Week of June 27, 2005
7/01/05
Today's Lead Stories...
Council Approves Budget
The New York City Council approved the $50.2 billion budget, the largest in
the city's history, by a vote of 50 to zero on Thursday, the last day
possible before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. The budget
distributes millions of dollars to cultural institutions, non-profit
agencies and other community groups in council districts during this
election year, but some members of the council accused Speaker Gifford
Miller of retaliating against them for their recent stand on the garbage
plan.
"There is so much pork you can almost hear it oink," Bronx Councilmember Madeline Provenzano said during debate. "One person's pork is another person's meal that saves them from hunger," Bronx Councilmember Oliver Koppell replied. For details on the budget, and other votes taken by the council at the meeting - such as an increase of fines for illegal firework, greater protection for Jamaica Bay, making water ferries accessible to the disabled - see our City Council Stated Meeting Report for June 30, 2005.
In the Press...
Bloomberg Vows Strong Response In Howard Beach Racial Attack; Second Man Charged (NY Times)
Boil Your Tap Water Today, City Advises (Muddy Runoff Contaminated One Of The City's Reservoirs) (Daily News)
City To Contest Census Report That Population Is Shrinking (Newsday)
Homelessness Down Nine Percent Over Past Six Months Thanks To His Policies, Mayor Says (NY Sun)
Three federal bills could make things easier for immigrants (Gotham Gazette)
A Push For Environmentally Friendly Hybrid Cabs (Which Have Less Legroom) (Forbes)
6/30/05
Today's Lead Stories...
Freedom Tower Revisited
Officials unveiled a redesign of the Freedom Tower planned for Lower
Manhattan yesterday. The new 77-story skyscraper would sit atop a 200-foot
concrete and steel pedestal, with no occupied office space at the base of
the building. It would also be 40 feet farther away from West Street. The
building was redesigned after the police department said the earlier version
was vulnerable to car or truck bomb. The new building will not be completed
until 2010, two years later than initially planned.
Subway Rules Postponed
Faced with a barrage of unanticipated criticism, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority has postponed a vote on new subway regulations that
would prohibit moving between subway cars, drinking from an open container,
and other passenger behaviors. Transit officials say they are trying to
improve safety and cleanliness. But politicians, transit advocates, and
riders have protested the rules as unnecessary - and even harsh - for
passengers.
In the Press...
Racketeering Lawsuit Expected Against Dock Workers Union (NY Times)
Brooklyn Judge Removed from Seat (Daily News)
Council Bill Makes Way for Hybrid Taxis (NY Post)
City Economic Growth Outpaces U.S. for First Time Since 2001 (NY Newsday)
Recreation for Youth In Short Supply (Gotham Gazette)
Parks Links In the News (Gotham Gazette)
Brooklyn Councilmember David Yassky to Run for Congress (NY Observer)
Most Black and Hispanic Students Graduate with Local, But Not Regents Diploma (Amsterdam News)
6/29/05
Today's Lead Stories...
Budget Deal
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council last
night reached an agreement on a $50.2 billion budget
for the fiscal year that begins Friday. The budget is
half a billion dollars larger than the one Bloomberg
proposed last month, largely because it includes money
to cover an increase in police salaries ordered by a
state panel yesterday, as well as more spending for
education, cultural and social service programs sought
by the City Council. The budget, which faces a
formal vote tomorrow, includes a property tax rebate
and an end to the city sales tax on clothing and shoes
costing less than $110 (the state tax remains). For
more on the budget deal and the police contract, go to
City Hall News.
Freedom Tower Redesign
Officials today will unveil the new plan for the
1,776-foot Freedom Tower at Ground Zero The latest
incarnation, hurriedly designed to address security
concerns raised by the police department, is
reportedly more evocative of the World Trade Center
towers than the previous designs. It will feature a
sturdy 200-foot concrete and steel pedestal topped by
a tapering 69-floor tower and finally by a
trellis-like structure reaching to 1,776 feet. It does
not include the previous designs' asymmetrical spire,
windmills, and open-air arcade. For more, see the New
York Times.
Meanwhile, plans for another building in Lower Manhattan -- the Fulton Street Transit Center -- are being scaled back because of budget concerns, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced. Among other changes, the prominent dome will be smaller than originally planned and the concourse linking the building with the Trade Center site will be narrowed.
In the Press...
Plaza Owners Announced Plans for Penthouses, Shops (NY Times)
Police Contract Slashes Pay for Rookies (Daily News)
CUNY Raises Graduate School Tuition (NY Post)
Schools Gets Mixed Reviews as Summer Vacation Begins (NY Newsday)
Rice, Rally Send City Olympic Delegates Off to Singapore (NY 1)
Many College Graduates Still Live with Parents, by Andrew Beveridge (Gotham Gazette)
Demographics Links in the News -- How Big is New York, Single in the Suburbs, and More (Gotham Gazette)
6/28/05
Today's Lead Stories...
New Subway Rules
NYC Transit has recommended new rules for the subway, which would ban moving between cars (even when the subway is at the station), wearing roller skates, riding a skateboard, straddling a bicycle, sipping from an open container, resting one's feet on the seats. If passed by the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority tomorrow, the rules would go into effect in October. Violating them would carry fines up to $100. In response to widespread protest, the proposed ban on photography and video has been dropped.
In the Press...
Cops Get 10 Percent Raise, But Rookie Pay To Be Slashed (Daily News)
City Hall Rally, Featuring Condoleezza Rice, Will Send NYC's Olympic Boosters Off To Singapore (New York Post)
NYC To Adopt Hybrid Taxis? (Newsday)
"Handshake Agreement" On $50 Billion City Budget Expected Between Mayor And City Council Today Or Tomorrow (New York Sun)
Viability Of Windmills Studied For Fresh Kills (Staten Island Advance)
Better Poll Workers Means Better Elections, by Doug Israel (Gotham Gazette)
Voting Links In The News:
Albany Lawmakers Discover Compromise; Voting Machine Delays; Should 16-Year-Olds Vote? Etc. (Gotham Gazette)
Queer Youth Of Color Launch A Cop Watch Program To Stop Harassment (City Limits)
Collusion In The Effort To Destroy 2 Columbus Circle? by Tom Wolfe (New York Magazine)
"Operation Respect: Don't Laugh At Me", Brainchild Of Peter Yarrow, Will Use Folk Music To Combat Bullying In NYC Schools(The New Yorker)
At Book Party For Founder Of Taxicab Labor Union, Cabbies Complain About NYC Passengers (The New Yorker)
New York Tolerance Center, Branch Of Simon Wiesenthal Center, To Open In Midtown Next Month (NY-1)
6/27/05
Today's Lead Stories...
End-of-Session Laws in Albany
A flurry of new bills marked the end of the legislative session in Albany on Friday. Among those passed on the session's last day included a plan to create an inspector general's office and an outside budget office to oversee the state's scandal-plagued public authorities; a Lower Manhattan aid package intended to attract commercial tenants with tax credits and breaks; and approval of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to remove the city's sales tax on clothing and footwear costing less than $110. Many, including Governor George Pataki, saw campaign finance reform and redistricting as areas needy of more attention.
In the Press...
Arbitration Panel Looks Set to Grant Police 10 Percent Raise (NY Times)
City on Pace for Less than 500 Murders (Daily News)
Auto Insurers Cut New York Rates (New York Post)
Keyspan Park Yet to Revive Coney Island (Newsday)
Pataki Delays Decision on Reelection Bid (Albany Times-Union)
Recycle, Reuse ... Confused (Gotham Gazette)
Immigrants News from the Citizen (Gotham Gazette)