Dozens of activists blasted the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program yesterday and called on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to reform it.
“We expect her to share the sensibility that people in this community have when they are being targeted based on the color of their skin and who they are and their identity,” Louis Flores said before a march in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Quinn, a leading Democratic hopeful for mayor next year, has called on Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to reform the controversial practice. She has not yet taken a position on the four bills before the council to curtail it.
The group called on Quinn to cut the NYPD’s budget in order to do away with stop-and-frisk.
Although she negotiates and must approve the city budget every year, she can’t tell Kelly which programs to drop for lack of funds.
Critics decry as racist the practice of cops searching individuals they deem suspicious; Bloomberg and Kelly insist it has led to the city’s dramatic drop in murders.
Earlier this month, a miniscandal erupted over a story with a lurid headline: “The Lesbian Past of Bill de Blasio’s Wife.” The central thesis seemed to be that Chirlane McCray (a.k.a. Mrs. de Blasio) is somehow duplicitous, because as a married woman with two children, she once identified as a lesbian.
Anyone who lived through the sexual revolution or received a liberal arts degree in the last 30 years might have failed to grasp the inherent conflict. Nevertheless, the sensational article strongly implied the existence of a public fraud.
Notice how The New York Timesarticle of Mr. Lhota's campaign did not disclose that Kathryn S. Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City, was editorialised as the "city’s premier business association," and how it was not disclosed that Ms. Wylde is invested in the campaign of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Furthermore, the article allowed Josh Isay, Speaker Quinn's campaign consultant, to openly criticize Mr. Lhota over MTA fare hikes. “Joe Lhota announced his resignation the day before the Lhota fare hike gets voted on,” Mr. Isay, the told The New York Times. “He may think he’s pulled a fast one, but voters are too smart for that.”
But the article did not mention the litany of criticisms that Progressives have with Speaker Quinn's political ethics -- ranging from the change in term limits, the spree of hospital closings, including of St. Vincent's Hospital in Speaker Quinn's very own City Council district, the reckless approval of the expansion of New York University, and the disruptive zone-busting development plan for Chelsea Market. Meanwhile, The New York Times chose to portray Speaker Quinn as a "presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination," even though that editorial qualification was not attributed.
If you were not aware, an average voter would read this article and think that Mr. Lhota was not a viable candidate, instead of the fact that biased reportage was portraying Mr. Lhota as such, according to predetermined agendas of the people involved in this article.
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's paid political consultants are already attacking MTA Chairman Joe Lhota over impending mass transit fare hikes.
But voters will also remember the way that Speaker Quinn extended term limits in spite of two voter referenda, and the way that Speaker Quinn approved the luxury condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's before Hurricane Sandy destroyed three East Side hospitals.
Now that Joe Lhota is running for mayor, Twitterverse is in apoplexy over Carolyn Ryan's nervous breakdown. That's right, Ms. Ryan is worried that her favourite candidate, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, now will not be such a shoe-in to become mayor. Ms. Ryan is concerned that the business community will abandon Speaker Quinn in favour of Mr. Lhota.
Ms. Ryan recently had lunch with former Mayor Ed Koch, to talk about Speaker Quinn's election strategy.
Wow wonder what @chriscquinn is doing now? RT @carolynryan: BREAKING: @joelhota to step down from MTA on Friday, preparing run for mayor.
Indeed, Ms. Ryan has begun a schmear campaign against Mr. Lhota over Twitter. I wonder what her superior editorial bosses at The New York Times have to say about this ?
Lhota once called Mike Bloomberg an "idiot" and told an elderly Holocaust survivor to "be a man" in dispute at hearingnyti.ms/SESwj8
Whereas Ms. Ryan's reporting may be factual, it is not objective for an editor to be attacking a mayoral candidate over Twitter, when she must supervise and edit the reportage of objective reporters. How is that possible ?
Eyeing a mayoral bid, the M.T.A. Chief Joseph J. Lhota is expected to resign on Friday to seek the Republican nomination in New York.
"Mr. Lhota, a former deputy mayor under Rudolph W. Giuliani, was widely hailed after the authority restored much of its subway service within a week of suffering unprecedented damage from Hurricane Sandy," reported The New York Times.
Desde que se hizo la presidenta del Concejo Municipal, más de 3,7 millones de neoyorquinos se han pasado por el programa de policía de "parar y revisar." ¿Por qué es esto aceptable?
Únase a nosotros para marchar y exigir que el Concejo Municipal reduce los recursos proporcionados a la policía de Nueva York que permite a la policía para continuar con su práctica inconstitucional de "parar y revisar" a personas inocentes.
Traiga pitos. Nos reuniremos en la calle 74 y la Avenida Roosevelt. Entonces, nos marcharemos a lo largo de la avenida Roosevelt. Y soplamos nuestros pitos contra la programa de "parar y revisar."
NEW YORK (AP) — The police practice known as stop and frisk has been part of the New York Police Department's crime-fighting strategy since the early 1990s, but the number of stops shot up in the last decade. The vast majority of those stopped have been black or Hispanic.
Since she became Speaker of City Council, over 3.7 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked. Why is this acceptable ?
After months of maintaining a cool, above-the-fray approach to the 2013 mayoral race, Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and presumptive candidate-to-beat next year, is enduring the first bumps of what may be a pockmarked road to the Democratic primary.
This week, Ms. Quinn was criticized for a campaign finance bill that opponents — including her most important ally, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg — said would tear a loophole in New York City’s election spending rules.
On television, there was Alec Baldwin, the temperamental actor, telling Piers Morgan’s national audience on CNN that Ms. Quinn had “blood on her hands” for supporting Mr. Bloomberg’s successful bid to circumvent term limits.
Christine C. Quinn, the speaker of the City Council, has delayed action on a bill that would loosen regulations on spending by unions and advocacy groups in New York City elections, as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg denounced the measure as “a terrible idea” and “really not good for democracy.”
... The measure would allow advocacy groups like unions to work directly with candidates on political communications with their members, who often make up influential voting blocs in city races. The costs for those activities would not be counted against a candidate’s spending limit, leading critics to argue the bill would unleash a torrent of unchecked spending by outside groups. ...
Tom Allon, a candidate for the Republican mayoral primary, said he was opposed to Speaker Quinn's weakening of the city's campaign finance laws, and he sharply criticized Ms. Quinn in an interview with The New York Times.
Will Quinn's Weaker Campaign Finance Bill Lead To Her Very Own Private Watergate ?
Finding loopholes to funnel unlimited amounts of unregulated campaign cash to influence elections was the scandal, along with the break-in and cover-up, that lead to Watergate and President Richard Nixon's resignation.
When given the chance, why does New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn fight progressive campaign finance reforms ? Why is less campaign finance regulation better ?In the aftermath of the dangerous Citizens United court ruling, which unleashed unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, why would Speaker Quinn want to go down that route ? What role does campaign money play in her political decisions ?
From The New York Times :
Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and an expected candidate for mayor next year, is supporting a change to New York City’s campaign finance rules that would significantly expand the ability of unions, corporations and advocacy groups to spend money on behalf of local candidates. ...
Critics said the measure, introduced nine months ahead of what is expected to be a closely contested mayoral race, would effectively outsmart the city’s stringent campaign finance system, which tries to rein in spending by interest groups and candidates alike. ...
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a likely contender for mayor next year, has riled the agency that administers the city's public campaign-financing system by pushing new legislation that opponents contend would significantly expand the power of unions, corporations and other groups in local elections. (The Wall Street Journal : Quinn Lashed On Campaign Legislation)
Video: Alec Baldwin Says Christine Quinn Is "Untrustworthy," Has "Blood On Her Hands"
Alec Baldwin dropped by CNN's Piers Morgan program last night and he said that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is "untrustworthy." Unfortunately, Mr. Baldwin didn't mention the post-Hurricane Sandy risk to public health following closing of St. Vincent's Hospital, but he did say that Speaker Quinn has "blood on her hands" from the over-turning of term limits. (read more : The Gothamist)
Piers Morgan : The last time we spoke, you were flirting with the idea of possibly running for mayor of New York. Are you still flirting with it ?
Alec Baldwin : No, because to do so - I mean, I was convinced, and people told me - although it was something that I would have loved to have done, truly, you would have to take about a year and a half of your life to do nothing but to raise money. And I didn't have time, because I'm doing the TV show now, and I have other commitments. But I'm very interested in what the post-Bloomberg New York will look like.
Piers Morgan : Who would you like to see of all the names you have heard in the frame outside of yours ?
Alec Baldwin : Probably Bill de Blasio. Right now, I'd have to say Bill de Blasio.
Piers Morgan : Why ?
Alec Baldwin : Well because, first of all, I start looking at the other candidates, all of whom have good qualities. The thing that concerns me most is obviously about Quinn. I've been very outspoken about Quinn, who's a lovely person. But she certainly is Bloomberg's hand-picked successor. And I resent that to some degree that Bloomberg feels he needs to control the fate of City Hall and of Gracie Mansion beyond his term. He already over-turned a voter-approved referendum that had term limits for two terms. Quinn has that blood on her hands. She was the one, who single-handedly killed the voter referendum at Bloomberg's behest and gave him a third term. And I was very, very upset about that. And I just don't think that Quinn is trustworthy. I think that she's a very, very - she's a very nice person, I've met her. But in terms of her political aspirations, she's a very untrustworthy person. She's very, very self-seeking.
Following a barrage of comments questioning the motivations and competency of Hunter Walker's article, Mr. Walker posted an inadequate response to his critics. Consider firstly how Mr. Walker claims that he wrote his story about Ms. McCray as a "political figure in her own right," but notice how Ms. McCray was subjugated as "Bill de Blasio's wife" in the original article's headline. Secondly, Mr. Walker avoids expressing any arguments as to why Ms. McCray's exploration of her sexual orientation should be political news in respect of the 2013 mayoral race. How did he intend to use "news" about Ms. McCray's sexual orientation ? What was his purpose to focus so much attention on Ms. McCray's marriage to Mr. de Blasio ? What do you think ?
Mr. Walker criticises the de Blasio-McCray marriage because of Ms. McCray's lesbian writings, but Mr. Walker never explains what kind of conforming wife a lesbian should be, to make her suitable for marriage ? Do you think that Mr. Walker comes across as a heterosexist in denial ?
This article has generated many responses, including from some who have suggested it was inappropriate to cover this or that I have displayed a misunderstanding of human sexuality and the fluidity of sexual identity. One of the main issues raised by those who were not pleased with this story is that it is somehow not newsworthy and/or that family members of politicians should be "off limits."
There is no question in my mind that this story is news. Ms. McCray is a political figure in her own right. She is a top advisor on her husband's campaign, regularly speaks at his events, has taken a leading role on many political initiatives with him and writes regularly on the campaign site. Additionally, both Ms. McCray and Mr. de Blasio regularly write political columns together and have given several interviews about political aspects of their personal life. She has chosen to be a public, prominent figure on his campaign and in the New York City political world in general.
Furthermore, this story is not about digging into her private life. As outlined in this article Ms. McCray's past life as a lesbian involved being a fairly prominent lesbian activist. As this story notes, Combahee River Collective was a landmark group. It is incredibly interesting that Ms. McCray and her husband's campaign have (rather actively) omitted mentioning this aspect of her past including the characterization of the CRC as simply a "feminist" group. I do not think there is any question that identifying the past activism of a prominent political figure is news. It adds to her biography and raises interesting questions about why she and her husband's campaign have strenuously avoided noting this part of her past.
Critics of this story have cited the sentence where I said, "It is unclear how she transitioned from a self-described lesbian who was confident that she 'had always been more attracted to women, both emotionally and physically, than to men' to a political wife in a heterosexual marriage." It has been suggested that this displays some fundamental misunderstanding of the fact that people's sexual identities are often subject to change. That is not the case at all. Most people have evolving and individual concepts of their sexuality. I would have loved to discuss this with Ms. McCray and to have heard about how her identity evolved directly from her. I made many attempts to do this and would still be very interested in a conversation. Without speaking to Ms. McCray, making any definitive statements or assumptions about the evolution of her sexual identity would not have been respecting the fluid and changing nature of human sexuality. It would have been the exact opposite.
Lastly, and I debated whether to even dignify this with a response and give it further attention, some people have suggested this article is somehow "shaming" Ms. McCray and/or criticizing her and her husband. I defy anyone to point to any passages here that imply in any way that there is anything wrong about being homosexual. Those who would suggest that pointing her past activism and self-identification out is somehow "shaming" her are the ones implying being gay is something to be ashamed of, not me.
Many dissenting messages were also delivered to Mr. Walker via Twitter. Check out his @hunterw Twitter feed for the period of December 5-7, 2012.
The reporter Hunter Walker from The New York Observer wrote an article that was published today that sensationalises Bill de Blasio's wife's sexual orientation. The tabloid headline was : "The Lesbian Past of Bill de Blasio's Wife." Mr. Walker seems to want to make an issue of Chirlane McCray's exploration of her sexual orientation. Why does Mr. Walker believe that Ms. McCray's sexual orientation is a campaign issue ? In Mr. Walker's small mind, is Ms. McCray's sexual orientation an impediment for Mr. De Blasio to do his job, or to run for public office, or to continue his work for the citizens of New York City ?
@lgbtcivilrights Where in my article do I imply her sexuality would impede his ability to do his job?
Mr. Walker seems to have forgotten that marriage equality is now the law in New York State. He also seems to think that sexual orientation can only fit into a false social construct of a binary world of either heterosexual or homosexual. How does Mr. Walker's binary worldview inform his discriminatory and sensationalistic writing ? Do bisexuals not deserve to get married and have children ? You decide.
@hunterw How does your article about wife of @deblasionyc lead to #informedvoting ? What are you informing ? What informs your article ?
The story that seems to have been intentionally leaked, or planted in The New York Times, that Mayor Michael Bloomberg approached Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for mayor in 2013 is full of half-truths. First, it was an attempt to saddle Mrs. Clinton in another public office, so that she would not run for president in 2016, a win for Republicans. Second, it was an attempt to make it appear that Mayor Bloomberg was not so invested in electioneering machinations to clear the Democratic Primary field for the mayoralty, so that Speaker Christine Quinn could have an easier time at winning, because, as we all know, the only way that she can win is if a billionaire Republican with his own Super PAC would interfere with the election process.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg organized an awkward show of unity with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, standing side by side at a press conference Tuesday following reports that he had discussed next year’s mayoral race with Hillary Clinton.
Quinn, of course, is the mayor’s political ally and the potential candidate widely viewed as his favored successor. Bloomberg on Tuesday didn’t confirm or deny a report in the New York Times that he has sought to lure Clinton into the race.
When asked why he recommended that the current U.S. secretary of state consider running for mayor, Bloomberg replied: “Why do you think I encouraged Hillary Clinton to run for mayor? I mean, were you — did you hear me say that?”
“I have run for mayor three times, successfully each one,” he added. “I considered a fourth. Chris [Quinn] and I talked about it. She kept urging me to do it. But I said, ‘No. It’s enough.’ ”
The mayor was joking about running for a fourth term. As he did so, Quinn made a face and motioned with her hand to suggest Bloomberg was talking crazy.
In 2008, Quinn reversed her position on term limits and persuaded her colleagues in the City Council to overturn the law, paving the way for the Bloomberg to run for a third term in 2009. As she pursues an expected mayoral campaign in 2013, her position on term limits will certainly be brought up by her opponents.
On Tuesday morning, however, Bloomberg focused more on extolling Quinn’s leadership. He said her role in the council had been a major factor in his success at City Hall.
The two politicians were speaking at a news conference marking the ground breaking at a 26-acre development on Manhattan’s West Side. During the mayor’s first term in office, he attempted unsuccessfully to win approval to build a stadium at this location — marking one of his biggest setbacks. Quinn, who was not yet speaker, fought aggressively against the stadium.
Bloomberg did not dwell on that Tuesday. “This woman has made an enormous difference in this city,” he said of Quinn. “She’s a leader and I have nothing but respect for her.”
When asked if he’s dissatisfied with the current crop of mayoral candidates, the mayor said: “I don’t know who’s going to run. But if you want to start a fight between me and Chris Quinn, you’re not going to do it. It’s cheap, lousy journalism.”
For her part, Quinn said she thought Clinton would make an excellent mayor. Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York, is planning to step down as secretary of state next year and is being discussed as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2016.
“You know, I think Hillary Clinton would excel in any position she ever takes. And why do I say that? Because she has,” Quinn said. “I don’t think there’s anything Hillary Clinton would put her mind to that she wouldn’t do extremely, extremely well — better than maybe anybody else who’s ever done it.”
Closing of NYU and Bellevue Hospitals Because of Sandy Should Have Been A Wakeup Call That NYC Has A Hospital Crisis.
New Yorkers are Getting Sicker and Even Dying (esp. the poor) Because of A Hospital Crisis Made Worse by the Floods . . . Where is the Pols, Media and Activist Outrage?
Nobody Notices Hospital Crisis Or Sandy's Wake Up Call
The Angry New Yorker's Who Demanded Their Rights is Gone
Where are the Mayoral Candidates on the Hospital Crisis?
Why Is There No Movement To Save These Hospitals Like There Was in 1980 Against the Closing of Sydenham Hospital? 3 hospitals closed in Queens, St Vincent's murdered for a Co-op in Manhattan, 5 hospitals in trouble in Brooklyn. The activist and progressives are all over Facebook and twitter demanding pay for fasttfood workers because it is being pushed by unions looking for membership. It is very stranged that these same activists are silent on the health care needs of many of these workers who depend on the hospital system for all their health care needs. Could it be that the help unions provide the reason the activist are supporting their issues?
But voters do have a choice : why do we accept less ? Why is it O.K. for Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the highest elected Democratic Party politician in New York City, to have no opinion about Mayor Bloomberg trying to undertake maneuvers to try to shut down Occupy Sandy volunteer efforts ? We don't have to accept less from our publicly elected officials.
Remember, Mayor Bloomberg initially said we didn't need help from FEMA ; consequently, thousands of Hurricane Sandy survivors went without any assistance, since it is Mayor Blooomberg's sick and twisted billionaire worldview that government is not supposed to help people in need. And in that vacuum of cruelty came forth Occupy Sandy volunteers, to not only fill the void, but to also lead by example : humanity means caring for one another.
Is Mayor Bloomberg really getting ready to evacuate the most successful, compassionate, and heroic volunteer hurricane relief response in New York City ?
Interfaith Medical Center Plans To Declare Bankruptcy This Week.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo empaneled a consulting group called the Medicaid Redesign Team headed by investment banker Stephen Berger. The last consulting group headed by Mr. Berger came to be known as the Berger Commission. The tasks of both groups was the same : to identify hospitals to close down, so that New York State could implement cuts to the state's healthcare budget.
In the latest development, it was announced today that Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn plans to file for bankruptcy. The Medicaid Redesign Team has identified three hospitals in Brooklyn, which serve uninsured and underinsured patients for closing ; one of these was Interfaith.
How the Cuomo administration plans to carry out the closings is to merge the financially unstable hospitals together in some combinations, so that that the hospitals can hemorrhage money faster, so that they can end up collapsing under the weight of their combined debts.
Interfaith officials told The New York Times that turning over operational control to Brooklyn Hospital without the state’s first promising the financing needed to keep Interfaith going would be tantamount to a covert plan to close Interfaith in a year and a half or so.
A similar money-losing arrangement was made between a string of hospitals lead by St. Vincent's, which lead to the financial collapse of each hospital : St. Vincent's, St. Johns Queens Hospital, and Mary Immaculate Hospital.
Because the Medicaid Redesign Team's sole purpose has been to make even deeper cuts to the state's healthcare budget, Gov. Cuomo's austerity plan is responsible for the bankruptcy filing. In letters to state officials, Nathan M. Barotz, the chairman of Interfaith's board of trustees, has said that a 2010 cut in Medicaid reïmbursement rates cost Interfaith 40 percent of its inpatient revenue and precipitated its current crisis.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, so many New York City hospitals endured damage. There is a shortage of functioning hospitals right now.
NYU Langone Hospital, Bellevue Hospital, and Coney Island Hospital were evaucated after each hospital suffered damage and power failures. None of these hospitals have been able to return to 100% functioning levels. How can it make sense for Gov. Cuomo to keep forcing hospitals to close ?
NY1 reported that New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was forced to respond to allegations that she is influencing the City Council redistricting process in order to help shore up support in her bid to become the city's next mayor.
The complaints came from people like Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, whose East Harlem district was changed drastically to become a majority Bronx district. Some say a backroom deal was cut between Quinn and Bronx leader Carl Heastie, where he would get more power while Quinn gets his support for her mayoral bid. The speaker and Heastie both deny this. (NY1)
NYPD continue to monitor peaceful activists in violation of the Handschu Agreement. In this latest case, NYPD officials are visiting this blog even though NYPD refuse to answer to a Freedom of Information request by the author of this blog.
New York City Michael Bloomberg succeeds in shaking down Bill Thompson out of $600,000, creating a huge hole in Mr. Thompson's campaign finances, thus ensuring that Mayor Bloomberg will be able to appoint Speaker Christine Quinn as his successor.
NYC2013 – Bill Thompson Drops 2009 Fine Fight bit.ly/UF23FL
If the election were held today, MTA boss Joe Lhota would lose to the Democratic nominee 60% to 9%, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. Another potential Republican candidate, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, would not fare much better than Lhota, the poll found: Carrion would lose 62% to 11% if he ran on the Republican ticket.
The United States is falling behind in international education standards, and one area where we lack a clear advantage is in being able to communicate in languages spoken in foreign countries.
Tom Allon at education forum: Eliminate testing in grades 1 through 5, mandate foreign language and science instruction in elementary.
For example, in France, all students are required to pick a foreign language in 6th grade, which each student will continue to learn until 12th grade. And then, in 8th grade, students against pick a second foreign language, which the student will learn concurrently with the first, all the way until 12th grade. In France, students graduate with proficiency in speaking three languages : French, and their two elective foreign languages.
Meanwhile, in the United States, we are lucky if students graduate with fluency in just one language. Leadership provided by Tom Allon's proposal would improve our education standards, not the least of which would also foster a truly global sensibility among America's youth.
Speaker Quinn needs to pump the political machine in Brooklyn for votes, because she has angered so many voters in her own City Council District over community-crushing development that is allowing New York University to overwhelm the special social fabric of Greenwich Village, that closed St. Vincent's Hospital, and that is going to destroy the character of Chelsea Market.
To the victor go the spoils, continues to be practiced by NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and her predecessors for decades.
On Friday, January 21, she issued checks for 50 percent of each Councilmember’s annual awarded lulus of between $4,000 to $28,000 per year on top of a $112,000 base salary to her loyal members for chairing a Council Committee or subcommittee. The base salary plus lulu is three times what average constituents earn for a job officially classified as part time. Hardworking municipal civil servant employees and most ordinary New Yorkers would never see such treats from their employers.
Perhaps Quinn will host a ceremony when issuing the remaining 50 percent balance of lulus in July 2012 to coincide with completion of the renovated City Council chambers. Construction began in 2007 with an original cost estimate below $50 million and completion date of 2009.
Quinn continues the tradition of allocating millions of dollars in member item pork barrel projects to her Council favorites.
In 2008, the first of a series of cost overruns raised the price tag to $65 million.
The bills for both a final price tag of $123.8 million and completion date of July 2012 along with all the lulus are paid by your hard earned tax dollars.
Councilmembers have staff to also drive them around town and private parking privileges at City Hall. I wonder how many ever considered using mass transit for commuting to work like millions of their constituents do on a daily basis?
Do any Council members have a Metro Card and use it on a regular basis? Check out the City Hall parking lot when the Council is in session and see for yourself.
Quinn continues the tradition of allocating millions of dollars in member item pork barrel projects to her Council favorites.
With 9 percent of 8,000,000 New Yorkers still out of work, there are many public minded citizens besides the current 51 Council members with the knowledge and wisdom to perform their jobs at a fraction of the cost. Many would gladly serve and show up for work full time without all the perks of office for $112,000 per year minus all the traditional insiders lulus or other benefits ordinary citizens can only dream about.
On Tuesday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said that he supports the trending idea of Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota, a registered Republican, running for mayor in 2013. Mr. Lhota has been taking credit for all the hard work of MTA employees, who worked long and hard to return the New York City subway system back to service following the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. Mayor Guiliani said that he thinks the idea of Mr. Lhota's candidacy would be "fantastic." (New York Magazine)
"City Council Speaker Christine Quinn will accept money and support from StudentsFirstNY, an education advocacy group that was criticized today for having some donors in common with Mitt Romney." (Capital New York)
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is expected to announce as early as next week that he will not run for New York City mayor in 2013, but instead campaign for comptroller, according to The New York Times.
Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr., is expected to enter the race for mayor in 2013 as a candidate for the Republican nomination, The New York Times reported.
Mr. Carrión joins an close political ally of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, George McDonald, the founder and president of the Doe Fund, in trying to draw votes away from Republican candidate Tom Allon.
In similar fashion, it is being said that Mayor Bloomberg may be resorting to alternative strategies to thwart the candidacies of mayoral hopefuls, who are seeking to challenge New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for higher office. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to personally install Speaker Quinn as his chosen successor.
Mayor Bloomberg's $500 Million Repair Fund Will Not Fix Healthcare Inequality
NEW YORK (12-Nov-2012) -- At Mayor Michael Bloomberg's news conference today, he announced a $500 million emergency repair fund for schools and public hospitals.
But this repair fund will not fix the grossly uneven distribution of hospital beds in Manhattan. Please see the attached map used by St. Vincent's Hospital activists that demonstrates the dangerous distribution of hospital beds in Manhattan.
Watch this YouTube video that questions the impact of the Berger Commission hospital closings on our hospital systems, now that they have been damaged by Hurricane Sandy :
"Let us pray that our political leaders and public health commissioners will use this opportunity to really examine and fix the unequal provision of healthcare that Hurricane Sandy has exposed," said Louis Flores.
Can one partially-functioning hospital on back-up generators be deemed "excess capacity" ?
How much more insensitive could Mr. Dowling be ? Even in the aftermath of such a devastating natural disaster, North Shore-LIJ is putting its financial interests before our public health.
Healthcare activists demand to know : Why is this acceptable ?
St. Vincent's Hospital
The taboo question that the media is too afraid to ask is : How could St. Vincent's Hospital have helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, if Christine Quinn had fought to keep it open ? Will we ever know the true loss to public health that we paid, and continue to pay, after Bill Rudin's luxury condo conversion plan was approved by the New York City Council.
Mayoral Candidate Tom Allon Statement on the NYC Marathon
New York City 2013 mayoral candidate has just issued this statement on the controversy of using valuable city resources for the NYC Marathon in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy :
"We're living in a highly-charged and evolving crisis and the Mayor's leadership has been sound thus far. Second guessing the Mayor's decision on the scheduling of the Marathon is an easy way for the Democratic Mayoral candidates for 2013 to get attention and score points with outraged New Yorkers. The anger that is being expressed by the elected leaders of Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens reflects the concerns and frustrations being felt for the ongoing hardships of their constituents. For them, the Marathon symbolizes misplaced priorities.
"Personally, I would have delayed the Marathon for at least a week, like the Knicks-Nets game was postponed for four days, so that we can concentrate on helping all those in need and getting our electricity and mass transit back."
We need to postpone the Marathon and keep our focus where it belongs: on public safety and vital relief operations.
The pain and suffering still unfolding in our neighborhoods is too deep for words. I walked more streets with Councilman Oddo in Staten Island today, and listened to people who still remain without power, food and water – so near the race’s starting point. It's convinced me the needs are simply too great to divert any resources from the recovery. Lodgings reserved for marathoners must be re-allocated to utility workers.
Public Advocate Has Sued The Bloomberg Administration To Expose Budgetary Fees That Over-Bill Small Businesses
Bill de Blasio, the Public Advocate For New York City, is running for mayor in 2013, and one of the central issues of his campaign's platform is making it easier for small companies to do business in New York City. This focus on small businesses is winning him some serious attention.
To achieve that end, Mr. de Blasio has filed a lawsuit against the Bloomberg administration for "data on city revenues from fines, which have nearly doubled in the last decade," according to The New York Times.
“If small-business people in this city did not have those additional burdens, if they could depend on not being socked with those additional charges, it would be easier for them to grow, it would be easier for them to employ more people — it’s as simple as that,” Mr. de Blasio said.
By focusing on the city budget policies that are approved annually by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Mr. de Blasio is trying to find a more "populist" voice. Each year, Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn engage in an annual city budget charade, which distracts voters on illusionary controversies, such as proposed closings to firehouses. These distractions take attention away from the kinds of taxes and fees that are included in the city budget, but which hurt small businesses.
Hopefully, in the wake of the disaster from Hurricane Sandy, Mr. de Blasio will come to the rescue of small businesses.
“It’s her council district. She was elected from a district, even though she’s now got citywide ambitions, and she should be here to hear testimony about a project that’s going to destroy her community,” Michael McKee told The Wall Street Journal. Mr. McKee once worked with Speaker Quinn back in 1989, when she was an organizer with the Housing Justice Campaign.
“She was a great community organizer. She was one of the best I’ve ever met,” Mr. McKee added, “but I don’t know where that Chris Quinn is.”
Also from The Wall Street Journal :
Quinn spokesman Justin Goodman said the speaker doesn’t always appear at hearings, even for projects in her own district. The spokesman noted that she also missed a hearing last year on the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital.
