Bayside park turned into garbage dump

From NY1:

Last week, after several coaches and parents in Little Bay Park repeatedly tried to get the Parks Department to help them improve their local youth soccer and baseball fields, park officials delivered dirt to the fields.

Yet when volunteers went to spread the dirt onto the fields, they found it was full of glass bottles, dirty diapers and even syringes.

"I was appalled," said coach and parent Lauro Vasquez. "Something like this, it blows your mind that the Parks Department would even do something like that."

Parks officials said the dirt came from Cunningham Park in Queens, where they store excavated dirt. They believed someone broke into the site and dumped the garbage there. Crews then inadvertently delivered it to Little Bay Park.

Vasquez said the filthy dirt is just a latest example of disregard for their park. He said the condition of the fields are often so bad they can't even use them.

Mike needs to get his priorities straight

From the NY Post:

Mayor Bloomberg this week said that getting Albany to pass gay mar riage is the city's "No. 1 priority."

Gee, where does he rank getting the mob out of the Buildings Deparment?

Could it be that the mayor's long-documented devotion to trendy social causes has distracted him from the nuts and bolts of municipal governance?

Let's hope not: The Buildings Department, for one, clearly needs sustained attention.

Kudos, by the way, to DA Robert Morgenthau and his folks -- who've been vigilant in rooting out agency corruption.

But making sure there's less for the DA to find should be the mayor's top priority.

Questioning swine flu shot for schoolkids

"With plans for a mass immunization of children in schools, The School Children’s Health Initiative is a newsletter to provide current information relating to the mass vaccination of children for the ‘Swine-flu’ virus. It is of concern that environmental issues within the schools are not being considered or investigated as a possible cause and that the underlying medical condition of the students linked to this disease, remain unknown.

The School Children’s Health Initiative advocates for full “collective” disclosure of the medical conditions of the student population by medical professionals, which is permitted by state and federal law during a pandemic, in order to evaluate the ‘underlying’ medical conditions of the school populations.

Parents should be fully informed about their options about immunizing their children and be aware that the vaccines have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and are therefore experimental. Parents should also be aware that there are studies indicating that the flu vaccines are ineffective.

Despite the fact that the mayor has indicated that the swine flu is a “relatively mild version”, the rush to immunize all children with an experimental vaccine is perplexing.

In the attached 60 Minutes interview, such a panic was created about the flu and the population received different shots at the last moment. Numerous people came down with neurological disease. Warnings were hidden from the public.
_____________________________________________________

Attached is an incredible interview with Dr. Sherri Tenpenny “What if the Vaccine Should Turn Deadly” as it did in 1976. It is undetermined by current law whether the vaccination will be mandatory while the pharmaceuticals are protected from any liability.

As with current Federal Education policy, funding will be granted to the States to follow the dictates of the Federal Government.

Vaccinations are a State function."

Joseph Mugivan
Advocate for School Indoor Air Quality

Answer to why Bloomberg is spending so much

From the NY Times:

With five weeks remaining until Election Day, little seems uncertain in the contest between the colossally advantaged incumbent, Mr. Bloomberg, and his lesser-known rival, William C. Thompson Jr.

But interviews with both campaigns and dozens of voters reveal that anger over a single issue still simmers, seemingly immune to a flood of television commercials and glossy brochures. That bedevils Bloomberg advisers and gives hope to his underfunded challenger.

Disenchantment over the change in the law helped topple four veteran City Council members this fall, the greatest repudiation of incumbents in a generation, and has catapulted two local lawmakers who opposed the measure into citywide office.

Mr. Thompson is building his entire campaign around the topic, adopting the slogan “Eight Is Enough,” accusing the mayor of breaking his word and preparing commercials that portray him as a power-hungry mogul who plays by his own rules.

The mayor’s political advisers privately acknowledge the public anger, but since they cannot reverse Mr. Bloomberg’s actions, they are looking for ways to deflect attention from it.

Board recommends reactivating closed hospitals to handle swine flu

From the Times Newsweekly:

Spurred by fears that the H1N1 (swine) flu pandemic could hit Queens hard in the weeks and months to come, the Queens Borough Board and Cabinet recommended this week that the city reopen three closed hospitals in the event of a widespread outbreak to help treat the sick.

The Queens Borough Board— comprised of the chairpersons of all 14 community boards—adopted at its Sept. 21 meeting a joint resolution from the Health and Human Services committees of Community Boards 4 and 5 calling for the reactivation of St. John’s, Mary Immaculate and Parkway hospitals should the borough’s nine other medical centers become swamped with flu patients.

Members of the Queens Borough Cabinet—which includes the district managers of each board—approved the recommendation during their meeting at Queens Borough Hall the following day, Tuesday, Sept. 22, according to Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano.

Under the terms of the committees’ resolution, the city was asked to formulate a short-term plan to reactivate St. John’s, Mary Immaculate and Parkway hospitals in the event the influenza epidemic reaches “crisis” proportions.

Forest Hills a hotbed of unfair ticketing

"I live in Forest Hills an area that is continually saturated with Traffic Agents scouring the residential blocks to issue summonses for expired meters. I thought meters were supposed to be used to create turnover for businesses as Bloomberg states, yet, on the blocks along 73rd road to Union Turnpike there are no businesses on the side streets. The entire area is residential apartment buildings. We can not park around the corner as that is the Forest Hills Gardens Private property. While I live in an Apartment building, I have been issued summonses for not moving my car away from the meter after two hours. At 8:01 each morning these agents descend on the residential blocks looking to issue tickets to residents who haven't gotten up at 8:00 am to feed the meters.

What is worse, is that the intersection boxes in the City where they have recently given the Traffic Agents the authority to issue $115 tickets is a set up. I drive to the city and each morning on Park avenue along any of the side streets, the Traffic Agents are hiding behind Vendor Carts and Trucks ready to aggressively ticket anyone whose fender may be sticking out of the box. It is ridiculous to say the ticketing alleviates congestion, if that was the case instead of hiding the agents would stand there and direct traffic to turn to alleviate the congestion.

I also recently received a registration renewal in the mail for the second year in a row that advised to register online or by mail early, each time I have done this which was a minimum of two to three weeks in advance (I tried online and the mail), my registration arrives late and I am issued multiple tickets for failing to display my sticker. when I fight the tickets showing proof that it was mailed in on time and in effect at the time, my tickets are not dismissed as I am told its my fault for not displaying the sticker. I wonder if the sticker purposely arrives late just so I can receive some tickets.

I realize ticketing generates huge revenue, yet this is ridiculous. Bloomberg wants to send the Agents to sensitivity training . why don't we send Bloomberg to sensitivity training and have them issue different directives to the Agents."

Regards,
Cyndi T.


And from the NY Times:

One recent afternoon, I slid into a spot on Queens Boulevard controlled by parking meter No. 417-1003 with a minute left on it. Needing change, I rushed across the street to a tiny bakery to buy three pieces of sugar-free rugelach.

With two quarters in my hand to legalize my relationship with the meter, I loped out of the bakery to find an officer writing a ticket for $35.

I engaged Officer S. Hall in the usual three-pronged, bordering-on-the-nasty argument that New Yorkers have been losing for decades: I just went to get a quarter. … I was gone for a minute. Have a heart.

No, she said, your time was expired.

As I drove away with my ticket, I tried to think of a legal way to get out of paying. I wouldn’t lie. The meter wasn’t broken. I had violated the law. There were no flaws in the information the officer put on the ticket.

But then I thought that the outcome of this story would have been different if a Muni-Meter had held dominion over the same block’s parking spot. Exactly why no Muni-Meters were there, on one of the busiest stretches of Forest Hills, when less bustling blocks nearby had plenty of them, was a mysterious quirk of city planning.

Forest Hills: A somewhat well-off neighborhood which is likely to actually pay its tickets. That's why you're getting hammered. It's not about enforcement, it's about revenue.

Liu makes fun of Asians at Sharpton birthday bash

From the Daily News:

Speaking before the Rev. Al Sharpton's birthday party, Hazel Dukes noted that Liu - elected the city's first Asian-American councilman in 2001 - was on hand for the festivities.

"I see John Liu here - he's been the little Asian boy running around with us a long time [in] the NAACP," Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference, warmly said to laughter during Sharpton's weekly radio broadcast. "But Rev. [Sharpton], he was a good guy, so we said, 'Come on, come on, come on - we can make you what you want to be,'" Dukes continued to more chuckles and applause as Liu, 42, sat on the stage with a bemused smile.

Bidding Sharpton a happy 55th, Liu also poked a little fun at his own heritage - or maybe just goofed on his own singing abilities. "You know the way Asian-Americans sing 'Happy Birthday,' right? They go, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY,'" Liu jokingly boomed as the audience broke into laughter. "That's about all you want to hear from me, okay? Happy birthday, Al Sharpton."

How a Ridgewood resident's garden grows

From the Forum West:

On a block of classical brownstone residences dating back to 1903, Eufemia Patron has set quite the example for gardening enthusiasts and observers alike at her home on 68th Road in Ridgewood. With the enthusiastic approval of her landlord Luis Tello, three summers ago, she started the garden with petunias, balsam, zinnia and yellow lilies, among others.

She remembers her house in Mindinao, the Philippines, and the big garden with twelve birds thriving in the tropical climate there. “I thought it would be impossible to have a beautiful garden in New York City,” she mused, “but with an on-going investment between $200 and $300, my garden blossomed. I use the same soil season after season - from April through November – and give care, attention and ten-minute daily watering.”

And Patron definitely gets a positive reaction from people passing the house and stopping by to admire her garden. “Every day people stop, look at my garden and smile and that makes me so happy.”

Passersby are not the only ones pleased with Patrons green thumb. Landlord Tello is pleased to have such a creative tenant. “I drive her to Home Depot to get the flowers, plants and other supplies for the front and back gardens,” he declared. “She maintains everything in such good condition. I encourage her to keep gardening.”

Have you seen this thug?

From NY1:

Police released surveillance pictures Friday of a man they say robbed a Queens deli.

Authorities say the suspect struck the Francisco Deli on 157th Street in Whitestone on Monday night.

The suspect is described as approximately 18 years old, 5-feet-10-inches tall and 160 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

It's a boy for Grace Meng

From the Queens Chronicle:

Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) had a busy Tuesday. She voted in the Democratic primary runoff and delivered her second son at New York Hospital Queens.

The baby was born at 7 p.m. and weighs 8 pounds 3 ounces. He has not yet been named.

The new mom is shown with her husband, Dr. Wayne Kye, and the newborn at the Flushing hospital. At home was the couple’s 21-month-old son, Tyler.

Hall of Science under renovation

From the Queens Chronicle:

The undulating walls of the Great Hall — the original structure of the New York Hall of Science — are hidden beneath protective sheathing as part of a major $25 million restoration project on the building from the 1964 World’s Fair.

Work is expected to be completed in 2014, in time for the structure’s 50th anniversary. The project will include stabilizing and repairing the exterior, renovating and modernizing the interior and repaving and improving the terrace.

According to Eric Siegel, director and chief content officer at the Hall of Science, the interior space will be used for ongoing and traveling exhibitions and special events. Uses for the plaza are under consideration.

The Great Hall is the main exhibit area of the Hall of Science, paid for by the Port Authority at a cost of $7.6 million. It was one of the few buildings designed to remain after the World’s Fair closed in 1965.

How much will Willets Point really cost?

From Neighborhood Retail Alliance:

The ultimate fate of what happens at Willets Point was not-despite what Mike Bloomberg likes to tell everyone-decided when the City Council approved the land use application last fall-with the illicit help of a Claire Shulman-led profitable not-for-profit. We say this because the undertaking at the Iron Triangle will be immensely costly, and no one has had the fortitude-least of all Bloomberg-to put a real number on the prospective development.

This is key because any money that has been forwarded is in the form of non-refundable deposits; payments which are theirs to keep, even if the planned development doesn't go through! (Or if, for some reason, the city fails to take title to the property). A potential classic case of money for nothing.

This is a crucial issue because no one to our knowledge has been forthcoming to the public as to what the cost of acquisition for all of the 60 Willets acres will actually be. Keeping these costs opaque works to EDC's advantage because the real amount of money that the city will have to come up with is, we believe, staggering. The preliminary cost estimate of Willets Point United is close to $700 million!

And as property values rise, so could the ultimate price tag to the city-and to its tax payers, of course. And this acquisition cost is just the start. No one, as the Municipal Arts Society points out, has yet publicly price tagged the cost of remediating the property-also likely to be in the high hundreds of millions of dollars. So, even before a developer is designated, and the first shovel is put into the ground, the city could easily be out over a billion dollars.

So it's time for a thorough scrutiny of what's going on at Willets Point-from phony grass roots lobbying campaigns, to exhorbitant hidden fees. Laid bare, this entire enterprise looks more and more like a White Elephant-a monument to the skewed vision and overly large ambition of the city's richest man.

Under the streets of Queens

Imagine that: You CAN conform with zoning and be profitable

From BushwickBK:

Most of us were introduced to the 1717 Troutman warehouse when its 220 tenants, mostly artists, were kicked out in 2007 because they inhabited an illegally converted industrial building. Today, after two years and a long list of renovations, the building is once again filled with artists, but this time it’s strictly for work space.

In May 2009, the building was reopened as a work space with 60 rentable units ideal for light manufacturing, workshops and artist studios. A large banner hangs outside 1717 Troutman advertising its available spaces, boasting their 14-foot ceilings and flexible leases, without any signs of the building’s troubled past.

A Crap Above - Manhattan edition

From Restless:

When I looked up at the top of this building, on Central Park West near 89th, I thought "They moved to Queens without leaving home." That patterned brick (plus plain window frame above AC slot) screams "Queens" to me.

Quinn suddenly discovers College Point

From NY1:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's office has launched its own investigation into the delayed restoration of gas service for residents living in the Schleicher Court Mansion in College Point.

Halloran responds

From the Queens Chronicle:

I believe in God
by Dan Halloran

I was raised a Roman Catholic right here in Auburndale. I was baptized into the Catholic Church and took my confirmation at 13.I attended Jesuit schools.Then and now, faith is a cornerstone of my life.

My family is deeply rooted in this community.My great-grandfather was a chief of police, my grandfather was an NYPD homicide detective.My father was the deputy commissioner of various NYC agencies.My uncles were members of the NYPD and two of my brothers are FDNY firefighters today.

When I was 12 years old, my father was stricken with cancer.My dad was then a deputy commissioner at the New York City Housing Preservation and Development Department, and he worked long hours to provide for us.Growing up, my brothers and I did everything with him, from camping to baseball, schoolwork to Scouts; Dad was an integral part of our lives.

My father fought prostate cancer for six years.By my senior year of high school, it began to spread through his body. Ultimately my father died on the day I graduated from high school. He was 52 years old. Our family was devastated.

I was accepted to Fordham University, but dropped out soon after to work fulltime to help provide for my mother and three younger brothers. I took classes at night while working full time and eventually graduated college with honors, and became a lawyer.

The death of my father and its aftermath was very difficult for our family. I took comfort in my family’s history and our heritage, yet through all of this pain and hardship, I never lost faith in God.

Last week, I was attacked for my faith in the Queens Tribune.These attacks happened on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the holiest time of the year for the Jewish people. Having been raised in a Catholic household that shares its religious roots with the Jewish faith, I was deeply offended that religion would be used for political gain.

The Tribune has endorsed my opponent. The publishers of that paper also own Multi-Media Advertising, which has been paid over $80,000 by my opponent’s campaign.

I am a man of faith – and now my faith is under attack by a newspaper working for my opponent.

I call on my opponent to disavow the Queens Tribune’s attack on religion. I am running a campaign on the issues.

The people of northeast Queens need to hear about real solutions to these problems from the candidates running for City Council, not paid political attacks masked as news.

Dan Halloran is the Republican candidate for City Council in the 19th District. The district includes Bayside, College Point, Auburndale, Beechhurst, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Robinwood and parts of Flushing, Douglaston and Little Neck.

Strip club still planned for Queens Plaza

From the Times Ledger:

A proposed strip club near the Queensboro Bridge that Community Board 2 members thought had been scrapped by the property owner is back on track, board members warned last month.

GLC Entertainment Corp., which also runs a strip club called Sin City in the Bronx, submitted a liquor license application to the state Liquor Authority in May. CB 2 members caught wind of the plan and expressed their displeasure with the property owner, Gus Drakopoulos.

They believed he had abandoned the strip club plan until last month, when the board office got a call from GLC Entertainment. The Liquor Authority had sent the application to CB 2 for a hearing and an advisory letter regarding the application.

A Liquor Authority spokesman said Drakopoulos had never withdrawn the application.

The two-story brick building was formerly the site of Smiley’s Flowers, a wholesale company. Construction plans show the converted building would have 12 karaoke rooms and a main lounge with two cash bars on the lower floor and a service bar on the upper floor, according to application documents. The plans call for a maximum occupancy of 299 people.

Strip clubs have been a fixture of Long Island City business around the bridge in the past, but with the advent of numerous high-rise residential towers in the area and the redevelopment of the deteriorating Queens Plaza, community leaders appear to want other kinds of establishments.

Yes, before the yuppies moved in, community leaders seemed to think it was fine to have one of the largest hubs in the City be a cesspool. Hell, the area's own council person welcomed them in!

Bill & Johnny expected to annoy Bloomie

From the NY Post:

Running the government is going to be a lot less fun for Mayor Bloomberg as a result of Tuesday's Democratic runoff elections, officials said yesterday.

"I think if Mayor Bloomberg is re-elected he certainly will have very aggressive watchdogs in Bill de Blasio and John Liu that are going to be ready to challenge him when they feel it's appropriate," said City Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn).

"I think that it's likely to be a more contentious city government over the next four years," added Yassky.

It would almost have to, considering how easy Bloomberg has had it over his two terms.

"It's going to get tougher with Liu and de Blasio," conceded a mayoral insider.

Sources said Liu's supporters are convinced that Bloomberg was secretly aiding Yassky, adding to the tension. Bloomberg's campaign denies it.

Bloomberg's biggest concern, however, is that his most reliable ally in government, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, will have to accommodate new political realties with the defeat of five council incumbents and may not be able to deliver votes for the administration.

School problems were not Randi's concern

From City Journal:

Thompson’s education speech didn’t identify what was wrong with Bloomberg’s “curriculum” except for the old saw about “teaching to the test.” Thompson still hasn’t noticed that the biggest problem in Bloomberg’s schools is that there is no grade-by-grade curriculum emphasizing a core body of knowledge. Nor is there an approach to teaching reading based on proven methodologies.

Thompson’s focus on issues like lowering class sizes might have worked in the old days to secure political support from the powerful United Federation of Teachers, with all the phone banks and campaign workers the union usually mobilizes for its favored Democratic candidates. But the advent of mayoral control, coupled with Bloomberg’s success in buying off potential opposition, has made the Democrats’ traditional union-based political strategy inoperable. In the early days of mayoral control, the UFT was one of the mayor’s only institutional critics on education. Union president Randi Weingarten regularly blasted Schools Chancellor Joel Klein for trying to dictate what teachers should be doing in the classroom. Of late, however, the billionaire mayor has domesticated and co-opted the union, partly through taxpayer funds, which have so far produced 43 percent teacher salary increases and the promise of more to come. The salary hikes have swelled the union’s coffers, since member dues go up in proportion to any pay increases.

Confrontation has changed to cooperation, and Weingarten has been at the mayor’s side offering support during his periodic press conferences announcing spectacular test score improvements, which the union knows are questionable. Right now the UFT takes in about $140 million per year; that will go up by $10 million more if, as is rumored, teachers get another 8 percent pay increase in the new contract starting October 31st. Top union operatives will thus have seen a 50 percent increase in their own salaries since the advent of mayoral control.

The UFT and the Bloomberg administration have increasingly developed a cartel-like working relationship, with New York taxpayers paying the price. Combine the effects of that arrangement with a desultory mayoral campaign, and soon there will be no “public” in New York City’s public education.

Charities' funds frozen

From the Queens Chronicle:

Former Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio committed the crime, but leaders of local community organizations feel they are doing the time.

Approximately 20 nonprofits that serve Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Ridgewood and Glendale are struggling to make ends meet without the aid of discretionary funds that had always been provided by Seminerio, who resigned in June from the 38th District Assembly seat and pleaded guilty to fraud charges the following day.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) suspended all the disgraced politician’s member items when he fell under suspicion for misappropriating funds. A spokesman for Silver said member items were not granted to Seminerio in 2009-10, and that past funding had been suspended. He wouldn’t confirm how much money was allocated for local nonprofits, and said he was uncertain if that funding had already been used.

Newly elected Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Glendale), who was sworn in last week after the special election, says he is working to recapture some of the funding, but with only a few months left in the year, a positive outcome for the inherited dilemma doesn’t look promising.

“When someone is indicted they [Assembly leaders] have to be very careful,” Miller said.

Although none of the nonprofit organizers blamed Miller, the leaders, who represent a vast array of service-oriented groups — from welfare, health and education to senior centers and animal shelters — shared the same frustration: their services are suffering and they shouldn’t be punished for the actions of their former representative.

Matching funds for non-competitive races?

From the NY Post:

Take the money and run.

That's what a slew of City Council members are doing -- accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer matching funds to mount new campaigns, even though they have virtually no opposition in November.

The Campaign Finance Board dispensed $3.1 million in matching funds yesterday to 52 contenders.

The Post counted at least 20 candidates, primarily Democrats and all virtual shoo-ins in the general election, who were happy to collect a total of $482,527, courtesy of the taxpayers.

Bill de Blasio asked the CFB to take back his payment of $29,788 and withhold all future payments, since his Republican opponent for public advocate, Alex Zablocki, has about the same chance of pulling off an upset as hitting the Mega Millions jackpot.

Grand Street Bridge getting fixed

CityNoise has a great set of photos showing the Grand Street Bridge being repaired.

Two teens shot in Cambria Heights

QUEENS (WABC) -- A fight among students escalated into gunfire that left two people wounded.

The shooting happened just after 3:00 p.m.at Linden and Springfield Boulevards.

Police said a group of teens from a nearby high school had gathered there. A fight broke out, and at some point one of them pulled out a gun. At least three shots were fired, according to witnesses. One of the victims, a 13-year-old, was shot in the head. He was listed in critical condition at LI Jewish Hospital.

The second teen was an innocent bystander. A 17-year-old working at the Cambria Car Wash and Detail Center suffered a gunshot wound to his thigh. He was listed in stable condition.

Police were still trying to determine if the younger victim was a bystander or a target.

Bloomberg spending in the stratosphere

From CBS 2:

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has spent $64.8 million of his own money in his bid for a third term and, since midsummer, has been spending campaign cash at a rate of $15,000 per hour.

From Neighborhood Retail Alliance:

There is really no question in our mind that Mike Bloomberg is a master politician-and the reason lies with his ability to convince enough folks that his actions and policy decisions owe little or nothing to the behind the scenes political machinations that determines these manifest moves. Of course, it helps when you have millions of your own money to spend to encourage others to parade around pantomiming your party line as you remain aloof and seemingly uninvolved with the play.

The Village Voice's Tom Robbins underscores this theme with his discussion of Bloomberg's term limit scheme-and the subsequent quest for the third title: "As it heads into the home stretch, the Bloomberg campaign has adopted a new slogan to sum things up and help focus voters on the big picture. The new motto was rolled out at the big Bloomberg rally held primary night on a West Side pier, a gala celebration aimed at snatching attention away from Democrats and on to Mayor Mike. The slogan was emblazoned on Bloomberg's podium, and tattooed over and over on a TV backdrop. Which made it hard to miss. It read: "Progress. Not Politics." The first word is a debate worth having. The next two are simply lies."

And it is only in New York, where one candidate has unlimited funds, and the other's tapped out, that any one could seriously advance the idea that Mike Bloomberg was somehow above the nastiness of normal politics. And his quest for ballot lines dramatizes the fraud: "Not politics? Whatever you think of Bill Thompson's erratic campaign, at least he was being nominated that very night by his own party in an open primary. Mike Bloomberg? His GOP endorsement came courtesy of a classic, old-school political deal in which five Republican county leaders sat down in a room and agreed to give the mayor their ballot line. He cut the same insiders' pact with the cultish local chapter of the Independence Party. The party's nominating convention this spring featured all the democracy of a Chinese Politburo meeting, including a ruling clique that fawned over the visiting mayor. A few weeks later, Bloomberg sealed the deal with a $250,000 down-payment to the party's coffers, with presumably a great deal more to come."

DOB wiseguys busted

From NY1:

Authorities announced Thursday that a two-year police investigation led to a major mob takedown involving the Lucchese crime family.

The 29 suspects awaiting arraignment include six inspectors from the Department of Buildings.

Two of the indicted are alleged leaders of the Lucchese organization, while another three allegedly belonged to both the mob and the city agency.

The indicted DOB inspectors, including two who were part of the department since the mid-1980s, took bribes in exchange for granting building permits, expediting inspections and ignoring building violations

Manhattan District Robert Morgenthau said the wire tap investigation started with a look into illegal gambling in September 2007 and it was a collaboration between his office, the New York Police Department and the Department of Investigation.

"They had important positions in the DOB. I mean, they were supervising other inspectors. They were conducting inspections themselves," said Morgenthau. "They weren't at the very top, but they had what should have been responsible positions, including the training of new inspectors."

Bloomberg suddenly loves drivers

From the Daily News:

...we know that getting a ticket can sometimes be a frustrating experience, and while most of our traffic enforcement agents are courteous and professional, we are always working to improve customer service. Getting a parking ticket will never be a cause for celebration, but to reduce the tensions that can arise, we will increase sensitivity training for all traffic enforcement agents.

We've made great progress improving the level and quality of customer service that city government delivers, but we know we still have much more work to do. By taking on a challenge that can drive New Yorkers a little crazy - parking - and putting new technology to work, we can make it easier to find a parking spot, easier to avoid a ticket, easier to pay a fine and easier to interact with traffic agents. Who said parking in New York had to be so hard?

Rebuttal from Councilman Vincent Gentile of Brooklyn:

Mayor Bloomberg's new parking promises are way too little and way too late.

The real problem that needs to be fixed on our streets - a problem that just about any commuter understands - is the aggressive and unfair culture of parking enforcement and ticketing in this city.

It's a culture of acrimony instead of partnership; of unfair targeting instead of fair ticketing; of raising revenue instead of keeping our streets safe and clear.

That culture has only been encouraged by this mayor. Yet now, after eight long years, he is pushing a series of "reforms" that will do nothing to ease drivers' biggest concerns.

Drivers trying to back up into a curbside metered parking spot are routinely issued $115 tickets for double-parking despite the fact that the departing car was on its way out of the spot. A senior citizen dropping his spouse off for a dialysis treatment was issued a double-parking ticket because he dared leave his vehicle to escort his frail wife to the front door of the treatment center.

These are real examples. They have happened on Bloomberg's watch.

"Afro Pick" listed on NYPD property form

From Fox 5:

There is controversy over the document used by cops when they arrest someone. It's called the Prisoner's Property Form.Two words on the form that Fox 5 News obtained are under scrutiny. A woman whose relative was taken into custody couldn't believe that the form had "Afro Pick" as a choice under the personal property.

When asked to comment, the NYPD released this statement: "The form was revised in 2008. We are exhausting our stock. The new form says 'Hair Pick/Comb.'"

Take a look at the Central Booking Prisoner’s Property Form for yourself.

Bike lane killing business

From the NY Post:

Pop’s Popular Clothing has been in business in North Brooklyn since 1949, weathering four wars, three recessions, and one rezoning. But the city’s constructions work on Kent Avenue, nearby the store’s 7 Franklin Street location, may force Pop’s to close its doors after 60 years on the waterfront.

The work clothing retailer sits adjacent to the Department of Transportation’s proposed redesign of Kent Avenue, which would add two bicycle lanes and cut traffic to a one-way northbound lane.

Pop’s owner, Steve Rosenberg, believes that the addition of the bike lane, which eliminated parking in the surrounding area last November, has prevented many of his most loyal customers, truck drivers, tradesmen, and construction workers, from visiting his shop.

“I’ve lost 70 percent of my business. Most of my customers come here by car or by truck,” said Rosenberg. “During the week, you cannot get a parking space here. You drive around for hours. Truckers do not come here anymore. My truck business is down to nothing.”

For Rosenberg, that is a major problem. He just completed a large order for Carhatt jeans and it’s Pop’s busiest time, when many construction workers come to restock on work boots and clothing they have worn out over the past six months.

“We get some orders over the Internet, but guys my age (over 40) don’t use the Internet,” said Rosenberg. “I’m going to keep supporting the business until I run out of money, and then I close down.”

“Recently I have heard a lot of our leaders speaking about the benefits that the small businessmen provide to our economy and how we need to help them in these extremely tough economic times,” said Rosenberg, in a letter to Mayor Bloomberg. “I do not solicit or request any help monetarily. I only appeal to let me conduct my business without the DOT making it impossible for me to perform my business.”

Eat your way across the borough

From NY1:

A new niche publication called "Edible Queens" will cover the borough with the nation's most diverse food culture.

Sweet housing deal for federal workers

From the NY Post:

Talk about a safe house.

At Fort Hamilton Homes in Bay Ridge, prospective tenants are being offered awesome views of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, spacious living accommodations, and peace of mind — reinforced quite literally by the fact that their homes are guarded by the United States Army, this paper has learned.

The Fort Hamilton army base is now allowing postal workers, U.S. Census Bureau staff — any federal employee or military retiree — an opportunity to live shoulder to musket with active military personnel.

Army base spokesperson John Manley said the housing was opened up to federal employees within the last eight months. “Essentially, it’s because there aren’t enough soldiers on active duty here,” he said. “We’re trying to fill up the housing and open it up to other eligible categories.”

The development company maintains the housing for the federal government in exchange for the rent it collects. Once it was seen that there were not enough people to fill the 288 available units, the criteria were loosened, Manley said. “It is a business to them,” Manley noted. “They are looking to fill the units.”

In total, there are 185 newly constructed homes and 37 newly renovated homes on the base, along with six newly renovated historic homes. Shapiro said that just 53 of the total units remain vacant. All the units are rentals she said, with a range of prices: a three bedroom, 2,000 square foot apartment rents for $2,499 a month until Oct. 31, for example, and a one bedroom goes for $1,100 a month. “The beauty of it is that while we are situated in Brooklyn, we have rolling hills and grass here. It’s a little slice of heaven,” she said.

Anthony Mercante, the asset manager for the privatized housing program, called Residential Communities Initiative (RCI), said the units are a conglomeration of sorts, from town homes to garden style apartments.

CUNY Law School moving to Court Square

NEW YORK (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- The City University of New York Law School is getting a new home in Queens.

CUNY said in a statement released Tuesday that its Board of Trustees approved the law school's relocation to the Court Square neighborhood of Long Island City, a move that will give the school nearly 70,000 additional square feet of space.

The 26-year-old law school, currently in Flushing, Queens will relocate to the first six floors of a 14-story green building.

CUNY will own a condominium interest in those floors. Citigroup will retain ownership of the remainder of the building.

CUNY says the new site will be ready in time for the start of Fall 2011 classes.

Oil pumped into wrong house

From CBS 2:

A Queens homeowner is steaming mad at a fuel company that pumped 100 gallons of oil into his home – and he doesn't even have an oil tank.

His family has been forced out of their home, and his wife has been hospitalized from the fumes.

To say John Byas is angry over what happened to his home is putting it mildly.

"I work hard and it's a lot of money wasted," Byas said.

His newly renovated basement is ruined, his carpet yanked up, and furniture is piled outside in a heap, all because of a mistake made by the Ferrantino Fuel Corporation.

They delivered 100 gallons of oil to his home – pumped through an outside pump, flooding the basement – but Byas has lived at the home for two decades, and has never had an oil tank.

Group floats highway-in-the-sky proposal

From the NY Post:

The Belt Parkway would be a great place to construct an elevated express lane from Sheepshead Bay all the way to Kennedy Airport, a couple of community leaders are proclaiming this week -- and they want to use federal stimulus dollars to get the job done.

“We are stuck,” Community Board 15 Chair Theresa Scavo said. ”The Belt Parkway is antiquated and cannot handle the volume of traffic. The only place to go is up.”

The idea to erect an elevated express lane over the Belt Parkway is no pie-in-the-sky scheme, according to Scavo, and she already has enlisted the support of Manhattan Beach Neighborhood (MBNA} Association President Alan Ditchek.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Ditchek told members of the MBNA at P.S. 195 last week. “It would put people to work and everyone would be happy with the results.”

Seven spans along the Belt Parkway are already slated for upgrade as part of an extensive bridge rehabilitation program.

In addition, the city’s Department of Design & Construction is about to embark on a rehabilitation project of its own involving guardrails, drainage and catch basins.

According to Scavo, erecting an elevated express lane over the Belt Parkway could be accomplished in as little as two years.

“Very little of the stimulus money is being used,” Scavo suggested. “No one is even putting in for it.”

Volunteer Vandals for Mike Bloomberg

Volunteers showed their support for Mike Bloomberg by plastering the subway escalator at East 53rd Street and 3rd Avenue with campaign stickers:



They've been there for about 3 months now.

The lamest endorsement yet

From the Times Ledger:

Those of us who have lived in New York for a long time remember the all-too-recent days when crime was rampant, infrastructure was crumbling, services were diminishing and, indeed, the city itself seemed ungovernable.

Yes, we also remember when Giuliani cleaned it up.

But today, the trend in all these — and so many other — spheres of public life is exactly the opposite, thanks to the steady, independent, visionary leadership of Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Wow, he's taking credit for that, too, eh?

...when faced with the obstacle of New York City’s two-term limit, he spent a considerable sum of money to overturn the inconvenient law.

For many voters, that disqualifies Bloomberg from further service.

Yes, I would say that was a gigantic dealbreaker.

But for us, it is but a blemish on an otherwise stellar record.

Ah, well you're owned by Rupert Murdoch, so we'll take this with a grain of salt.

Before 311, calls to City Hall were simply transferred to phones that just kept ringing, and complaints — if they were taken down at all — went on some pile on someone else’s desk. The 311 system ended that buck-passing forever.

Yes, now the NYPD can just say they responded and found nothing and the complaint is dismissed. That's blowing us off much more efficiently.

It’s almost unbelievable: Crime is down 30 percent since he took office.

Yes, it is unbelievable. That's because his numbers are phony, as has been illustrated time and again by stories of police dissuading crime victims from filing reports.

To his ill-informed critics, the mayor is a tool of developers who want to pillage our communities. But on the ground in the neighborhoods we cover, the mayor has moved ahead with zoning changes to preserve neighborhoods or revitalize commercial areas, such as Carroll Gardens and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, Jamaica in Queens or along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. In such cases, we’ve seen the benefits of the mayor’s big-picture approach.

No, he is not a tool of developers, he IS a developer and therefore sympathizes with them. Those zoning changes came way too late for most neighborhoods and have done little to stop the variances rubberstamped by BSA. The DOB has not enforced the zoning codes leading many to wonder what the hell the point of zoning is anyway.

And Jamaica sure is revitalized, isn't it? Corona, too...

His proposal calls for new construction and zoning changes mostly in areas that can support new housing — along key subway routes and with parks and other services thought about from the start.

Last I checked he was upzoning areas with overcrowded schools and failing electrical grids that are plagued by flooding. Parks thought about from the start? Where is he building those?

And the mayor’s most important quality is not even on this list: his independence. Though every politician hypes his “independence” from the special interests, Bloomberg is one of the few who actually has it.

That's right, he made sure everyone became dependent on him instead.

And best of all, he’s not a politician.

Wow, then how come I get multiple phone calls and 8-10 pieces of mail from his campaign per week?

Indeed, critics complain that the mayor’s personal fortune is bank-rolling his re-election and silencing democracy, but it is that wealth that frees Bloomberg from the affliction of so many other popularity-craving, poll-watching politicians. He can truly answer to the people of New York because he doesn’t need to answer to anyone else.

When has he ever answered to the people of New York? He seems to think that everyone answers to him, including the reporters who cover him and the civic leaders he sends his unqualified-for-public-office caterer after.

Where other cities, under other leadership, might have collapsed after a 9–11-type attack — and the economic downturn that followed it — New York is strong because of Mike Bloomberg.

What an insult. New York is strong because New Yorkers are strong.

Showdown at the gas station

From Eyewitness News:

Eyewitness News is told the plainclothes anti-crime unit police officers happened to be driving past the Citgo gas station at 85th Street and Astoria Boulevard when they saw three men holding it up just before 1 a.m.

The men, armed and wearing masks, burst into the shop at the gas station, reportedly pushing one worker to the ground while ordering the other behind the counter to hand over money and lottery tickets.

The two plainclothes officers then pulled into the gas station parking lot and called for backup.

When the suspects came out of the store to make their getaway, they were met by the shield-wearing officers yelling "police" and ordering them to drop the weapons.

Police say the suspects instead opened fire on the officers, firing multiple times as they ran for their getaway vehicle. The officers returned fire.

The three suspects reportedly fled in a small four-door, possibly gray, Toyota Corolla, with a ski rack on top. Police followed the vehicle eastbound on Northern Boulevard, but lost it in the area of 101st Street.

A tale of two cities

From the Daily News:

...there is no more powerful symbol of the city's profound contradictions than seeing our billionaire mayor spend nearly $100 million to get reelected to a controversial third term, while more than a million of his constituents try to scrape out a meager living.

It is not reassuring, the report says, that the state of New York continues to have the highest level of inequality in the country. And neither is it reassuring that a study conducted by the Coalition Against Hunger found that "all pilot anti-poverty programs initiated by Mayor Bloomberg's Center for Economic Opportunity combined involved approximately 42,000 people."

Keep in mind that more than 1.5 million New Yorkers live on an income below the federal poverty line.

As long as this is the case, New York will be the greatest city in the world only for the few who can afford it.

The rest, the majority of its residents, will have little reason to give their city - and their mayor - the thumbs up.

Bloomberg the bird lover

From NY1:

The other day, my neighbor brought me this dead bird. This tiny warbler was killed after crashing into a glass window that it couldn’t see. Over the last 8 years, over a half million songbirds have died needlessly in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken the first steps in endorsing for the voluntary lights out program and by his ambitious PLANYC2030. Much more work needs to be done. NYC lags behind Chicago and San Francisco in making a bird-friendly city.

Yes, Glenn. Bloomberg's DOB is really doing a lot about this. So is city planning. Just take a look at this great project in the Village:



Hey Bloomie, instead of giving developers tax breaks for phony affordable housing promises, how about giving them incentives to build towers that don't kill birds and trees? Then I could almost convince myself that you actually cared. Want to promote "green" building? Start with the basics.

That goose policy of his is also very animal-friendly!

Photo from Curbed.

Crowley vs. Ognibene: It's on!

From City Hall:

Crowley’s aides describe the campaign as a mostly ideological “contrast of ideas.” Crowley will paint Ognibene as the product of a bygone era, when Rudy Giuliani reigned imperiously over the city, aided by loyal Republicans in the Council.

She will also seek to turn Ognibene’s ties to the mayor into a disadvantage. Crowley touts her opposition to the sprawling development projects sponsored by Bloomberg, saying they distort the character of the district’s largely middle-class neighborhoods.

“Overdevelopment and out-of-character development have been going on for far too long, and they’ve really been compromising the quality of life in our district,” Crowley said of Ognibene. “I don’t know what he was thinking when he saw all this happening and did nothing.”

She added: “I do believe that he’s a conservative at heart, and that’s what he preaches.”

That argument is unlikely to prevent Ognibene from brandishing his conservative credentials. More central, though, will be his argument that his experience and connections in city government will prove invaluable at a time of economic distress.

Not to mention the help from a billionaire mayor.

“You have to have somebody that knows what’s going on at City Hall,” Ognibene said. “The most important relationship that I have is the relationship with the mayor’s office.”

God help Council District 30...

Jackson Heights asks Parks to use eminent domain

From the NY Times:

The loud chatter of playground games at Thomas J. Travers Park in Jackson Heights will quiet – at least a little — in the near future.

The popular Queens park, on 34th Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets, is undergoing renovations and parents say they’re worried they won’t have a place to take their children to play. The Jackson Heights neighborhood ranks almost last for lack of green space in New York City.

Plans for the $1.7 million overhaul — which is being financed through the discretionary budget of Councilwoman Helen Sears, a Democrat who recently lost her bid for re-election in a closely fought primary — show that work will be done mostly on the playground and sprinkler system. Parts of the park are damaged or worn beyond repair because it’s such a heavily used area, said Dorothy Lewandowski, the Queens parks commissioner.

“In a one-year period, they will have a beautiful new play space with brand-new play equipment,” Ms. Lewandowski said.

The start work order began on Sept. 9 and Ms. Lewandowski said she expected parts of Travers Park to close sometime this week or the next. The sports areas and smaller playground will remain open, she said.

The lack of green space in the neighborhood has prompted the Jackson Heights Green Alliance to push for the purchase of a nearby Toyota dealership through eminent domain to expand Travers Park.

Ms. Lewandowski said Jackson Heights was a difficult district because sections are overdeveloped and there’s a general lack of park space. But, there are no definitive prospects for another park.

“Currently, there’s nothing that’s firm,” she said. “There has been a large community interest in acquiring the Toyota dealership. Beyond that, unfortunately, not at this time.”

Daniel Dromm, who defeated Ms. Sears in the Democratic primary two weeks ago, has said he would be in favor of the use of eminent domain if it meant relieving some of the overcrowding park issues in the neighborhood.

Sorry, but acquiring parkland via eminent domain is against the Bloomberg doctrine because it fails to benefit developers.

Trib managed to piss off people of all faiths

Letter to the editor (Queens Courier):

As a Jewish-American, I was extremely offended by a recent story in the Queens Tribune unfairly targeting City Council candidate Dan Halloran’ religion. My Catholic friends are also offended that his religion is being made into a campaign issue.

Queens is the most diverse county in the country, home of the Flushing Remonstrance, a 1657 document proclaiming religious freedom for Flushing residents, one of America’s earliest provisions for religious freedom. Indeed, the Remonstrance protects the right “to have and enjoy the liberty of conscience without molestation or disturbance.”

A person’s religion is a personal, private matter and should not be used to score political points in a campaign. Diversity of belief and freedom of conscience are at the heart of the American spirit, as millions have come to our shores to escape religious persecution and freely exercise their religion, enshrined in our Constitution’s First Amendment.

In view of the above, I respectfully call upon Halloran’s opponent Kevin Kim and Congressmember Gary Ackerman, who founded the Tribune, to condemn this unfair assault on Halloran’s religious beliefs.

Daniel Egers
Whitestone

Disregard for history at Ridgewood Reservoir

From Save Ridgewood Reservoir:

Between basins 1 & 2 and 2 & 3 are a pair of pathways that were designed as maintenance roads when the reservoirs were in active use. The edges of those paths are lined with wrought iron coping fences. The parks department design for Phase I calls for the clearing and development of a walking path with limited seating between basins 2 & 3. In general, this is a good idea. Unfortunately, rather than just clearing the vines off of the existing 1/2 mile of coping fences, they want to completely remove it and replace it with a modern steel fence.

Somehow, the original, historic 19th century wrought iron coping fences managed to survive, intact. There are several short sections that appear to be missing, however, on close inspection those pieces can be seen either covered by dirt on the path or on the stone retaining wall in the basin interior. How many places in New York City can one still find 19th century fences at a public works site? I'm guessing none.

All too often in New York City, planners and developers see no need for preserving our city's history. Had it not been for the ambition plans of the Brooklyn Water & Sewer Works and their vision of a clean water supply for the City of Brooklyn, we would not have seen the rapid growth and expansion of, what was once considered, the largest city in the United States.

The length of fence to be replaces is estimated to be 1/2 mile long...

This ain't Central Park and...

A crony of a politician was promised a fat contract.
A crony of a politician was promised a fat contract.
A crony of a politician was promised a fat contract.
A crony of a politician was promised a fat contract.

Bloomberg guy told not to lobby; did it anyway

From the Village Voice:

A former senior member of the Bloomberg Administration who served as president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation broke the city's conflict of interest laws when he helped his private sector employer bid for a city contract to develop the West Side Rail Yards, the Conflict of Interest Board ruled today.

After working for Bloomberg's top aide, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, Joshua Sirefman was shipped in 2006 to the Economic Development Corporation, where he served as Interim President for six months. One responsibility of the EDC director is to sit on the boards of directors of various local development corporations, including the Hudson Yards Development Corporation. The city's charter prohibits a public servant from appearing before an city agency for a year from the date of the public servant's resignation.

Sirefman started at Brookfield in late January of 2007, less than a month after resigning from EDC. In October, he appeared at a meeting in which he lobbied members of the MTA's contract selection committee and two directors of the Hudson Yards Development Corporation on behalf of Brookfield. He wasn't a silent bystander at the meeting either: He fielded direct questions from the Hudson Yards Development Corporation's President, the Conflict of Interest Board says.

And this was six months after he had sought legal advice from the Conflict of Interest Board about how he could lobby the Hudson Yards Development Corporation. At the time, he was given specific intructions not to "communicate" with the Hudson Yards Development Corporation for a year.

Sirefman has been fined $1,500.

DA: Queens Man Posed as US Agent to Defraud Immigrants

NEW YORK (AP/1010 WINS) -- A Queens man faces charges that he swindled immigrants out of more than $1 million by posing as a government agent.

Queens prosecutors say Shane Ramsundar flashed a badge, wore a gun and told people he was an undercover Homeland Security agent. They say he extorted $43,000 from one victim by telling him he was on a terrorism watch list and might be deported if he didn't fork over cash.

Authorities say he told others he could get them green cards for a fee.

Prosecutors say Ramsundar also stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from immigrants who thought they were buying real estate in Florida.

Ramsundar is charged with larceny, fraud and impersonating a public servant.

Thompson says Mike needs to leave "Bloombergland"

From The Politicker:

Michael Bloomberg just released his annual Mayor’s Management Report, a collecting of data about life in New York City gathered by city agencies.

Some oddities stood out: there are more noise complaints, but fewer noise violations being written up by police. There are also more accidents on construction sites while fewer buildings are being constructed.

Bloomberg, in a nearly hourlong press conference in the Blue Room at City Hall, said the apparent quirks were probably due to the lack of police manpower. Noise violations need to be occurring by the time cops arrive, which can sometimes take days for this kind of complaint, he said.

Rectifying the problems of not having enough cops and it taking days for them to respond to complaints is where exactly on Bloomberg's priority list?

From NY1:

But the report also detailed a nagging problem in reducing average class size almost across the board, an increase in the number of homeless families in city shelters and a continuing rise in unemployment. All of the numbers cited are said to be in line with national trends.

"I'm sure there's something that's going up that you can write a column about," Bloomberg said. "The bottom line is there's always things that are going to be going in the wrong direction, over the long term, if they continue to go in the wrong direction, then it's a serious thing."

"Mayor Bloomberg needs to get out of City Hall and talk to the people of New York City. We're looking at the highest unemployment rate in 16 years. We're looking at unemployment in the African-American community that has skyrocketed in the last year. We're looking at people losing their homes and their jobs across the city, we're looking at a city that is struggling, and Mike Bloomberg says everything's great, everything's fabulous, and this is a a wonderful city. As I said, this is almost Bloombergland where this is no reality, the mayor needs to get real." - Comptroller Bill Thompson

More proof that affordable housing is a joke

So the Court of Crap is now accepting applications for 110 "affordable housing" units. "Affordable" being $1338/month for a single-occupancy studio. For whom in Downtown Jamaica is this rent considered affordable? The vast majority of market rate 1-bedrooms in the area cost less than this. In fact, in most parts of Queens, they cost less than this. And if you could afford this rate, would you choose to live in Downtown Jamaica?

If these are the "affordable housing" prices, I can't wait to see the market rate prices...

More Bloombergian affordable housing bullshit can be found at Bloomberg Watch.