>
<p>“In Lower Manhattan, we’ll work with Pat Foye and David Samson at the Port Authority to keep progress going on the new towers at the World Trade Center. On the far West Side, we’ll work with Related to continue bringing new jobs and housing. And we’ll complete the Signature Theater’s new home on 42nd Street.</p>
<p>“In the area around Grand Central, we’ll work with the City Council on a package of regulatory changes and incentives that will attract new investment, new companies and new jobs. To expand space for film and digital media companies, we’ll open a new incubator that will help us build on last year’s record success in film and television and continue to compete with Hollywood for post-production business.</p>
<p>“And we’ll launch a new non-profit called ‘Space Works’ that will create long-term affordable rehearsal and studio space for artists citywide, including on Governors Island.</p>
<p>“As we plan for future growth, we’ll also create the jobs New Yorkers need today.</p>
<p>“Here in the Bronx, the first wave of 2,000 construction workers will break ground on New York’s next great shopping destination: Eastchester’s $270 million ‘Mall at Bay Plaza.’ In Port Morris, Smith Electric Vehicles will open its first East Coast plant and more than 100 New Yorkers will go to work assembling zero-emission trucks and vans.</p>
<p>“A new supermarket, stores, offices and a new charter school will bring 200 new jobs to a long-vacant spot at the Bronx Hub on 149th Street. We’ll begin renovation work on the Bronx River Art Center, creating a new media center, photography studio and gallery.</p>
<p>“We’ll begin re-zoning East Fordham Road to allow for more private sector investment and explore economic development possibilities on Webster Avenue. To do that, we’re working with a group of neighbors we call the Bronx Quad: the New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx Zoo, Montefiore Medical Center and of course, the emerging basketball powerhouse, Fordham University.</p>
<p>“We’re also stepping up efforts to keep some 3,600 good-paying jobs where they belong – at the Hunts Point produce market. New Jersey is making a big pitch to lure the market away, but we’re fully committed to modernizing the market and keeping those jobs here.</p>
<p>“So today, in partnership with Council Speaker Christine Quinn, we’re adding another $25 million to what will now be the City’s $87 million commitment to re-building the market. And that’s not the only big news here in the Bronx.</p>
<p>“We’re also launching a new effort to bring jobs to the most talked-about empty building in the Bronx: The Kingsbridge Armory.</p>
<p>“In collaboration with Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., today, we are releasing a Request for Proposals for a new operator of the Armory. We’re putting aside our differences to do what’s best for the city. That’s what leadership is about. It’s not about a series of running arguments – it’s about getting things done.</p>
<p>“We’ve heard from a variety of interested parties, including those who want to develop it into recreational space. And we’re hopeful that the Kingsbridge Armory, vacant for some 15 years, will soon be transformed into a place that benefits the community and employs community members.</p>
<p>“In every borough in 2012, we’ll bring new jobs on line and make investments that will attract more visitors.</p>
<p>“In Queens, Jet Blue will open its new headquarters in Long Island City and an expansion of the Queens Museum of Art will double its size. On Staten Island, we’ll create a new blue-collar-friendly industrial business zone, we’ll redesign the zoo’s aquarium, and we’ll help break ground on a major apartment and retail development at the Homeport, creating more than 1,100 construction jobs.</p>
<p>“In Brooklyn, more good blue-collar jobs will come to the waterfront both in Sunset Park and at the Navy Yard. We’ll bring new jobs to Coney Island, with new rides and attractions. And we’ll open the new Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards – bringing big league sports back to the borough where they belong.</p>
<p>“These new attractions will also help bring even more tourists to our city – and last year we hit a record 50 million, but we can do even better.</p>
<p>“There are countless foreign tourists who seek to come to our city only to find it painfully difficult to secure a visa. That pain is not only hurting them – it is hurting us by costing us jobs. At a time when so many people are out of work, that’s just unacceptable.</p>
<p>“This year, we’ll work with Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to make it easier to get tourist visas, especially for those coming from growing markets like India, China and Brazil. Millions of people from around the world want to come here and spend money in our hotels, restaurants, stores and attractions. We shouldn’t stand in their way.</p>
<p>“Now, as we create these new jobs, we’ll also do more to help New Yorkers fill them. Last year, the City’s Workforce One Career Centers made a record 35,000 job placements. This year, we’ll help even more New Yorkers find work with four new Workforce One Centers, in all three public library systems.</p>
<p>“We’ll help more immigrants who are skilled professionals obtain the licenses and certifications they need to find work here in the city. We’ll create a new incubator that will offer foreign entrepreneurs the tools and legal support they need to develop their businesses here. And we’ll increase opportunity for the City’s minority- and women-owned businesses, so that those firms compete for and win more City contracts.</p>
<p>“Most important of all, we’re going to mount a major new effort to help the New Yorkers who’ve defended our nation’s freedoms find the jobs and housing they deserve.</p>
<p>“Today, there are some 9,000 unemployed veterans in our city. There’s no excuse for that. And that’s why this year, with the help of the Robin Hood Foundation, our Workforce One Centers will offer new services to connect veterans to jobs.</p>
<p>“We’ll also work with a property manager called Urban American to attract more private landlords to the rental discount programs they run for returning veterans. Our men and women in uniform have stood up for our country. Now it’s our duty to stand up for them.</p>
<p>“The cost of housing is something many New Yorkers struggle with. Since the national recession hit in 2007, the cost of living in New York City – like nearly everywhere else – has gone up. And not just housing, but food, transit and all the key parts of a family’s budget. But there’s one thing that in all fairness hasn’t gone up: the ability of those at the bottom of the economic ladder to pay for those essential needs.</p>
<p>“In America, we want people to work – to set the alarm clock and punch the time clock. That’s why we incentivize work through programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit. You work, we help.</p>
<p>“The minimum wage is another way to help those who can only find jobs with entry-level wages by incentivize and reward work. Like the EITC, it helps those who are trying to help themselves. But setting the minimum wage is also a balancing act – setting it high enough so people can get by on it without having a negative economic impact.</p>
<p>“Right now, I believe, we are slightly out of balance. The genius of the free market is not always perfect. Two of our neighbors – Connecticut and Massachusetts – have raised their minimum wage above the Federal standard to address higher costs of living.</p>
<p>“And so while we would prefer the Federal government to act to keep us competitive, this year, we will join Speaker Shelly Silver in pushing for a responsible raise in the minimum wage.</p>
<p>“Our city just cannot afford to wait for Washington. Not when it comes to illegal guns, not when it comes to climate change, not when it comes to creating jobs and not when it comes to raising the minimum wage.</p>
<p>“Now, some economic studies have shown that raising the minimum wage can reduce youth employment. And so we’ll work to counter-act that by continuing to increase our Summer Youth Employment opportunities. And to really drive at the heart of the unemployment problem, we’ll go to the neighborhoods where the problem is worst, like here in the South Bronx, and in Central Brooklyn.</p>
<p>“We’ll launch a new effort to mobilize businesses, community groups, non-profits and City agencies to create new job opportunities in these communities. For instance, in partnership with the Young Men’s Initiative, we’ll develop opportunities for New Yorkers to ‘earn while they learn’ the skills required by the knowledge economy. We’ll also create incubators specifically to help low-income entrepreneurs get off the ground.</p>
<p>“If we can succeed in raising employment in the most distressed neighborhoods – and I believe we can – then we can not only improve people’s lives, we can not only improve the safety and stability of those neighborhoods, we can build on the work of the Center for Economic Opportunity in helping the next generation of residents break the cycle of poverty that has plagued those communities for too long.</p>
<p>“If ever there was a community that knows how powerful targeted city investments can be, it’s where we are today, the South Bronx.</p>
<p>“This area was once so burned out and abandoned that it was compared to Dresden after World War II. Today, the South Bronx is a poster child for urban revitalization, and one of the people who really deserves enormous credit for that is with us today: Mayor Ed Koch. Thank you, Ed.</p>
<p>“Mayor Koch showed that investment in affordable housing is a key element of a successful economic development agenda. Over the past decade, we’ve created or preserved 30,000 units of affordable housing here in the South Bronx alone and more than 150,000 units across the city.</p>
<p>“This year, we’ll take steps to bring more affordable housing to the Lower East Side around Delancey Street to a site that has sat largely vacant for a half-century. We’ll begin building new affordable housing and retail space on Livonia Avenue in East New York, at Hunter’s Point South in Queens, at Randolph Houses in Central Harlem and across the entire NYCHA system, we will significantly reduce the backlog of repairs that has resulted from sustained Federal budget cuts. This is a key part of our strategic plan to improve services to NYCHA’s residents and preserve public housing for generations to come.</p>
<p>“A NYCHA community will also be the site of one of our newest waterfront reclamation projects. Using land that now lies mostly vacant, we’ll begin working to create 2,300 units of housing, a waterfront park and a supermarket next door to the Astoria Houses on the East River.</p>
<p>“All across the city, we’ll continue reclaiming and revitalizing our waterfront. We’ll open Rockaway Park in Queens. We’ll complete the reconstruction of McCarren Pool in Williamsburg, and the first phase of Calvert Vaux Park in Bensonhurst and we’ll transform Pier 5 of Brooklyn Bridge Park into soccer fields and open space.</p>
<p>“Here in the South Bronx, we’ll begin construction of Soundview Park. And out in the harbor, we’ll continue transforming the island that time passed by, with 30 new acres of parkland that will make Governors Island one of the great waterfront destinations in the world.</p>
<p>“And across the city, we’ll join with AT&amp;T to bring Wi-Fi service to a dozen city parks – so even if you’re enjoying a beautiful day, you can still work or study or play ‘Words with Friends.’</p>
<p>“Reclaiming the waterfront and wiring our parks are just two of the ways we’re re-orienting our city around the needs of people today, not the needs of people 30 years ago. And that brings us to the third and final major challenge I’d like to address: making our government the most innovative of any in the world.</p>
<p>“By creating an administration that empowers team members, takes risks and leads from the front, we’re already setting the standard in so many areas.</p>
<p>“When people around the world talk about the most innovative public policies, where the most cutting-edge policies and programs are taking shape, they talk about New York City. And in the year ahead, we’ll give them plenty more to talk about.</p>
<p>“To begin, we’ll continue using technology to keep our city safe. The NYPD’s counter-terrorism program will add more than 1,000 advanced cameras to sensitive areas deploy more License Plate Readers to bridges and tunnels and expand the use of radiation detectors that are wired to the Lower Manhattan Security Coordination Center, which can respond immediately to any questionable readings.</p>
<p>“Our first responders will begin sending real-time information over the city’s wireless network from an ambulance to an emergency room, saving precious seconds and likely saving lives.</p>
<p>“We’ll strongly support the Governor’s push to expand DNA collection, which will build on the 2006 law we helped pass. And we’ll launch a data analytics team that will use the latest technology to fight crime and poverty and to assist businesses and entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>“To get more people working on construction sites, we’ll streamline the inspection process, just as we’ve done for restaurants and retail shops, in partnership with Speaker Quinn. We’ve already opened an online hub for reviewing and approving digital construction plans. Now, we’re teaming up with the industry to form the Partnership to Build NYC, and together, we’ll strengthen safety and reduce waiting times for building inspections citywide.</p>
<p>“Our goal is ten days or less – and we’re not talking about cutting corners, we’re talking about cutting red tape. And we’ll also do that by streamlining City Planning’s review of land use applications. City government will get smarter so more New Yorkers can get to work.</p>
<p>“We’ll also make our city smarter and safer by deploying Traffic Enforcement Agents to safety hot spots at key intersections, doubling the number of 20 mile-per-hour zones for schools, and continuing adding more miles of protected bike lanes.</p>
<p>“Now, I realize the debate over bike lanes has sometimes been hot and heavy. But the reality is more and more New Yorkers are biking, and the more bike lanes we put in, the fewer deaths and serious injuries we have on our streets.</p>
<p>“This year, we’ll take steps to enforce the law requiring every delivery rider to have proper safety equipment and clothing that identifies the name of the business. At the same time, we’ll launch the largest bike share program of any city in the country. Those bikes will create another option for getting around town faster and easier, and so will new Select Bus Service in Brooklyn, which we’ll launch in partnership with MTA Chairman Joe Lhota.</p>
<p>“And, of course, another options will be the new Five Borough Taxi Cab that New Yorkers have been waiting decades for.</p>
<p>“Finally, if we’re going to be the most innovative city in the world, we also have to be the greenest, because that’s how you attract the most forward-looking individuals and companies. So today, we’re announcing the next phase in three key areas of our PlaNYC environmental and infrastructure agenda: recycling, clean energy and clean air.</p>
<p>“To begin, we’ll double the amount of residential waste we divert from landfills by 2017. By taking steps like increasing recycling in schools and streets and expanding our plastics recycling program, we’ll reduce our waste disposal costs by $50 million annually and help protect the environment.</p>
<p>“We’ll also become one of the first cities in the country to turn wastewater into renewable energy and we’ll explore the possibility of cleanly converting trash into renewable energy. To attack air pollution, we’ll overhaul the city’s air quality codes, green our building and zoning codes and accelerate our work with property owners to phase-out dirty heating oils. All of this work will help move us closer to our goal of having the cleanest air of any large city in America.</p>
<p>“Now, as ambitious as our agenda is for the year ahead, we’ll achieve it by continuing to do more with less. When I first took office, city government had 312,000 employees. Today we have 292,000 – a six percent cut. Yet in nearly every category, we are getting far better results than we did ten years ago.</p>
<p>“This year we will continue to keep head count down – but we will not sacrifice public safety or public integrity. We don’t tolerate misconduct or corruption anywhere, and we have the very highest standards for those we entrust to enforce the law. Our police force is the best in the world. And Commissioner Kelly has done an outstanding job making sure that New York’s Finest are also the most upstanding.</p>
<p>“To ensure that we maintain and strengthen that track record, we will increase the attorney staffing for the Commission to Combat Police Corruption, led by its chair Michael Armstrong, former counsel to the Knapp Commission.</p>
<p>“We’ll find ways to finance all of the initiatives I’ve outlined today, some of which come with very little cost, by continuing to make government more efficient and continuing to consolidate city operations.</p>
<p>“For instance, this year we’ll put three city-owned office buildings in Lower Manhattan up for sale. We expect will bring more than $100 million next year for our capital budget, $100 million in private sector tax revenue and cost savings over the next 20 years by converting public buildings to private buildings and it will bring new jobs and housing for the downtown community.</p>
<p>“We’ll also seek budget savings by doing everything we can to support Governor Cuomo in his push for mandate relief, including what has long been one of our top priorities: pension reform.</p>
<p>“New York City’s workforce is the finest in the world, and current city workers have earned their pensions. But we cannot afford to continue offering the same benefits to future workers. Right now, more than 12 percent of our budget is dedicated to pensions. That’s more than $8 billion that we’re not using to reduce our tax burden or to spend on salaries for teachers, police officers and firefighter, or on job creation or social services. Governor Cuomo is right to make pension reform a top priority and he’ll have our full support.</p>
<p>“It won’t be easy. None of this will be easy. But everything that I’ve talked about today we can complete or make meaningful progress on this year. We’ll work collaboratively with our partners in City government and in Albany to achieve great things – and pioneer new innovations. And that’s the way it should be.</p>
<p>“Because this is a city where the line between the possible and impossible is routinely erased, and where the arc of human fate is bent by ambition, ingenuity, and hard work. That has always been true here, but it has never been truer than it is today.</p>
<p>“The sense of possibility that leads us to pursue big dreams and high ideals, that is the essential spirit of our city and we see it every day.</p>
<p>“We see it in the immigrants who continue to come here and stay here to build a better life. We see it in the artists and entrepreneurs who spend every waking hour pursuing their passions. We see it in the parents who work like mad to give their children a better life.</p>
<p>“This spirit of promise and possibility is all around us – today, and every day. It’s in people like Christopher Gallant and Damian Brown, who founded the Bronx Brewery and now employs many people.</p>
<p>“It’s in educators like Joe Negron and David Levin of KIPP Academy, one of the country’s most successful charter schools, just 10 blocks south of here.</p>
<p>“It’s in housing leaders like Jonathan Rose and Adam Weinstein who helped build one the most environmentally advanced affordable housing developments in the nation, called Via Verde, on East 156th Street.</p>
<p>“It’s in all the people all across the five boroughs who do so much to make this the greatest city in the world. You want to know the State of the City? This is the state of our city. Never more full of promise and possibility. Because, in the words of Gouverneur Morris, there is nothing we the people can’t do. There is no mountain we cannot climb, no summit we cannot reach, if we the people decide to do it.</p>
<p>“Today, let us commit to one another that we will not stand still when our children need us to step forward. We will not deny the dreams of students – no matter where they live, or where they go to school or in what country they were born.</p>
<p>“We will not deny the desire that so many have to work in jobs that will allow them to build a better life for themselves and their families. <!--more--></p>
<p>“And we will not deny the demands that every New Yorker has for safe streets free from the plague of gun violence and strong neighborhoods full of energy and life.</p>
<p>“Together, we the people will build our future, and we will not rest – not for one second – until we have fulfilled the promise and possibility of our great city for every single New Yorker. Thank you.”</p>
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		<title>Bronx Business Incubator Opens</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/09/bronx-business-incubator/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/09/bronx-business-incubator/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:13:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10435</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a city-backed business incubator in the Bronx earlier today. The Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator at 890 Garrison Ave. in Hunts Point is set up to house 400 entrepreneurs. The New York City Economic Development Corporation helped started the incubator with a $250,000 grant. The incubator is the 8th to open [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a city-backed business incubator in the Bronx earlier today. The Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator at 890 Garrison Ave. in Hunts Point is set up to house 400 entrepreneurs. The New York City Economic Development Corporation helped started the incubator with a $250,000 grant. The incubator is the 8th to open as part of the city&#8217;s network of incubators.<br />
Here is the release from the Mayor&#8217;s office:<span id="more-10435"></span></p>
<p>Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the opening of the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator, the first City-sponsored business incubator to be located in the Bronx. The Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator, which is housed in the historic BankNote Building at 890 Garrison Avenue in Hunts Point, will ultimately accommodate up to 400 entrepreneurs from the Bronx and across New York City over the next three years, and will further the City’s efforts to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation across a variety of sectors. The nearly 11,000-square-foot space will provide approximately 180 workspaces – comprised of virtual offices, and physical on-demand co-working spaces, dedicated individual or team spaces, conference rooms, classrooms and common spaces &#8211; all wired to support the latest digital and video technology, and will assist startup businesses and entrepreneurs across various industries including finance, new media, technology, green finance and technology, biomedicine, and healthcare. The New York City Economic Development Corporation provided a $250,000 grant in order to establish the incubator, which is the eighth to open as part of the City’s growing network of incubators. Mayor Bloomberg was joined at the announcement, held at the new incubator, by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky, Council Member Diana Reyna, Sunshine Realty Management Co-Founder Cheni Yerushalmi, Dan Allen, Founder of SuperMango Media, Matt Weir, Vice President of Taconic Investment Partners, Paul Wolf, Co-President of Denham Wolf Real Estate, Stuart Schulman, Executive Director of the Institute of Virtual Enterprise, and Rolando Franco, IBM Executive IT Architect and University Ambassador to CUNY.</p>
<p>“Over the past three years, we’ve worked with the private sector to establish eight business incubators that provide low-cost office space to new businesses in growing fields – and the Bank Note building is the perfect place to foster this type of innovation in the Bronx,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Allowing entrepreneurs to rub shoulders and share ideas, in an environment that’s affordable enough to let them turn those ideas into action, is a key part of what we’re doing to create jobs and diversify New York City’s economy.”</p>
<p>“Creating the conditions for the City’s entrepreneurs to write the next great New York success story is at the heart of Mayor Bloomberg’s economic development strategy,” Deputy Mayor Steel said. “By expanding our network of incubators to the Bronx we will help hundreds more entrepreneurs open businesses that will create jobs and attract private investment to the Bronx.”</p>
<p>“The opening of the Sunshine Bronx Incubator is a ray of hope for aspiring businesses in the Bronx and for the future of New York City,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “Just like our kitchen incubator, La Marqueta, in East Harlem and the City’s seven other up-and-running Business Incubators, I am confident the Sunshine Bronx Incubator will help spur job and business growth.  I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Steel, and EDC President Seth Pinsky, and my Council colleagues for their continued dedication to these efforts.”</p>
<p>“The opening of the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator is a significant milestone in the Bloomberg Administration’s ongoing commitment to foster entrepreneurship and innovation across the city,” said NYCEDC President Seth W. Pinsky. “As the first City-sponsored incubator to open in the Bronx, Sunshine Bronx will play a particularly important role within the community, facilitating the growth of more Bronx-based startups and ensuring a bright future for the borough and its economy.”</p>
<p>“This new business incubator will offer start-ups and entrepreneurs in our borough the opportunity to grow at a reasonable pace, creating jobs without heavy overhead costs that can often stunt a new businesses early growth. I thank Mayor Bloomberg and the NYCEDC for opening this new amenity right here in the Bronx, and I look forward to seeing new businesses flourish thanks to the time they spent as part of this critical program,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.</p>
<p>“In over a decade of running office communities, we have found that entrepreneurs and independent professionals work better, smarter and more efficiently in a collaborative community than they do alone,” says Cheni Yerushalmi, co-founder and managing partner of Sunshine Suites, which also operates cooperative office communities in NoHo and Tribeca. “When you bring a diverse group of businesses together and provide the tools to support and nurture them, relationships develop, connections are fostered and opportunities result that get companies farther faster.”</p>
<p>“From soup to nuts, the incubator provides shared workspace and technical assistance for small businesses making the transition from working at home to using professional facilities,” said Council Member Diana Reyna, Chair of the Committee on Small Business. “The collaboration with NYCEDC, will help the inventor, innovator, or entrepreneur by providing assistance with writing a business plan, marketing, label design, and manufacturing. The Sunshine Bronx Incubator is an essential project that will get people working, keep communities growing and our neighborhoods healthy.”</p>
<p>“The opening of the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator continues the city’s commitment to working hand in hand with startup entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses and creative ideas,” said Council Member Karen Koslowitz, Chair of the Council Committee on Economic Development. “I have visited incubators in Queens and Manhattan and know firsthand how important they are to the city&#8217;s economic recovery and future.”</p>
<p>“Across the City, small business incubators have given entrepreneurs the space and resources they need to grow their businesses. They are a wonderful example of a working partnership between government and business,” said Council Member Annabel Palma. “I’m excited that this model is now being expanded and I’m confident that Bronxites will take advantage of the exciting opportunity to be a part of the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator.  Thank you to Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and everyone who made this possible.”</p>
<p>Sunshine Suites, which was selected to operate the incubator through an RFP issued in Fall 2009,  has a long track record of supporting start-up companies and entrepreneurs, and since 2001 more than 2,000 companies and over 6,000 entrepreneurs have launched enterprises from their two existing Manhattan locations. The new Bronx incubator, for which Sunshine signed a ten-year lease with Taconic Investment partners, will become the third in the growing Sunshine network. Tenants will be able to license space on a month-to-month basis, providing them with the flexibility required of a growing business, and  rates will start as low as $99 per month for a virtual office, while desks at the incubator will initially rent for $275 per month, and co-working stations at $195 per month. There is also a mix of on-demand co-working spaces, dedicated individual or team spaces, conference rooms and common spaces, all wired to support the latest digital and video technology.</p>
<p>Presently, there are 15 companies in the Sunshine Bronx community, which officially began accepting applicants this past fall. Following today’s grand opening, Sunshine Bronx expects to have an additional 30 community members using the incubator within the next three months. In order to attract top-flight entrepreneurs the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator offers an innovative application and review process, with candidates being required to submit an online application and undergo a one-on-one interview with a seasoned coach from the Sunshine management team. In order to be accepted, candidates must have an full-developed action plan and a three-month timeline for achieving their goals.</p>
<p>“We’re different from a traditional incubator because we won’t accept you if we don’t think we can help you succeed,” adds Co-founder and Managing Partner Joe Raby, Yerushalmi’s best friend and long-time business partner.  “We try to understand your business objective, and create the bridges and opportunities that will help you achieve and measure it.”</p>
<p>“Before I came to the Sunshine community in August of 2009, SuperMango Media was only an idea,” said Dan Allen, current Shiner, and founder of SuperMango Media. “With the help of Sunshine and their partners at NYCEDC, Baruch College and The Levin Institue, I was able to convert the idea into an actual business.”</p>
<p>“We are thrilled to welcome the Sunshine community to the Banknote” said Paul Wolf, President of Denham Wolf Real Estate.  “This partnership is a testament to what is possible when a developer, the public sector, and the private sector join hands to create a platform for innovation and economic growth.”</p>
<p>“Creating a climate where small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive is essential to innovation and growth,” said Jim Corgel, general manager startups and academic programs, IBM.<br />
“IBM is excited to help university students from the New York City region develop their skills and innovations to improve our cities and communities as part of the SmartPitch competition.”</p>
<p>In addition to workspaces, the incubator will offer conference rooms, bi-weekly networking events with “Shiners” from all Sunshine locations in New York City, and support services including mentoring, coaching, and business training. Sunshine is also partnering with Monroe College School of Business and Accounting and Baruch College’s Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship and its associated Baruch Small Business Development Center to provide Shiners with assorted business services. Among them: developing business and marketing plans; evaluating and selecting funding alternatives, accounting systems and technology; supervising employees; and studying the implications of business decisions for all of its incubator tenants.</p>
<p>The Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator space was designed by architect Harel Edery, who is a member of the Sunshine community. Additional amenities for incubator tenants include:</p>
<p>High-speed wireless internet.<br />
Multimedia conference rooms/meeting areas.<br />
Access to printers, copiers and scanners.<br />
Mail boxes and business addresses are available.<br />
Mentoring and consulting with successful entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>At the event, the launch of the inaugural SmartPitch Challenge, a partnership of the CUNY Institute for Virtual Enterprise (IVE), the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College, IBM and the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator, was also announced. SmartPitch Challenge invites student entrepreneurs to develop, pitch, validate, and launch business concepts with an emphasis on plans that incorporate social business principals, and that celebrate New York City as a center for innovation and new business development. The challenge is open to all CUNY students as well as students from other New York City Colleges and Universities. The challenge will culminate with five winners earning the opportunity to participate in a summer-long business incubator ending with the launch of their concepts. The summer-long business incubator will include: an entrepreneurship boot camp in Vermont, space at Sunshine Bronx, expert IBM Mentorships, and summer stipends. Winners will present their new businesses in the fall 2012 and be recognized as IVE Fellows in a continuing support network. Students can enter the challenge and learn more by going to smartpitch.org.</p>
<p>“We have always encouraged students to come up with innovative ideas and concepts,” said Stuart Schulman, Executive Director of the Institute of Virtual Enterprise. “Now we will have the ability to nurture these ideas, operationalize them and bring them to life as actual businesses.&#8221;</p>
<p>Originally launched in 2009, the City’s network of incubators is part of the Bloomberg Administration’s efforts to encourage entrepreneurship within a variety of economic sectors. Through the incubators, the Administration is providing low-cost office space – more than 120,000 square feet to date &#8211; as well as training and networking opportunities to hundreds of start-ups and small businesses. Approximately 550 startup businesses are currently located at the City-sponsored incubators, and companies have raised more than $67 million in investor funding. The number of employees currently working at the incubators is more than 850. Some of these tenants have already graduated into market-rate space and continue to expand. The City’s network of incubators include, among others, 160 Varick Street; the City’s first incubator; the Hive at 55, a co-working facility for freelancers in Manhattan; and General Assembly, a technology and design campus in Flatiron. As an added piece of the Bloomberg Administration’s efforts to increase entrepreneurialism in 2010 the City launched the New York City Entrepreneurial Fund, the first City-sponsored seed and early-stage investment fund located outside of Silicon Valley. The fund makes up to $22 million available to New York City-based technology startups.</p>
<p>Entrepreneurs interested in obtaining space at the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator should call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov.</p>
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		<title>Quinn on Fingerprinting for Food Stamps</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/05/quinn-on-fingerprinting-for-food-stamps/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/05/quinn-on-fingerprinting-for-food-stamps/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:51:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food stamps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike bloomberg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10428</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gov. Andrew Cuomo seemingly went after the city&#8217;s policy of fingerprinting people who want access to food stamps in his State of the State Address. The Bloomberg administration has supported the measure as a way to stop fraud and Bloomberg dismissed Cuomo&#8217;s statement in a press conference following the speech. Council Speaker Christine Quinn just [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gov. Andrew Cuomo seemingly went after the city&#8217;s policy of fingerprinting people who want access to food stamps <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Albany/20120105/204/3664">in his State of the State Address</a>. The Bloomberg administration has supported the measure as a way to stop fraud and Bloomberg dismissed Cuomo&#8217;s statement in a <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/political_news/153641/bloomberg-snipes-at-cuomo-s-food-stamp-proposal">press conference following the speech</a>. Council Speaker Christine Quinn just weighed in via press release and she is taking Cuomo&#8217;s side.</p>
<p>“In these tough economic times, we need to help New Yorkers get the federal services they qualify for, not put obstacles in their way. Unfortunately, Mayor Bloomberg and I couldn’t disagree more — fingerprinting food stamp applicants is a time consuming and unnecessary process, which stigmatizes applicants and has prevented 24,000 New Yorkers from getting the help they deserve.  The State has the authority to eliminate finger imaging in New York City, and the Mayor should not even think of challenging Governor Cuomo’s decision.”</p>
<p>Cuomo said in his State of the State yesterday that, &#8220;One of the things we do now and makes the stigma actually worse and creates a barrier for families coming forward to get food stamps is we require fingerprinting. I&#8217;m saying stop fingerprinting for families,” said Cuomo.</p>
<p>Bloomberg told reporters, &#8220;“It’s not a stigma, and it may be elsewhere in the state, and maybe that’s what he was referring to, but it’s certainly not a stigma.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Groups Put Pressure on Cuomo&#039;s Tax Plan</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/12/05/groups-put-pressure-on-cuomos-tax-plan/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/12/05/groups-put-pressure-on-cuomos-tax-plan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:58:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bill Hammond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citizen Action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hunger Action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karen Scharff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liz benjamin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mark Dunlea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10369</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Progressive groups are trying to pressure Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislators into negotiating a tax code change that would make the wealthy pay much more than they do now and patch budget cuts. They say &#8220;revenue neutrality&#8221; for tax code reform is the wrong way to go. Cuomo&#8217;s recent op-ed on tax code changes does [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Progressive groups are trying to pressure Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislators into negotiating a tax code change that would make the wealthy pay much more than they do now and patch budget cuts. They say &#8220;revenue neutrality&#8221; for tax code reform is the wrong way to go. Cuomo&#8217;s <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/12/05/cuomos-op-ed-on-tax-reform/">recent op-ed</a> on tax code changes does not mention raising revenue&#8211;as the Daily News&#8217; Bill Hammond pointed out and Liz Benjamin <a href="http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/12/cuomo-gives-clues-to-tax-code-reform/">points out here</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;If Cuomo wants to stop being labeled Governor 1%, he needs to address the fact that the richest 1% are getting 34% of the state&#8217;s income. So far his tax proposals are all about political spin, not real reform for the 99%. Yes, tax reform must correct the fact that the janitor at Trump Tower is paying a higher percentage of state and low-income taxes than Donald Trump is. Our state tax system is one way we have shifted wealth to the rich. But it also must correct  the budgetary shortfalls that undercuts investment in our infrastructure, kills jobs and undermines the safety net,&#8221; said Mark Dunlea, Executive Director of Hunger Action Network.</p>
<p>Karen Scharff of Citizen Action sent out an appeal to supporters to encourage them to keep calling legislators to push for a plan that would generate enough revenue to patch budget cuts. &#8220;With signals coming from the Capitol that there is movement on a large-scale change to New York State’s tax code, we need to make sure that it’s the right tax reform. Any tax code plan must include raising revenue to restore the worst budget cuts, and directly creating jobs. And we shouldn’t, especially with a budget deficit as big as it is, be giving even more tax breaks to corporations and the 1%.&#8221;</p>
<p>Some <a href="http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/12/nfib-whats-in-it-for-us/">business groups</a> and <a href="http://www.capitaltonight.com/2011/12/long-to-skelos-read-andrews-lips/">conservatives</a> are pushing hard for Senate Republicans to stand against any tax increase.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">With signals coming from the Capitol that there is movement on a large-scale change to New York State’s tax code, we need to make sure that it’s the right tax reform.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Any tax code plan must include raising revenue to restore the worst budget cuts, and directly creating jobs. And we shouldn’t, especially with a budget deficit as big as it is, be giving even more tax breaks to corporations and the 1%.</div>
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		<title>Occupy Albany Marches on</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/17/occupy-albany-marches-on
/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/17/occupy-albany-marches-on
/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:34:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10339</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Occupy Albany movement is celebrating the 2-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street with a march to Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s office today. Buses full of protestors from across upstate have helped swell the ranks of Occupy Albany and they are planning to deliver petitions opposing Cuomo&#8217;s economic policies to his office. Protestors from across the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Occupy Albany movement is celebrating the 2-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street with a march to Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s office today. Buses full of protestors from across upstate have helped swell the ranks of Occupy Albany and they are planning to deliver petitions opposing Cuomo&#8217;s economic policies to his office. Protestors from across the state are invited to stay at the Occupy Albany encampment and will be provided with blankets and tents. We could see more arrests tonight if protestors stray over onto state-owned land.</p>
<p>Here is their schedule for the day:</p>
<p>&#8220;11:30am – Buses arrive at Occupy Albany with supporters from across upstate NY. Occupy Albany welcoming committee will greet them and give tours of our encampment.</p>
<p>12:00pm – Joint rally/assembly in Academy Park in front of Old Academy Bldg. by Joseph Henry Monument.</p>
<p>12:45pm – March begins. Will stop off at least one corporate lobby target en route to the NYS Capitol Bldg.</p>
<p>1:30pm – Action at Gov.’s Office, 2nd Fl, of Capitol to deliver letters of protest against Cuomo’s economic policies.</p>
<p>2:15pm – A people’s assembly/session outside of Senate lobby 3rd floor of Capitol Bldg.</p>
<p>3:30pm – Bus pickup on State St. outside the LOB.</p>
<p>5:30pm – Anyone who can stay is invited to attend the Occupy Albany General Assembly and spend the night at Occupy Albany (tents and blankets will be made available).&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Rodriguez on His Arrest</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/16/rodriguez-on-his-arrest/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/16/rodriguez-on-his-arrest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:01:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>

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

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10327</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Correction: Apparently contrary to what we originally reporterd, the court did not order the delay. The city postponed its plans after the Legal Aid Society filed suit to block the new rules. The item has been corrected to reflect that.
 The new intake procedures for single adults seeking to enter the city&#8217;s shelter system apparently [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>Correction:</strong> Apparently contrary to what we originally reporterd, the court did not order the delay. The city postponed its plans after the Legal Aid Society filed suit to block the new rules. The item has been corrected to reflect that.</em></p>
<p> The <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Social%20Services/20111110/15/3634">new intake procedures</a> for single adults seeking to enter the city&#8217;s shelter system apparently will not go into effect Monday after all. <del datetime="2011-11-11T14:29:38+00:00">Although we could not confirm this, a statement from the City Council said that a court has order postponement of</del> After the Legal Aid Society filed suit Thursday, the city reportedly <a href="http://http://online.wsj.com/article/APc71cd1386de44701adebf138da08134f.html">agreed to postpone</a>  implementation of the rules until next month. According to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APc71cd1386de44701adebf138da08134f.html">Wall Street Journal</a>, the city did this &#8220;because of the possibility of a state judge issuing a preliminary injunction.&#8221;</p>
<p>Arguments in the case are now scheduled to begin Dec. 9.</p>
<p>In a statement issued Thursday evening, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, &#8220;I am pleased that, as a result of today’s court hearing, the city&#8217;s dangerous new policy changing the intake procedure for single adults seeking shelter will not go into effect on Monday.  I am encouraged that this matter will be heard by the court, and I continue to call on [the Department of Homeless Services] to permanently reverse course and prevent these harmful changes from going into effect.”</p>
<p>And City Council General Welfare Committee chair Annabel Palma hailed the move as well. &#8220;I am pleased with the court&#8217;s favorable decision to stop the city from implementing its proposed eligibility changes for single adults. Absence of leadership from the administration on this issue, once again, has the city;s homeless policies shaped more by the court system rather than through collaboration and partnership with stakeholders,&#8221; Palma said.</p>
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		<title>The Races for DA</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/the-races-for-da/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/the-races-for-da/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:58:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bar association of the city of new york]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bronx district attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daniel Donovan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Molinaro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike ryan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[queen district attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[robert johnson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[state island district attorney]]></category>

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

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

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/10300/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even by the standards of the off-off-year election &#8212; those contests in odd-numbered years when there is no mayoral race &#8212; this is a non-election election year. 
There are no contested races of any kind in the Bronx or Manhattan, according to the Board of Elections&#8217; lists of candidates. In Queens and Brooklyn, the sole [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Even by the standards of the off-off-year election &#8212; those contests in odd-numbered years when there is no mayoral race &#8212; this is a non-election election year. </p>
<p>There are no contested races of any kind in the Bronx or Manhattan, according to the Board of Elections&#8217; <a href=" http://vote.nyc.ny.us/pdf/documents/boe/2011GeneralElection/CandidacyList.pdf">lists of candidates</a>. In Queens and Brooklyn, the sole seats up for grabs are judgeships. Only Staten Island residents will have the chance to vote for or against someone they might actually have heard of: Republican District Attorney <a href="http://www.dandonovan.org/2011/">Daniel Donovan</a>, who faces a challenge from Democrat <a href=" http://www.mikeryanforda.com/">Mike Ryan</a>. It&#8217;s a repeat of their 2007 contest.</p>
<p>(For details on the district attorney race, go <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/the-races-for-da/">here</a>. For more on the judicial contests, go <a /href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/06/here-come-the-judges/">here</a>.)</p>
<p>Sleepy elections occur about once every four years in New York, Unlike the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/iotw/20071105/200/2339">one in 2007</a>, this year&#8217;s features no ballot measures, fewer contests for the bench and no particularly high profile ones. As is often the case in general elections in New York City, many candidates including those for some important posts face no opposition.</p>
<p>More voting details after the jump.<br />
<span id="more-10300"></span></p>
<p>In Queens, for example, <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/district/28">Ruben Wills</a>, a Democrat, faces no opposition for the City Council seat he originally <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20101025/203/3392">won in a special election</a> last fall. Bronx District Attorney <a href="http://bronxda.nyc.gov/office/biography.htm">Robert Johnson</a> has the Republican, Democratic and Conservative party lines in his quest for another term. The Bar Association of the City Of New York <a href="http://www.abcny.org/media-aamp-publications/press-releases/press-archives-2011/1326-new-york-city-bar-association-rates-general-election-candidates-for-district-attorney-supreme-court-and-civil-court-in-new-york-city">lists</a> Johnson as not approved for the post but voters have little choice  &#8212; but he&#8217;s unopposed anyway. So is Queens DA <a href="http://www.queensda.org/dabiography.html">Richard Brown</a>, who is &#8220;approved.&#8221;</p>
<p>For those of you who do plan to vote, polls will be open on Tuesday, as usual, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. To find out if you can vote or the location of your poll site, call (toll-free) 866-868-3692.</p>
<p>Going to the Board of Election <a href="http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm">poll site locator</a>, will not only enable you to find out where to vote but – for the first time – will also provide a sample ballot for your area. (Note you will see a sample ballot – and can even vote – if all candidates running from your area are unopposed. You may decide it&#8217;s not worth the trouble, though.)</p>
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		<title>Change for the Homeless</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/change-for-the-homeless/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/04/change-for-the-homeless/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:28:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[annabel palma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[emergency shelters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homeless]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seth diamond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[steve banks]]></category>

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

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

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

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(Gotham Gazette parks reporter Anne Schwartz filed this post.)
Last week, Crain&#8217;s   reported that landlords, taking action in response to Occupy Wall Street’s weeks-long occupancy of Zuccotti Park, want the city to revamp its laws covering the city’s privately owned public parks to set hours of operation and prohibit large gatherings. Crain&#8217;s has a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><b><i>(Gotham Gazette parks reporter Anne Schwartz filed this post.)</i></b></p>
<p>Last week, Crain&#8217;s <a href="http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/blogs/polls/2011/10/should-private-parks-be-allowed-to-set-their-own-hours/">  reported</a> that landlords, taking action in response to Occupy Wall Street’s weeks-long occupancy of Zuccotti Park, want the city to revamp its laws covering the city’s privately owned public parks to set hours of operation and prohibit large gatherings. Crain&#8217;s has a survey asking readers whether they think &#8220;private parks&#8221; should be allowed to set their own hours. As of today, the 201 people who bothered to respond said yes by a margin of almost two to one.</p>
<p>The business paper, however, did not note that these spaces are actually public places that developers were required to create &#8212; and keep open &#8212; in return for the right to build taller buildings under city zoning laws. Having already received the financial benefits of the added floor space, the landlords now  are seeking to restrict some of the public benefit.</p>
<p>A study conducted in 2001 by Jerold Hayden, a Harvard professor of urban planning and design, with the Department of City Planning and the Municipal Art Society, found that 40 percent of these parks &#8220;were and are practically useless, with austere designs, no amenities and little or no direct sunlight. Roughly half of the buildings surveyed had spaces that were illegally closed or otherwise privatized.&#8221; (For Gotham Gazette&#8217;s report on that study, go <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20010205/997/232http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20010205/997/232">here</a>.) </p>
<p>The results still hold today, Kayden wrote in a recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/opinion/zuccotti-park-and-the-private-plaza-problem.html"> New York Times piece</a>.<br />
Kayden said he welcomes the attention the protesters have called to the city&#8217;s privately owned public spaces, but calls for a much broader discussion on how they can contribute meaningfully to city life. &#8220;They need a champion, an independent steward or curator who actively promotes their use, not only by assuring that spaces are provided as legally promised but also by encouraging improvements, activities and public educational opportunities,&#8221; Kayden said.</p>
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		<title>Cuomo Taps Foye For Port Authority</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/19/cuomo-taps-foye-for-port-authority/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/19/cuomo-taps-foye-for-port-authority/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:02:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrick Foye]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Port Authority]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10200</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Cuomo Administration has announced a major reorganization plan for the Port Authority and announced the nomination of Patrick J. Foye to head the authority. The reorganization would fold the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and Moynihan Station Development Corporation into the agency. Here is the full release from Cuomo&#8217;s office:
&#8220;Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Cuomo Administration has announced a major reorganization plan for the Port Authority and announced the nomination of Patrick J. Foye to head the authority. The reorganization would fold the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and Moynihan Station Development Corporation into the agency. Here is the full release from Cuomo&#8217;s office:</p>
<p>&#8220;Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he has recommended Patrick J. Foye to serve as Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and will nominate James Rubin and Rossana Rosado to the Port Authority Board. Additionally, the Governor is calling for the board to approve the consolidation of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation and Lower Manhattan Development Corporations operations into the Authority. There is no fiscal impact to the Port Authority as a result of these changes.</p>
<p>Mr. Foye&#8217;s recommendation is subject to the approval of the PANYNJ Board. Current Executive Director Christopher Ward will remain in his position until the end of October and then serve as an advisor to the Port Authority for a transitional period through the end of the year.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Port Authority must meet its potential as a major economic engine that plans for the region and attracts business on an international scale,&#8221; Governor Cuomo said. &#8220;We must also improve its operations and maximize the value out of every dollar spent so that it is financially responsible and respects the tax and toll payers.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pat Foye said &#8220;I am honored to be recommended for Executive Director of the Port Authority. Under Governor Cuomo&#8217;s leadership, we have begun to re-energize New York&#8217;s economy and pave the way for job growth in the state. I thank Governor Cuomo for this opportunity and look forward to working closely with him and the Board of Directors at the Port Authority on maintaining and improving the New York metropolitan region&#8217;s vital transportation, infrastructure and economic development assets&#8221;.</p>
<p>Governor Cuomo also announced the reorganization of the operations of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation into the Port Authority.</p>
<p>&#8220;Too many different agencies doing the same or closely related work makes little sense,&#8221; Governor Cuomo said. &#8220;The Port Authority is best situated to oversee the development at Moynihan Station and the orderly wind down of the LMDC and these changes will consolidate responsibility within the Authority.&#8221;</p>
<p>There is no fiscal impact to the Port Authority from these changes. David Emil will become the Deputy Executive Director of the PANYNJ.</p>
<p>Governor Cuomo also intends to nominate Rossana Rosado and James Rubin to the Board of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Mr. Rubin&#8217;s appointment as Senior Advisor for International Competiveness at the Empire State Development Corporation.</p>
<p>&#8220;With decades of work in government, finance and the media, James Rubin is a true national leader in international economic affairs,&#8221; Governor Cuomo said. &#8220;He will bring a knowledgeable and experienced voice to designing a program that enhances New York&#8217;s role as the gateway for global commerce, and a center for the international business community.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Rossana Rosado has served the people of New York, and particularly our Latino communities, with a dedication and vision,&#8221; Governor Cuomo said. &#8220;Her 13 years of experience as Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of El Diaro La Prensa have highlighted her ability to communicate effectively with all New Yorkers. These skills will serve the Port Authority well as it continues to improve the lives of New Yorkers and our neighbors.&#8221;</p>
<p>James Rubin said, &#8220;The Port Authority can and should serve as an engine of international trade for the New York region. The state needs a renewed effort to grow jobs and increase global investment in New York and that will be my project.&#8221;</p>
<p>Rossana Rosado said &#8220;I am thrilled by the opportunity Governor Cuomo has given me to serve our communities in this new role. The Port Authority can have a positive impact in the lives of our residents, and it will be my pleasure to further the significant benefits that it provides, both now and in the future.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mr. Foye is currently the Governor&#8217;s Deputy Secretary of Economic Development, a role in which he manages the state&#8217;s initiatives for economic recovery, investment, and job creation, and oversees the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC). Previously, Mr. Foye was Deputy County Executive for Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano. Mr. Foye has also served as a board member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), representing Nassau County. Mr. Foye was one of only two MTA board members who in 2010 voted against fare increases- the third in three years. Prior to working for Nassau County, Mr. Foye was the downstate chief of ESDC for former Governor Eliot Spitzer as well as Vice Chair of the Long Island Power Authority. Mr. Foye was a partner at Skadden Arps and practiced law in New York, Brussels, Budapest, and Moscow and was a senior member of the management team of a S&amp;P 500 REIT for six years. Mr. Foye also served as President and CEO of the United Way of Long Island for three years.</p>
<p>Mr. Rubin is currently President of the Atlantic Partnership. From 2008 to 2011, Mr. Rubin served as Executive Editor of Bloomberg View, the opinion section of Bloomberg News, and adjunct professor of international affairs at Columbia University&#8217;s School of International and Public Affairs. Mr. Rubin served under President Clinton as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Chief Spokesman for the State Department from 1997 to May 2000. He was also a top policy adviser to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and acted as a special negotiator during the Kosovo war to secure the demobilization of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Mr. Rubin was also a Visiting Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics from 2001-2004; a partner in the Brunswick Group – a financial advisory firm – from 2001-2004; and in 2002 and 2003, the host of the PBS series Wide Angle, a primetime, weekly international affairs program.</p>
<p>Ms. Rosado has over twenty five years in the New York media industry. Since 1999 she has served as the Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of El Diario La Prensa &#8211; the nation&#8217;s oldest Spanish-language newspaper. She is also the first woman to serve in this position. Prior to joining El Diario in 1995 as Editor-in-Chief, Ms. Rosado was the Vice President for Public Affairs at the Health &amp; Hospitals Corporation for the City of New York and continued to serve there under both the Dinkins and Giuliani administrations. She was also chosen to assist the transition teams for the Bloomberg and Spitzer transitions. From 1988 to 1995, Ms. Rosado was a public affairs programming producer at WPIX, where she became sole producer of daily program &#8220;Best Talk in Town.&#8221; In 1992, Ms. Rosado won an Emmy for her public service campaign &#8220;Care for Kids.&#8221; Ms. Rosado first joined El Diario in 1983 as a City Hall Reporter upon graduating from Pace University with a degree in Journalism. She is currently a member of the Pace University Board of Trustees.</p>
<p>Kathryn Wilde, President and CEO of Partnership for New York City said, &#8220;Governor Cuomo&#8217;s choice of Pat, James and Rossana, demonstrates his administration&#8217;s commitment to improving New York&#8217;s infrastructure and economic development. Having worked with Pat on a number of projects, I have had the opportunity to witness the experience and knowledge he brings to the table. I am confident that these appointments will help lead the Port Authority into a new era of fiscal responsibility and efficiency. This group&#8217;s management skills are exactly what we need to put New York on the path to economic recovery.&#8221;</p>
<p>Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York said &#8220;On behalf of the affiliated unions of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the 100,000 working men and women we represent, we commend Governor Cuomo for his appointment of Pat Foye to serve as executive director of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. We and others in the business community have worked with Pat and are confident that he will bring competent and practical management to The Port Authority&#8217;s vital role in maintaining and expanding our regional transportation assets and completing the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. We look forward to continuing to work with Pat to keep critical projects on track and assure that public resources are invested to maximize economic growth and job creation.&#8221;</p>
<p>Robert Yaro, President of Regional Plan Association said, &#8220;I commend Governor Cuomo on nominating Pat to the Port Authority. He will bring public and private sector experience to the Port Authority, increasing its efficiency and productivity. An agency as complex as the Authority requires experienced managers who will balance the needs of the organization with the fiscal situation in New York. Pat and his team have the necessary credentials to ensure that the Port Authority will become a driving force in New York&#8217;s economic development.&#8221;</p>
<p>Steve Spinola, President of the Real Estate Board of New York said, &#8220;The Governor has made it clear that creating jobs is his top priority. The Port Authority plays an essential role in New York&#8217;s economic development and infrastructure, and Governor Cuomo is making sure that it will be able to produce the best results for the people of this state. Pat Foye and the rest of the team are excellent additions to the Authority&#8217;s team. Pat&#8217;s extensive management experience and keen knowledge of New York&#8217;s fiscal make him especially suited for transforming the Port Authority into an economic engine.&#8221;</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said, &#8220;Today&#8217;s nomination of Pat Foye to lead the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey comes at a critical time in New York&#8217;s history. There are many important projects throughout the region that can be advanced through strong leadership, and Senate Republicans stand ready to work with Governor Cuomo&#8217;s team to promote regional economic development throughout New York. Pat Foye has worked for county executives and Governors, and has decades of public and private sector experience. I wish him great success in this new role.&#8221;</p>
<p>Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, &#8220;The Port Authority is an integral part of the redevelopment of downtown, and I look forward to working with Pat Foye as we continue the progress we have made in rebuilding my lower Manhattan community. Pat has a strong economic development record and I know we will work well together to complete the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>DEC Cancels Fracking Advisory Panel</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/14/dec-cancels-fracking-advisory-panel/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/10/14/dec-cancels-fracking-advisory-panel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:56:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DEC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fracking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hydrofracking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10198</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Department of Environmental Conservation has cancelled today&#8217;s scheduled hydrofracking advisory panel meeting and Environmental Advocates of New York says it knows why. They say Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing the state towards drilling faster than state agencies can prepare.
&#8220;Today&#8217;s Fracking Advisory Panel meeting was canceled because New York&#8217;s Department of Health, Department of Transportation, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Department of Environmental Conservation has cancelled today&#8217;s scheduled hydrofracking advisory panel meeting and Environmental Advocates of New York says it knows why. They say Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing the state towards drilling faster than state agencies can prepare.</p>
<p>&#8220;Today&#8217;s Fracking Advisory Panel meeting was canceled because New York&#8217;s Department of Health, Department of Transportation, Public Service Commission and Department of Agriculture and Markets have not completed estimates of the demands that drilling 1,400 new gas wells each year will place on their agencies in terms of staff and resources,&#8221; said Environmental Advocates in a statement. &#8220;Clearly, state agencies are caught flat-flooted by Governor Cuomo&#8217;s rush to drill. We&#8217;re less than two months from closing the simultaneous comment periods on the environmental impact statement, regulations and draft permit, and the Governor and New York State&#8217;s agencies still don&#8217;t know how many tens of millions of dollars this industry will cost the state. This is further evidence that New York is unprepared to provide responsible oversight of fracking and guarantee that our drinking water and communities are protected.&#8221;</p>
<p>For more on the debate over fracking check out two recent op-eds written <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/environment/20111007/7/3616/">for</a> and <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Environment/20111007/7/3617">against</a> the controversial issue.</p>
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