Tuesday, January 1, 2013

It Was Not the Subway Video That Caught the Pusher

Breaking11:00PM : House of Representatives Passes Fiscal Cliff Senate Compromise Bill
The U.S. House has voted to approve the "fiscal cliff" bill.(Wash Post)
So. McCarthy and Cantor are no votes. Boehner and Ryan are yes votes. Hastert rule is broken. Bill passes.* House Passes Fiscal Deal, Averting Tax Increases and Spending Cuts(NYT)Congress passed the bill to avoid major tax increases and government spending cuts 257 to 167(AP) * Breakdown 151 Rs voted against, 85 for, 16 Ds against, 172 for  House passes bill by vote of 257-167. Bill now heads to president's desk.* Fiscal cliff crisis averted(Politico)
House leadership just sort of disintegrated. But the deal is done(BuffFeed) * House approves 'fiscal cliff' deal(Wash Post) *G.O.P. Advances Senate-Backed Plan, Despite Opposition(NYT) Obama: I will sign a law that raises taxes on wealthiest 2 percent while holding line on taxes of the middle class ... Obama taking moment to emphasize he will NOT negotiate w Congress over debt limit. Obama: “The deficit is still too high”* President Obama: 'We can't simply cut our way to prosperity'(NYDN) * How the Senate's fiscal cliff bill made it to the House floor (TheAtlantic)
And now the president will fly overnight back to Hawaii.  * The 'fiscal cliff': How the House voted (Wash Post)


Washington Kicks Can MaybeUpdate 
This new Boehner strategy could be a way to make a good faith effort to amend the senate bill but fail with honor. Then vote on SEN bill * House GOP charts course toward passing Senate deal (Wash Post) * MT : Rep. Nugent says Boehner told members that if amendment didn't get 218 votes, he would personally vote yes on Senate bill. Rules announces they will meet on the clean Senate bill, with NO amendments.
* Senate bill now at House Rules Comt: * Out with the Hastert rule. Wow.(BuffFeed) * Boehner Promised a Deal Supported by 'Majority of Majority'* WHOA. Politico: In a meeting Friday, Boehner told Reid, "Go fuck yourself."  * G.O.P. Advances Senate-Backed Plan, Despite Opposition(NYT)


House GOP charts course toward passing Senate deal ?
U.S. Fiscal Cliff Deal Leaves House Republicans Angry, Deal In Jeopardy (Huff Post) * Cantor opposes fiscal cliff bill (CNN) Rep Cantor Spksmn says "The lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members"  * Senate "fiscal cliff" deal in trouble in House(The Hill)  Cantor allies (members) also add that Boehner is not warming to Sen deal, either, so context is key. Boehner may oppose, too. Wait and see. BREAKING: No. 2 House Republican Eric Cantor says he opposes Senate bill to avert the "fiscal cliff" -AP * House G.O.P. Resistance Puts Passage of Tax Deal in Doubt(NYT) * Blitzer to Issa: "A lot of your constituents are going to hate you."* Spokesmen for Boehner, Cantor issue an unusual joint statement, saying there is “universal concern” about Senate bill (The Hill) * As he has been throughout fiscal cliff: RT Rep Paul Ryan was mum in the meeting on fiscal cliff, members said* If Boehner brings current bill to floor for a vote, its likely the end of his speakership. Cantor made sure of that  * GOP source: amendments bring Republicans "back from the political brink" -- will argue they would support balanced package but not all taxes GOP source, privy to leadership strategy: House will add "spending cuts they know Democrats can't live with...Our base is gonna be fired up" Obama negotiates deal with Senate GOP before deadline. House GOP unravels it. Markets plunge tomorrow.* Staten Island's Grimm says he'll vote against fiscal cliff bill (SI Advance)

Who gets the blame? House Dem Leadership aide: "If the House changes the Senate’s bipartisan agreement, we will absolutely not consider it."* Fiscal cliff deal would hit the rich - but it could have been worse -(Wash Post) * But if 218 Republicans dont commit to spending amendment, GOP aide says Boehner will bring up Senate 'cliff' bill for up or down vote. even if Boehner agrees to bring Senate bill to the floor, he still likely needs 50+ members to vote for it* Even conservative journalists losing patience w/House GOP nervous breakdown  * Boehner offers GOP two "cliff" choices(CBS) * RT : Senate's "fiscal cliff" bill packed with sweeteners // Can't make sausage without sweeteners... Obama-Senate bill adds $4 trillion to the debt.


Senate approves fiscal deal hours after midnight; House may vote today(NYP) U.S. Budget Compromise Is Reached(WSJ) * Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Fiscal Cliff Compromise With 2 A.M. Roll Call Vote * "Fiscal cliff" deal guarantees new spending showdown(The Hill) * Senate Passes Fiscal Cliff Deal, 89-8(NY Mag) * Not so much that Senate violated Constitution to originate a revenue bill.* Senators with eye on 2016 vote against cliff deal(CNN) * Can the Fiscal Cliff Deal Pass the House? (PR Wire) The House could act as early as today on the deal brokered by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and VP Joe Biden, which would perhaps avoid any cliff-related economic damage when the markets reopen tomorrow after their New Year’s break. * Dem pol credits ‘courageous’ John Boehner(Politico) * Boehner sells plan to conf at 1pm, Pelosi to at noon, IF all goes well, maybe a late afternoon/early evening vote....* White House Claims Victory In Fiscal Deal (Buff Feed) *In written statement after Senate vote, Pres Obama conceded neither Dems nor GOPs "got everything they wanted" in the 'cliff' bill.* Joe Biden: Actually a Pretty Good Dealmaker(Daily Beast) * Everyone declared a middle-class tax hike unthinkable. Everyone lied." [Daily News] * House Members Express Dismay Over Tentative Deal (NYT) * Feds avoid cuts, for now (Wash Post) * Senate Votes to Kill Its Own Pay Raise (Roll Call) * The Winners and Losers in the Fiscal-Cliff Deal (Slate) * Tom Harkin Slams Fiscal Cliff Deal(Huff Post) * View From Left: Obama ‘Kept Giving Stuff Away’(NYT) * Fiscal Cliff Deal: Hollywood Gets Tax Incentive Extension (breitbart.com) * "Eight Corporate Subsidies in the Fiscal Cliff Bill, From Goldman Sachs to Disney to NASCAR"


Coming Attractions
2 Months to Till the Next Cliff
3 more fiscal cliffs loom  (CNN) * Here are the specifics of the last-minute tax deal worked out between Biden & McConnell(NYT) * Graham to House Republicans: Save fight for debt ceiling: (Politico)







Polar Bears Swim in Coney Island

A Century Ago, a Mayor Who Wrote Back(NYT)Probably no mayor of New York City except Edward I. Koch came close to writing as many letters to constituents as William J. Gaynor, who served from 1910 to 1913 and dictated missives filled 




Happy 2013 New York
History of Times Square New Years Eve Celebrations

A Look Back At The History Of The Times Square Ball Drop  * Dick Clark to be Celebrated on “New Year's Rockin' Eve  * Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Aces Its Test Run(NY1) * A Look Back At The History Of The Times Square Ball Drop(WCBS) * Slide Show: New Year’s Eve Around the World * Rockettes Help Kick Off 2013 In Times Square New Year's Celebration * 'Gangnam Style' Star Psy Jams with Rap Icon MC Hammer in Times Square(DNAINFO) * Rockettes Help Kick Off 2013 In Times Square New Year's Celebration (NY1)Taylor Swift New Year's Eve Performances On 'New Year's Rockin' Eve' (VIDEO) * Cleaning up Times Square(YNN) 2013 is the first year since 1987 to have 4 different numbers. 



Has One NYT Article Made Lhota Become Rudy's Puppet?
With All the Group Think Press the Rudy Connection is Getting Today Does Lhota Throw Giuliani and His People Out of His Campaign or At Least Builds An Independent Campaign Staff?
Giuliani Ready to Use Muscle to Put His Man in Mayor’s Seat(NYT) Rudolph W. Giuliani is determined to play an outsized role in the race to replace Michael R. Bloomberg, quietly putting his bulging Rolodex behind a former top City Hall deputy.* . isn't only one worried about legacy; Giuliani pushing to run to uphold his own. Even Fred Siegel, Giuliani's biggest defender and author of pro-Rudy book, says NYC may not want GOP mayor * Try to tell hipster Brooklyn that the city is in trouble"--Fred Siegel re: #2013


How much Giuliani can take? (Capital) *An Amsterdam News editorial this week is headlined "We don't need a Giuliani clone." Lhota in fact isn't a Giuliani clone. He holds some heterodox views and is sufficiently unformed as a candidate to present himself as his own man, in partisan and ideological terms. But that becomes harder if his former boss does the talking for him.* Why Rudy is gaga for Lhota: fear that NYC will slip backward under Dems, he tells me.* MTA Chairman's Resignation Takes Effect: Joseph Lhota is officially out as Metropolitan Transportation Authority... * Giuliani's Third Term: Rudy Plans To Stump For Mayor Lhota In 2013(Gothamist) * Rudy Giuliani & would-be NYC mayor are fond of reciting lines from “The Godfather” together. Not comforting.

Who Got Mayoral Control of Education?

The end of Estelle Cooper(Queens Crap)

From the Queens Courier: Former Queens Parks Commissioner Estelle Cooper passed away over the weekend, according to Sinai Chapels in Fresh Meadows. The 82-year-old Whitestone resident, who was indicted in July on grand larceny charges for allegedly stealing over $50,000 from a nonprofit conservancy group she helped start, was facing up to 15 years in prison if she had been tried and convicted. More on Cooper's corruption * Queens GOP Leader Accountant PhilRagusa Loses Track of Some Non Profit $$$ (True News)



 New Year 9 Shootings
7 shot in NYC on New Year's Day (NYDN) All the victims of New Year's Day gunfire were expected to live* Stabbing Of 19-Yr-Old Manhattan Woman Was 2012's Last Murder(Gothamist) * Year of the gun: 7 shot in NYC just hours into 2013(NYP) * At least 9 people shot in early hours of new year - Chicago Sun-Times * 9 shot in NYC on New Year's Day(NYDN) * Seven Injured In Early-Morning Shootings Across City(NY1) *City Filled With Gunfire in First Hours of 2013, Reports Say(DNAINFO

Year of the gun: 7 shot in NYC just hours into 2013(NYP) *Evidence Ruined by Storm May Subvert Court Cases(NYT) Two police evidence warehouses holding guns, drugs and DNA material were flooded during Hurricane Sandy, and the damage is now having an impact on the courts.

 



Drivers’ city fine decline (NYP) Last year brought a reprieve for the city’s ticket-weary drivers. Red-light cameras snagged 615,726 motorists blowing through intersections between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 of 2012, down from 880,922 in all of 2011,


Sandy Bill is Lost In the Fiscal Cliff
Wow. Hoyer just came to the floor, saying he hears there will be no more votes this Congress, killing Sandy relief bill. He is angry. 
Sandy Update Federal Aid Maybe Today: Update
* Told House expected to meet tomorrow (Wed) to vote on Relief bill
* House Could Vote On Sandy Bill Today (NY1)
* The weak arguments for delaying federal aid for Hurricane Sandy. [Michael Powell]
* House Republicans want to split the aid into two: one for emergency relief and one for flood mitigation. [Geoff Earle]
* House GOP releases $27 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill, plans votes as well on $33 billion in extra aid
* Hurricane Sandy aid: House rolls out smaller bill(Politico)
* Local Lawmakers Work To Get House To Approve Sandy Aid  (NY1)
* Bad news for NY: "defections could upturn efforts to pass $60 billion spending supplemental related to Hurricane Sandy" (Buzzfeed)
supplemental already passed by Senate. With no House vote, bill must start over in new Congress.
Dem aides working on Sandy bill tell me delay will cause much needed funds from getting to affected areas for weeks not days. * Boehner aide refers questions about Sandy aid bill to Cantor's office.
Billions in Aid for Hurricane Sandy Victims in Danger of Stalling(NYT)
Boehner's decision not to take up Sandy aid package, with a little bipartisan outrage (WSJ)

Hello, NY just got screwed and you tweet this: “: Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2013 is everything you hope for.”


Wednesday Daily News Copies True News Tuesday's Headline Congress to NY Drop Dead
'They told us to basically drop dead!' Angry New York residents and pols fuming over elongated wait for Sandy relief money(NYDN) Local leaders had been hopeful that the House of Representatives would vote Tuesday on the $60 billion Hurricane Sandy recovery bill already approved by the Senate -- but they were wrong
Rep. Rob Andrews says the chance victims of Hurricane Sandy see a guarantee of federal aid befre Jan 3 is 'PRETTY DARK'(NYDN) Republican Congressional members from New York and New Jersey and other states seeking post-Sandy aid met with House Republican leaders to try to advance a $60.4 billion federal aid package * Govs. Cuomo and Christie Make Last Minute Pleas For Hurricane Sandy Aid * in non- news, House GOP eyes smaller bill -- less than half size of $60 billion Senate measure  * House GOP mulls scaled-back Hurricane Sandy aid: (Politico)  * Discussing Disaster Relief Costs, and Changing Tone When It’s Closer to Home(NYT)

More City Budget Problems
City pension funds slow growth(NYP)


LI families displaced by Sandy put up in luxury apartments on Upper East Side for free(NYP)* For Day Laborers, Used to Scraping By, Hurricane Creates a Wealth of Work(NYT) For day laborers in New York City, post-Sandy demolition and construction work has been a boon and has increased remittances to their families in South and Central America* Community Center Says It Has Been Told to Cease Its Storm Relief Program(NYT) * The Times writes that Hurricane Sandy inadvertently saved Jones Beach State Park by damaging the land to the extent that Donald Trump will not develop a $24 million catering hall:* Washout at Jones Beach (WSJ) After lots of storm damage, a beach gets a break when Donald Trump’s project is canceled.* Sandy feeds crime surge in storm-soaked Queens(NYDN) *  New York Daily News 2012 Person of the Year winner: The brave faculty of Sandy Hook Elementary School * Hamill: Sandy Hook’s heroes give us hope for ’13 (NYDN) * Thieves loot tent filled with supplies for Staten Island victims of Hurricane Sandy(SI Advance) * A Destructive Storm, and Then a Horror at a School With a Similar Name Redefines Loss(NYT) * Home without power since Sandy still getting power bill (Fox 5) * NYC Sanitation extends Hurricane Sandy debris pickups until (SI Advance) * Concerns Over Tarmac Storage of Sandy-Damaged Cars(NBC) * Somber, But Hopeful New Year’s In Sandy-Ravaged Broad Channel * $50 Million From Sandy Relief Concert Doled Out To Over 160 Organizations(Huff Post) * Shootings Put New Perspective on Hurricane Losses(NYT) * ‘We Lost Things and We Can Replace Those Things’(NYT) * Sanitation Crews To Pick Up Sandy Debris For Two More Weeks(NY1) * Family Left Homeless by Sandy Takes Solace in Times Square Tradition(DNAINFO) * Primed for disaster(NYP)
LIPA’s predictable Sandy failures * New Year Brings Hope To Sandy-Ravaged Staten Island(WCBS)
* Volunteers Keep Staten Island Sandy Victims Warm On Frigid Night

Volunteers at Ground Zero Now Face a Demand for Proof(NYT)






Not Even Sandy Can Stop the SI  Ferris Wheel
 World's largest Ferris wheel to go forward in Superstorm Sandy devestated SI(NYP)

Storm Caused Ticktets to Go Down from 1000 A Week to 30

Sandy was a tix nix (NYP) Red-light cameras doled out approximately 23 percent fewer tickets in 2012 than in 2011.




Washington Update: Senate Deal Heads to the House Today

 
Tentative Deal Is Reached to Raise Taxes on the Wealthy(NYT)  * Late in the Game, Biden Re-emerges as a Player(NYT) * Chief Justice Prods Congress to Resolve Talks(NYT) * Pelosi weighs in (Wash Post) * What's next after the cliff? (Wash Post) * Sen. McCaskill () says 'cliff' deal blocks pay hike for Congress: "Thank goodness. Good reason to vote for it," she tweets.In typical Biden language, told VP described the upcoming March standoff (debt ceiling, govt shutdown and sequester) as a "the donnybrook'* Geithner: U.S. Has Hit Debt Limit(Huff Post) * House GOP leaders: We'll bring Senate deal to floor (Wash Post) 

Senate Democrats Begrudgingly Accept Fiscal Cliff Compromise  * Tentative Deal Is Reached to Raise Taxes on the Wealthy(NYT) *It’s Biden, McConnell to the rescue once again (Wash Post) *Another Fiscal Flop(Brooks, NYT)The deal we are heading toward is discouraging. It doesn’t involve a single hard decision.   * A Tepid Fiscal Agreement(NYT Ed)  The tentative deal reached between leaders in the Senate raises taxes but falls far short of meeting the nation’s long-term needs.* Obama, Senate reach bipartisan ‘fiscal cliff’ deal(Wash Post) * Republicans adrift(Wash Post) * Watch Out Below! No Vote to Stop Fiscal Cliff(NY Mag) * In last-minute vote, Senate approves fiscal deal * Grand Bargains Give Way to Quick Fixes(NYT) * Obama's Crisis Demagoguery - Jonathan Tobin, Commentary 
Senate OKs Deal Raising Taxes on Affluent - Jonathan Weisman, NY Times


Biden- McConnell deal will not help economy, jobs or deficit. Only immigration, education,innovation, entitlement reform can get thru this.

Tax Increase Is Biggest In Decades - Zachary Goldfarb, Washington Post
Obama Gets Higher Taxes on Rich, But at What Cost? - David Lauter, LAT
What's Happening in Washington Is a Joke - John Crudele, New York Post
One Positive of Deal: No Spending Cuts at All - Paul Krugman, NY Times
Big Battles Pushed to the Springtime - Nancy Cook, National Journal
Obama's Incredible Arrogance - Charles Krauthammer, FOX News
Republicans Adrift - Richard Cohen, Washington Post
New Year Means Tax Hikes to Pay for Health Law - Tony Pugh, McClatchy
Employers Must Offer Family Care, Affordable or Not - Robert Pear, NYT
California Dreamin' Gives Way to Fiscal Reality - Wes Pruden, Wash Times
Long Walk, Short Piers - James Taranto, Wall Street Journal

Do the media bear some blame for the fiscal cliff brinksmanship? 
to Be Awful - Alex Pareene, Salon

Have Nation's Leaders Ever Seemed Smaller? - Washington Post
A Tepid Fiscal Agreement - New York Times
Short Term Relief, But Little Else - The Economist
Le Tax Fairness - Wall Street Journal
Why voted 'no' on fiscal cliff deal: 
White House talking points on the fiscal cliff deal -(CNN)
PHOTOS: The eight senators who voted 'no' on the fiscal cliff deal:
AFL-CIO's Trumka: 'Lawmakers should have listened better'(CNN)
Federal workers and the unemployed will be among the first to feel the pinch as austerity measures kick in.
Obama says a 'fiscal cliff' agreement is close but not yet complete(NYP) * Shape of Fiscal Deal Emerging, but Spending Still at Issue(NYP) *McConnell: 'We are very, very close'(Wash Post)* Obama's "fiscal cliff" remarks leave GOP angry, confused (CBS) * Federal workers brace for furloughs(CNN) * Eleventh-hour talks between Senate Majority Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and VP Joe Biden resulted in an agreement to increase marginal income tax rates to 39.6 percent on individual income more than $400,000 and households that earn more than $450,000. Biden and McConnell reportedly remain stuck on whether and how to stop $110 billion in across-the-board spending cuts in 2013.* Cliff frustration mounts among House GOP:(Politico) * One aide tells me after midnight, leadership can stress to rank/file that any vote for a Sen plan is a vote to lower taxes. *Biden to visit Hill tonight: Reports 
The Senate fiscal cliff deal would let income-tax rates rise for the first time in nearly 20 years.(WSJ)
Joe Biden: Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster (Wonkette)
Washington now under caution flag. RT : My favorite part of the Senate bill is the tax expenditure for NASCAR.  
 House won't vote before midnight on 'cliff' deal(NYP)Boehner reminds via Tweet that House has passed legislation to avert fiscal cliff yet with just hours to go, Senate has yet to act.  House GOP adjourns until noon. GOP Leader Cantor tells members to be flexible and ready for anything tomorrow

This won't end well. With fiscal cliff, DC has taken on Albany's 3-men-in-a-room style of gov't(TU)
Fiscal-cliff talks at an impasse with one day to go(NYP) * Unthinkable Cuts Almost A Reality(WSJ) * Congress Meets Cliff's Edge(WSJ) * Parties Pivot to Blame Game(WSJ) * Economic Risks Rise(WSJ) * Obama Pressures GOP(WSJ)
* Short-Term Thinking Yields a Showdown Long Foreseen(NYT)
 Day of Seesaw Talks Produces No Accord on Fiscal Crisis(NYT) * Experts Forecast Cost of Failure to Compromise(NYT) * Brewing Up Confusion (Krugman, NYT) Starbucks spreads nonsense about budgets and bipartisanship* All the Terrible Things That Will Happen If Congress Goes Over the Fiscal Cliff (NY Mag) * Grover Norquist says tax rates won’t increase (Politico) * Republican senators agreed to take Social Security cuts (via the “chained CPI”) off their list of immediate demands. Democrats saw this as progress.

Obama's Tax Hikes Won't Be Nearly Big Enough - John Judis, New Republic
"We Darn Well Better Cut Spending" - Pete DuPont, Wall Street Journal
Let's Give Up on the Constitution - Louis Michael Seidman, New York Times
When Govt Offers to Help, It Often Makes Mess - Michael Barone, Examiner
Lessons for Both Parties From the 2012 Elections - Albert Hunt, Bloomberg
The Five Worst Things Obama Did in 2012 - Tim Stanley, The Telegraph
Deal or Not, Budget Debacle Will Linger Into 2013 - Rick Klein, ABC News
When Will Obama Step Up & Make Deal? - Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
New Year, New Low for Republicans - Robert Kuttner, Huffington Post
Misplaced Fear & Loathing Over Income Inequality - Nick Gillespie, Reason
Billionaires Should Buy, Liquidate Gunmaker - William Cohan, Bloomberg
Globalization in Retreat - Robert Samuelson, Washington Post

2013 Likely Another Ho-Hum Year for Economy - Kevin Hall, McClatchy
Media CEOs Try to Engineer Turnaround in 2013 - David Carr, NY Times
The Mega Scandal Everyone Has Forgotten - John Fund, National Review
Kindness in the Face of Horror - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
In Search of Our Better Angels - David Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Le Tax Fairness - Wall Street Journal
A Broken System for Tracking Guns - New York Times
The Country's Leaders Are Failing - San Francisco Chronicle
Good Riddance, Lisa Jackson - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
RT : New York Times Gets It Fundamentally Wrong on the Budget Impasse
Bob Corker on final cliff negotiations: "Whatever happens today is really inconsequential."
How helped Democrats hold a key Senate seat:(Mother Jones)



God, give Congress the strength — to do its job. 
God, save us from ourselves(NYP) Chaplain Barry Black asked the Lord to “save us from self-inflicted wounds” during his invocation — which was delivered to a mostly empty chamber.




Hillary Update  AP: Secretary Of State Clinton Recovering From Blood Clot In Her Head  * Hillary Clinton's blood clot between brain & skull(NYP) * Times gets fullest account of Clinton injury so far - a fall from constant vomiting, contusion on brain & eye (NYT) * ABC has thorough medical sidebar on the thrombosis Clinton is being treated for * Fears for ailing Hillary (NYP) Clintons rush to bedside amid ‘brain’ clot * Doctors Expect Clinton To Make Full Recovery From Blood Clot In Her Head(NY1)* Hillary Clinton receiving blood thinners to dissolve clot |(Time)



Fears for ailing Hillary(NYP)
NYP December 18, 2012 Hillary Clinton's head fake - New York Post
Hill in city hosp with blood clot(NYP) * Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot(WSJ) * Hillary Clinton Enters Hospital With Blood Clot(NYT) * Hillary Clinton admitted to hospital with blood clot(WABC) *The NY Post joins those doing new culpas for questioning whether Clinton was faking injury 


The NY Post bids a fond and bittersweet farewell to retiring Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.
 US blew Benghazi warning: report(NYP)


Campaign 2013  Quinn pressed on NYPD frisk policy(NYP) * Again, Supermarket Mogul Weighs Running for Mayor(NYT) * Public Advocate Blasts How Stuy Town, Peter Cooper Village Handled Sandy Rent Credits(NY1)* Staten Island Assembly-elect tapped for key committee (SI Advcance) * Republican George Amedore is holding off on hiring state Senate staff or setting up an office until an appeal by his Democratic opponent, Cecilia Tkaczyk, is heard in court, the Times-Union reports:  * NRA Giveth To And Taketh From State Lawmakers (NYDN) * Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry To Become Speaker Pro Tempore: Source (NYDN) * New diversity in NY's congressional delegation (NYDN) * Heading into his final year as mayor, Bloomberg insists he won’t be a lame duck and won’t stop running things – although he won’t second guess his successor – after he leaves City Hall.  * Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will elevate Assemblyman Joe Morelle as majority leader, Ken Lovett writes, and make Assemblyman Jeff Aubry the speaker pro tempore. (DN)* Bloomberg inspired? new committee filed: "AMERICA FOR TECHNOCRATIC ACTION."  * The New York Times took another look at John Catsimatidis, described here as an “ample-bodied, idiosyncratic man who styles himself as a ‘common billionaire.’” * Comptroller John Liu weighed in on the Republican field for mayor recently, telling dinner companions, “It looks like there will be a Republican primary, which I hope for. The more in there the better; let them kill themselves first. But I think there’s still more Republicans to join [the campaign]. I’m glad to see Joe Lhota is getting a ‘honeymoon period,’ which I think will be over in a relatively short time.” * He also commented on the controversial circumcision practice in the Orthodox Jewish community, which Mayor Bloomberg’s administration recently rolled out a new consent form for. “I would defer to the rabbis,” Mr. Liu said. The move makes him the second Democratic mayoral candidate to speak out on the topic, after former Comptroller Bill Thompson.Councilman Joel Rivera's chief of staff, Albert Alvarez, is running 4 the * The state Senate Democrats have fleshed out their leadership team for 2013.* Avella Accepted Money From Companies Dumping in Whitestone Development(Queens Politics) * Oh, what a year it’s going to be (NYDN)Cuomo gets a tattoo? Silver dances with the stars? * Brooklyn’s 13 to watch in 2013 (Brooklyn Paper) * . emails for donations: "The first 13 days of 2013 are imperative to my campaign and I need your help." #2013* Bloomberg Begins Final Year In Office (WCBS) * Family in the Spotlight- De Blasio's Wife, Children Provide Multiracial Backdrop to Likely Mayoral Bid (WSJ)



NYC Corruption List 2012 City Hall(Troy Artist)

1) ECTP 911 Tech System 
2) 911 Son of CityTime
5) Board of Ed and Board of Elections  
6) CityTime Trial 

Weak Bolts Have Complicated the Barclays Center’s Early Days (NYT)

After Modest Life, Huge Gift to Library and Central Park (NYT)

Dance of the Dunces Series: NY's Press and Pols  
The Queens Subway Station Where Erika Menendez Pushed Sunando Sen To His Death Did Not Have A Video Camera
The subway pusher would not have been caught if a nearby store did not have a camera which taped Menendez running away from the crime. How does NY's 468 subway stations lack video in 20013 when London's subways have had 12,000 subway cameras since the mid 2000's?  The answer is incompetence on the MTA side and clueless and non caring elected office who did not noticed the problem until they had a chance to get their names in the paper. Were were the NYPD and other terror agencies demanding that the subways be equipped with live video feeds?  Back in 2005 the MTA made a $212 million dollar deal with Lockheed Martain to put cameras in 277 of the city's subway stationsNew Cameras to Watch Over Subway System - New York Times(2005) 

Dumb Reporters Never Ask Where Are the Subway Cameras, Or Where Will the Money For the Station Barriers Come From
 In 2010 About half the 4,313 security cameras installed along New York City's subways were not seeing a thingHalf of NYC subway security cams don't work - MSNBC.com The stories came out about the subways lack of video at that time because of another pushing crime the MTA sued the camera installer. Today, Councilman like Peter Koo are calling for safety barriers to protect commuters in New York City’s subway stations after a man was pushed to his death on the No. 7 line last week. The press never asked Koo or anyone else how the city would pay for the new barriers or if they are technically possible.   With a subway system with different size cars and door placed in different place in each model cars it would be very hard and expensive to develop a barrier system that works.  With the fare going up, another fare increase already in place for 2014, the millions spent to repair damage to the subways caused by Sandy and the lose of revenue to the subways because of the housing recession drying up of real estate taxes it counted on to fund it capital program even the pols have no clue where the money for the barriers would come from.  MTA Budget Cuts Means Old Subway Cars Staying ... - CBS New YorkBudget Cuts Blamed for Increase in NYC Subway Rat Infestation NYC Subway Riders' Worry: Service Slipping Back To The Bad Old ... * Somber farewell for man pushed to his death in subway(NYP)



Shover beat me like crazy in ’03 (NYP) He’s just glad he didn’t run into her on a subway platform. A retired FDNY battalion chief yesterday recalled a violent 2003 encounter with accused subway pusher Erika Menendez — in which she showed what a menace to society she was by ranting like a...  * Subway Suspect's Past (WSJ) Long before Erika Menendez was accused of pushing a Queens man to his death on the subway tracks, her mother had called police at least five times over the past seven years to report erratic, sometimes violent behavior. * Subway Suspect's Past Allegedly Includes Mental Health Problems, Violence (WSJ) * Troubled Past for Suspect in Fatal Subway Push(NYT) * Psychiatric Evaluation Ordered For Suspect In Fatal Queens Subway Push(NY1) * Alleged Subway Pusher Has Been Unhinged For a Long Time(NY Mag) * Suspect in Queens subway death arrested before (NBC)* Somber farewell for man pushed to his death in subway(NYP) * Subway Suspect's Past Allegedly Includes Mental Health Problems, Violence(WSJ) *Alleged Subway Pusher Erika Menendez Moved to Psychiatric Ward(DNAINFO)

* Claim: MTA botched safety deal(NYDN) * Fare evader tries to choke cop: police(NYDN) * Subway Victim Recalled as Always Lending a Hand(NYT) * Subway Victim Recalled as Always Lending a Hand(NYT) * Funeral Held For Queens Man Pushed In Front Of Subway Train(NY1)

Another Jumper
Woman critical after allegedly jumping in front of train  * Woman Hit By Subway Train After Jumping Onto Tracks In (WCBS) * Throws herself in front of A train, survives(NYDN) *
Woman stumbles, falls on subway tracks, dies(NBC)


Will They Take Their Meds Unsupervised?
With the subway pushing and Sandy Hook Shootings Pols Will Now Focus On Telling All They Are Doing for the Mentally Ill  . . . Why did NY cut S100 from Metal Health Budget & The state may move mentally ill residents into "community housing."

Here come the crazies(NYP Ed)Here’s some scary news: The Cuomo administration is preparing to shove thousands of mentally ill New Yorkers out of supervised settings — where they can be forced to take their medication — into far less restrictive, far more dangerous “community housing.” This, despite two recent cases of people being fatally shoved from subway platforms — both allegedly by crazy people. Albany, under pressure from the Obama administration, recently ordered psychiatric facilities not to place any discharged patients in adult homes, where staff can ensure they take their meds. * Absolute madness(NYDN)  The only thing more deranged than the confessed subway pusher who took the life of Sunando Sen last week is the fundamentally insane system that allowed her mental illness to metastasize to the point that it became lethal. * What is NEW YORK STATE BUDGET CUTS MENTAL HEALTH? * New York has one of the largest mental health budgets, but between 2011 and 2012, New York cut its funding by $95.2 million.(ABC)


The BOE Finish the 2012 Count In Time to Set Up for the 2016 Presidential Race 
There was at least one good thing that Hurricane Sandy blew away — the city’s usual blizzard of parking tickets. Sandy’s flood has led to a drought of parking citations in lower Manhattan, with drivers spared hefty fines because city ticket agents... Nearly two months since Election Day and after the Electoral College met and voted, New York City’s Board of Elections posted official presidential results. Mr. Obama carried the city with 81 percent of the vote, 1,987,013 to Mitt Romney’s 435,564. He beat Mr. Romney more narrowly on the write-in tally, 146 to 99. A little more than 58 percent of the city’s registered voters cast ballots, compared with 64 percent in 2008, when Mr. Obama carried the city with 79 percent.

How the Media Keeps NY Dumb All We found in the media today was a 25 second piece that the Electorial College voted in Albany yesterday. True News was hoping that the EC vote would remind the public of the BOE incompetence on election day but we were wrong.
When the Electorial College Representatives Cast Their Ballot In Albany Today It Will Be Illegal Because the NYC Voter Count is Not Certified
It Ok not to have a final vote before NY casts it Electoral College votes.  It Ok that over a million New Yorkers either waited on line for hours or left the polls before voting on election day.  This is because the NYC Board of Elections purpose is not to assure democracy to the city residences but to server as a gatekeeper for the city's incumbent elected officials and machine backed candidates. The media (except the Daily News), the city council with their fake hearings last month and all our elected officials are all in on preserving this corrupt of the city's election system. The BOE worked aound the clock this weekend and still will not finish in time for the Electoral College vote today at noon. They are counting every paper ballot they can to avoid the embarrisment of the election day count which has them down from the 2008 totals by 22.3% over a half of million votes lessElectoral College makes it official (CNN)* * BOE History of Corruption and Incompetence (True News)




NYC Record # of Tourist
NYC counts record 52 million visitors in 2012 * 41 million of the tourists were Americans; 11 million were from overseas. [Dana Rubinstein] * A Record Year for New York Tourism(NYT) * Tourists to NYC account for 33% of all internat'l visitors to US--LA a distant 2nd at 13% (NYP) * New York Dukes It Out With Orlando To Become Nation’s Top Tourist Spot(CBS)


Education
While New York City public school teachers have gone without a new contract for three years, more than 90 United Federation of Teachers’ staffers earned six-figure salaries between July 2011 and June 2012Big $penders at teach union  (NYP)At least their union dues are working overtime. While city public-school teachers have gone without a new contract or regular pay raises for three straight years, their union, its staffers and political cronies have been living large off their union. More than 90 staffers earned six-figure salaries between July 2011 and June 2012, the records show — including President Michael Mulgrew, who took home $275,000.* Parents, Students Rally To Save Bronx Catholic School Marked For Closure(NY1) * Parents, Students Rally To Keep South Bronx Catholic School (WCBS)


Cuomo and State Pols 2013 Plans
Gov to raze hell with biz agency(NYP) Cuomo plans a top-to-bottom shake-up of the state’s leading economic-development and job-creation agency early in the new year after concluding it is outdated, ineffective and poorly organized . The Empire State Development Corp., which hands out billions of dollars in economic-development grants and tax benefits, is “disjointed, dysfunctional — and nobody really is sure on the inside who is responsible for what * Cuomo Said Aiming at Guns(WSJ) * State Lawmakers Seek Harsher Punishment For Gun Owners Who Let Their Weapons Be Used In Crimes(NY1) The Post bemoans that Ohio has now moved ahead with shale gas drilling while Cuomo’s idea of “development” is giving subsidies to the Buffalo Bills football team to keep it in western New York: * Sheldon Silver: Microstamping Not Part Of Gun Package Talks(NYDN) *Cuomo remains eager to be the first governor in the nation to sign new gun laws since the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook massacre, but it’s unclear if he’ll propose new measures in his State of the State address.* Gun control is hardly the only issue on the Legislature’s increasingly crowded plate in 2013.* Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said resistance in his house to lifting the ban on MMA is “getting less.” One of the key opponents, Assemblyman Bob Reilly, is retiring this week.* New state laws banning sales of electronic cigarettes to minors and giving businesses new tax exemptions for installing solar energy systems are set to take effect this week.* Sen. Diane Savino believes there’s sufficient support in both parties to pass her medical marijuana bill. The main obstacle now? Cuomo.* The NYP  slams Cuomo for playing “second fiddle” to Ohio’s John Kasich when it comes to fracking. A gun control package being negotiated between Cuomo and legislative leaders does not address microstamping, which the Senate Republicans vehemently oppose, and their biggest individual donor – Bloomberg – vehemently supports.* Andy can court all new judges(NYP) * If Cuomo wins a second term, he'll be able to appoint all seven members of the state's highest court. [Erik Kriss]* Dicker says city Democrats are 'profiling upstate, white gun-owners'

More on Gun Control
President Obama's determined to get a gun-control law in2013(NYDN) A Broken System for Tracking Guns(NYT) The agency charged with stopping illegal firearm sales needs leadership and new rules* A $104,000-a-year State Police investigator is one of 3 New Yorkers who sit on the board of the NRA  * President Obama called the Newtown school massacre “the worst day” of his presidency as he reiterated on “Meet the Press” Sunday his determination to sign a gun-control bill into law early in his second term. * By the numbers: comparing spending by gun rights & gun control interest groups. * Will Gun Control Happen? - Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker * The newspaper that published personal information of local gun owners now has armed guards(Gawker)



A Mighty Act: The 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation(Holtzer, Daily Beast)



Daily News Calls Trump Knucklehead of the Year

His bad hair year (NYDN Ed) The New York Daily News Knucklehead of the Year is... Donald Trump *  RT : I am a Republican...but the Republicans may be the worst negotiators in history!



SI Ferry going green(NYDN) * SI Ferry to run on natural gas in a pilot program.(NBC)

For Former Speakeasy Undone by Engineering, a Slow, Complicated Return(NYT)


Will NY ever get it right? Falls' gamble on casino hasn't paid off - The Buffalo News



Law and Order
‘Bombmaking’ in the Village (NYP) The privileged daughter of a prominent city doctor, and her boyfriend — a Harvard grad and Occupy Wall Street activist — have been busted for allegedly having a cache of weapons and a bombmaking explosive in their Greenwich Village apartment.* Couple's explosive case delayed when woman goes into labor(NYDN) * Manhattan Couple Stored Bomb-Making Items, Police Say(NYT)Baby break for Village ‘bomb’ gal(NYP)
Brings life as cops find instruments of death * Cops: Pregnant Radical Heiress Arrested In Village with Explosives Junky, Not Terrorist(Daily Beast)

Connecticut Gunman’s Body Taken for Burial(NYT) * First Responders Mourn an Ambushed Firefighter(NYT) * Huge Child-Support Debt Doesn’t Ensure Time in Jail(NYT) * Driver Charged With DWI Following Crash Into Waters Near JFK Airport
* Critics rip tribute to jail boss(NYDN) * New Mom Dead, Several Others Injured When Car Plunges Into(WCBS) * Adam Lanza's Body Claimed for Burial in Secret(NY Mag) * Critics rip tribute to jail boss(NYDN) * Greenwich Village Couple Arrested After Investigators Find (WCBS)* Subway Fare Evader In Far More Serious Trouble After Allegedly(WCBS)
* 2 charged in Queens teen shoot slay(WCBS) *Father of Gunman Claimed Remains(NYT) * Woman, 19, Fatally Stabbed Outside Inwood Building(NBC) * Cop KO’d by ‘fare beater’(NYP) * Bx. bldg. perv suit(NYP) * Execution in Bx. car(NYP) * CIA Sued To Release NYPD Spying Report(Huff Report)
* 19-Year-Old Woman Stabbed to Death in Inwood, Police Say(DNAINFO) * Man In Custody In Connection With Manhattan Stabbing Death(NY1)
Sandy Hook students head back to school Thursday(NYP)

Hurricane Destroyed Evidence Held by New York Police (NYT)
Police involved shooting in the Bronx
 

'Cannibal cop' shared depraved plans with many: feds(NYDN) * ‘Cannibal cop’ lawyers demand names of other ‘diners’(NYP)