Adventures in blog poaching

Just wanted to mention that the Daily News, Gothamist, and DNA Info all ran with my Van by the River story. None credited New York Shitty or Queens Crap (although DNA Info reporter claims her editor took it out). This is the epitome of Lazy Journalism 101. The sad thing is that not only do I always give them proper attribution and provide links to their stories, but I often send their reporters tips on things that I don't put on the blog. (Thankfully, Curbed showed more professionalism and linked to the correct source.)

If these "reporters" had any talent as journalists, they wouldn't need to poach off amateurs. And what further info did they add? None of them called Jimmy Van Bramer, the Mayor's office or AirBnB to inquire as to how the hell this is allowed to go on in NYC.

And here's a dose of whoopass straight from the original source.

- QC

UPDATE DNA Info & Gothamist have corrected their stories to provide attribution.

Ridgewood is nowhere near what it's hyped to be

Hey folks, the latest neighborhood profile of Ridgewood comes courtesy of the Daily News, and it's a doozy. Have fun picking out all the mistakes. You can start with this paragraph:

Retail strips are less charming than the townhouse blocks. But Myrtle, Fresh Pond and Seneca Aves., the neighborhood’s main commercial thoroughfares, offer popular destinations including Ridgewood Eats and Mafera Park. Residents seeking more leisure options or a quick work commute can get to Midtown in a half hour on the M train or take the L train to Union Square. And the new breed of scruffy, tattooed residents displaced from Bushwick can quickly dive back into that scene with a short walk.

This could be more entertaining than the Easter egg hunt going on right now!

Craphouse owner compares it to renaissance painting

From the Daily News:

The owner and designer behind Queens’ first ever energy-efficient “passive house” rebuffed critics of the three-story home’s Lego-like façade Tuesday.

The future home of Tom Paino and his partner at 45-12 11th St., which Paino called “The Climate Change Row House,” features black, grey and white tiles in a sky pattern that local bloggers maligned in a barrage of posts last week.

But Paino compared the naysayers to yokels who attacked three-dimensional paintings during the Renaissance.

“People tried to throw rocks at the pictures because they weren’t used to paintings that had depth,” he said. “This house is going to be an example in the architecture world.”

But Paino’s design provoked viral putdowns on the web last week. Real estate blog Curbed ran a post about the house entitled , "Could this row house be the ugliest building in Queens?,” and popular local blog Queens Crap wrote that the house must have been designed by "Frank Lloyd Crap" in a Wednesday post.

A more supportive blogger admired the façade because the cloud design "reminds me of Legos," but Paino said he isn't paying any of them any mind.

"I have no idea who these people are," said Paino. "All I can tell you is that the façade is dramatic enough so that people walking by stop to look at it."

Ah, leave it to the Daily News to feel it necessary to get the crapmaker's side of the story when blogs poke fun at the crap. Here's the major part of the story that they left out:

Tom Paino bills himself as a preservationist. In fact, he was once a board member of the Greater Astoria Historical Society. For years, he claimed he was "restoring" his early 20th century rowhouse. Instead, he rebuilt it like this. Hypocrisy knows no bounds, especially in Queens where actual preservation is a joke, and this house is a punchline. But at least people are stopping to look at its dramatic façade!

You can either laugh at this stuff, or cry.

Vito Photoshop bust

How many differences can you spot between these 2 photos?


The top one comes from the Daily News.

The bottom one comes from a recent Vito Lopez mailer.

Miss Heather has the story and the rest of the mailer.

The Daily News goes in depth on what this is about.

This guy is either really stupid, or has cojones the size of cantaloupes.

Daily News deliverers getting canned

Dear Community,

I usually try to avoid getting up on a soapbox but in this instance I'm going to make an exception. There are times when the worst thing we can do is stay silent.

I learned today that the people who deliver the New York Daily News to our homes will soon be losing their jobs because the company plans to change its distribution system.

My carrier, like many of the people bringing the news to our front doors, is a dedicated, hard working individual struggling to provide for his family which includes 2 young children. Everyday, rain, shine, snow and even during tropical storms, the Daily News arrives at my home by 6 am. Richard (yes he does have a name) has notified his customers that in order to support his family he will be starting a house/office cleaning service.

In nothing more than an attempt to improve their bottom line the New York Daily News is implementing a policy that can only be described as contemptible. This corporate giant is targeting the most vulnerable among their employees. I eagerly await the next Daily News editorial concerning the plight of New York's middle class.

Without doubt my words will be mostly met with silence by politicians seeking a Daily News endorsement of their campaigns but I just had to get this off my chest. Let me know if you are looking for paper to wrap your fish.

Sincerely,
Warren Schreiber

Don't dare call her ma'am!

From the NY Times:

The City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, on Wednesday lashed out at a reporter for The Daily News who did not invoke Ms. Quinn’s proper title when asking her a question.

The reporter, Erin Einhorn, referred to Ms. Quinn as “Ma’am” in asking the speaker about her efforts to improve the city’s response to snowstorms.

But Ms. Quinn was none too pleased with Ms. Einhorn, who earned the speaker’s scorn recently with a series of articles that were critical of the Council.

“You can call me Speaker,” Ms. Quinn said in a testy tone. “It’s my press conference. I actually decide what words are necessary.”

Ms. Quinn quickly apologized to Ms. Einhorn on Wednesday, saying that she should not have used a public forum to express her anger over a personal issue.

“I was nasty to you,” Ms. Quinn said. “I apologize.”

Yes, he's certainly a knucklehead...

From the Daily News:

City Councilman James Sanders of Queens wants New Yorkers to believe he was tricked - practically forced! - into taking out an enormous mortgage he cannot, or will not, pay back.

Identified by the Daily News I-Team as delinquent on his payments, Sanders countered that he was a victim of predatory lending rather than a plain old deadbeat.

It was the bank that lured him into a $588,000 mortgage on a Far Rockaway home in 2006.

It was the bank that made him believe he could afford $3,000-a-month payments.

It was the bank that got annoyed when he stopped sending in checks.

It was the bank that has insisted on foreclosing.

It was the bank that doesn't understand why he should be allowed to stay in the house payment-free after two years.

As Sanders pleaded in court, "My family and I were likely the victims of dishonest, deceitful and ... corrupt lending practices."

So here we have an elected official who purports to be smart enough to write laws while pleading that he was bamboozled into borrowing half a million dollars he could not afford.

How dumb is that?

New York Knucklehead dumb.

All is forgiven?

Interesting. I figured the criticism couldn't last long. So how exactly has Bloomberg "made up for" the shitty response in December? Has he brought the dead back to life?

Ah, a post-cleanup photo op at an Astoria diner with Council Member Peter Vallone, Bloomberg's sharpest critic during the aftermath of the December 26th storm. I can't believe after all that ranting and raving that the Public Safety Chair would suddenly embrace the mayor for being able to handle an 8-inch snowfall.

Oh wait... yes I can.

It would be nice if NY1 at least knew what borough they were promoting the mayor from.

Gary lawyers up

From the Daily News:

Congressman Gary Ackerman spent nearly $100,000 of his campaign cash on lawyers to respond to a Daily News investigation of his sweetheart stock deal.

The Queens Democrat shelled out $96,015 over the past three months to the high-powered Washington firm McDermott Will & Emery, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.

Ackerman hired the firm's hotshot lawyer, Abbe Lowell, to nail down the timing of a meeting the pol set up between Israeli officials and a defense contractor in which he owned stock.

In March 2002, Ackerman got the stock in California-based Xenonics Co. with a favorable $14,000 loan from a close friend, Selig Zises.

He made $100,000 when he sold the Xenonics stock in 2006.

At some point, The News revealed, Ackerman arranged a meeting in his congressional office between Xenonics and Israeli officials.

Ackerman's lawyer initially told The News that, during his investigation, he'd found evidence that the Xenonics meeting occurred in either February or November 2002 - right before or during the time Ackerman held a financial stake in the company.


And let's not forget Alan Gross' contributions.

Caption the Daily News' photo

It's Friday and the Daily News actually has a "caption this photo" contest.

Copycats...

You can see the king in action, too.

Delusional politician of the day

From the Daily News, sent in by a reader:

Because our budget deficit is demonstrably not rooted in any unique dysfunction in New York's fiscal policies or in our choices as a state to invest in our schools and health care system, the general admonition against making borrowing a part of the state's deficit reduction plan is misplaced.

All you need without leaving the borough (including QC)

From Daily News columnist Denis Hamill:

The only time I usually leave Queens is for work, vacations, or to visit relatives.

Otherwise, everything I need in life is right here in these 178 square miles amid the 2.3 million residents.

There's nowhere in Manhattan that can compare with a power walk along Little Neck Bay when the sailboats catch the first breezes of spring and the fish are jumping and the cranes, mallards and gulls cry and caw, and where bicyclists, joggers, strollers and fishermen pass each other in the tireless parade of life.

When I need a place to sit in utter tranquility there's no place with a more Zen setting than Udall's cove in Little Neck.

I watch all the best foreign and indie flicks right at the Kew Gardens Cinema on Austin St. And eat in the Austin Ale House directly across the street or Dani's Italian restaurant on the corner, which also serves excellent pizza by the slice.

Get a truly working-class take on the "tweeding" - the gentrification - of Queens at QueensCrap.blogspot.com, which has kicked a little of the same out of me a few times. But this Web site delivers a loud, honest and irreverent point of view about life in Queens.

Wanna-be community activists can learn how to save their neighborhoods block by block by just trailing Frank Skala through Eastern Queens for a week. Warning: Bring comfortable shoes.

I love walking the boardwalk at Rockaway with the rumor of summer in the air.

Sure, there's a great big world that I like to visit outside of Queens.

But everything I'll ever need is right here.

Amen! Well, except for the tweeding definition... Gentrification is a result of tweeding, not the definition of it. But as far as I am concerned, anyone who exposes the lame bureaucracy of the Parks Department is entitled to make a faux pas now and then.

Daily News explains how illegals can travel within the U.S.

From the Daily News:

Q. I'm undocumented. Can I travel within the United States by plane, train or bus? My husband and my three children are all U.S. citizens, but I've never managed to get legal status. I'm not sure that I'll ever get it.

Narda Robinson, Bronx

A. Many undocumented immigrants travel freely throughout the U.S. without encountering immigration officials.

It is unlikely that traveling by car, bus or train will be a problem unless you visit an area near a land border. For instance, if you were to visit Niagara Falls, N.Y., near the Canadian border, your risk of getting caught increases. As for air travel, some experts don't recommend it, but many of my undocumented clients have flown within the U.S. To board an airplane, all travelers need an ID issued by the government. A foreign passport meets that requirement. Of course, if an incident occurred on the plane and the authorities carefully interviewed all passengers, you could face problems. For information on documents that qualify you to travel by air, go to the U.S. Transportation and Safety Administration (TSA) Web site at www.tsa.gov. Click on "For Travelers," then "Acceptable Identification at the Checkpoint."

Don't forget to pick up the official NYC Guide, "Welcome to Our Sanctuary City" translated into 15 languages for your convenience.

Oh, for Christ's sake!

From the NY Times:

Could another media mogul be looking to make a splash in New York politics?

Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the real estate tycoon and publisher of The Daily News, is considering a bid for the Senate seat now held by Kirsten E. Gillibrand, according to two people told of the discussions.

Mr. Zuckerman regards Ms. Gillibrand as vulnerable to a challenge and is hoping that, at a time of economic tumult and political unrest, his background as an outsider to government, and his record as a business executive, will appeal to the state’s electorate, these people said.

He would be the latest boldface name to weigh a run for the seat this fall; a former Tennessee congressman, Harold E. Ford Jr., is mulling a primary run against Ms. Gillibrand, a fellow Democrat, and will make a decision in the next few weeks.

The discussions were preliminary, the two people cautioned, with many details of a possible candidacy yet to be worked out. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were meant to be private and Mr. Zuckerman had not made up his mind.

Mr. Zuckerman is considering whether to commission a poll to test the viability of a candidacy, one of the people said.

A Zuckerman spokesman, Ken Frydman, declined to address any discussions that Mr. Zuckerman might have had about a Senate run, or any plans to conduct a poll.

Mr. Frydman said Mr. Zuckerman was unavailable for comment on Friday afternoon, but he added in a statement that the publisher “is not interested in running for public office.”

Mr. Zuckerman, 72, has long sought a national platform. He has cut a wide swath through the media landscape, buying and selling magazines like The Atlantic and writing a regular column for U.S. News & World Report, which he owns.

Though not currently enrolled in a party, he is known as a Democrat. But if he ran for the Senate, it would very likely be as a Republican or independent so he could avoid a costly primary.

And the NY Post is all giddy about this idea.

No more media moguls running NYC, ok?

Daily News calls for more info from Gary

From the Daily News:

Ackerman needs, first, to document exactly when he opened his office for Xenonics so the timing can be matched against his financial stake, as well as reveal who attended the meeting. He also must document what that stake entailed.

He reported on financial disclosure forms in 2002 that Selig Zises, a friend and major Xenonics shareholder, had loaned Ackerman's wife, Rita, $14,000. He also reported the purchase of options in Xenonics stock. In a recent interview, Ackerman said he used the loan to make the buy and repaid it with interest when he sold out at a profit of roughly $100,000.

Except for a half-page promissory note that included no repayment schedule and a check showing repayment at 6% interest, he declined to produce any paperwork reflecting the transactions. In a statement issued after publication of The News' story, he said: "I did no more than arrange an introduction so the parties could decide on the merits whether the product fit their needs and sale capabilities. I understand that no business was ever done between Israel and Xenonics as result of that meeting or at any other time.

"I did nothing else in this matter - not another meeting, not another conversation, not seeking an earmark, not helping with any grant."

Here are relevant sections of the House Ethics Manual: "Members and employees of the House are frequently approached by individuals or organizations seeking assistance for business undertakings. Obtaining information for constituents regarding government contracts and services, as well as helping them deal with government regulations, is an important aspect of a Member's representational duties."

That gives officials leeway in serving business constituents. But the manual goes on to warn:

"Members and staff should also avoid becoming too closely affiliated with a particular enterprise, to prevent any appearance that they are accruing benefits 'by virtue of influence improperly exerted from [their] position in Congress.'"

Owning an interest in a firm would seem to fall under the rubric of "becoming too closely affiliated with a particular enterprise." That's why Ackerman owes New Yorkers the complete picture.

Bloomberg bad, but lame press even worse

From the Daily News:

Here's what you missed while Mayor Bloomberg was running for a third term - because he kept it under wraps until after the ballots were counted:

• The city budget deficit isn't as bad as he said.

• The NYPD was quietly exempted from the budget cuts at almost every other agency.

• A $60 million tax loss that gave Bloomberg a soap box to rail against the state Senate has magically vanished.

But that's all just numbers. What really drives the point home is the photo of Bloomberg and Sarah Palin hanging around in City Hall.

The picture - and six others - was shot Oct. 10, 2007, when the then-governor of Alaska was on a visit to New York.

The photos might have been inconvenient for Bloomberg while he was running against Democrat Bill Thompson in a heavily Democratic city, but they belong to the taxpayers.

The Daily News asked for copies of the photographs July 8. Under the state Freedom of Information Law, Bloomberg's lawyer Anthony Crowell had to respond within five days.

He handed them over two weeks after the election.

No, what's most telling is that the Daily News endorsed Bloomberg and conveniently failed to disclose that this was happening - until 3 weeks after the election - 4 months after they asked for the photos.

Bloomberg throws another hissy fit

From You're a Disgrace, Mayor Bloomberg:

Daily News reporter Adam Lisberg got bloomberged on Monday when the Mayor, displaying his unique blend of incredulity and petulance, responded to a question about the legitimacy of the Independence Party's endorsement in light of major contributions Bloomberg made to the party.

Don't know how I managed to miss this one for so long. My apologies.

Cuomo probing Carrozza's claims

From the Daily News:

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating whether Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza broke state law by living in a Long Island mansion instead of her Queens district.

Cuomo's office launched the probe in response to an exclusive Daily News report that revealed the Democratic lawmaker claimed in a mortgage document that the Glen Head, L.I., manse would be her "principal residence," sources said.

Cuomo's investigators - armed with statements Carrozza has made to The News - are focusing on whether she filed a false business document when she took out the $1 million mortgage, the sources said.

Carrozza, who has vowed to run for reelection next year, said she welcomes Cuomo's probe.

"I am confident he will find that at all times I have maintained my primary residence right here in Bayside," she said. That claim contradicts her mortgage pledge and statements she previously made to The News.

The mortgage papers Carrozza signed state the posh Gold Coast digs would be her "principal residence within 60 days" and "for at least one year" thereafter.

Cuomo's probers are examining whether Carrozza, 42, was able to obtain a more favorable interest rate with that assertion, the sources said.

The Daily News editorial board smokes crack

Build, Bruce, build: Developer Ratner presses ahead on Atlantic Yards
Saturday, June 27th 2009, 4:00 AM

Bully to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for making a deal that keeps the Atlantic Yards development alive in Brooklyn. And bully to builder Bruce Ratner for hanging in there to get the project done.

Bully? More like bullshit. The guy came in with a lower bid that for some strange reason was accepted by the MTA and is now scaling back every aspect of what he promised while the MTA is currently up shit's creek and forcing riders to pony up more money at the turnstile.

After five years, the defeat of 23 lawsuits and an economic meltdown, he is pushing to start the $4 billion development's first component: an 18,000-seat arena, home to the Nets and a major entertainment venue.

The lawsuits aren't over yet. And the city needs this like we need a hole in our heads.

The plan then envisions construction of 6,400 apartments (35% of them deemed affordable), a school and a health care center, amid 8 acres of open space. This good stuff would be located primarily on land that has been vacant for decades, including a Long Island Rail Road yard.

Huh? They do realize that much of that 8 acres of open space was bulldozed and that there are still several buildings in the footprint of the planned development, right? Here's a map of a walking tour of the area. And the rest of the space is and always has been an active railyard... Vacant?

But financing is not as available as it was a few years ago. The MTA board wisely voted to let Ratner pay $100 million over time for the rights to build above the yards, rather than demand a lump sum. With interest, the agency comes out whole.

Does anyone not smoking crack seriously believe that? Especially when Bruce asks for more money every time you turn around and this very paper reported that the arena would be a big money loser?

Ratner will now seek private financing for the arena. His bankers hope to raise the money by the end of the year. Wouldn't that be nice for Brooklyn?

No, it wouldn't. The plan calls for eminent domain abuse, would put some parts of Brooklyn in 24-hour darkness, create a clusterfuck of traffic, and build an entire new neighborhood full of "superblocks" in the middle of low-rise areas. And those are just the things I can think of at 6am off the top of my head.

When will the press in this city stop acting like Bloomberg's mistress and start questioning what he's doing to kill the place we love?

Lumi from No Land Grab wrote to yours truly:

"Liar, liar:
* There haven't been 23 lawsuits filed;
* 35% of the housing has certainly been "deemed affordable," whether or not it really might be depends on the definition of "affordable";
* Ratner never promised a school, only offered the possibility that the city pay him to build one; and
* the railyard is only eight acres of a 22-acre project, the DN's fantasy list of purported benefits would be "located primarily" on private property and permanently-closed city streets."

And Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report weighs in too.

What would we do without citizen journalists, especially now that the press has been bought by a megalomaniacal billionaire and his developer friends?

Graphic from No Land Grab