ORGS
NYC Government
NYS Government
US Government
Advocates
BIDs
Civics
Culture
Foundations
History
Labor
Public/Private
Think Tanks
BOROS
Bronx
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Staten Island
News Sites
Daily News
NY Times
Daily News
NY Post
Newsday
New York Sun
NYC Weeklies
Amsterdam News
City Limits Weekly
Crain's New York Business
Gay City News
New York Magazine
New York Observer
New Yorker, The
Time Out New York
Village Voice
Dailies, Weeklies, Monthlies, etc. »
Other-Language Press
NYC Blogs »
01-23-06
01-16-06
01-09-06
01-03-06
12-26-05
12-19-05
12-12-05
12-05-05
11-28-05
11-21-05
11-14-05
11-07-05
10-31-05
10-24-05
10-17-05
10-10-05
10-03-05
09-26-05
09-19-05
09-12-05
09-05-05
08-29-05
08-22-05
08-15-05
08-08-05
08-01-05
07-25-05
07-18-05
07-11-05
07-04-05
06-27-05
06-20-05
06-13-05
06-06-05
05-30-05
Week of January 23, 2006
January 27, 2006
State of the CityMayor Michael Bloomberg gave a State of the City address yesterday that was noted for a number of aggressive, ambitious proposals. Bloomberg said that World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein should give up the rights to develop two of the five towers planned for the World Trade Center in exchange for lower rent. In three of the city's poorest neighborhoods -- Bushwick, Melrose, and Bedford-Stuvyesant -- the mayor will create public-private task forces, partnering with CEOs of large corporations to "attack chronic unemployment and poverty.�
The mayor also called on unions to make concessions on health care and pension costs; repeated his plan to use the public schools to enroll children in public health insurance programs; said he would extend tax rebates for homeowners; and laid out further actions to decrease gun violence. He mentioned several ideas for improving the city's education system, but added that these efforts were being undermined by the state's refusal to comply with a court order that would give the city more money for education.
Read a full transcript.
Also, for the mainstream media�s coverage of the speech, see City Hall News.
City Has Put Hundreds in Foster Care Since Nixzmary Brown Killing (NY Times)
Transit Union Will Fine Strikebreakers (Daily News)
Pataki�s Proposed Cuts Would Devastate Hospitals, Advocates Say (NY Post)
City Gives Grants to Dozens of Community Environmental Projects (Newsday)
NYC Calendar: Chinese New Year, Tax-Free Week, and More ... (Gotham Gazette)
City Battles Diabetes (BBC News)
New York Leads Nation in Income Inequality (Metro)
Parkstat To Fight Crime (Gotham Gazette)
Parks Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)
January 26, 2006
Tough New OfferThe Metropolitan Transportation Authority yesterday proposed a contract far less generous to the city's transit workers than the one the workers narrowly voted down last Friday. The new offer has just about everything union members found objectionable in past proposals, including a requirement that workers begin contributing 1.5 percent of their wages toward a health-insurance premium. The transit authority filed its latest offer with the Public Employment Relations Board. It wants the state board to form a binding arbitration panel that has the power to impose a new contract on the union. Asked if the union was prepared to call for another strike, Secretary-Treasurer Ed Watt said, "In the short term, no. In the long term, we have to see."
For more, see Transportation Links in the News.
The State of The City Address
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to give The State of the City Address from the Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island at 1 pm today. He will announce plans to attack illegal guns, speed up rebuilding of the World Trade Center site and launch an anti-poverty program.
Please check back later for a complete transcript
Council Speaker's Messages Won't Be Mailed Citywide (NY Times)
Mayor Bloomberg to Lay Out His Plans for Another Term (Daily News)
Safety Has Improved At City's Three Main Airports (NY Post)
City Penalized $1.3 Million For Leaky Storage Tanks (Newsday)
Port Authority's Move To Turn Ship Away May Close Port (NY Sun)
Chinese Firm Leases Top of 7 World Trade (NY Observer)
City Puts 7 Line Extension On The Front Burner (Metro)
Honoring Nixzmary's Memory By Avoiding A Panicked Response (Gotham Gazette)
Children Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)
January 25, 2006
Changes in Child WelfareResponding to the death of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown, Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday announced major changes in child welfare programs. Saying he was not interested in "superficial change," Bloomberg called for $16 million in additional spending, the hiring of about 600 new employees, and better coordination among city agencies responsible for fighting abuse. Experts said the changes -- the most sweeping in child welfare services in a decade -- would improve the current system rather than replace it. While the mayor said a review of all 10,000 open child abuse cases in the city has revealed few concerns overall, it has found problems in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where Nixzmary lived. Her family was already under investigation for abuse at the time of her death.
For more, see Children Links in the News.
A More Democratic Council
New City Council Speaker Christine Quinn yesterday called for a number of changes in the way the council does business as she pledged to make the city legislature more democratic and open. The largely procedural reforms would give individual council members more power by, for example, making it easier for them to propose legislation. Quinn also wants to reduce the number of signatures needed to move a bill from committee to the full council, require more advance notice of council hearings and post revisions of bills on the council Web site. The council is expected to consider the changes in the next week.
For more, see City Hall News.
A Year After Signal Room Fire, Damaged Equipment Still Not Replaced (NY Times)
While Manhattan Booms, Inflation Affects Residents of Other Boroughs (NY Times)
Few Defibrillators at Subway Stations, Bus Depots (Daily News)
Politicians Divided Over Increase in Cigarette Tax (NY Post)
Advocates Criticize City Program to Aid Homeless Families (Newsday)
Manhattan Neighborhoods See a Surge in Twins (NY Sun)
City Activists Respond to Increased Police Surveillance (Village Voice)
Harlem Boys Choir Seeks to Avoid Eviction (NY 1)
Homelessness Increases, Report Finds (Metro)
Housing Court: Should Tenants Have A Guaranteed Right To Counsel? (Gotham Gazette)
Law Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)
January 24, 2006
What Now?It is still unclear what will happen now that transit workers have rejected the contract negotiated by their union leadership. Representatives of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Transport Workers Union Local 100 have not resumed negotiations. The MTA will reportedly ask the state Public Employment Relations Board this week to consider forming a panel that could impose the terms of a contract. Transit workers are so opposed to this binding arbitration that at least one dissident union leader has threatened to call another strike over it, but most observers say this is unlikely. It could take months before a resolution. For more information, go to transportation links in the news.
$1.7 Billion Expansion Plan Unveiled That Would Make Javits Convention Center Lighter, Airier (NY Times)
Despite Promise To Trim Administrative Costs, Schools Chancellor Klein Raised Top Aides' Salaries To $200 K (Daily News)
Mistrial Declared, Defendants Get New Charges, and Corrections Officers Complain After Courtroom Melee (Daily News)
In State Of City Address, Bloomberg Plans To Call For 50 Cent A Pack Hike In Cigarette Tax (NY Post)
Mayor Criticizes Pataki Budget For Shortchanging NYC, Especially In School Construction (Newsday)
Family Court Overwhelmed With New Cases (City Limits)
Developer Of Bronx Terminal Market Promises No Wal-Mart, But Other Big-Box Stores Possible (Metro)
Teachers In NYC's Institutions Of Higher Learning (Gotham Gazette)
Demographics Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)
January 23, 2006
Transit Contract RejectedMembers of Transport Workers Union Local 100 on Friday afternoon rejected the contract they went on strike to get -- by 7 votes out of more than 22,000. According to the Daily News, three dissenters -- "a radical token booth clerk, a son of a veteran striker and an immigrant once fired by union boss Roger Toussaint" -- helped defeat the contract. But the Times also notes that age played a role. Many older union members voted for the contract because of expanded health benefits for retirees, while younger members voted against the contract's 1.5 percent payment of wages to health premiums. Peter Kalikow, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has said that to settle the dispute he will now seek binding arbitration, which the union has strongly opposed.
For more, see Transportation Links In The News.
Landlords Turning Apartments into Tourist Hotels, Room by Room (NY Times)
Education Department Paying Too Much for Books (Daily News)
More City Schools Added to Poor Performing List than Removed (NY Post)
Hurricane Katrina Victims In New York Get the Boot, then Extension (Newsday)
Spitzer’s Wage Violation Actions Win Him Support from Undocumented Immigrants (NY Sun)
Mayor Urges New Yorkers To Take Tax Credit (NY 1)
Concerns About Brooklyn Park Plan Cross Party Lines (Metro)
New Medicare Prescription Drug Plan -- Off To A Bad Start (Gotham Gazette)
Social Services Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)





