Killing the Middle Class: Rising Rents and Increase in Lower Paying Jobs
New York’sjob squeeze(NYDN Ed) The workforce grows but income sinks. New York City added 6,800 jobs in September, putting the five boroughs on track to add more than 100,000 positions this year. And that will, indeed, be a happy and healthy gain. At the same time, the unemployment rate here fell to 6.8% last month, hitting its lowest point in almost five years. Again we cheer, because the trend signals greater opportunity for paycheck earners. That said, all is not sunny. As is happening across the country, the city continues to produce jobs toward the lower end of the economic ladder — stocking shelves, waiting tables, caring for shut-ins — while higher paying positions are in short supply. Hotels, restaurants, bars and similar businesses are the fastest-growing sector of the job market. They pay an average weekly salary of just $573 — among the lowest of any industry . Also rapidly expanding is the health-care sector — mostly in the form of positions for home aides and the like. This sector pays an average of $936 per week, barely a comfortable living in a costly town. Meanwhile, the critical financial sector — with weekly wages that average $5,761 — has yet to replace 23,000 of the Wall Street jobs that evaporated in the meltdown of 2007 and 2008. With the financial industry falling from 13% of New York’s jobs at the beginning of 2008 to 11% today, and with leisure and hospitality slots rising from 8% of the workforce to 10%, too many seekers land positions that barely pay a living wage instead of ones that afford a decent standard of living. From 2007 to 2013, when the Consumer Price Index ticked upwards by 12.4%, the average income per employee in the five boroughs increased by just one-half of 1%.
F Trump Why is There So Much Lobbyists and Campaign Contributions to Build Casinos In NY When it is Doomed to Fail Like NJ?
DONALD'S FULL OF CRAPS: Trump, whose Atlantic City joints were utter failures,says N.Y. casinos will 'go down the tubes' (NYDN)Donald Trump, whose Atlantic City joints were a bust, says upstate New York casinos will 'go down the tubes' The Donald predicted the state will take a loss in the not-too-distant future because the market in the Northeast is saturated. Trump says he no longer has financial interests in casinos in New Jersey , and recently has fought to have his name removed from the troubled Trump Taj Mahal.
Maggie Haberman @maggiepolitico
Can't say I understand the Daily News calling Trump for comment on things and then trashing him for giving it
Why are NY Lobbyists Make Millions With Gambling Contract and Pols Get Big $$$ When Atlantic City Melts Down
New York casino bet in wake of Atlantic City debacles(NYP)Something for the New York Gaming Facility Location Board to think about next week, when it begins hearing from developers claiming that giving them a casino license will revive struggling Upstate communities.* The casino crackup: New York’s betting on this for jobs?(NYP) While casino gambling was sold as a money magnet for upstate, it’s more likely to prey off local resources than to bring in much from outside*Another Atlantic City casino has shut its doors (WNBC)
@zephyrteachout casino gambling is not economic development Great to generate campaign contributions for pols bad for the people.
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Found in an old box-Jan. 1980 @NYDailyNews political column w Mike Long led-Conservative Party & @chuckschumer news
Friends of Bill (de Blasio, that is)(NYP) In a city run by a man who likes to rail against unequal treatment, being a friend of Bill sure has its privileges. We mean Mayor Bill de Blasio — the same guy who spent years demanding transparency from his predecessor and denouncing him for standing by aides tarnished by scandal. Now it’s de Blasio standing by his wife’s chief of staff, Rachel Noerdlinger, even as fresh outrages confirm she is not fit to hold public office. Not only won’t he hold Noerdlinger accountable, Lord de Blasio won’t even discuss it. “Case closed,” he decrees. A Tale of Two Cities is of a city with one set of rules for the mayor’s privileged pals and another for ordinary Joes. Nor has he ever been shy about using his influence to ask for special treatment for his circle. Examples include:
• Pressing the Manhattan DA to help a teacher at his daughter’s school, Steve Quester, avoid jail time after being arrested at an anti-Israel protest.
• Intervening with school authorities to help a nephew of Brooklyn Rep. Yvette Clark get into MS 51 in Park Slope.
• Getting Working Families Party boss Dan Cantor’s water bill lowered.
• And, in one of his first acts as mayor, calling the cops to keep a pastor friend out of jail after he’d been arrested. “End of the story,” he said when asked about that, too. As indefensible as Noerdlinger’s actions have been, the abuse her case highlights is even bigger than her lies. It’s the mayor’s colossal double standard.* Josh and James Brolin's brother is homeless and survives byeating trash. (NYDN)
Is de Blasio Making Public Housing More Dangerous
Domestic violence at NYCHA projects on the rise as de Blasiogives homeless families housing preference over victims (NYDN) A City Council report found that the number of domestic violence crimes at NYCHA developments have more than doubled, from 809 in 2009 to 1,642 last year. The report comes as the mayor changed priorities to let homeless families jump ahead of abuse victims on the huge waiting list for NYCHA apartments.
Klein Working to Build IDC . . . Will He Keep His Word to Join the Dems?
Klein's Power Play
Jimmy Vielkind: “Jeff Klein may or may not follow through ona tentative deal to end his Independent Democratic Conference’s alliance with Republicans and form a new coalition with Democrats come November. But there is one goal he is doggedly, indisputably fixated on in the meantime: growing his conference to maximize his own influence.”Diane Savino: ‘Jesse Hamilton Will Be a Member of the IDC’(NYO) * JESSE HAMILTON UNDECIDED ON JOINING THE IDC Despite rumors of Hamilton 's commitment to joining the Senate IDC, his campaign insists he is undecided.* * Gotham Gazette takes a deep look at the involvement of Cuomo , New York
IDC GOP Senate Coalition
Klein's Power Play
Jimmy Vielkind: “Jeff Klein may or may not follow through ona tentative deal to end his Independent Democratic Conference’s alliance with Republicans and form a new coalition with Democrats come November. But there is one goal he is doggedly, indisputably fixated on in the meantime: growing his conference to maximize his own influence.”Diane Savino: ‘Jesse Hamilton Will Be a Member of the IDC’(NYO) * JESSE HAMILTON UNDECIDED ON JOINING THE IDC Despite rumors of Hamilton 's commitment to joining the Senate IDC, his campaign insists he is undecided.* * Gotham Gazette takes a deep look at the involvement of Cuomo , New York
| IDC GOP Senate Coalition |
de Blasio Double Talk On OWS People's Climate March Protest Rights vs Marchers Arrests
Mayor de Blasio: 1st Amendment More important Than Traffic As He Allows NYPD to Arrests Protesters
De Blasio also praised those who took to the streets over the last few days, including those at yesterday’s Public Fianancing is an Opportunity to Weakerns Big Money Puppet Show
Yes NYP Public Financing Will Not Stop Corruption But It Will Allow A Few Individuals Not Selected By Big Money Interests To Get Into Office
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FU Liu From Wu
Tim Wu @superwuster
Too bad progressive John Liu @JohnCLiu lost. If we had worked together, I'm sure he would have won. Unfortunately, he never knew me.
BS Political Gov Campaign Spin
BS Political Gov Campaign Spin
Upbeat from his victory the previous night, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was “fine with 60 percent” of the vote in the primary election and called the results “liberating,” The New York Times reports: * One night after losing to Cuomo in the primary election, former Democratic gubernatorial challenger Zephyr Teachout went back to teaching law at Fordham Law School, the Times writes: * Democratic candidates who were endorsed by the Working Families Party and lost in the primary elections now face the decision of running in the general election and potentially taking away votes from other Democratic candidates, Gotham Gazette reports: * Teachout attracted a narrow constituency of upscale white liberal voters, while Cuomo is an accomplished politician who rallies the broad spectrum of New York’s 5.9 million Democrats, and she should endorse Cuomo, the Daily News opines: * Teachout's running mate slams de Blasio's Cuomo endorsement
Speeding Cam$ Helping Keep the Middle Class in NYC?
Mayor de Blasio revealed Tuesday that the city had collected an astonishing $9.15 million since January from $50 fines generated by speed cameras around public schools.* City will install more speed cameras near schools(NYDN)
| Traffic, Vision Zero and Speed Cameras |
The St Patrick's Parada Allows Gay Groups
After a battle of 20+ yrs, NYC's St. Patrick's Day Parade will allow gays, lesbians to march under their own banner
he organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue will allow a single gay group to march next year, altering a policy that has sparked controversy and protests for decades.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be the parade’s grand marshal.
Gay Groups to Join St. Patrick’s Parade in New York as a Ban Falls (NYT)
In Irish Enclaves, Support and Relief as St. Patrick’s Parade Lifts Ban on Gay Groups(NYT)
Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be the parade’s grand marshal.
Gay Groups to Join St. Patrick’s Parade in New York as a Ban Falls (NYT)
In Irish Enclaves, Support and Relief as St. Patrick’s Parade Lifts Ban on Gay Groups(NYT)
The Stringer Tells Eva Moskowitz
"I Can Do Anything Better Than You"
The dog ate his homework(NYDN Ed) De Blasio cuts some corners on pre-K
Stringer Theory: a Democrat Rises to Challenge de Blasio\ via @Politicker
The Battle for New York Schools: Eva Moskowitz vs. Mayor Bill de Blasio(NYT)
The Battle for New York Schools: Eva Moskowitz vs. Mayor Bill de Blasio(NYT)
* Calling expanded pre-kindergarten the "centerpiece" of his battle against income inequality, Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked off the school year by visiting preschool sites in all of New York City’s boroughs, the Daily News reports:
* New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said he has still received only 186 of 570 pre-K contracts from the Department of Education and called on city officials to “get their act together,” the Daily News writes:
* Many of the nine new pre-K sites shuttered by de Blasio this week are under investigation for "integrity issues," according to the Department of Investigation, and not likely to open this year school year, DNAinfo reports: http://goo.gl/ZcLiL0
Comptroller Scott Stringer and the Budget
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Tax the Rich II
Higher taxes down the road are a distinct possibility, given New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fiscal record so far, because while it may have enough cash now, the city might soon fall short, the Post writes:
Higher taxes down the road are a distinct possibility, given New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fiscal record so far, because while it may have enough cash now, the city might soon fall short, the Post writes:
As Candidates For Office Try to Get Their Message Out the Daily News Turns Into A PR Agent for Incumbents While Candidates Cry to Get Their Message Out
The Daily News Goes After the Corrupt Queens Library President and Puff PR's Van Bramer Who Benefited From the Corruption
Flashback EXCLUSIVE: City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer explodes at colleagues (NYDN, 1/29/2014) Van Bramer's colleagues questioned whether Van Bramer's ties to the Queens Library would compromise his ability to hold a hearing on the library's finances
Goo Goos Finally Acomplish Something - A Civil War Between Good Govt Groups
Citizens Union and the League of Women Voters unveiled a new website Tuesday in favor of a new commission
NYT Calls de Blasio Meets Reality, Its Really NYC's Campaign System Meets Reality
What the NYT does not report that there is something wrong with a campaign system that elects candidates with a cult like following that does not reflect the reality of governing. The media covered what former mayoral candidate Albanese called a campaign prop at the time of de Blasio in 2013 to stop the closing of LICH Hospital. The hospital is closed and the NYP calls it reality yesterday. Is the media telling us that campaigns with all their mailings are campaign props and they know it?
Its Not About Liberal Friction It is About Reality and Fooling the People During Campaigns
De Blasio Encounters Rising Friction Over Liberal Expectations(NYT) Faced with the realities of pension costs, budget deficits and a scarcity of federal support, the mayor has struggled to please his supporters. On Wednesday, housing advocates will march in Harlem to highlight what they say is a too-weak effort by City Hall to build affordable homes. And the Rev. Al Sharpton is planning a march on Saturday to call for an end to aggressive policing in the wake of a black Staten Island man’s death after being placed in a chokehold during a routine arrest.De Blasio has angered his angered the liberal base that propelled him into office by bowing to realities of having to make deals with developers on affordable housing and defending hard-nosed policing. “The mayor who shot to fame denouncing stop-and-frisk tactics and luxury condominiums is now defending hard-nosed policing and cutting deals with developers, bowing to the realities of leading an unruly city but also angering an activist left that propelled his rise … Impatience with the mayor is now spilling into outcry. On Wednesday, housing advocates will march in Harlem to highlight what they say is a too-weak effort by City Hall to build affordable homes. “And the Rev. Al Sharpton is planning a march on Saturday to call for an end to aggressive policing … Mr. de Blasio, who advisers say is deeply concerned about disappointing his supporters, has struggled to explain that the lofty liberal rhetoric of his mayoral campaign cannot be imported wholesale into City Hall — that there may be a limit on how many affordable units can be extracted from developers, that the so-called broken-windows policing strategy often credited with helping to lower crime cannot be abandoned overnight.
Mitchell Moss
“Inequality is not something that a mayor of New York can solve, but public safety is...
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio regularly doesn't pay for subway rides when on government business—contrary to what his office said earlier—and takes personal out-of-state trips paid by taxpayers, the Journal reports: * The fact that de Blasio sometimes uses tax dollars to pay for personal travel or his subway rides conflicts with his everyman image, some public relations experts said, Crain’s reports: *Mayor de Blasio’s free ride(NYP) Bill de Blasio has gone to great lengths to portray himself as a different kind of mayor — a true progressive, who cares more about the have-nots than other pols. Well, he’s certainly different in one way: He refuses to pay for his personal transportation expenses.
Michael Howard Saul
BdB told the public he paid for personal vacation to Italy. But City Hall confirms NYC paid for this Mercedes-Benz. BdB recently consulted w/ lawyer to determine whether he should personally pay for commuting from Gracie. * BdB recently consulted w/ lawyer to determine whether he should personally pay for commuting from Gracie.
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Hillary Distances
Hillary slams Obama for ‘stupid’ foreign policies(NYP) Hillary Clinton blasts President Obama’s foreign policy in an interview published Sunday, saying her former boss’ failure to have a clear strategy for the Middle East has spawned the current ISIS crisis in Iraq. “Great nations need organizing principles, and ‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle,” said Clinton, who was Obama’s first secretary of state and who is said to be mulling a run for the White House.* In an interview with The Atlantic, Hillary Clinton blasted President Obama’s foreign policy, saying her former boss’ failure to have a clear strategy for the Middle East has spawned the current ISIS crisis in Iraq.
Brooklyn Reformers Take Both Sides
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Zephyr Teachout and Cuomo’s hand-picked LG running mate, former Rep. Kathy Hochul, attended the same Brooklyn Democratic club meeting last night.
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Zephyr Teachout and Cuomo’s hand-picked LG running mate, former Rep. Kathy Hochul, attended the same Brooklyn Democratic club meeting last night.
* A top official in the Westchester and Yonkers Independence parties called GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino as a “f—ing racist liar.” * In response to a FOIL request, Cuomo’s office claims staff do not use private email accounts for official business, but that’s not actually true.Tuesday Update Gov. Cuomo’s criminal defense(NYP Ed)
Charity lived large as it stiffed staff: suit(NYP) A Queens nonprofit — which counts indicted Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith and ethics-probed Rep. Gregory Meeks as benefactors — cheated its workers out of wages while throwing lavish parties for friends of the charity’s chairman and CEO, a new lawsuit charges. Five former employees are suing the now-shuttered Jamaica Business Resource Center for $250,000 saying they stopped receiving full paychecks in 2012 and then were fired in 2013 for complaining about not getting paid
Mayor Defends Dumbing Down of Elite HSs
When Your Setting in A Cancer Ward, Are Your Looking for Doctors Who Are the Smartest or That Your Doctor Comes From A HS That Was Racial and Ethnic Balanced
NYT Denounces Citizens United Over and Over Just Does Not Report Its Effects on Local Races
To Get A Tough Senate Primary You Need to Be Indicted or Fight Rangel or WFP
New York Democrats face tough primary elections(NYP) Four Senate incumbents find themselves in tough races, including two in legal jams. For the first time since being indicted by a federal grand jury, state Sen. Malcolm Smith of Queens and Sen. John Sampson of Brooklyn are up for re-electionSmith was indicted in April 2013 for trying to buy his way onto the city mayoral ballot. But Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, who once worked for Smith, expects him to prevail. “The man has not been convicted of anything, he is well-liked in his community and the truth will stand with him,” Sheinkopf said. In Brooklyn, fellow indicted pol John Sampson has a tough challenge. His recent campaign filing showed a deficit of $9,621. There is also strong opposition to Sampson, who has been indicted twice in two years for embezzlement and lying to the FBI, drummed up by his primary opponent, Dell Smitherman. In Queens, incumbent state Sen. Tony Avella is in a fight with fund-raising machine John Liu — who currently has four times the amount of cash on hand as Avella. After losing a congressional primary to Rep. Charles Rangel, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat is locked in a primary with former City Councilman Robert Jackson. * LOVETT: Michael Bloomberg hasn’t given Senate Republicans a dime since he left office, despite being their single largest donorduring his three terms as mayor(NYDN) Senate Republicans have lost a big weapon in their fight against the Democrats for control of the chamber: former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg was the single largest donor to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee during his three terms in office — but since leaving City Hall, he hasn’t given a dime. … he has also given nothing to the Assembly Democrats, who received $250,000 from Bloomberg two years ago. … In fact, campaign records show that Bloomberg this year has given just a single $6,500 donation in New York — to Buffalo Republican state Sen. Mark Grisanti. … one of just four Senate Republicans in 2011 who voted to legalize same-sex marriage, which Bloomberg supported as mayor
Free Incumbent Senate Mailings
Mayor and Brooklyn Boss Bad Timing Backs Cuomo
