Gotham Gazette

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Yesterday Con Edison revealed some of its first improvements to protect its network of equipment against flooding and storms as hurricane season quickly approaches. The planned upgrades are expected to total $1 billion over the next four years. To pay for it, the utility is asking for a rate hike that will amount to $3 a month per customer. Con Ed has been criticized for being understaffed when the storm hit and for handing out bonuses to executives for their handling of it. The utility is also planning to spend $1.2 billion this year on upgrades to prepare for the summer heat.

NEW IN GOTHAM GAZETTE: A Culture of Sexual Harassment In Albany?

Several lawmakers, longtime Albany political operatives, and former staffers say that there is a “boys' club” atmosphere in the capitol where women are pressured to go along to get along. They blame a failed system of protection for women from unwanted advances and inappropriate behavior from male superiors -- including outdated and sometimes confusing requirements for reporting sexual harassment that fail to provide the kind of safeguards that exist in the corporate world. By David Howard King.

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The Citi Bike bicycle-sharing program launched yesterday with about 6,000 trips taken by late afternoon. The privately funded program offers 6,000 bikes from stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Only those signed up for the $95 annual fee can ride them this week, which so far is around 15,000 people. It's already the largest system in the country, and will expand to 10,000 bikes with stations farther uptown, deeper into Brooklyn, and in Queens. One of the bikes was stolen as workers were delivering it to a station. A Daily News reporter took one for a ride and called the bike heavy and sturdy, and smooth but not quite fast. There were glitches with the racks, with bikes easily taken out without a key or unable to be returned. And the smartphone app didn't work yet. A protest was also held at a station in SoHo which is reserved for art.

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Anthony Weiner's entry into the mayoral race continues grabbing headlines. A mass of reporters trailed him around the city yesterday. The campaign will be one lacking institutional support. Gov. Cuomo "joked" that it would be a "shame" if he were elected. Weiner's wife - a Clinton operative - has been a main architect of the campaign. Since he left office, he didn't have to release financial disclosure forms like most of his Democratic competitors. Some have speculated that the midnight leak of his announcement was meant to keep puns off the front pages.

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Former Congressman Anthony Weiner announced his campaign last night with a video ad on his Web site. It went up accidentally at first but was still viewable on mobile browsers. He brings with him a $4.8 million war chest and could force a run-off election with rival candidate Council Speaker Christine Quinn. He was forced to resign from Congress over a sexting scandal and ran a strategic consulting firm during his absence. He has a 64 point plan with ideas spanning from giving public school students Kindles to using Medicaid money to create a city-run, single-payer health system for the uninsured.

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Three Hurt In Anti-Gay Attacks Days After Hate Killing (DNAinfo)

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Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is weathering criticism for his handling of recently-resigned Assemblyman Vito Lopez's harassment suit. In response, he's announced plans to create an independent investigator for sexual harassment complaints and mandatory reporting of them. Many are calling for the speaker's resignation, including one Assemblyman who threatened to leave the Democratic conference if he didn't step down. Silver has apologized for authorizing a secret settlement in Lopez's harassment suit, but says resignation is "ridiculous." The scandal may have weakened his bargaining power, but he has a strong grasp on power in the state. Gov. Cuomo has reportedly decided not to call a special election to replace Lopez to keep him from wielding influence over his successor. The governor also says the harassment scandal proves the need for passage of his women's agenda.

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