Monday, July 25, 2011

City: Bribery is OK If Your Appointed And Receive No Pay

Pay to Play EDC

City agency's financial dealings show conflicts of interest in contracts worth millions(NYDN)

The agency that collects rent on city property paid a board member's firm a broker's fee and awarded millions of dollars in contracts to a company that employs a top official's wife, the Daily News has learned. EDC officials say he wasn't required to obtain a waiver from the city Conflicts of Interest Board because board members are unpaid.


CUNY Patronage Dump

Shelly Silver's former top aide Dean Fuleihan has landed a cushy $130,000-a-year job as an executive vice president at SUNY engineering college - $30,000-more-a-year than he was making working for the Assembly speaker, the Post learns:


 



The NYP Who Supported the Mayor for A 3rd Term Against the Term Limits Law, Now Wants to Give Him Another Chance At Becoming the Education Mayor
The NYP says last week's ruling in a key teacher- union suit against the city to close 22 failing public schools and placing 15 charters in buildings with traditional schools didn't fully end the matter -- but it could breathe life into Michael Bloomberg's hopes of being the Education Mayor.  Mike's second chance(NYP Ed) * As Best Schools Compete for Best Performers, Students May Be Left Behind(NYT) * Controversial charter school leaves Sunset Park for Bishop Ford H.S.(NYDN) * Ex-Homeless Student Starts Charity(My Fox 5)* Another Legal Challenge to the City's Charter Schools  New lawsuit demands charter schools pay market rate for space city gives them; currently rent is $1 annually. (NYT)


Obama and Congress Reading Scripts

With Impasse in Budget Talks, Worry Over Investors(NYT) * Rival Debt Plans Being Assembled by Party Leaders(NYT) * Senate Dem boss Harry Reid presents plan to raise nation's debt limit(NYDN) *  Gridlock For Debt Talks(WSJ) * Live Blog: The U.S. Debt Battle(WSJ) * Obama cancels fundraising appearances amid stalled debt talks  * DCCC Targeting GOP Lawmakers On Debt (YNN) *  Lawmakers pursue rival budget plans as talks hit stalemate(MSNBC) * Frum: Obama's 5 big mistakes in debt crisis(CNN) * Robert Reich explains why the jobs crisis is about to get much worse(Salon) * Debt Crisis Has Already Hurt Economy, Bloomberg Says(NYT) * JUST IN: Obama to the Bully Pulpit Again President Obama will address the nation at 9 pm ET tonight on debt ceiling stalemate. * CBS News will also carry Speaker Boehner's response to Pres Obama's Address to the Nation tonight - right after Obama's speech.

 

 



 

 Can't Anyone Build A Railroad Station? 

NY Not Only Misses Moynihan Skill in the Senate We Can't Even Build A Railroad Station to Honor Him

Deadline Nears on Moynihan Station Facing a year-end deadline, the developers of a long-planned expansion of Pennsylvania Station into the neighboring Farley Post Office are telling government officials that they're straining to make the terms of their five-year-old deal work, the Wall Street Journal




Roughly $500 million in federal loan guarantees for a new Goethals Bridge has been axed from the budget due to Republican pressure to cut spending, the New York Post says * Debt stalemate jeopardizes funding for new Goethals Bridge(NYP)









Marriage Sunday

After Long Wait, Same-Sex Couples Marry in New York(NYT) * A Busy Day for Nuptials Across New York, Beginning at the Stroke of Midnight(NYT) * For Same-Sex Couples, Day 1 of 'I Do'(WSJ) * Wedding Bells at Gracie Mansion for Two Bloomberg Staffers (WSJ) * Mayor Bloomberg officiates aides' same-sex nups(NYDN) 

 It was everything they dreamed of — and then some(NYDN) * Tales of first day of gay marriage across the city(NYDN) *Gays paint the town wed(NYP) * Mike does the honors for 2 aides(NYP) * Straights share the moment(NYP) * Marriage Equality Comes To The City(NY1) * Protesters Vow To Unseat Lawmakers Who Support Same-Sex Marriage(NY1) * NYC stats from : 77% of 659 couples (a record) wed were from NY, 23 states represented. * A printer problem at the Manhattan clerk’s office kept same-sex couples who had waited years to marry waiting a little longer.* Hundreds rallied around the state calling for a public vote on gay marriage. (Problem: NY has no vehicle for initiative and referendum). * Cuomo likened NY’s passage of the same-sex marriage bill to dropping a “boulder in a pond,” saying lawmakers elsewhere now have no excuse.*  Group Readies Suit Seeking to Nullify Gay Marriages(NYT) *   

A rule written in response to Fred Dicker’s persistence will likely undermine the New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms lawsuit.  How Fred Dicker derailed the gay marriage suit(TU) * Lawsuit also questions Cuomo’s use of “Message of Necessity” when State Senate voted on same-sex marriage.

 

 

 

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Shirley Hunytley on Voting for Gay Rights “What the Hell?”

Huntley A Dunce Who is Under Federal Investigation for Pay to Play and Who Campaigned in Her Last Race (2010) Against Gay Rights Sen. Shirley Huntley on why she changed her mind on same-sex marriage: She just thought, “what the hell?”

 

 

 

Silver warns of closed firehouses, laid-off teachers if Cuomo vetoes outer-boro taxi bill

 Pushing Cuomo To Sign Outer Borough Taxi Bill
Silver is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign Mayor Michael Bloomberg's bill that would allow livery cab street-hails in the outer boroughs, arguing it could pump $1 billion in revenue into the city's coffers, the Daily News says: 
What Taxi Complaint Department
Nearly 7,700 complaints about nyc taxi drivers a year. "only 11% resulted in scheduled hearings"Many Taxi Complaints, Little Action(WSJ)

 

 

Harlem man unable to hail cab after being shot(NYP)



 

 

Humane Society Cuomo

Gov. Cuomo did right to put the state's also-ran Task Force on Retired Race Horses out of its misery(NYDN Ed)

Today, the Governor signed a bill creating an amber alert style system for adults.





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What Happens to Investigator Lt. Bookman Library Police Job?

Debt forgiveness: Library cancels out kids' overdue fees to draw them back to books(NYDN) * NYPL Grants Amnesty For Young Readers Owing Fines (NY1)

 

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The warring factions of the Queens Republican Party have filed a whopping 374 general objections trying to knock each others' candidates off the ballot. One of the challenges is against Juan Reyes, an attorney who the Queens Republicans wanted to tap to run for Anthony Weiner's seat before eventually backing Bob Turner. Reyes is facing a challenge from former Councilman Tom Ognibene, who is pushing to replace Queens Republican chairman Phil Ragusa. Then there is Judith Stupp, the Queens Board of Elections Commissioner who is running for a state committee position and being challenged by Ognibene ally Rob Speranza. Stupp will have to recuse herself from voting if specific objections are made against her. And John Haggerty, Jr. has been able to file objections against a number of Ragusa-backed candidates in the 28th Assembly district using the address of a house that he has been accused of buying with stolen campaign cash. The fun should play out over the next two weeks or so, according to BOE chairman J.C. Polanco. * . endorses Queens Democrat Michael Simanowitz for Assembly * Eighty-two year old former Councilwoman Helen Sears lands top patronage job in city clerk's office (Queens Courier)

 

Koch Plays An Israel Hail Mary in the 9th Congressional District Campaign 

Brooklyn Politics 
"Not a single law that would provide jobs in our country has been adopted" --  Koch
Education Reform Group Pushes Jeffries for Congress: [1]Democrats for Education Reform, a well-financed advocacy... * Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch will formally endorse GOP NY-9 candidate Bob Turner at 11 a.m. in Howard Beach, citing the businessman’s “unwavering support” for Israel.(Brooklyn-Queens) *  BEHIND THE SCENES WITH GERALDO RIVERA AND DOV HIKIND * Democrats Target Grimm On Medicare (YNN) *  On Israel and Entitlements, Ed Koch for Bob Turner (NYO) * While endorsing a Republican, calls the GOP "soundrels" * Koch Endorses Turner to Send A Message(Forest Hills Patch) * Full Koch endorsement speech



Markowitz's TripGate
 By accepting free trips for his wife to Turkey and the Netherlands to accompany him on city business, Mr. Markowitz used his public position "for personal advantage," a city ethics board found.  Markowitz Fined $20,000 for Wife's Free Overseas Trips(NYT) *Markowitz fined $20K for taking wife on trips funded by foreign governments(NYP) * Markowitz Fined $20,000 for Wife's Free Overseas Trips(NYT) * Markowitz's wife, whose presence on junkets spurred fine, on snatching extra placemats at '08 gala: "This is Brooklyn!"
 
 


2012: Rep. Slaughter, who turns 82 next month, will run for re-election. Has $290,832 in the bank. [Democrat and Chronicle]













Why Do Political Blogs Cheerlead For Lobbyist and Never Do Negative Stories About How They Contribute to Corruption? . . . Answer: They Leak Stories to Reporters

Berlin Rosen Hires, Expands, Promotes(YNN)

 






 Vacancy For Hip and Gen Y

Hotels for the Young, Hip Crowd A hotel that just opened in downtown Brooklyn charging nightly rates starting at just $169 is the latest sign of a new trend in the city's lodging business: limited service, but design-conscious hotels. (WSJ)


Apartment warfare Lawsuits, theft, fire - and a dead dog(NYP)








Cornell is drafting a proposal to build a science and engineering campus in NYC. 



On the Hudson, With the Water-Quality Mavens(NYT) * Raw Sewage Flow into Hudson a 'Continuous Problem' Experts Say (DNAInfo) *  Millions of Gallons of Sewage Spill Into the City’s Waterways Every Time It Rains Half an Inch (NY Mag)

 

  

 

Another Queens Hospital to Close

Queens' Peninsula Hospital Center set to close Sources say the Far Rockaway, Queens, hospital will shutter after owing millions to vendors and falling behind on its union benefits funds payments; the closure would cost the area about 1,000 jobs. (CrainsNY)



NY suspends seven charter bus companies |

 

 

 

 












Many Historic Districts Have No Hardware to Show for It(NYT)

 

 

 




Hotel maid reveals her side of DSK 'rape' incident(NYP) * Hotel Housekeeper Tells Magazine of Her Encounter With Strauss-Kahn(NYT) * Maid Speaks Out About Alleged Strauss-Kahn Attack(WSJ) * Lawyers decry public comments from DSK's accuser(WSJ)

 

 

 Dominique Strauss-Kahn accuser ends silence, insists she is telling truth: 'I want justice'(NYDN) * Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, speaks to ABC News.


 

 

 

Teacher says he can't be sued because he only pursued student after hours(NYP)

 

Dad of slain Brooklyn boy seeking donations for 'Leiby Fund'(NYDN) * Parents on how Leiby Kletzky's death has affected them(NYDN) * Neighbors unite to aid Leiby kin(NYP) * Candlelight Vigil Held In Neighborhood Of Leiby Kletzky's Death(NY1) * Leiby Kletzky Tributes In Brooklyn; Parents Release Statement Thanking Community(Huff Post) * New Defense Lawyer For Accused Killer Of Leiby Kletzky Speaks Out (NY1)








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The Times blasts a judge's ruling to block the city from requiring so-called pregnancy crisis centers from disclosing basic facts about their services


 "Alas, poor Murdoch! I knew him well."

More Than Kin, and Less Than Kind The Murdoch hacking scandal, as explained by Shakespeare.(NYT Op Ed) *  Why Tyrants Love the Murdoch Scandal (NYT) * Pressure on James Murdoch Is About to Intensify (NYT) *  Citizen Rupert (Newsweek) *  The Hill Poll: Most voters see media as biased and unethical

 

NY Mag Rose Color Glasses Paywall But Times Still Lost $119 Last Quarter  

The Kingdom and the Paywall Some people thought that on Arthur Sulzberger Jr.’s watch, the New York Times could actually become extinct. They might need to issue a correction. (NY Mag)

 

 

Joe Scarborough: Boehner Should Avoid Obama ‘Cheap Shots’ During ‘Time Of Crisis’