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	<title>The Wonkster &#187; Law</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>Judge Sets June 26 Primary</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/judge-sets-june-26-primary/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/01/27/judge-sets-june-26-primary/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:53:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Demographics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10501</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If there wasn&#8217;t enough going on regarding redistricting this week the whole sordid affair got a kick in the pants thanks to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe who has ruled that unless that state takes legislative action all of New York&#8217;s future federal non-presidential primaries will be held on the fourth Tuesday of June. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If there wasn&#8217;t enough going on regarding redistricting this week the whole sordid affair got a kick in the pants thanks to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe who has ruled that unless that state takes legislative action all of New York&#8217;s future federal non-presidential primaries will be held on the fourth Tuesday of June. Groups in favor of independent redistricting have been concerned for months that Gov. Andrew Cuomo might not want to veto LATFOR&#8217;s district lines because it could send things into chaos right before a possible Spring primary. That Spring primary is now a reality barring any action from the legislature. If the legislature does not act New York will have three primary dates: the June primary for House and Senate races, the April Republican Presidential Primary and the September Senate and Assembly Primary.</p>
<p>Sharpe wrote:</p>
<p>&#8220;Notwithstanding any current state law or administrative procedure to the contrary, New York shall conduct its 2012 non-presidential federal primary election on a date no later than 35 days prior to the 45-day advance deadline set by the MOVE Act for transmitting ballots to the State’s military and overseas voters, i.e., at least 80 days before the November 6, 2012 federal general election. In 2012, that date shall be June 26, 2012.</p>
<p>In subsequent even-numbered years, New York’s non-presidential federal primary date shall be the fourth Tuesday of June, unless and until New York enacts legislation resetting the non-presidential federal primary election for a date that complies fully with all UOCAVA requirements, and is approved by this court.&#8221;</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Notwithstanding any current state law or administrative procedure to the contrary, New York shall conduct its 2012 non-presidential federal primary election on a date no later than 35 days prior to the 45-day advance deadline set by the MOVE Act for transmitting ballots to the State’s military and overseas voters, i.e., at least 80 days before the November 6, 2012 federal general election. In 2012, that date shall be June 26, 2012.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">In subsequent even-numbered years, New York’s non-presidential federal primary date shall be the fourth Tuesday of June, unless and until New York enacts legislation resetting the non-presidential federal primary election for a date that complies fully with all UOCAVA requirements, and is approved by this court.</div>
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		<title>Schneiderman Weighs in on Federal Fracking Regs</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/08/schneiderman-weighs-in-on-federal-fracking-regs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/11/08/schneiderman-weighs-in-on-federal-fracking-regs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:31:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Schneiderman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fracking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hydrofracking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10316</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is not pleased with hydrofracking regulations that were put forward by the Delaware River Basin.  Commission today. Schneiderman filed a suit in May against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies to force a full environmental review of the impact of fracking on the Delaware River Basin. Here [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is not pleased with hydrofracking regulations that were put forward by the <a href="http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/">Delaware River Basin.  Commission</a> today. Schneiderman filed a suit in May against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies to force a full environmental review of the impact of fracking on the Delaware River Basin. Here is what Schneiderman had to say about the new regulations:</p>
<p>“By issuing these modified draft regulations, the federal government  continues to ignore New Yorkers’ concerns about the impact fracking may  have on our environment, health and homes. Though modified, these  regulations still lack the benefit of a full environmental impact study,  which is required by law and dictated by common sense. Without it, the  federal government does not have a complete understanding of the health  and safety risks fracking poses, even as it stands to open up the  Delaware River Basin to thousands of new gas wells. These regulations  are both inadequate and illegal, and I will continue to use the full  authority of my office to require that the federal government meet its  clear legal obligation to fully study the environmental impacts of  fracking in the Basin.”</p>
<p>Here is Schneiderman&#8217;s full statement: <span id="more-10316"></span></p>
<p>Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued the following statement in response to revised draft hydrofracking regulations posted today by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), with the approval of its supporting federal agencies.</p>
<p>“By issuing these modified draft regulations, the federal government continues to ignore New Yorkers’ concerns about the impact fracking may have on our environment, health and homes. Though modified, these regulations still lack the benefit of a full environmental impact study, which is required by law and dictated by common sense. Without it, the federal government does not have a complete understanding of the health and safety risks fracking poses, even as it stands to open up the Delaware River Basin to thousands of new gas wells. These regulations are both inadequate and illegal, and I will continue to use the full authority of my office to require that the federal government meet its clear legal obligation to fully study the environmental impacts of fracking in the Basin.”</p>
<p>Background</p>
<p>Attorney General Schneiderman filed a lawsuit on May 31 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal government agencies that determine federal policy on the Basin, for failing to perform a full environmental review of proposed regulations that would allow substantial natural gas development – including the controversial fracking technique – in the Delaware River Basin.  The Attorney General demanded that the federal agencies comply with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a law requiring such agencies to conduct a full review of actions that may cause significant environmental impacts.</p>
<p>Today, the DRBC posted draft regulations for natural gas development in the Basin that “modify” regulations originally published on December 9, 2010.  The Commission has scheduled a vote on these modified draft regulations on November 21.  The DRBC estimates that its proposed regulations would allow thousands of new natural gas wells in the four-state, 13,500 square mile Basin, most of which are expected to be developed by fracking.</p>
<p>The Delaware River Basin covers 2,300 square miles of New York, including portions of Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Schoharie, Greene, Ulster, Orange and Sullivan Counties, as well as almost 60 percent of New York City’s West-of-Hudson drinking watershed, which provides most of the drinking water used by over nine million New York residents and visitors.</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 Change on Marijuana Arrests</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/26/a-change-on-marijuana-arrests/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/09/26/a-change-on-marijuana-arrests/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:37:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[decriminalization of marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hakeem jeffires]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jumaane Williams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marjuana arrests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Melissa Mark-Viverito]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michael bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city police]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[possession of marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ray kelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[young men's initiative]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10158</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With little fanfare, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has issued an &#8220;operation order&#8221; that could dramatically reduce the number of marijuana arrests in the city. The order, which appears on WNYC&#8217;s web site, says people can be charged with criminal possession of marijuana if they display the drug of their own volition.
Going black at least to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With little fanfare, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has issued an &#8220;operation order&#8221; that could dramatically reduce the number of marijuana arrests in the city. The order, which appears on <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/sep/23/police-commissioner-calls-nypd-stop-improper-marijuana-arrests/">WNYC&#8217;s web site</a>, says people can be charged with criminal possession of marijuana if they display the drug of their own volition.</p>
<p>Going black at least to 2005, many thousands of New Yorkers have been arrested for criminal possession of marijuana only after the drug was found during a police search. Under the law, people cannot be arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana &#8212; less than 25 grams &#8212; unless they publicly display it. Possession of such small quantities is punishable buy a fine – of no more than $100. By all accounts, many people – particularly young black and Latino men –- publicly displayed a joint or two only after police asked them to empty their pockets or otherwise searched them. They then found themselves arrested, with a criminal record, and facing punishment or <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/health/20110329/9/3500">a rehab program</a> they may not need.</p>
<p>This order would seem to end, or at least curtail, that. &#8220;A crime will not be charged to an individual who is requested or compelled to engage in the behavior that results in the public display of marijuana,&#8221; the order states.</p>
<p>Although the order is written almost as a clarification, the widespread marijuana arrests have almost certainly been a matter of city policy under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his police commissioner, Ray Kelly.<br />
<span id="more-10158"></span></p>
<p>According to an <a href='' http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2011/02/2010-nyc-marijuana-arrest-numbers-released-50383-new-yorkers-arrested-possessing-small-">analysis of city figures</a> by the Drug Policy Alliance, the police department arrested 50,383 people for low-level marijuana offense in 2010 – or 140 a day. This represented a 69 percent increase from 2005.</p>
<p>&#8220;Bloomberg&#8217;s police have arrested more people for marijuana than Mayors Koch, Dinkins, and Giuliani combined,&#8221; Harry Levine, an expert on marijuana arrests who teaches at Queens College, said at the time.</p>
<p>Even though most studies show that whites are more likely to use marijuana than blacks or Latinos, blacks and Latino in poor neighborhood reportedly accounted for 85 percent of marijuana arrests in the city.</p>
<p>In 2008, in a rare statement on the policy, police department spokesman Paul Browne disputed the figures and defended the arrests. &#8220;The attention to marijuana and lower level crime in general has helped drive crime down,&#8221; he <a href=" http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/a-little-stop-and-frisk-may-turn-up-a-little-pot/#more-2698">told</a> the Times. (The police department <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/civilrights/20080606/3/2550">refused</a> at around the same time to provide further details to Gotham Gazette&#8217;s Andy Humm.)</p>
<p>Criticism of the city policy has increased recently, with many charging it wastes million of money and criminalizes tens of thousands of young people for behavior that Mayor Michael Bloomberg himself has <a href=" http://www.infoimagination.org/ps/drug_war/articles/honest_politician.html">said</a> he indulged in &#8212; and enjoyed. </p>
<p>A <a href=" http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&#038;bn=A07620&#038;term=2011&#038;Summary=Y&#038;Actions=Y&#038;Votes=Y">bill</a> has been introduced in the state legislature to decriminalize the display of small amount of marijuana, and City Council members have introduced a resolution in support of that. </p>
<p>When the mayor announced his <a href=" http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&#038;catID=1194&#038;doc_name=http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2011b/pr282-11.html&#038;cc=unused1978&#038;rc=1194&#038;ndi=1">Young Men&#8217;s Initiative</a> this summer, many critics noted the actions of his police department seemed at sharp variance with any efforts to help young black and Latino males. &#8220;Mayor Bloomberg declared his support for young black and Latino men to the tune of $30 million, but how supportive is he when he spends $75 million to arrest them under this policy?&#8221; City Councilmember Jumaane Williams said in a <a href=" http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2011/08/city-council-members-community-groups-call-end-nycs-racially-biased-costly-marijuana-ar">statement</a> last month.</p>
<p>This is the second policy change that could be attributed to the initiative. Last month, Bloomberg issued an executive order that bars city agencies from asking job seekers in their initial application or interview whether they have an arrest record. (For more on that, read <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/comm/20110926/212/3610">City Shuts the Box to Open Job Opportunities</a>.)</p>
<p>On Friday, Williams issued a statement in support of Kelly&#8217;s order. &#8220;Commissioner Kelly deserves praise and appreciation for directing NYPD officers to enforce the laws on the books regarding marijuana possession,&#8221; it said in part &#8220;It took leadership to break this disturbing trend of illegal arrests, and I am grateful that he has stepped up to show it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Tomorrow, Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries, a sponsor of the state bill, along with Williams, City Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito and advocates plan to gather at One Police Plaza at 1:30 pm. to celebrate Kelly&#8217;s and push for changes in the law.</p>
<p>The mayor still has not addressed the overall issue of police stop and frisks.  In the first six months of this year, police conducted 362,150 stops, a 13.5 percent jump from the same period in 2010, according to <a href=" http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/aug/31/stop-and-frisks-reach-highest-six-month-total/">numbers</a> released in August. Ninety percent of those stopped were not charged with a crime or even issued a ticket; 84 percent were black or Latino.</p>
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		<title>Law on Pregnancy Centers Blocked</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/07/13/law-on-pregnancy-centers-blocked/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/07/13/law-on-pregnancy-centers-blocked/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:15:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9877</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A federal judge yesterday threw out a city law regulating so-called pregnancy crisis centers, only hours before the measure was set to take effect.  The law,  passed by City Council in March and signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would require these centers to disclose that they do not provide abortions. They also would [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A federal judge yesterday threw out a city law regulating so-called pregnancy crisis centers, only hours before the measure was set to take effect.  The law, <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110303/203/3478"> passed by City Council in March</a> and signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would require these centers to disclose that they do not provide abortions. They also would have had to post signs indicating whether they have medical professionals on staff. </p>
<p>The centers clearly have an anti-abortion agenda and try to encourage women to bear the child &#8212; either to keep or put up for adoption. Their attempts to conceal that, New York Civil Liberties executive director Donna Lieberman <a href="http://redesign.gothamgazette.com/article/health/20110105/9/3444"> has said</a>, misleads women and so can &#8220;pose serious health risks&#8221;</p>
<p>From the beginning, though, people affiliated with the center said the bill infringed on the centers&#8217; rights to free speech.</p>
<p>Yesterday, Judge William H. Pauley III agreed, calling the law &#8220;offensive to free speech principles&#8221; and saying it was based on an &#8220;overly broad definition of commercial speech.&#8221;<br />
<span id="more-9877"></span></p>
<p>He did, though, express concerns about the centers&#8217; possibly misleading women as to the services they provide and said their use of unlicensed ultrasound technicians &#8220;can spawn significant harms to pregnant, at-risk women who believe they are receiving care.” &#8221; To address this, Pauley urged the city to launch a public service ad campaign or work to set requirements for ultrasound technicians.  </p>
<p>Despite criticism from the judge, Chris Slattery, president of <a href=" http://www.emcfrontline.org/">EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers</a>, which brought the suit, said in a press release that he was &#8220;thrilled&#8221; by Pauley&#8217;s ruling. </p>
<p>&#8220;This law, which forces crisis pregnancy centers to adopt and express views about abortion and contraception that they strongly disagree with, is constitutionally flawed,&#8221; said CeCe Heil of the <a href=" http://aclj.org/">American Center for Law and Justice</a>, which helped argue the case. &#8220;The court clearly understood that this law punishes pro-life advocates. We&#8217;re confident that this law will never see the light of day</p>
<p>Council Speaker Christine Quinn,  a supporter of the measure, and its sponsor, Councilmember Jessica Lappin both issued statements criticizing the judge&#8217;s ruling. </p>
<p>Sayings she would continue to fight for the law, Quinn said, &#8220;Today&#8217;s decision means that pregnancy service centers can continue deceiving women who seek their services. Equally troubling is that the centers will not be required to keep confidential the information collected from women who visit them.  In issuing this injunction, the court has failed to protect pregnant women in an extremely vulnerable time in their lives. &#8221;</p>
<p>She called Pauley&#8217;s alternative suggestions &#8220;completely unworkable.:</p>
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		<title>Judge Orders Another Look at Atlantic Yards</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/07/13/judge-orders-another-look-at-atlantic-yards/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/07/13/judge-orders-another-look-at-atlantic-yards/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:49:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9873</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Opponents of the massive Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn have filed suit after suit to try to block the arena and residential complex -– largely without much success. Meanwhile Bruce Ratner has moved ahead on his project, reaping government help, razing buildings and building much of a basketball arena for the still New Jersey [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Opponents of the massive Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn have filed suit after suit to try to block the arena and residential complex -– largely without much success. Meanwhile Bruce Ratner has moved ahead on his project, reaping government help, razing buildings and building much of a basketball arena for the still New Jersey Nets.</p>
<p>Now, though, Ratner&#8217;s rivals have won a victory. Today Develop Don&#8217;t Destroy Brooklyn announced that state Supreme Court Judge Marcy Friedman has ordered the Empire State Development Corp. to conduct additional environmental review of the project, including a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. (The ruling is available <a href=http://www.dddb.net/AYremand.pdf>here</a>.)<br />
<span id="more-9873"></span></p>
<p>In her decision, the judge found that the state development corporation was &#8220;arbitrary and capricious&#8221; when it based its approval of plans on a 10-year construction timetable. That timetable – probably never realistic – was smashed by Ratner&#8217;s various woes and the recession. But the judge said, the state made no effort to evaluate what effect lengthy delays – and perhaps 25 years of construction – could have. Opponents have said this extended schedule could litter the heart of Brooklyn with vacant spaces, construction sites and parking lots for decades. Ratner has repeatedly altered the project but the state has not subjected his changes to any evaluation.</p>
<p>The judge did not halt construction of the arena – although that has morphed too &#8212; from a Frank Gehry landmark to a generic box. And  Norman Oder <a href="http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/">writes</a> in Atlantic Yards report, the judge did give the state and the developer, &#8220;significant breathing room&#8221; by not issuing a stay to top Phase II. </p>
<p>But the ruling – if it stands up on appeal &#8212; does require more hearings, inquiry and study, and opponents hope, could open the way for a re-evaluation of Atlantic Yards by the Cuomo administration.</p>
<p>&#8220;Now, because of a Supreme Court ruling, there is a way out of this debacle and a golden opportunity for Gov. Cuomo and his Empire State Development Corp. (ESDC) to fix the big Atlantic Yards mess,&#8221; Develop don’t Destroy said in a <a href=" http://www.dddb.net/php/latestnews_Linked.php?id=2910">press release</a>.</p>
<p>In a <a href=" http://www.nolandgrab.org/archives/2011/07/atlantic_yards_747.html">statement</a> issued by BrooklynSpeaks, local Democratic Party leader JoAnn Simon assailed the state agency for violating the law. &#8221; “We expect an investigation into how this was allowed and call on Gov. Cuomo to now take decisive action in reforming oversight of Atlantic Yards, ESDC’s largest project.”</p>
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		<title>Why Sen. Kevin Parker Got Mad</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/06/25/why-sen-kevin-parker-got-mad/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/06/25/why-sen-kevin-parker-got-mad/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:19:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Danny O'Donnell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dean Skelos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fred Dicker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kevin parker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NY Senate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Duffy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ruben Diaz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[same sex marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Cohen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom Duane]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9781</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last night as the country watched the New York State Senate vote on same-sex marriage things came to a jarring halt. Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, who was presiding over the chamber, called session into recess to find out what was happening on the floor. Were you watching? Did you wonder what was going on?
Essentially the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last night as the country watched the New York State Senate vote on same-sex marriage things came to a jarring halt. Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, who was presiding over the chamber, called session into recess to find out what was happening on the floor. Were you watching? Did you wonder what was going on?</p>
<p>Essentially the Senate rules were changed in a backroom agreement before session started and then changed again during the vote to make sure it would be concluded to make the 11 p.m. newscasts.</p>
<p>Sen. Kevin Parker, a long time proponent of same-sex marriage, was informed by Senate staff that he would not be able to explain his vote. He was livid. He cursed out the governor and eventually stormed to the podium where Duffy was presiding &#8212; a number of other Democratic senators followed him, seemingly to calm him down.</p>
<p>Earlier when Sen. Ruben Diaz tried to lay the marriage bill aside he was ignored. Normal Senate procedure allows for any senator to lay a bill aside for debate. It gives legislators a chance to debate the bill then when they vote, they again have the chance to explain their vote. But the rules weren&#8217;t the same.</p>
<p>Parker told the Gazette that around 7 or 8 p.m. the Senate Democratic conference met and discussed a deal. &#8220;We were informed of he procedure,&#8221; said Parker. &#8220;Everyone knew Rev. Diaz  was going to lay the bill aside but we agreed not to debate the bill after he laid it aside. We would call the roll and all be able to explain our votes. We would be given two minutes each.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Gazette and a number of other sources reported the proposed limited debate earlier in the week. I was told to expect it by multiple senators earlier yesterday morning.<span id="more-9781"></span></p>
<p>But that deal is not what happened. Gov. Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s aide Steve Cohen was on the floor trying to hurry everything along. Parker says that Cohen was trying to &#8220;shut down debate. The cover story was that Dean [Skelos] was upset at Ruben Diaz&#8217;s remarks about Republicans and was going to pull the bill if we started speaking. Everyone knows we don&#8217;t control Diaz.&#8221;</p>
<p>Parker says he was upset most of all because as a minority-party legislator he has little power. Explaining his vote on issues is at times his only resort. Parker says his district is full of people who do not support gay marriage, and although he was a long time supporter, he felt it was important &#8212;  just as it was for other senators &#8212; to explain the thinking behind his vote.</p>
<p>Parker was not the only angry Democrat. A number of other legislators were visibly distraught when they were informed they would not be able to speak.</p>
<p>Parker notes that debate also was curtailed during the budget vote earlier this year because, &#8220;It was coming up on midnight and they wanted to make sure it was officially two days early.&#8221;</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">He says however that the biggest mistake he and Democrats made was not standing up to support Diaz&#8217;s right to lay the bill aside. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t like what he had to say. No one wanted to hear it but it was his right as a member. Essentially the lieutenant governor ignored his request, and shame on us not standing up for him,&#8221; said Parker.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">&#8220;Yes, the moment last night was about Tom Duane and Danny O&#8217;Donnell and the rights of New Yorkers &#8212; I was one of the first people to sign on to the [same-sex marriage] bill. I&#8217;ve been a proponent of it but we can&#8217;t stand by when the limited rights members have are violated. My constituents have a right to know why I was voting for it. If it took two days we should have let them speak.&#8221;</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A number of other Democrats acknowledged to me that the governor&#8217;s office was pushing hard to move the debate forward so that Cuomo could make the 11 p.m. newscasts. &#8220;11, 11, 11,&#8221; that&#8217;s all they were saying said one Democratic senator.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After realizing he would not be allowed to speak despite his protests, Parker tried to leave the floor. The door he tried to exit was locked. Earlier Duffy had asked the crowd not to leave the chamber during the vote. Cuomo&#8217;s people &#8212; staff and security &#8212; had been in and out of the side door  locking and unlocking it all during the debate. At one point a man wearing an ear piece emerged and surveyed the route Cuomo would take. When Parker tried to leave the door was locked again.</p>
<p>&#8220;I go to the door, and I tried to leave, and they had us locked in. I tried to leave, and they had us locked on to the floor,&#8221; Parker said. Finally he made it out of the chamber. &#8220;One sergeant of arms physically grabbed me.  I was appalled. I&#8217;m a senator.&#8221; Parker then made his way through an ante chamber. &#8220;A plain clothes cop and secretary tried to close the door again,&#8221; he explains, trying to block his exit. &#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen a member treated in such a manner. I&#8217;ve never seen white member treated that way,&#8221; Parker, who is black, said. He was again also confronted by another sergeant of arms.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cuomo was asked by the NY Post&#8217;s Fred Dicker at the following press conference, about the vote and why Parker might have been upset. Cuomo said that he assumed the Senate was following its normal rules. But he claimed ignorance as to what the rules actually are.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The rules on the floor weren&#8217;t the only things changed on the floor last night. Bill Mahoney of the New York Public Interest Research Group was told by two state troopers that the public was not allowed into committee meetings. Mahoney informed them that was illegal and they responded they were just following orders.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
&#8220;Let me be clear,&#8221; said Parker. &#8220;The first mistake was not standing up when Diaz wanted the bill laid aside.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Walcott Fires Back</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/18/walcott-fires-back/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/18/walcott-fires-back/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 20:34:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dennis Walcott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[failing schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naacp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city department of education]]></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=9567</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott sharply criticized the United Federation of Teachers and the NAACP for their latest effort to block city school shut-downs, calling it &#8220;unacceptable.
Earlier today the union, the civil rights group and other individuals and groups announced they had filed suit to block the Department of Education&#8217;s plan to close or phase out [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott sharply criticized the United Federation of Teachers and the NAACP for their latest effort to block city school shut-downs, calling it &#8220;unacceptable.</p>
<p>Earlier today the union, the civil rights group and other individuals and groups announced they had filed suit to block the Department of Education&#8217;s plan to close or phase out 22 schools it considers to be failing. (See <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/18/9563/">below</a>.)</p>
<p>Walcott charged that, y trying to block the closures, along with18 so-called <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/02/23/clamping-down-on-co-location/">co-locations</a> of charter schools and traditional public schools, the suit was &#8220;trying to perpetuate once again the status quo&#8221; that harms students and protect adults.&#8221;</p>
<p>He expressed particular irritation that the UFT et al had gone to court so late in the year when most eighth graders have already selected high schools for next years and some &#8212; he did not say how many &#8212; had opted for the new schools slated to go into space now occupied by the schools facing closure .</p>
<p>&#8220;This lawsuit will hold hostage these individuals,&#8221; he said indicating there would be a ripple effect throughout the system. </p>
<p>Last year the groups filed their successful suit against the school closing on Feb. 1. Since that time, the city has introduced new procedures for school closings, holding public hearings and releasing information to comply with state education law. The union and the NAACP, though, argue it is still in violation of the law and its own agreements.</p>
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		<title>Back to Court on School Closings</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/18/9563/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/18/9563/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 18:08:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gail Robinson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naacp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city department of education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[school closings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[uft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United Federation of Teachers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9563</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A year after they successfully sued to stop school closings, the United Federation of Teachers and the NAACP have returned to court to try to stop the latest round of school phase outs and shut-downs. This year&#8217;s action also seeks to halt 18 so-called co-locations of charter schools with traditional public school buildings in Department [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A year after they <a href=" http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/judge-voids-city-school-closings/">successfully sued</a> to stop school closings, the <a href=" http://www.uft.org/ ">United Federation of Teachers</a> and the <a href=" http://www.naacp.org/content/main/ ">NAACP</a> have returned to court to try to stop the latest round of <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/education/20110131/6/3460 ">school phase outs and shut-downs</a>. This year&#8217;s action also seeks to halt 18 so-called <a href=" http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2010/02/23/clamping-down-on-co-location/ ">co-locations</a> of charter schools with traditional public school buildings in Department of Education buildings. </p>
<p>In the action, the UFT and the NAACP, joined by individuals and community groups, charge that the city ignored agreements it had reached last year to help the school its was then trying to close. Fifteen of the schools named in today&#8217;s legal action had won a temporary reprieve from last year&#8217;s suit. The city announced in December it would try again to close them. Four schools cited last year, though, are not longer slated for shutdown.</p>
<p>In addition, the plaintiffs charge the city did not seek approval from the state education commissioner for the closing, something the suit says it must do.</p>
<p>On the co-locations, the suit charges the plans give students in charter school better access to school facilities than those of the traditional public schools with which it shares space. For example the suit alleges, the department&#8217;s plan for the PS114  building would allow PS114 students to use of the gym for three and a half hours every day, while Explore Charter School, with far fewer students, would get the space for almost three hours. The charter students also would have use of the playground for more time. </p>
<p>Following last year&#8217;s suit, the Department of Education implemented new procedures for school closings and co-locations, including more public hearings and distributing additional information on the proposed closing or collocation. Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city has shut more than 90 school and opened 335 schools, many small, both conventional schools and charters.</p>
<p>Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is scheduled to respond to the suit later today.</p>
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		<title>Living Wage Gets Its Hearing</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/12/living-wage-gets-its-hearing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/12/living-wage-gets-its-hearing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 May 2011 22:37:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christine Quinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic development corp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[living wage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mayor michael bloomberh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oliver Koppell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tokumbo shobowale]]></category>

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9462</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As expected, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a $65.7 billion budget this morning, which slashes 6,166 teaching positions, would close 20 fire companies and shutter four swimming pools this summer. 
Bloomberg deflected all of the blame for the fiscal pain. Instead, he pointed towards Albany and Washington.
&#8220;Both places are keeping our tax dollars to close their [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/05/05/more-budget-cuts-more-budget-blame/">expected</a>, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/omb/html/publications/finplan05_11.shtml">$65.7 billion budget</a> this morning, which slashes 6,166 teaching positions, would close 20 fire companies and shutter four swimming pools this summer. </p>
<p>Bloomberg <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&#038;catID=1194&#038;doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2011a%2Fpr141-11.html&#038;cc=unused1978&#038;rc=1194&#038;ndi=1">deflected</a> all of the blame for the fiscal pain. Instead, he pointed towards Albany and Washington.</p>
<p>&#8220;Both places are keeping our tax dollars to close their budget deficits,&#8221; Bloomberg said. &#8220;If the state was paying 50 percent of the Department of Education, we would not be talking about laying off teachers.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Bloomberg did not hesitate to blame Albany, he also acknowledged the city was unlikely to receive any reprieve from the state or federal government. For now, the city will use the remainder of its surplus to close the budget hole. </p>
<p>The mayor&#8217;s executive plan did back away from slashing <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/138596/ny1-exclusive--ny1-marist-poll-finds-giuliani-has-most-state-republican-support--trump-trails-far-behind">16,000 child care slots</a> &#8212; the result of a loss in federal funding. The administration plans to save the positions by expanding after school programs and increasing funding for the Administration for Children&#8217;s Services. The cost of the slots was originally put at $91 million. Officials said the program could be saved with just $40 million. </p>
<p>Advocates and council members, however, questioned the mayor&#8217;s calculations. </p>
<p>&#8220;With the budget released today, the administration is continuing its assault on early childhood education by cutting $50 million from our city&#8217;s child care,&#8221; said Councilman Steve Levin. &#8220;It is an outrageous sleight of hand that this administration would present itself as the savior of child care while simultaneously destroying it for thousands of New Yorkers. It&#8217;s like someone starting a fire, just so he could take the credit for putting 40 percent of that fire out.&#8221;    </p>
<p>In a joint statement, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Finance Chairman Domenic Recchia identified teacher layoffs, the child care cuts, a 29 percent cut to libraries and fire companies as their top priorities. </p>
<p>&#8220;Since the recent financial crisis and recession, the City Council has worked aggressively to control spending and manage the city’s budget in a fiscally responsible manner while protecting vital services,&#8221; they said. &#8220;That’s why we have grave concerns about a budget that allows for teacher layoffs, which would be immensely damaging to our education system and children&#8217;s opportunities for a quality education. Make no mistake, we will do everything in our power to prevent teacher layoffs.&#8221;<br />
<span id="more-9462"></span><br />
The council is expected to identify other areas of the budget to cut instead. Already, council officials are calling on the mayor to find savings in its outside contracting. </p>
<p>This latest proposal represents the 10th round of cuts for the Big Apple in three years. In order for the council to stave off teacher layoffs, officials would have to identify $435 million in additional savings, according to the Bloomberg administration. To prevent the fire company closures, it would have to find another $55 million. </p>
<p>The council will kick off their budget hearings next week. The mayor and the council must reach a budget agreement before July 1. </p>
<p>More analysis and reaction to come later. </p>
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		<title>Fare Increase Not a Bargaining Chip?</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/29/fare-increase-not-a-bargaining-chip/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/29/fare-increase-not-a-bargaining-chip/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:44:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Bhairavi Desai]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[david yassky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[taxi and limousine commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taxis]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9430</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Asking for a fare increase as city officials are trying to get a new class of cab in the outer boroughs isn&#8217;t playing hardball, Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, told Gotham Gazette today. 
It&#8217;s merely about timing. 
&#8220;It&#8217;s generally not a negotiation ploy by us,&#8221; Desai said, citing the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Asking for a fare increase as city officials are<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/nyregion/new-york-city-shelves-plan-to-legalize-hailing-livery-cabs.html"> trying to get a new class of cab</a> in the outer boroughs isn&#8217;t playing hardball, Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the <a href="http://www.nytwa.org/">New York Taxi Workers Alliance</a>, told Gotham Gazette today. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s merely about timing. </p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s generally not a negotiation ploy by us,&#8221; Desai said, citing the increased cost of gas. &#8220;For us, the fare proposal has been in the works, because we know next month it will be seven years since we&#8217;ve had an overall raise. Driver income has not been at a livable standard.&#8221;</p>
<p>The alliance announced this week it will be asking the Taxi and Limousine Commission for an approximately 25 percent fare increase. The proposal will not be finalized until Wednesday, but Desai said it would likely ask for the waiting rate to increase from 40 to 50 cents and the mileage rate to go up to $2.50 from $2. The alliance will also ask for increases in taxi surcharges for rush hour and late night. </p>
<p>The request comes as the Bloomberg administration attempts to drill down a proposal to get more cab service in the outer boroughs. Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced in his <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110120/203/3455">State of the City speech</a> in January he would <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110119/203/3454">propose legislation</a> to allow livery cabs in the outer boroughs to pick up people hailing on the street &#8212; prohibited under current law. </p>
<p>After a <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703778104576287502122288290.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">backlash</a> from city officials and the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110330/203/3501">taxi industry</a>, the administration is considering creating another class of yellow cab that would be limited to outer-borough pick ups instead. </p>
<p>Desai said the alliance isn&#8217;t opposed to servicing the outer boroughs, but as it stands now <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&#038;ct2=us%2F0_0_s_5_0_t&#038;usg=AFQjCNF7i3xjuaxKs9lSIBtXZL0_08N9vg&#038;did=a91eca203302be3&#038;sig2=6vSf4-S-w4wOXpkeF3YMpA&#038;cid=17593889349947&#038;ei=UCK7TeD6IMfrgge4mPKEAg&#038;rt=MORE_COVERAGE&#038;vm=STANDARD&#038;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ny1.com%2F%3FArID%3D138200">it&#8217;s not economical.</a> Drivers cannot cruise residential streets for street pickups without losing money, she said. A fare increase would help convince drivers to go to Brooklyn or Queens, Desai added. She also suggested creating cab stands in commercial areas of the outer boroughs. </p>
<p>On his radio show this morning, Bloomberg said he was sympathetic to the cab industry&#8217;s qualms. </p>
<p>Above all else, Desai said she wants to make sure the yellow cab reserves the exclusive right to pick up New Yorkers at the curbside. </p>
<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t want to see more vehicles on the road,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to increase congestion and increase competition in a field where it&#8217;s already competitive.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Walcott Visits the Council</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/08/walcott-visits-the-council/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/04/08/walcott-visits-the-council/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:32:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Measuring UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work and Labor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Council]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dennis Walcott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Department of Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[letitia james]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Jackson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9368</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In his first visit to the City Council as the schools chancellor designee, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott was informed, cordial and calm. 
Most council members lauded him. All of them offered congratulations. 
&#8220;You are much more knowledgeable than Cathie Black,&#8221; said Councilmember Letitia James. &#8220;You are much more accessible.&#8221;
And that praise came despite the fact [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In his first visit to the City Council as the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110408/203/3507">schools chancellor designee</a>, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott was <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/04/08/2011-04-08_dennis_walcott_speaks_to_the_daily_news_editorial_board_the_new_chancellor_chart.html">informed, cordial and calm. </a></p>
<p>Most council members lauded him. All of them offered congratulations. </p>
<p>&#8220;You are much more knowledgeable than Cathie Black,&#8221; said Councilmember Letitia James. &#8220;You are much more accessible.&#8221;</p>
<p>And that praise came despite the fact Walcott was the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110218/203/3468">bearer of bad news.</a> Toeing the administration&#8217;s line, Walcott slammed state budget cuts to the five boroughs, claiming the city was treated unfairly. While the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/education/20050217/6/1325">Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit</a> was supposed to give the city its fair share of education aid, Walcott said city revenue would cover 61 percent of non-federal education spending in next year&#8217;s budget. The state would only cover 39 percent.</p>
<p>Walcott claimed the vast majority of controllable costs at the Department of Education go to teachers&#8217; salaries. The only way to close a $1 billion budget gap, he said, would be to lay off teachers. </p>
<p>&#8220;That means, with a budget shortfall of this magnitude, a reduction in headcount is unavoidable,&#8221; Walcott said. </p>
<p>There was some dispute between Walcott and Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson on the administration&#8217;s proposal to repeal the <a href="http://tuskstrategies.com/index.cfm?objectid=7ADA619A-39DE-11E0-B3FE000C296BA163">city&#8217;s last in, first out policy</a> &#8212; which requires the city lay off teachers based on seniority. The policy&#8217;s repeal is a major goal of the Bloomberg adminsitration this year. </p>
<p>Walcott said the city has incentives for principals to keep teachers based on skill instead of how much their salary is. Jackson, however, said the repeal of LIFO could spur discrimination &#8212; with principals getting rid of the more senior, expensive instructors in favor of cheaper, younger ones. </p>
<p>Ultimately, Jackson said, the issue is moot.<br />
<span id="more-9368"></span><br />
&#8220;You and I know the issue of LIFO is a dead issue,&#8221; said Jackson, referring to the State Assembly&#8217;s opposition. &#8220;You can beat a dead horse to the ground.&#8221;</p>
<p>Council members also took issue with the administration&#8217;s claim it would take $700 million to prevent teacher layoffs. In its preliminary budget, the administration put the price tag at $269 million.  </p>
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		<title>Vote Breakdown for Koch Queensboro</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/24/vote-breakdown-for-koch-queensboro/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2011/03/24/vote-breakdown-for-koch-queensboro/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:08:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Courtney Gross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye Opener]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nextNY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ed Koch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ed koch queensboro bridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Michael Bloomberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[queensboro bridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vote]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=9322</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We have had a number of requests for a breakdown of yesterday&#8217;s vote on the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. 
(We cover the debate this morning here.)
So, without further ado, here you go: 
Maria Del Carmen Arroyo &#8212; absent
Charles Barron &#8212; no
Gale A. Brewer &#8212; yes
Fernando Cabrera &#8212; yes
Margaret S. Chin &#8212; no
Leroy G. Comrie, Jr. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have had a number of requests for a breakdown of <a href="http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=824125&#038;GUID=EC42D52E-FB08-4A30-9BC6-8C49281FE074&#038;Options=&#038;Search=">yesterday&#8217;s vote</a> on the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110324/203/3495">Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.</a> </p>
<p>(We cover the debate this <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20110324/203/3495">morning here</a>.)</p>
<p>So, without further ado, here you go: </p>
<p>Maria Del Carmen Arroyo &#8212; absent<br />
Charles Barron &#8212; no<br />
Gale A. Brewer &#8212; yes<br />
Fernando Cabrera &#8212; yes<br />
Margaret S. Chin &#8212; no<br />
Leroy G. Comrie, Jr. &#8212; no<br />
Elizabeth S. Crowley &#8212; yes<br />
Inez E. Dickens &#8212; yes<br />
Erik Martin Dilan &#8212; yes<br />
Daniel Dromm &#8212; yes<br />
Mathieu Eugene &#8212; yes<br />
Julissa Ferreras &#8212; yes<br />
Lewis A. Fidler  &#8212; yes<br />
Helen D. Foster &#8212; no<br />
Daniel R. Garodnick &#8212; no<br />
<span id="more-9322"></span><br />
James F. Gennaro &#8212; yes<br />
Vincent J. Gentile &#8212; yes<br />
Sara M. Gonzalez &#8212; yes<br />
David G. Greenfield &#8212; yes<br />
Daniel J. Halloran III &#8212; no<br />
Vincent M. Ignizio &#8212; yes<br />
Robert Jackson &#8212; yes<br />
Letitia James &#8212; no<br />
Peter A. Koo &#8212; yes<br />
G. Oliver Koppell &#8212; yes<br />
Karen Koslowitz &#8212; yes<br />
Brad S. Lander 	&#8211; yes<br />
Jessica S. Lappin &#8212; yes<br />
Stephen T. Levin &#8212; yes<br />
Melissa Mark-Viverito &#8212; yes<br />
Darlene Mealy &#8212; yes<br />
Rosie Mendez &#8212; yes<br />
Michael C. Nelson &#8212; yes<br />
James S. Oddo &#8212; yes<br />
Annabel Palma &#8212; yes<br />
Christine C. Quinn &#8212; yes<br />
Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. &#8212; yes<br />
Diana Reyna &#8212; yes<br />
Joel Rivera &#8212; yes<br />
Ydanis A. Rodriguez &#8212; yes<br />
Deborah L. Rose &#8212; no<br />
James Sanders, Jr. &#8212; yes<br />
Larry B. Seabrook &#8212; yes<br />
Eric A. Ulrich &#8212; yes<br />
James Vacca &#8212; yes<br />
Peter F. Vallone, Jr. &#8212; no<br />
James G. Van Bramer &#8212; no<br />
Albert Vann &#8212; no<br />
Mark S. Weprin &#8212; yes<br />
Thomas White, Jr. &#8212; yes<br />
Jumaane D. Williams &#8212; no</p>
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