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Page at the Council
March 4th, 2010

This year’s preliminary budget might be the most preliminary proposal in recent memory, at least according to Councilmember Lewis Fidler and OMB Budget Director Mark Page, Gotham Gazette’s Courtney Gross reports from City Hall.

“We’re in a significant odd position right now in terms of the state,” Page said at the first of many preliminary budget hearings at City Hall this morning. According to Page, the city is seeing a $1.3 billion cut from the state, and until the state budget is approved, city officials won’t know how much they will have to cut back.

Given the mayhem in Albany, the timeframe for that budget approval is even hazier than usual. Officials at City Hall today did not sound confident that the state budget could be approved by the April 1 deadline. The city must pass its budget by July 1.

Until the state budget moves forward, council members appear to be making the proposed closure of 20 fire houses, the shutting of day care centers run by the Administration for Children’s Service and the reduction of children’s services case workers their top priorities.

As usual, the hearing this morning, which is heading into its third hour now, was contentious at times, particularly when the subject of day care centers was broached.

The city faces an estimated $2.6 billion budget deficit. The hearing was the first step in the negotiating process between the administration and the council on how to close that hole.

By Gail Robinson on March 4, 2010, 12:48 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Eye on Albany, Public Finance, Social Services | No Comments »

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

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

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

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

UPDATE: And this just in from the Yankees:

Statement by Alice McGillion, spokesperson for the New York Yankees

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

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

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

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De Blasio Takes on Bloomberg on Homelessness
January 19th, 2010

homeless

Take a look at the numbers, and the mayor’s homeless policies just aren’t working.

That was the message Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and homeless advocates sent this morning at a press conference urging the administration to rethink its homeless policies five years after it committed to reduce homelessness by two-thirds. Since the mayor took office, according to Mary Brosnahan of the Coalition for the Homeless, the number of homeless New Yorkers has increased by 45 percent.

“Their original goal was gutsy and noble and I think it took a lot of commitment and focus to even put that goal out,” said de Blasio. “But they did not follow up on it with the same kind of fervor and focus as they have in some other areas. So now acknowledge that the previous strategies have not worked, and borrow from old strategies that did work and create new ones and work with the people that are some of the experts right here next to me,” the newly minted public advocate said from his 15th floor office in the municipal building.

Act one, said de Blasio, should be giving homeless families priority for Section 8 vouchers, which was the practice under the three previous administrations before Bloomberg. The practice was suspended in 2005. The administration should also stop referring homeless individuals to three-quarter houses — small residential buildings that operate as illegal boarding houses, according to the public advocate’s office.

In the council, de Blasio introduced a bill that would have banned the city from referring homeless individuals to facilities that failed to meet occupancy standards.

In a letter to Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs dated January 18, de Blasio implored the administration to hold homeless services harmless in the upcoming budget negotiations by keeping open shelters slated for closure or by securing replacement facilities before their doors are locked. De Blasio also urged the administration to focus more on prevention.

This latest dispute is one of many more likely to come with de Blasio as public advocate.

By Courtney Gross on January 19, 2010, 2:03 pm
In category: City Hall, Civil Rights, Community Development, Crime & Safety, Economy, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Housing, Public Finance, Social Services, nextNY | No Comments »

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Signature Theatre Finds a Home
December 22nd, 2009

theater

After years of struggling to get on stage somewhere near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, the Signature Theatre Company has found a home in Hell’s Kitchen just mere blocks from Broadway, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and members of the company announced this morning.

On the still-cement ground floor of a building under construction on 10th Avenue, stars (yes, Maggie Gyllenhaal was spotted!) officials and theater-lovers gathered to unveil the company’s new address — to be known as the Signature Center. The theater, which will have an interior designed by the architect Frank Gehry, will be just one part of the building developed by the Related Companies. The entire 59-story structure will also include a 800 new housing units, 160 of which will are for low-income families, and it comes with a $800 price tag.

The company’s space will be comprised of three distinct theaters, rehearsal studios, a cafe, bookstore and administrative offices.

Following September 11, 2001, the company planned to relocate to a Gehry-designed building in Lower Manhattan at the site of the Ground Zero reconstruction. They were slated to also share the space with the Joyce Theater. But in 2007, the company accepted an offer to relocate — with the city’s help — because the shared space proposal proved to be cost prohibitive.

The city is contributing $25 million to the theater’s construction.

Today, donning a hard hat and nearly drowned out by the sounds of construction workers hammering and drilling overhead, Bloomberg dipped his hands in cement to solidify the announcement. And then the crowd applauded (though there was no standing ovation).

“Theater makers leave only three things behind: legends, play scripts and from time to time, when the economy’s good, landlords get it, when the mayor and City Council support it, buildings,” said Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner, whose works will comprise the company’s 2010-11 season.

The theater is slated to open in 2012.

By Courtney Gross on December 22, 2009, 2:15 pm
In category: Arts, City Hall, Economy, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Housing, Land Use, Public Finance, Social Services, nextNY | No Comments »

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New York's Say on Health Care
November 9th, 2009

If it were up to New York, the health care bill in Washington would have been approved by a much wider margin. The vast majority of the state’s 29 members of Congress said “ay.” (The Empire State’s Congressional Delegation approved the bill 24 to 5. The final vote in the house was 220 to 215.)

A full breakdown is below.

Also check out our series this week — “New York and the Health Care Debate” — where members of our State Legislature and several experts opine on what health care reform could mean for New York.

Votes on Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962):

Ackerman, Gary, New York, 5th: yes
Arcuri, Michael A., New York, 24th: yes
Bishop, Timothy, New York, 1st: yes
Clarke, Yvette D., New York, 11th: yes
Crowley, Joseph, New York, 7th: yes
Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on November 9, 2009, 12:53 pm
In category: Albany, City Hall, Gotham City, Governing, Health, Law, Social Services, nextNY | No Comments »

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We Want to Know About Unemployment
June 23rd, 2009

Between April and May, the city’s unemployment rate jumped from 8 to 9 percent, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning.

That amounts to more than 361,000 people within the five boroughs who are collecting unemployment insurance from the state — at a maximum of $430 a week per individual. In a city where the least expensive one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan goes for approximately $1,611, those unemployment checks may barely cover your rent.

We want to know how you do it. In our first partnership with Huffington Post New York, which launched yesterday, we are kicking off a citizen journalism project that will take an in-depth look at unemployment in New York City and state.

If you rely on unemployment insurance or have contemplated heading to the unemployment office, we want to hear from you. How are you stretching $430 or less across a week? What sacrifices are you making? What help have you received in searching for a new job? Send your responses to eyesonunemployment@gmail.com.

Gotham Gazette will be using your stories for our investigation into the state’s unemployment benefits.

By Courtney Gross on June 23, 2009, 10:30 am
In category: Albany, Economy, Gotham City, Housing, Public Finance, Social Services, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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Cuts Could Place City Libraries at Bottom
June 2nd, 2009

If proposed library cuts go through, the city will rank the lowest of the nation’s 22 largest library systems in terms of average operating hours, according to a survey by Councilmember Vincent Gentile’s office. The study showed that the city’s three library systems would round out the bottom of the list, with Manhattan at number 20, Queens at 21, and Brooklyn dead last.

The survey – an update to one previously conducted in 2007 by the Center for an Urban Future – was included in a letter by 13 council members urging the mayor to abandon his proposal to cut the libraries’ budgets by 22 percent.

“It appears that you do not consider libraries to be a priority in this fiscal climate. We couldn’t disagree more – our support of libraries and the preservation of their funding is more important to the vitality and future of New York City than ever,” the letter states. “If we cut $46.5 million from libraries’ budgets, individuals will become isolated, community groups will lose some of their impact and the unemployed will have to struggle harder to find work.”

“Tough economic times, when we have them, only make libraries that much more important,” Gentile said at a rally against the cuts last week. “Whether it be looking for a job, or using some free resources, reading materials, or jobs training, or skills training, you find those at the library. And you find them for free.”

The cuts would result in nearly 1,000 layoffs and no weekend service at many branches. Meanwhile, library attendance is up 12 percent.

By Mike Muller on June 2, 2009, 2:49 pm
In category: Economy, Measuring UP, Public Finance, Social Services | No Comments »

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New Committee Heads
February 27th, 2009

The City Council’s committee leadership has been restructured since members Mike McMahon, Joe Addabbo and Hiram Monserrate moved on to higher office pastures.

These changes, which are selected by Council Speaker Christine Quinn, mean every member, except council members Mathieu Eugene and Liz Crowley, receive some sort of extra lulu (or stipend).

Eugene and Crowley are also the council’s newest members. Crowley joined in January and Eugene joined in May of 2007.

The changes are as follows:
Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on February 27, 2009, 12:24 pm
In category: Crime & Safety, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, Health, Law, Social Services, nextNY | No Comments »

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Food Fight
February 25th, 2009

The mayor’s controversial refusal to extend food stamp benefits to able-bodied adults who do not work came in for more attack today — this time on the Times’
editorial page
.

Calling Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s policy “cramped,” the paper said his decision not to take advantage of a provision in the economic stimulus package providing such benefits beyond the city’s three-month limit would deprive the city of the “instant jolt to the economy” that food stamps provide. Citing a calculation by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the editorial said the mayor’s stand could cost the city million of dollars in money from Washington.

The administration has said the mayor’s position on food stamps simply reaffirms his stand that work is the best way to escape poverty.
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By Gail Robinson on February 25, 2009, 2:55 pm
In category: Economy, Gotham City, Social Services | 2 Comments »

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Crawling to a Hearing
February 24th, 2009

Photo via Wiki Commons

Photo via Wiki Commons


Sleep tight, but don’t let the bed bugs bite.

That adage could find new meaning today at City Hall. At 1 p.m., the City Council will hold a hearing on three bills aimed at eradicating the nasty pests from our urban mattresses.

All introduced by Councilmember Gale Brewer, who has been on a bed bug blasting crusade for several years, the first bill would ban the sale of refurbished mattresses and fine violators between $250 and $1,000. It would also create a five-member bed bug task force to look into health concerns caused by the invasive species (For more on other invasive species, check out our package: Know Your Invasive Critters and Invasion New York).
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By Courtney Gross on February 24, 2009, 12:17 pm
In category: Gotham City, Health, Immigrants, Social Services | No Comments »

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Krueger on Food Stamp Access
February 18th, 2009

State Sen. Liz Krueger issued a press release today decrying reports that the Bloomberg administration has declined to take advantage of a provision in the federal stimulus bill that overturns a 1996 rule that placed limitations on the length of time some citizens could receive food stamps.

Under the old rule, healthy people with no dependents were limited to three months’ worth of food stamps in a three year span. The New York Times reported this week that Bloomberg administration officials insisted they are “not obligated to extend benefits to anyone not enrolled in the Work Experience Program, a workfare program that provides temporary jobs, usually in city agencies.”

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By David King on February 18, 2009, 8:22 pm
In category: Albany, Economy, Eye on Albany, Gotham City, Social Services | 5 Comments »

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Fast Cash -- At a Price
February 5th, 2009

Instant. Rapid. Fast cash. These are all appealing phrases to low-income New Yorkers dependent on their tax refunds to help pay the bills. Unfortunately, the terms also describe predatory loans that do offer quick access to tax refunds, but come with interest rates as high as 300 percent.

After a four week sweep, the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs inspected hundreds of tax preparation services and issued over 1,200 violations. The top violations were for deceptive advertising for such refunds, called refund anticipation loans, or RALs.

In its sweep, the department targeted agencies with prior violations, as well as neighborhoods with high percentages of Earned Income Tax Credit filers. The crackdown will continue through the tax season.

Such loans cost the city’s poorest neighborhoods $324 million dollars between 2002 and 2005, according to a report by the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project.
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By Mike Muller on February 5, 2009, 2:50 pm
In category: Economy, Social Services | No Comments »

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Leadership and Taxes
January 6th, 2009

David King reports on the day’s events in Albany:

State Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith may be nearing a deal with the “gang of three,” Jimmy Vielkind of the PolitickerNY.com reports. According to Vielkind, the three rogue Democratic senators would be given committee chairmanships in a deal reminiscent of the one reached in December, which eventually fell apart. Unlike last time, Smith will seek the input of the rest of the Democratic conference before reaching any final accord. And in an indication things remain somewhat unresolved, Vielkind reports that one of the gang of three — Bronx Sen. Ruben Diaz — will not attend tonight’s scheduled meeting of Senate Democrats.

Republican Assemblymember James Tedisco lightened the mood at the Capitol today by launching his anti-”iTax” site. Tedisco’s stand against Gov. David Paterson’s proposed 8 percent tax on individual song and movie downloads features a YouTube clip of Tedisco listening to his iPod and singing along with “New York New York.” The site also features iPod commercial-esque dancing silhouettes with phrases like “Don’t break my achy, breaky heart with the iTax” and “The Gov is taxin’ my hip-hop.”
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By Gail Robinson on January 6, 2009, 6:46 pm
In category: Albany, Electoral Politics, Public Finance, Social Services | 1 Comment »

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An Ambitious Budget and Deadline
December 16th, 2008

Gov. David Paterson went for drama with his first budget — all five books of it.

Over the next two years, the proposal hopes to fill a $15.4 billion budget gap by both increasing fees (what some may say is a clever disguise for taxes) and cutting services. It will cut $3.5 billion from Medicaid and $2 billion from school aid.

The governor said in his budget address this morning, which was done a month earlier than usual, that he hopes to revise the state’s Empire Zones tax abatement program to make companies more accountable for job creation. He also plans to lay off more than 3,100 public employees, which will likely come from merging seven state agencies and closing “underutilized” state facilities.

What could be his most ambitious pursuit — and certainly the toughest aspect of the budget to accomplish — is the self-imposed deadline of March 1, a month before the state’s budget deadline. Though many have said it can’t be done, Paterson said the state could save $1.3 billion from passing the budget a month early.
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By Courtney Gross on December 16, 2008, 1:34 pm
In category: Albany, Economy, Education, Health, Public Finance, Social Services, Transportation, nextNY | No Comments »

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How to Cut Spending
October 8th, 2008

As the markets plunge and Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson calls for budget cutbacks, opposition to some of the possible reductions in programs has begun to build. A new coalition, One New York: Fighting for Fairness, will hold its first press conference this Friday. According to the press release from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which seeks funding for public schools, the coalition seeks to raise “revenues fairly and reasonably, rather than balancing the budget on the backs of the neediest.” (Sound like a possible millionaire’s tax hike to you?)

Meanwhile an article by Juan Gonzalez in today’s Daily News seems sure to raise the hackles of coalition members. While the Department of Education faces $$185 million in new cuts, Gonzalez reports, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein continues to pack the Tweed Courthouse with high-priced “educrats.” Despite an alleged hiring freeze, the department has announced it seeks to fill several high-paying positions with strange titles: knowledge management domain leader for leadership and organizational management; knowledge management domain leader for mathematics and science; and senior achievement facilitator. All these posts pay $170,000 a year (with benefits).

The new hires, according to Gonzalez, represent a trend as the head count at department headquarters increased by nearly 400 between October 2004 and last April. The greatest boost — ironically, if not surprisingly — has come in the Office of Accountability.

By Gail Robinson on October 8, 2008, 8:26 am
In category: Education, Public Finance, Social Services | No Comments »

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The New York Post's War on Poverty
July 21st, 2008

Since Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed changing the formula for calculating the federal poverty level, the New York Post editorial page has waged a steady campaign to discredit the idea – even questioning the notion of poverty itself.

“No family of four could survive for a year in New York City on a total income of $26,138. Period.” the Post declared last week. The problem, the paper believes, is that any measurement of poverty fails to account for the “reality of life in this town – with its immigrants (legal or otherwise), its hustlers, its elderly, its huge student population – and, above all else, its pulsing underground economy.”

A few days later, columnist Heather McDonald wrote that any threshold for poverty is a “relative measure.” “Under this definition, no general increase in affluence can ever eliminate ‘poverty’ or the need for a larger federal government to ‘cure’ it,” she writes. 

And today, the paper warns that Bloomberg may be planning a ”major expansion of government ‘antipoverty’ initiatives – a la John Lindsay 40 years ago.”

“He may fear that fewer and fewer New Yorkers these days are actually poor,” the Post concludes.

By Mark Berkey-Gerard on July 21, 2008, 10:26 am
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Calculating Poverty
July 14th, 2008

Good data is almost always a good idea, so it’s hard to dispute Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to update a formula for determining the poverty level, a formula that has existed since the mid 1960s.

If the mayor’s method of calculation were to be used, the percentage of New Yorkers considered poor would increase from about 19 percent to 23 percent. Cynics have observed this could help the city since, in the event that the federal government adopted the mayor’s method, more New Yorkers would be eligible for various types of assistance.

No matter how one does the math, though, the Bloomberg years have not been good for New York’s poorest citizens — despite the general economic boom.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on July 14, 2008, 1:35 pm
In category: Demographics, Economy, Social Services | 5 Comments »

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Budget Watch Continues (UPDATE)
June 26th, 2008

So Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s schedule this morning is centered on the city’s new aqua-exhibit, sending him zipping around the a.m. broadcasts.

But maybe he might be able to squeeze in a budget announcement later this afternoon following a courtesy visit with Nobel Laureate Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The News reports that there was a tentative compromise on cuts to the Department of Education, and the Politicker predicts a handshake could happen today or tomorrow.

Others are less optimistic.
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By Courtney Gross on June 26, 2008, 2:10 pm
In category: Economy, Education, Gotham City, Public Finance, Social Services | 4 Comments »

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Make Money, Help the Environment
February 29th, 2008

When most people think of recycling, they think of the environment. But another, less intuitive reason to recycle is to raise money. Yes, that old shirt or cell phone may actually be used to raise money for your school or to fight cancer. There are at least two programs operating in the city who use recycling as a fundraising tool.

On such program is called EcoPhones, a for-profit company that pays for electronic waste. At least six schools in the city collect old cellphones, CD players and ink cartridges, which EcoPhones collects and pays for.

At Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood, Brooklyn, they collect electronic waste throughout the school year, and have received about $300 from EcoPhone since September [corrected].

“It’s easy,” says Sandra Pinder, who administers the program, “If you have an old phone, you just bring it to us.” Not only does the school raise some money, it helps keeps trash that is often toxic from entering landfills.

Another program is Wearable Collections, which recycles old clothing and linen. This non profit organization will set up a bin a requested location in Manhattan (and sometimes the outer boroughs) and then collect it when it is full. They pay you for the textiles, and get the second hand clothing into the hands of people who need them all over the world.

Clothing and textiles account for about six percent of the garbage New York City generates, according to the Council on the Environment in New York City.

Wearable Collections’ founder, Adam Baruchowitz, started the program to raise money for spinal cord research after a friend of his was paralyzed in an accident, TreeHugger wrote in 2006.

By Mike Muller on February 29, 2008, 8:32 am
In category: Environment, Social Services, Tech | 1 Comment »

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Bracing for a Cold and Expensive Winter
November 15th, 2007

As New Yorkers begin bracing for winter chills, they may need to start bracing for heating cost shocks as well. According to a report released by U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer last week, average heating bills are expected to rise between 7 and 20 percent, leaving residents here with up to $400 bills for oil and $100 for gas. The senator also cited numbers that projected New York City residents will pay $597 million more on heating costs this winter than last year.

To help people here cope with such extraordinary costs, Schumer called for the release of $150 million in federal assistance from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program contingency fund.

New York State receives and distributes the most of these grants in the nation with over $233 million in grants being authorized across the state last year. Over $32 million of that was authorized for about 466,000 households in the city.

But the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a national research group, found that in the face of rising costs, almost 208,000 fewer New Yorkers will receive grants this year under President George W. Bush’s budget request (via the PULP blog).

New Yorkers that are eligible for the grants are automatically eligible for a weatherization program from the state Division of Housing & Community Renewal. The program improves the energy efficiency of a home by offering such services as caulking and weatherstripping, cleaning or repairing heating systems, and adding insulation, among other things.

By Mike Muller on November 15, 2007, 10:49 am
In category: Social Services | No Comments »

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