Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Citizens Union

City

Posted by on

In his third press conference on the subject in recent weeks, Mayor Michael Bloomberg will speak to leadership from the New York Police Department on public safety today.

Bloomberg's speech follows last week's address from City Council Speaker and Democratic mayoral candidate Christine Quinn's speech on the same subject.

Bloomberg has now held multiple press conferences with NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly on the heels of Boston marathon attacks, often discussing increased surveillance and opposition to what he calls "special interests" looking to change the Police Department's current practices.

More about:

Posted by on

A group of evacuees left homeless by Superstorm Sandy are suing to stay in hotels that the city says they need to leave by tomorrow. 

Six months to the day that Sandy hit New York City, five individuals filed a lawsuit today to prevent the city from following through with its deadline to end its temporary hotel program for Sandy victims.

Calling the city's deadlines "arbitrary," the suit seeks to force the city to keep paying for hotels until the residents can secure permanent housing. The lawsuit also says that the city's evictions notices were served without a fair hearing, which attorneys say does not comply with federal and state law.

"They have attempted to use whatever resources have been made available to them," said the complaint, "but have been stymied by poor case work, a lack of adequate housing resources and the failure of government agencies to timely implement forthcoming federally-funded housing resources."

The news came on the heels of a rally held in front of City Hall today, where a range of labor, faith and reform groups asked the city to extend the hotel deadline. They also called on the city to address the invasive mold problem in afflicted housing and properly track how the city spends money devoted to Sandy recovery.

...
More about:

Posted by on

Bronx state Sen. Gustavo Rivera has made it clear he favors Council Speaker Christine Quinn as the next mayor. Now he's endorsing her proposal to change the legal age to buy cigarettes to 21 from 18. 

"I strongly support any effort, such as raising the minimum age to buy tobacco, that will reduce our youth's access to these products and prevent them from becoming lifetime consumers, "  Rivera said in a statement. 

Rivera was the first state legislator to endorse in the mayoral race when he announced his support for Quinn earlier this month. 

Quinn, the frontrunner for the Democratic mayoral nomination, introduced her anti-tobacco legislation this week. 

Rivera's saw his own anti-tobacco legislation, which banned smoking within 100 feet of all school entrances, passed in 2012.

...
More about:

Posted by on

The City Council has once again delayed a vote on paid sick leave despite an earlier goal of a vote tomorrow.

After working to move the controversial bill to the Council floor for three years, Manhattan City Councilwoman Gale Brewer said yesterday that she hopes the bill will come to a vote in early May after negotiating the final language.

She added that only small, auxiliary verbs like "may" or "must."

"I think we'll be fine," Brewer said. "I still feel ecstatic."

Whatever language is eventually adopted into the bill is a result of weeks of negotiation between City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, labor advocates and the city's business leaders.

...
More about:

Posted by on

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended their temporary shelter assistance program for victims of Sany by 28 days at his request.

That means those displaced by Sandy can continue to stay in participating hotels and motels. 

FEMA will call applicants who are eligible for the extension to alert them that their new checkout date is May 29. 

Those displaced by Sandy can use the following methods to apply for assistance::

· Registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov;
· Registering via smartphone or tablet by using the FEMA app or going to m.fema.gov; or
· Registering by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) (TTY 800-462-7585). For 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

More about: