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 30, 2006
February 3, 2006
Police Officers Sue City Over ProtestsA group of police officers is suing the city for violating their First Amendment Rights at labor protests in 2004. Protestors were under "constant threat of arrest," according to the suit, and videotapes were prepared specifically documenting each individual protestor, then kept on file even though no crimes were committed. Anti-war and other protestors have made similar complaints, saying these tactics essentially criminalize dissent. The suit is one of three challenging new power the city gained to do surveillance of political activity in 2003 for antiterrorism efforts. The city argues that there is nothing unconstitutional about filming people in public places.
Many Political Consultants Are Also Lobbyists (NY Times)
311 Makes it Easier to Sue City (Daily News)
Crackdown on Internet Cigarettes Leads to $1.4 Million in Bills (NY Post)
Council Attacks Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Anti-Terror Efforts (Newsday)
NYC Calendar: Streets for People, Andrew Haswell Green and More ... (Gotham Gazette)
Feds Misled Public About Air Quality After 9/11, Judge Says (Associated Press)
With Crime Down, Guardian Angels Reconsider Their Role (AM New York)
February 2, 2006
Council Approves Bronx Market, New RulesThe New York City Council yesterday approved zoning measures that will let the Bronx Terminal Market development project push ahead. It was a big thumbs up for the Related Companies' $400 million Gateway Center mall, slated to be built on the site. Months of negotiations between developers, the city and community groups resulted in a "community benefits agreement" and the explicit banning of Walmart. The City Council also passed five resolutions aimed at reforming its own operating rules, including changes to how bills are drafted and provisions for more public notice of committee meetings, among others.
See City Hall News and Land Use links in the news
See also Five First Steps at the City Council and Searchlight
Overhaul Urged for Laws on AIDS Tests and Data (NY Times)
Mayor's Budget Cuts Millions from City Programs (Daily News)
36 Small Schools to Open (NY Post)
Boys Choir Founder Barred from Building as Eviction Looms (Newsday)
School Plan Said To Shortchange Schools and Pupils Who Do Well (NY Sun)
Harlem Shuffle in Lieutenant Governor's Race (Amsterdam News)
Spitzer Profile: An Unusual Politician Raises Fellow Democratic Eyebrows (NY Observer)
Corrections Needed in City's Jail System - Interview with Commissioner (Metro)
Five First Steps At The City Council (Gotham Gazette)
Voting Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)
February 1, 2006
Tonight -- 'The Works'
Gotham Gazette�s Reading
NYC Book Club will hold its meeting with Kate Ascher, author of
�The Works: Anatomy of a City� tonight from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the
Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, 425 6th Avenue
at 10th Street. All are welcome, but please RSVP by sending an e-mail
to books@gothamgazette.com.
Bloomberg's Budget
With the city expected to end the fiscal year with a $3.3 billion surplus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday proposed a budget for 2007 with no major new programs or tax cuts. Instead the $55.5 billion budget calls for setting aside money to address long-term costs that Bloomberg says threaten the city's future economic stability. Such expenses include pensions and benefits for city workers, Medicaid and debt service. And so Bloomberg wants to use $2 billion over the next two years to create a trust fund to pay retirees' health care costs, $500 million to pay down long-term debt, and $1 billion for capital projects that would normally be paid for by borrowing. He did call for spending $17 million more for the Administration for Children's Services, $70 million more for charter and special education schools, and money for a diabetes registry. While some City Council members criticized Bloomberg for not spending more on schools, Diana Fortuna, president of the business-backed Citizens Budget Commission, said Bloomberg "hit a home run." The mayor and City Council must agree on a budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1, by the end of June.
For more, see City Hall News.
City Repeatedly Warned of Trouble in Dead Boy�s Home (NY Times)
Surplus Could Eliminate Need for Transit Fare Hike in 2007 (Daily News)
Transit Union Wants to Return to Bargaining Table (Daily News)
City Orders Harlem Boys Choir to Leave Building - Immediately (NY Post)
Mother, Boyfriend Arrested in Death of 4-Year-Old (Newsday)
Jay McInerny�s 9/11 Novel � A Review (The New Yorker)
Donald Trump�s Libel Suit Against a Times Reporter (Village Voice)
Sherman Creek in Upper Manhattan Eyed for Development (Metro)
Arrested New Yorkers Held for Too Long Without Charges, Report Finds (am New York)
The State Of the City's Crimefighting (Gotham Gazette)
Crime Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)
January 31, 2006
Lapses, And Another DeathSeven-year-old Nixzmary Brown might not have died had social workers and police officers avoided a series of lapses, according to both a report by the Administration for Children�s Services and testimony before the City Council yesterday by the agency�s commissioner, John Mattingly. "We were in a position to protect Nixzmary,� Mattingly testified, �and were not able to get the job done.�
The admission came on the same day when police reported the death of another child suspected to be the victim of abuse. Four-year-old Quachon Browne of the Bronx is reportedly at least the fifth child to die since November �whose family,� as the Times puts it delicately, �was known to the child welfare authorities.� For details, see the children topic page links in the news.
For more, see Law Links in the News.
Bloomberg's Budget Expected To Include $2 Billion Reserve To Pay City Retirees' Health Care (NY Times)
Reworked New Yankee Stadium Plans Include Adjacent Parkland, Sports High School, Hotel (Daily News)
MTA To Test MetroCard Alternative (NY Post)
NYC Bar Association Head Calls For Merit System To Select State Judges (Newsday)
Plan Opposed For Restaurant In Renovated Union Square Park (NY Sun)
Appreciating Playwright Wendy Wasserstein (Washington Post)
Space Woes (Gotham Gazette)
Arts Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)
January 30, 2006
Court Halts System of Picking JudgesA Brooklyn federal judge ruled late Friday that the current system of nominating State Supreme Court judges was simply a device to "freeze the political status quo" and ordered it halted immediately. In his 77-page ruling , Judge John Gleeson said that future selection will be done by primary election until state lawmakers pass legislation setting up a new system. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought in 2004 by a citizens group, a candidate who could not get Democratic Party backing to get on the ballot in Brooklyn and eight voters.
For more, see Law Links in the News.
Albany's Oft-Skirted Rule on Gifts Is Just the Beginning, Filings Show (NY Times)
City Officials Called On Albany To End Permanently The State Portion Of The Sales Tax On Clothing (Daily News)
Federal Government Is Not Giving The City Its Full Share of No Child Left Behind Act Funding (NY Post)
Struggling To Hold On In Post-9/11 Chinatown (Newsday)
Study Links Poor Housing, Asthma Attacks (NY Sun)
Bus Drivers Close to Pact, But With Different Benefits Than Other City Transit Workers (Metro)
The Heroes Of 9/11 Are Getting Sick (Gotham Gazette)
Health Links In The News (Gotham Gazette)





