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Commission's First Meeting -- With Cheesecake
March 19th, 2010

They were welcomed to the City Charter review process by about 60 attendees and a power point presentation from the city’s Law Department that included old political cartoons of the days of Tammany Hall.

They were welcomed to Brooklyn with cheesecake from Junior’s — courtesy of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Last night, 15 members of the newly minted City Charter Revision Commission sat on a crowded dais in the New York City College of Technology for its first meeting. They introduced themselves, and the chair, CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, set out a potential timeline for their work, which could end up bringing proposals before the voters this November.

Calling the timeline “aggressive,” Goldstein promised to hold extensive hearings in all five boroughs.

“We are a group of [15] individuals,” Goldstein said. “Omniscient, no. But thoughtful, yes.”

When considering any charter change, Goldstein suggested the board consider three principles: whether the change would improve government transparency and accountability, would it make government more efficient and effective and would it make civic life more participatory.

“We ensure everyone’s input is taken into consideration,” said Goldstein. “We will be as transparent as possible.”
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By Courtney Gross on March 19, 2010, 12:30 pm
In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law, nextNY | No Comments »

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Charter Debate Heats Up
March 19th, 2010

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

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

Watch below.

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

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

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A Discrimination Finding Against DOE
March 12th, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Rose Gets Civil Rights
March 3rd, 2010

Rose HEADSHOT

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

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

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

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

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Gowanus Named Superfund Site (Update)
March 2nd, 2010

gowanus

In a blow to the Bloomberg administration, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has named the slithering Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn a Superfund site.

The designation would require parties responsible for the canal’s pollution — which is sure to include manufacturing companies and oil refineries that have lined the canal’s shores for decades — to clean it up. This almost always involves court proceedings. That clean up of the 1.8 mile long canal, according to the Times, will likely take between 10 to 12 years.

The decision, which has been years in the making, could set aside the Bloomberg administration’s own plans to clean up the canal, which includes dredging from the Army Corp of Engineers and sewer system upgrades.

“It’s disappointing,” said Marc LaVorgna, a mayoral spokesperson, in an e-mailed statement. “We had an innovative and comprehensive approach that was a faster route to a Superfund-level cleanup and would have avoided the issues associated with a Superfund listing. The project will now move on a Superfund timeline, but we are going to work closely with the EPA because we share the same goal – a clean canal. Local residents and businesses raised concerns about the impact of a Superfund designation on their community and we hope that the EPA will work with us to address those concerns as they move forward.”

Supporters of the designation see today’s decision as a long-awaited victory.

“After 150 years of abuse and neglect the Gowanus Canal will finally get the comprehensive cleanup that the residents of the area deserve,” stated Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper Attorney & Chief Investigator. “The toxic legacy of coal tar, PCBs, pesticides, and other contamination of the Gowanus can only be cleaned through a comprehensive Superfund cleanup; we are gratified to see the EPA stepping up to this task.”

In addition to the mayor’s alternate plan, the designation will also likely destroy development plans from Toll Brothers, who planned to build an approximately 460-unit residential development along the Carroll Gardens side of the canal. The City Council has already approved the rezoning for the project. The developer has said in the past that if the Superfund designation moved forward it would abandon the project along the canal. Toll Brothers is already reportedly eying another location in DUMBO.

The EPA will be holding a meeting Thursday in Carroll Gardens to discuss the next steps.

For more on the designation, check out these stories we ran last year — one from Toll Brothers and one from environmental group, Riverkeeper, who was supportive of the canal’s designation.

UPDATE: David Von Spreckelsen, a Toll Brothers senior vice president, told Gotham Gazette this afternoon that Toll Brothers will not be “going forward” with its project along the Gowanus now that it’s a Superfund site.

“Obviously we are very disappointed,” said Von Spreckelsen. “We had hoped that the EPA would seriously consider the mayor’s alternative plan, and obviously they didn’t. At this point, we don’t see the possibility of going forward.”

By Courtney Gross on March 2, 2010, 11:53 am
In category: City Hall, Environment, Gotham City, Law, Parks, Public Finance, Waterfront, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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City Announces New Press Rules
March 2nd, 2010

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

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

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

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

The full release is after the jump. The rules were published in the City Record today.
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By Courtney Gross on March 2, 2010, 10:58 am
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Gotham City, Law, nextNY | No Comments »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Slushgate Reforms Revisited?
February 9th, 2010

Before the ink is dry on the indictment of Larry Seabrook, fellow Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. is reiterating his call for a ban on giving discretionary funding to any groups that “employ family members, staff members or former staff members who have been employed by the council within the prior year,” according to a press release from his office.

“As we’ve seen all too often, not-for-profit groups established by elected officials, which then employ family or staff, are often the source of abuse. Preventing city money from flowing to these groups is a necessary step toward reform,” Vallone said in a prepared statement.

This morning, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District released a 65-page indictment charging Seabrook with fraud, extortion and money laundering. Part of the indictment alleges Seabrook directed discretionary funds to nonprofits that he in fact controlled. Seabrook then installed family members and friends as staff at the nonprofits, effectively funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to those closest to him, according to the indictment.

When the slush fund scandal first came to light in 2008, Council Speaker Christine Quinn enacted several reforms at the council to make sure groups that received discretionary funding were properly vetted. The reforms did not prevent council members from directly funding groups that employ their family or friends. Council members must disclose conflicts of interests, and their discretionary funding cannot go directly towards paying a family member’s salary.

Vallone floated his proposed ban immediately after the slush fund broke. But in the last session it received no traction.

By Courtney Gross on February 9, 2010, 5:06 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law, Public Finance | No Comments »

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

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

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

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

UPDATE: And this just in from the Yankees:

Statement by Alice McGillion, spokesperson for the New York Yankees

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

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

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

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Another One Bites the Dust
February 9th, 2010

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

seabrook

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

But they also go beyond that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seabrook, Larry Indictment

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

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Quinn Deputy Gets Fined
February 1st, 2010

The City’s Conflicts of Interest Board fined Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s former deputy chief of staff for soliciting campaign donations while also working on the city’s campaign finance reform legislation in 2007.

The staffer, Maura Keaney, also worked on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s re-election campaign last fall.

The City Charter prohibits any public employee with “substantial policy discretion” from soliciting donations for any elected official. In April 2007, Keaney made between six and a dozen phone calls to unions members requesting they be on a host committee for a Quinn fundraiser, which would have entitled them to make a contribution to Quinn’s then-campaign for mayor.

Keaney was fined $2,500 by the board.

The disposition is below.

Press Release Disposition (Council)

By Courtney Gross on February 1, 2010, 2:08 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law, Work and Labor, nextNY | No Comments »

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Bloomberg: No Love for Labor?
January 28th, 2010

Labor, don’t expect a amicable third term with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In his preliminary budget released this afternoon, the mayor has taken a hard line approach to labor, in what some see as a shift from his previous policies toward the city’s unions.

Call it hardball.

Bloomberg asked the United Federation of Teachers to take only 2 percent salary increases next year instead of 4 percent. According to the administration, the city would save $160 million in this year’s budget and $357 million in fiscal year 2011, which starts in July.

If the teacher’s union doesn’t bite, Bloomberg said the city could have 2,500 fewer educators come September.

“They have to decide what they want to protect. Have all of their members have a little bit of pain or 2,500 members lose their jobs?” the mayor said. “The bottom line is we don’t have any money.”

In addition, Bloomberg also warned other labor unions that they too would have to chip in more. Pointing to the more than 30 percent salary increases since 2002, Bloomberg said the city had not budgeted additional wage hikes in fiscal year 2011. He said any wage increase would have to be covered by productivity increases, savings in health insurance and by savings in pension costs. In line with that, the mayor again called for a fifth pension tier for new employees to help reduce pension costs, which have risen 357 percent since 1996.
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By Courtney Gross on January 28, 2010, 6:56 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Law, Public Finance, Work and Labor, nextNY | No Comments »

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Musical Chairs
January 19th, 2010

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

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

Here are the assignments:

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

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

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

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Big Tobacco Takes on Council
January 12th, 2010

quinncig

The City Council sent a message to big tobacco this afternoon: put it out.

U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing Company and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Brands filed a lawsuit against the city in December over a law approved by the City Council last year that bans the sale of favored tobacco products in the five boroughs.

In response to the suit, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, health care advocates and several members of the City Council gathered at City Hall today to let “big tobacco” know they wouldn’t be backing down, settling or negotiating anytime soon.

“What we did was legally right, but, more importantly, it was morally right, and we are not going to let this lawsuit threaten us,” said Quinn, who compared the tobacco product’s packaging to a tube of lip gloss. “Tobacco yet again has shown itself to be nothing but greedy and only interested in hurting the public health of New Yorkers.”

The lawsuit alleges the city overstepped its authority by going further than Congress and the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations. Federal law “does not permit a municipality to impose such sweeping regulation of tobacco products,” the complaint filed by the tobacco companies states.

Just weeks before the City Council approved its law, federal officials approved a ban on the sale of flavored cigarettes. The city then went a step further by banning the sale of chewing tobacco, cigars and cigarillos as well. It is this step big tobacco alleges is unconstitutional.

Health care advocates disagree, arguing Congress’s actions encouraged municipalities to create their own regulations.

Because of the packaging and the location of advertisements in corner stores and bodegas, said city officials, these flavored tobacco products can seem as appealing as candy to young adults and children. The products’ flavors, which range from cookie dough to grape to lemon-lime, don’t help either, they said.

“They have created what appears to be to children a smooth seamless transition from candy to tobacco products,” said Joanne Koldare, director of the NYC Coalition for a Smoke Free City. “But we’re onto them.”
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By Courtney Gross on January 12, 2010, 1:47 pm
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Leftover Legislation
January 4th, 2010

Over the last four years, the City Council has passed green buildings legislation, a ban on flavored tobacco, a bill keeping protesters father away from abortion clinics and several pieces of legislation to streamline the inspection process at buildings.

But there are hundreds (823 to be exact) of bills the council just never got to. Some we’ll see again — but the vast majority are headed towards legislative abyss.

Here is a sampling of some of the more interesting proposals — or the ones likely to be rerun.

Living Wages: (Intro 1105) At the council’s last session of 2009, council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma introduced a bill to require living wages at development projects that receive public subsidies. A proposal many of the council’s 13 new incoming members took up during campaign season, we are sure to see this bill again. In fact, it will likely be introduced at the council’s inaugural 2010 meeting Wednesday.

Driveway Parking: (Intro 1100) Want to park in front of your neighbor’s driveway? Or want to use your own driveway as a supplemental street side spot? You could have under this bill, which would have also increased the fine for parking in front of a driveway that wasn’t your own to $100.

Lights Out: (Intro 1075) Come closing time, this bill would have forced all retailers to shut off their lights once they locked their doors. Talk about the end to window shopping.

Sick Leave: (Intro 1059) Garnering unusual public attention and debate, the council considered a bill to require all businesses in the city provide one hour of paid sick time for every thirty hours worked per employee. The bill had garnered 38 sponsors — well more than the majority needed for it to pass. However, it was left to die in committee at the end of the session, but some progressives have pledged to revive it this year.
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By Courtney Gross on January 4, 2010, 5:09 pm
In category: City Hall, Economy, Electoral Politics, Eye Opener, Gotham City, Governing, Law, Measuring UP, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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Fidler Still Wants Finance
January 4th, 2010

Despite the chaos reportedly churning over the City Council’s new committee assignments, Councilmember Lewis Fidler, who currently heads up the council’s Youth Services Committee, says he is still eying the Finance Committee chairmanship.

Talking to Gotham Gazette this morning, Fidler said he still wanted the job, explaining the position’s challenges (especially in a tough budget year) are what makes it so appealing. Fidler said he is a good candidate because he would be “tough with the Bloomberg people when necessary and understands whats going on economically.”

For weeks, City Hall insiders speculated that the position, which comes with one of the council’s most hefty stipends of $18,000, would go to a Brooklyn-based member — either Fidler, Simcha Felder or Domenic Recchia. According to the Daily Politics, though, the position could end up in the hands of the Bronx, which would surely widen the rift between Brooklyn Democratic Leader Vito Lopez and Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

The council’s new committee chairs are not expected to be finalized until after Wednesday’s inaugural meeting — when 13 new members will take the oath of office.

Elsewhere, the speaker’s re-election looks to be moving forward as scheduled. The formal vote will occur Wednesday. Quinn has only one challenger, Charles Barron, who is highly unlikely to orchestrate a coup.

By Courtney Gross on January 4, 2010, 1:29 pm
In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Eye Opener, Gotham City, Governing, Law, Public Finance, nextNY | No Comments »

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Another One Bites the Dust
December 23rd, 2009

As expected, Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications Commissioner Paul Cosgrave will “retire” next week, adding to the crew of commissioners who will not be joining the mayor for a third term.

This particular “retirement,” which the News dubbed a resignation, comes after the city’s 911 call system upgrade was two years behind schedule and over budget. The mayor’s statement below boasts Cosgrave’s work on 311, but is silent on the 911 controversy.

In another department, the mayor announced on Monday the appointment of Salvatore Cassano to head the Fire Department following Nicholas Scopetta.

Here is the mayor’s statement on Cosgrave:

When I appointed Paul Cosgrave Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications in 2006, our Administration had made unprecedented gains increasing public access to City information and services. Still, I charged Paul with going even farther, giving New Yorkers new ways to interact with City government, and making City government even more transparent. He had great success achieving those goals.

Paul expanded our 311 Customer Service Center, which provides New Yorkers round-the-clock access to information and services in some 180 languages. He helped create an enhanced 311 service for public school families which provides an easy-to-use resource for parents and guardians seeking answers about their children’s education. Thanks to his efforts, New Yorkers can now access 311 by phone, via multiple online channels, and attach pictures and videos to complaints submitted from their desktops or mobile phones. And just last month, we announced an agreement with the MTA to explore streamlining public access to mass transit information. Paul spearheaded the effort to create the New York City Wireless Network, a state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure transforming how City agencies ensure public safety and deliver services, as well as the expansion and adoption of broadband service in low income neighborhoods.

“Through it all, Paul’s greatest strengths have been his ability to work collaboratively and effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders and find ways to get things done. On behalf of the people of the City of New York, I thank him for his distinguished service and wish him all the best in retirement.

By Courtney Gross on December 23, 2009, 12:32 pm
In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Health, Law, Measuring UP, Public Finance, Tech, nextNY | No Comments »

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Subway Slashes Approved by MTA
December 16th, 2009

w

Photo (cc) 2005 Vidiot

Say sayonara to almost two dozen bus lines, the Z line and the Astoria-bound W line.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board approved a doomsday budget this morning, which will cut service system wide and do away with a discount for student fares. The discount elimination will affect about 500,000 public school students in the city and will be phased out over two years, starting in September.

None of the cuts will be implemented until after June, and they are in response to a $400 million budget shortfall.

And for a glimpse at a last-ditch attempt to persuade the board otherwise, check out these video testimonies from City Council members.

By Courtney Gross on December 16, 2009, 2:02 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Electoral Politics, Eye Opener, Gotham City, Law, Transportation, nextNY | 2 Comments »

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Air Pollution Borough by Borough
December 15th, 2009

Image provided by the mayor's office

Image provided by the mayor's office


The Bloomberg administration released its first ever street-level air survey chronicling the air quality in every borough. The survey showed that Manhattan’s high traffic areas have the worst air quality.

The survey compiles data, including measurements of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and elemental carbon, gathered from 150 sites throughout the city last winter. The survey was conducted as part the mayor’s PlaNYC 2030 — his vision for sustainability in the five boroughs.

In a prepared statement, the mayor, who is at the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen, said, “We are collecting air samples around the city at ground level so we can measure the air New Yorkers breathe while walking on the streets. This study clearly demonstrates the impacts that pollution from vehicles and certain oil-burning boilers has on our neighborhoods – and it shows us that the most densely populated areas are also the most polluted.”

The level of pollutants correlated with the level of traffic and building fuel use, according to the survey. All of these contaminants are associated with health problems, like asthma and emphysema.

Just last week, the City Council approved legislation to force large buildings in the city to conduct energy audits every decade. When first introduced, the bill would have also required those buildings to implement the audits’ recommendations, but it was retooled following criticism by property owners. It does require those buildings to conduct maintenance to reduce their energy consumption.

By Courtney Gross on December 15, 2009, 6:14 pm
In category: City Hall, Community Development, Electoral Politics, Environment, Gotham City, Governing, Health, Land Use, Law, nextNY, sustainability | No Comments »

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Council Snubbed by Police on Reporting Bill
December 11th, 2009

This was filed from Gotham Gazette’s Dana Farrington from City Hall.

Several members of the City Council want to force the city’s corporation counsel to report on civil lawsuits against the NYPD — an attempt to hold the police accountable for not only the number of them, but also to prevent further misconduct and unchecked settlements.

For now, though, the department doesn’t appear to be taking their threat seriously.

At a hearing held on the bill (Intro 1025), which is sponsored by the council’s public safety committee chairman, Peter Vallone, this morning, two voices were notably absent: the Law Department and the police. William Heinzen, deputy counselor to the mayor who testified on behalf of the administration, said he shared the council’s goal in trying to curb the number of lawsuits, but the city does not collect that type of data.

Councilmember Helen Sears said the police department failed to respond to the committee’s request for an appearance. Sears suggested that a way to sidestep the lack of cooperation would be to present the issue as a budgetary matter to “get at their pockets” and make them pay attention.

Both the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society support the bill. NYCLU Associate Legal Director Christopher Dunn suggested this morning that the committee look into broadening the type of information gathered, including profiles of both the person who files the initial complaint and the officer to divulge larger trends. Dunn hopes that the report will circulate to a larger audience, including the Civilian Complaint Review Board and the comptroller’s office. The civil rights group filed a lawsuit itself against the police in November for failing to release information about police shootings since 1997.

Steven B. Wasserman from the Legal Aid Society. He recommended the committee look towards information already filed regarding civil cases, such as the initial “notice of claim” filed with the city within 90 days by the plaintiff for state cases. Wasserman also pointed to the detailed profiles of claims filed against municipalities, which include claims against the police. This information is available more quickly.

According to a report issued by the comptroller’s office in March, 1,531 settlements were made in 2008, compared to only 287 in 2004. The recent numbers are almost double the number of settlements during 2007. Of claims filed in 2008, 55 percent were related to personal injury.

Leo Glickman, a partner of Stoll, Glickman & Bellina, LLP, recommended that the council add a provision to the bill that would organize claims information by individual precincts in order to address repeat offenders and take preventative, localized action against “problem precincts.”

The legislation was laid over by the committee and given the time remaining in this legislative session, which ends this month, it is unlikely this bill will be approved.

By Courtney Gross on December 11, 2009, 2:13 pm
In category: City Hall, Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Law, nextNY | No Comments »

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