Charlie looks for one more win

From the NY Times:

Suddenly, the genial, gravelly voiced prince of Harlem became a symbol of malfeasance and self-dealing Washington insiderism. Republicans talked of building their midterm election strategy around him. Democrats returned his campaign contributions. And Mr. Rangel, 79, relinquished the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

But back in his Congressional district, a very different attitude has emerged: a fierce determination that Mr. Rangel, whatever his transgressions, should end his public life on his own terms and be given one last term.

“When it’s time for him to go, he will make that decision,” said Jackie Rowe Adams, 62, a Parks Department employee and union local leader who grew up in Harlem. “He’ll leave gracefully.”

“That time,” she said, “is not now.”

Wrong, lady. When it's time for him to go, the VOTERS will make that decision. That time very well may be now. He may leave gracefully or he may be sent packing. I'm hoping for the latter.

Cops searching for subway groper

From NBC 4:

Police are searching for this man in connection with a sexual assault at a Queens subway station last month.

Cops believe Juan Ramirez "inappropriately touched" a woman on the E train at Roosevelt Avenue station at about 11:15 a.m. on May 30, then fled through the train cars.

Ramirez, 30, also goes by the name Diego Mateo, police said.

School next to firehouse not the best idea

From the Times Ledger:

City officials agree that Corona public schools are extremely overcrowded and that new schools must be built, but those same officials disagree about where at least one of those schools should be built.

City Department of Education officials said Tuesday that public review and design plans are underway for two schools, one at 97-36 43rd Ave., which will add 664 seats in the district, and the other at 110-02 Northern Blvd., which will add 379 seats.

The 43rd Avenue site is an L-shaped, 40,000-square-foot warehouse currently occupied by the Wal-Rich Corp., a plumbing and heating supplies distributor, and the city is forcing the owners to sell the property through eminent domain. The building surrounds the 89th District firehouse and is less than two blocks away from the NYPD’s 110th Precinct house.

Community Board 4 District Manager Richard Italiano said that makes the proposed site dangerous for kids.

“We’re not against new schools,” he said. “We want as many schools as we can get, but that particular site poses a concern. We’re just concerned with the emergency vehicle movements and children walking from school around the street there will be safety hazards.”

CB 4 members met Tuesday night at one of the proposed school construction sites, located at 98th Street between 50th and Christie avenues. An 89th District FDNY member, who asked not to be identified, said he and other fire officials disagree with the proposed location of the school because children traveling to and from school may be hit by passing vehicles and emergency vehicles leaving the firehouse could be slowed down by kids and school buses.

“It’s a terrible idea,” he said. “How are we going to get out of quarters? They claim they’re going to use the other street that’s in back of us, but the street behind us is 12 feet wide. There’s no way the school buses are going to fit behind this building. In my opinion, it’s going to be a very dangerous situation to build a school right next to a fire house.”

Okay, so the business owners don't want to leave and the FDNY thinks this is a bad idea, so why not put the school at 90th Street and Corona Avenue in the big empty lot that's been a blight on the area for years? Last time I checked, it was for sale. There would be no business displacement, safer location, eyesore elimination... wait - that makes too much sense.

Library forced to cut back on Russian soaps

From the Daily News:

Most borrowers will never see the maps that line librarian Sze Wai (Lacey) Chan's cubicle at the Central Library in Jamaica, but as the library system's official demographer, she's made a career of tracking them down.

Part statistician and part detective, Chan has studied the borough's newest immigrants since 1997. Using the data she gathers, she helps tailor new materials and programs to their interests.

But looming budget cuts may soon make much of her painstakingly-collected data useless because the library won't be able to buy new foreign-language materials to chase the changing population, library officials said.

For Chinese immigrants, those materials include a never-ending supply of Japanese and Korean films, while West Indians prefer Nigerian movies. And Russians can't live without their soaps.

Our tax dollars are subsidizing the acquisition and rental of Russian soap operas?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Here's an idea: During the recession, how about limiting libraries to what they were built for - education through BOOKS.

Stadium status

.
"It's hard being a sports fan these days."

Stadium Status is a documentary which examines the rush of new sports stadiums in NYC as the latest example of an obscene national trend. New stadiums are built every year and the private businesses that own them benefit from huge sums of public money for their creation. Are we getting our money's worth?

Weiner gored by goat

From the Daily News:

The Hill is reporting (and sharing this picture, which I hope they don't mind my borrowing) that Rep. Anthony Weiner was gored by a goat during a press conference earlier today.

Queensboro Bridge coyote!

From NY Magazine:

Manhattan apparently wasn't enough for the coyotes: They're now spreading to Queens, too. This one was spotted by a New York staffer under the 59th Street Bridge in Long Island City.

Amtrak starts cutting trees again

"Despite what Amtrak said about not cutting down any more trees in Woodside...



I just took these pictures of Amtrak contractors still cutting down trees along the tracks in Woodside (56 St & 32nd Ave). Isn't this contradictory to the "Million Trees" program?

On another note along the GCP near LaGuardia there is another tree cutting program in operation, not sure if they are cutting them down for road work or another purpose." - anonymous

I thought Peter Vallone, Joe Crowley and Michael Gianaris stopped this? Did Amtrak lie to everyone?

Basement-dwelling sex offender kills girlfriend

From the Daily News:

A sex offender bludgeoned his live-in girlfriend to death with a baseball bat because he suspected she was seeing another man, police said Wednesday.

Isaiah Smith, 48, pummeled Tiffany Pettiford, 28, in their Queens home as his two children - and his other girlfriend - watched in horror, police and witnesses said.

Smith - who was convicted in 1990 of raping a 10-year-old girl - was livid after Pettiford disappeared for a few days and allegedly took up with another man, one police source said.

Smith confronted Pettiford, and may have snapped after the woman went to the store and forgot to get him beer, a second police source said.

Smith has a 1-year-old boy with Pettiford and a 10-year-old developmentally disabled son with another woman - and they all lived in the same basement apartment on 214th St. in Queens Village, neighbors said.

Wow, a sex offender living in a basement apartment? Who would have thunk it...

Paying for the pipes

From the Daily News:

Hook up or pay up.

Today is the official deadline for residents of Meadowmere and Warnerville to connect to the city's sewer system.

And city officials said it won't be extended.

Residents of these little-known neighborhoods on the Queens-Nassau border have waited decades for the city to offer them a sewer system.

But times are tough and only about 25% of the approximately 89 property owners were connected as of Friday.

Plumbers have been charging $5,000 and up for the job.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall gathered residents and officials from the city Department of Environmental Protection last week to see if the deadline - already extended once - could be moved.

"Everybody's scared because of the deadline," said George Moschatos, who owns Argo Boats on Rockaway Blvd. "They made us wait 40 years for the sewers, and then they give us 10 months?"

Homeowners received letters from the city last August saying they could face steep fines of up to $10,000 for failing to connect to the sewers.

DEP officials said homeowners will receive warning letters before being slapped with violations. They also urged homeowners to look into government grants and loans that could help them pay for the work.

Property owners are still waiting to hear how much they will be charged for spurs installed on their property by the city during sewer construction. The spurs provide a connector between homes and the main sewer lines.

Marshall promised help for local residents, who have complained for years they are ignored by city officials and shortchanged on city services.

She asked the city to consider payment plans if they perform any emergency hookups in the future. Her topography unit is also looking into concerns that some streets in the area are not included on city maps.

Photo from Forgotten-NY

Indictment looms for Haggerty

From the NY Times:

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is investigating what became of a $750,000 campaign payment from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg that went to a company Mr. Haggerty set up. And within the next week or two, according to lawyers and political officials familiar with the matter, the investigation could be coming to a conclusion, perhaps with an indictment, perhaps with a plea agreement.

The investigation, which has been going on for months, has already raised questions about the unusual way Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign directed the payment, using personal checks from the mayor rather than the campaign’s official account. And while people close to the case say neither the mayor nor the campaign is a target of the investigation, an indictment could be embarrassing for Mr. Bloomberg, who is said to have trusted Mr. Haggerty as a key liaison to the city’s Republicans.

Mr. Bloomberg paid the state Independence Party, whose endorsement he had won, $1.2 million last year. The party then paid $750,000 of that money to Special Election Operations L.L.C., a company established by Mr. Haggerty, to bankroll an Election Day operation in northern Queens, with up to 300 workers reportedly paid $500 each.

But the party and the Bloomberg campaign believe that operation fell considerably short of $750,000, and they say that if Mr. Haggerty kept any extra money, he was not entitled to do so.

“I doubt that the mayor had any idea any of this was happening,” said an administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the investigation.

Bullshit. He knew exactly what was happening.

Now you can eat live octopus in Sunnyside, too...

From the Sunnyside Post:

A new Korean restaurant, Sik Gaek, debuted last Wednesday at 49-11 Roosevelt Ave., Woodside.

This is a big step for the owner who has a well-established restaurant by the same name in Flushing.

The Sunnyside/Woodside operation is its first venture outside of Flushing. T Chung, the manager, said the Sunnyside outpost will be an exact replica of the Flushing restaurant.

Public university proud to enroll illegals

From the NY Times:

Eduardo J. Martí, Queensborough’s president, calls it “an academic Ellis Island,” a place that is open to all, where immigration status means nothing.

“We make a point not to ask about it, and we are proud of it,” said Dr. Martí, who came to New York City from Cuba alone in 1960, at age 18.

He estimated that 1,000 illegal immigrants are probably enrolled at Queensborough at any given time.

Affordable housing: still a joke

From the NY Times:

After four years of planning and delays, the city will start soliciting bids on Monday to begin building what could become the city’s largest development for middle-income residents in 40 years.

The Bloomberg administration, which is heavily subsidizing the project, is asking developers to compete to build 1,000 apartments on a once industrial strip of Queens land known as Hunters Point South, where Newtown Creek enters the East River.

At least 60 percent of the apartments would be reserved for families earning $63,000 to $130,000 a year. Although construction is not scheduled to begin until 2012, the project would mark the first section of a waterfront community of 5,000 apartments with shops, a school and a 10-acre public park.

Plans call for a mix of rental apartments and condominiums, with about 40 percent of the units going for market rates. The buildings would vary in height up to about 30 stories.

The city is making a substantial commitment to the project, having bought the land from the state last year for $100 million.

It has budgeted an additional $175 million for toxic cleanup, the park and a network of roads, sewers and electric lines, although only $60 million would be spent to prepare the first two parcels for construction.

Rafael E. Cestero, the city’s housing commissioner, said the city expected to provide about $90,000 for each of the first 600 subsidized units.

Neighborhood officials said they were pleased that the project was moving forward, although some housing advocates said the project would not address the needs of many Queens residents.

Adam Friedman, director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, a policy and planning group, said that because the median family income in Queens was $51,290 a year, “half the families in Queens” earn too little to be eligible for the subsidized units.

“We’re arguing that there have to be deeper subsidies so that the community that evolves out of this has economic diversity,” Mr. Friedman said.

Both Ron Moelis, chief executive of L & M Equity, a developer of affordable housing, and Jeffrey E. Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, said they were interested.

But Mr. Levine said that the job might require the construction unions to agree to concessions to keep costs down.

Good luck with that.

FDNY still facing the budget axe

From the Daily News:

The cash-crunched FDNY will have to shutter 20 companies by the end of the summer to save $37 million, Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano told the City Council Friday.

"There is no way around this: closing 20 companies will impact our service and impact everyone in this city," Cassano said.

Cassano insisted he could not identify the endangered companies because the FDNY is still deciding which units would have the least impact on service if they closed.

Council members did not promise they could find emergency cash this year, but FDNY sources said they were "hopeful" the companies could be saved.

Hey what happened to the $3B budget surplus we had?

Preservationists try once more to save Coney Island

From the Daily News:

Preservationists are making a last-ditch effort to save four century-old Coney Island buildings slated for demolition by developer Joe Sitt.

They came up with their own vision of what the buildings could look like if restored and are appealing to Sitt to hold off the wrecking ball - even though the city rejected plans to create a historic district that would have barred the demolitions.

It's likely to be an uphill battle. "While we appreciate the enthusiasm, the reality is ... the City of New York found these buildings to have no significant historical value," said Loren Riegelhaupt, a spokesman for Sitt's company Thor Equities. "These buildings have been left to rot for decades and are now in terrible shape."

But advocates insist they're worth saving.

"It's New York's history," said Sarah Le Clerk, who designed renderings of the Grashorn and Henderson buildings for the advocacy group Save Coney Island. "These buildings have been through a lot. To tear them down would be absolutely terrible."

The images show Grashorn - a 111-year-old building believed to be Coney's oldest - fixed up and turned into a Museum of Amusements. The Henderson building - a former music hall where Harpo Marx got his start - is transformed into a theater, nightclub and rooftop restaurant.

That vision was dealt a blow when the city Landmarks Commission decided Wednesday the buildings were "too significantly altered" from their original condition to qualify as a historic district.

"Only capitalism can save those buildings [since] the Landmarks Commission will not," said Coney Island USA founder Dick Zigun.

Bloomberg skips subway to avoid protesting kids

From NY1:

Students and parents planned a protest [Tuesday] morning outside Mayor Michael Bloomberg's subway station over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's threat to take away free student MetroCards.

The protesters wanted to ask him if he would commit to saving the student MetroCards, which are set to be eliminated by the MTA in an effort to close its $800 million deficit.

There was no sign of the mayor at the station this morning; however, members of his security detail appeared and then left.

Protesters say they plan to show up at the station again [Wednesday] and Thursday.

Meeks introduces bill to stop ethics board

From the NY Post:

Embattled Rep. Gregory Meeks wants to muzzle the independent ethics watchdogs that Democrats unleashed after taking control of Congress.

Meeks (D-Queens), who is being probed by the feds for missing charity money and other possible wrongdoing, co-sponsored a bill that would rein in the new Office of Congressional Ethics.

Another New Yorker, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn), also was among the 20 lawmakers who signed on to the bill that was quietly introduced last week.

All the co-sponsors are members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Neither Meeks' nor Clarke's offices responded to questions about the legislation.

The bill would make it harder for the office to open investigations.

It also would stop the office, which does not have power to sanction lawmakers but serves an advisory role, from publicizing its referrals to the more powerful House Ethics Committee.

The office "is currently the accuser, judge, and jury. This isn't the case in the American justice system, and it shouldn't be so in Congress," said Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio), the bill's chief sponsor.

The citizen-run ethics panel has whacked at least eight Congressional Black Caucus members, including Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem).

Still keeping CityTime

From the Daily News:

Even as he freezes pay for teachers and slashes budgets for most city agencies, Mayor Bloomberg plans to toss nearly another $100 million into the CityTime money pit next year.

That's the computerized timekeeping and payroll system that is seven years behind schedule and has already cost taxpayers more than $700 million - 10 times its original price tag.

The mayor has admitted CityTime is "a disaster," yet he refuses to turn off the spigot for the army of computer consultants that has fed off the project for at least a decade.

Beginning next month, the Office of Payroll Administration will hire 61 computer technicians at an average salary of $77,000 - and all will be assigned to CityTime.

But those new employees will cost only a tiny portion of the new spending allotted for CityTime.

An official at the Office of Payroll Administration confirmed yesterday that the agency will spend an additional $93 million next year on the project...

From Crains:

Mark Page, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told members of the City Council Finance Committee that to cut off funding now to the CityTime project would render the investment made so far worthless, forcing the city to spend more money in the future for a new system. Mr. Page said once CityTime was fully implemented, by the end of 2011, it would eventually cost around $30 million a year to maintain the system.

More proof that "affordable housing" is a joke

From Crains:

Despite rent regulation, New York rent burdens remain unaffordable for most low-income households, according to a report released Tuesday by the Citizens Budget Commission.

In the report, the CBC defines rental housing as "affordable" when rent is 30% or less of the household's income. By this definition, in 2008, 54% of the citywide households in regulated units had affordable housing and about 52% of households in private, unregulated rental units had affordable housing.

However, among all city households with incomes below $35,000 living in private-sector rental units, only 10% had housing that could be called affordable.

Based on 2008 data, the average discount provided by rent regulation is 31%, or an average rent reduction of about $5,500 annually per housing unit. These discounts are not properly targeted to low- and moderate-income households.

According to the CBC's findings, the highest-income households receive the largest average benefit, a discount one-third greater than that for moderate-income households. In addition, the benefits are greatest for households in Manhattan, whose average discount is more than four times that of households in the Bronx.

Fliering off the handle

From the Riverdale Press:

The offensive practice of posting stickers and fliers on any public street furniture in New York is very much illegal — Sanitation Code 10-119 — and with good reason. More important than the legality, however, is that it is selfish, arrogant, ignorant and shows a lack of regard for people who live and visit the area. It sends a message of chaos and lawlessness. Visually it is no better than out-of-control, gangland, graffiti. I’m saying this full well realizing that there are many legal postings, and ads, that are also gross.

As someone who lives in Manhattan, I and many others are fighting a constant battle against the violators, by e-mailing, and calling the posted phone numbers and — politely — informing them of the illegality of such flyering.

And, by the way, the law does include the political placards draped around lampposts and traffic signs at election time. We aggressively rip those down, too, regardless of political affiliation!

These candidates are looking for our votes by destroying the visual serenity of the streetscape? They should think again!

Driving in this state becomes more expensive

From CBS 2:

New York's 9 million drivers are furious because in a rush to raise money -- and to make it seem like they weren't raising taxes -- the Legislature increased fees on just about everything having to do with driving.

* The cost of license plates went from $15 to $25

* Driver licenses from $50 to $64.50

* Car registrations from $44 to $55

* And when you register your car you have to pay a county "use tax" of $10 to $60

Result of a porous border

From the Village Voice:

On April 27, Janet Napolitano pronounced that the border separating the United States from the Republic of Mexico is more secure than ever.

Napolitano sounded convinced, even though she also has spoken of Mexico's 6,000 drug-related murders in 2009 alone, more than twice the total in 2008.

But Napolitano's words rang hollow to those who live at or near the border in Cochise County, a beautiful, sparsely populated expanse in southeast Arizona.

They live at ground zero in the United States for the smuggling from Mexico of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin — and human beings.

(The U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson sector was responsible for almost half of all illegal aliens arrested and marijuana seized along the nation's borders during fiscal 2009, which ended September 30. Try to imagine 1.2 million pounds of pot, an all-time record for any sector. The zone includes Cochise County and covers 262 miles of border).

Most people in this fabled county — home to Tombstone (the shootout at the OK Corral), Fort Huachuaca (a major U.S. Army base), funky border towns (Douglas and Naco), and almost unimaginably open spaces — agree on this:

The executive and legislative branches of the federal government have set up Cochise County for disaster by not coming up with a border policy to effectively handle what's known as "illegal immigration."

In the early 1990s, the feds tightened the leaky border around San Diego and El Paso with mega-operations called Operation Gatekeeper and Operation Hold the Line, respectively.

The result was a monumental funneling of hundreds of thousands of undocumented aliens from the steep mountains and unforgiving deserts of northern Mexico into southern Arizona.

Before then, Cochise County was not a prime point of entry for illegal aliens (the Tucson sector accounted for only 9 percent of the U.S. Border Patrol's arrests in 1993).

Then, as now, drug smugglers pretty much had free rein, with law enforcement seemingly always a step behind most of the criminals.

With the redirection of the migrants came dire ramifications, including death for untold hapless migrants ill-equipped to negotiate the desert and mountain trails in brutal summers and cold winters.

The influx also has upended the lives of many on this side of the border, especially American citizens who live anywhere in the southern portion of Cochise County.

Some of them simply are hungry and desperate. But others are of a more malevolent bent, committing robberies, burglaries, and other crimes against Americans in remote spots like Portal, Apache, and Palominas.

A year later, nothing's changed at Hell's Kitchen hellhole

From NY1:

Worried residents who live near vacant buildings on 51st and 52nd Streets between Ninth and 10th Avenues first contacted NY1 For You a year ago, complaining about the unsanitary and unsafe environment bred by the buildings.

They say the properties used to be a positive part of the neighborhood when they were owned by St. Vincent's Medical Center, but quickly became a detriment to the area two years ago, after they were sold to a developer who gutted them and left them abandoned.

"The building's abandoned, it's in disrepair. We want it boarded up, we want it taken care of," says John Owens, the co-chair of the block association.

Owens has been inside the buildings and says they have hazardous conditions.

"There was probably six to seven feet of standing water in a part of the building which -- you have standing water, you have mosquitos, and you have water, you have mold," says Owens. "So residents have complained mold has seeped out of the building into their actual apartments."

Neighboring residents also complained of rodents coming from the building, as well as homeless people and squatters inside the abandoned property who enter through unlocked doors.

The city Department of Health recently issued a violation for standing water, and a spokeswoman told NY1 the agency will conduct another inspection this week.

NY1 contacted the Department of Buildings and a spokeswoman told the station that the properties are on the DOB's stalled site list and are the responsibility of the owner. She said the agency will send inspectors back out to access the current condition of the buildings.

To celebrate our 3 millionth hit

"Congratulations on surpassing 3M hits! In order to celebrate, I created a video of aerial shots of Queens from the McBlimp when I had a couple of 1986 flights. Please feel free to post it on either site (QC or Facebook). I hope you're day is going well. Keep up the good work." - Al

Bloomberg kicks press out of public event

From the Daily News:

Mayor Bloomberg summoned the news media to his confab this morning with Israel’s deputy foreign minsister with this listing on his public schedule:

*10:00 AM Meets with the Honorable Daniel Ayalon, Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, City Hall, MANHATTAN, *Photo opportunity only.

Still, Hizzoner seemed a little miffed when a few of us arrived for the gathering in City Hall’s bullpen.

“Now we have the press here. Nice of you to tell me,” Bloomberg scolded a staffer. “I thought it was just cameras.”

He then aborted the story he seemed to be in the middle of telling and filled Ayalon in on the state of the media in New York as reporters were swiftly ushered out of the room.

Jack Eichenbaum is new borough historian

From the Daily News:

A SELF-PROCLAIMED "urban explorer" who leads walking tours around Queens will be revealed today as the next borough historian, the Daily News has learned.

Jack Eichenbaum, 67, was chosen for the prestigious post to advocate for historic preservation and research, according to sources close to the decision.

The retired city assessor is set to be introduced to the media during a 3:30 p.m. news conference at Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.

Borough historians do not collect salaries, but they often use their official positions as a bully pulpit to document and save under-appreciated sites.

Bah, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!! Is that what they do? Here I thought their job was to keep mum while Borough Hall allowed the sites to be developed into crap.

Como taking on Addabbo

From City Hall:

What a difference 30 hours can make.

In the space of that time, former Council Member Anthony Como went from confirming with City Hall on Sunday afternoon that he would not be a State Senate candidate, to being convinced by a deluge of calls from some of the state’s top Republicans, his county chair and constituents that he would, in fact, begin collecting petitions to challenge Joe Addabbo in Queens as early as Tuesday.

“It’s 10:30 at night, I’m talking to you, and I basically an hour-and-a-half ago decided that this city and state can use me in the 15^th Senate District,” Como told City Hall late into the evening on Monday.

Como attributed his decision in large part to the response to a City Hall article from Monday morning that explained what had been his decision to skip the Senate race to focus on trying to be selected as the new executive director of the city Board of Elections. Though Como said state GOP chair Ed Cox was not among those who reached out, Queens GOP chair Phil Ragusa was, as were State Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos, Senate Republican Campaign Committee (SRCC) chair Tom Libous and Brooklyn State Sen. Marty Golden.

Golden: "Anthony, your last name is Como. Remember, voters in that district thought you were Mario's boy back in 2008."

Ragusa: "Yeah, Tony, his name is at the top of the ticket this time. This can only help you."

Skelos: "Just don't debate Joe and you'll be fine...."

Frank Lloyd Crap: "YES!!!"

Aaaaand Tom Ognibene is running for Lieutenant Governor.

Unions pick up pols' tabs

From the Gotham Gazette:

City Councilmember Annabel Palma had her payday.

Palma has used at least $64,000 from local unions to pay legal fees and fines from violations of the city's campaign finance law during her City Council campaign in 2003, according to several sources familiar with the account. The cash was funneled through a legal defense fund that is not registered with the State Board of Elections or the city Campaign Finance Board and was established by Kevin Finnegan, the current political director for 1199 SEIU, where Palma once worked as an organizer.

Palma was slapped with $30,000 in fines from the Campaign Finance Board because her 2003 campaign allegedly coordinated its activities too closely with 1199 -- the city's large and powerful healthcare workers union. The Bronx councilmember also racked up substantial legal fees during the dispute.

According to filings at the State Board of Elections, 1199 contributed a total of $51,675 to the Annabel Palma Legal Defense Fund -- making one donation in December of 2006 and another in August of 2009. The Bronx Democratic County Committee, a local UAW, United Federation of Teachers political action committee and a local International Union of Operating Engineers also contributed to the Palma defense fund.

Palma said she was not involved with setting up the fund.

"That fund was created separate and apart from my knowledge," said Palma. "It’s an independent fund. Through conversations, [it] was created by my supporters that believed that someone like myself, who came up through the ranks, needed help in paying off these fines."

The account predates Finnegan's tenure as the political director of 1199, he said, and it was established while he was still a partner at Levy Ratner -- a labor-linked law firm.

At least two other current City Council members have used independent funds to pay off fines associated with their campaign activity. According to files at the State Board of Elections, council members Joel Rivera and Elizabeth Crowley also have similar accounts.

These accounts, which are legal, are not subject to contribution limits or disclosure and may operate completely independently from the campaign finance system, despite the fact that the three officials accepted public dollars for their campaigns.

Bloomberg revamps campaign website

From the AP:

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose presidential aspirations never got off the ground in 2008, has revamped his personal website to boast about his life's work in business, philanthropy and "national issues."

The billionaire's reworked site at mikebloomberg.com features slick photographs of him in various settings, mixing with diverse groups of people - images that evoke the tone of a political campaign site.

Mikebloomberg.com served as Bloomberg's campaign site during his third mayoral race last year. Previously, it was a general site featuring Bloomberg's accomplishments and positions. Spokesman Stu Loeser said Thursday the re-launch is a continuation of that. The new content went live in recent days, he said.

The site includes information about Bloomberg's experience in the three main areas where he has worked during his adult life.

The founder and former CEO of the financial company, Bloomberg LP, spent two years exploring the idea of running for president in 2008, ultimately deciding not to go ahead with a third-party campaign.

He has said he has "no plans" to run in 2012, but that is also what he said in the years when he was testing the waters for a 2008 run. Bloomberg will be 70 in 2012.

Thousands of units coming to Coney?

From NY1:

Big hotels and entertainment centers are on the horizon for Thor Equities, the biggest commercial property owner in Coney Island. Just outside the amusement district to the west, it’s Taconic Investment Partners that owns much of that land and CEO Charles Bendit says it’s creating a master plan of its own in regards to residential development.

"We have six sites that can accommodate 2,500 units. We would hope to begin development in the next year or two and over the next five years to have a vital community with 2,500 units housing five to six thousand people," Bendit said.

The plan would create 2.5 million square feet of luxury residential space with ground floor retail and parking. But first they need the housing and financial markets come back before they could start creating this large scale project. They also need the city to upgrade water and sewer systems. So for now, they’ll start small.

"Our plan calls for a smaller building of about 150 units to kind of test the market to see what the demand is for the units," Bendit said. "Is it studio, one bed, two beds, three beds, what size units? Is there a demand for townhouse type units or only high-rise type units."

It’s not yet determined how much of that will be slated for rentals and how much for condos, but at least 20 percent of it will be set aside for affordable housing.

Aside from Taconic, other landowners in the area are planning to build an additional 2,000 units. Bendit says all this will restore the vitality of Coney Island.

Electronics recycling becomes state law

From NY1:

New Yorkers looking to get rid of their dusty old computer monitors will soon be able to recycle them for free.

Under a new law signed by Governor David Paterson, manufacturers that sell electronics are required to accept old and used products for recycling.

They also have to pay a registration fee and face surcharges if they fail to meet goals.

The so-called "e-waste" law also increases some fees for generating hazardous waste.

New York is the 22nd state to enact an electronic waste recycling law.

There is currently no uniform federal law.

It takes effect next April.

DNA may save the day

From the Daily News:

Cops in Brooklyn and Queens last month began swabbing stolen cars for DNA, part of a $450,000 pilot program to combat auto theft.

The federally funded program - underway in New York and Dallas - could be launched citywide if successful.

Under the new program, officers are told not to enter stolen cars, according to an NYPD memo obtained by the Daily News.

Instead, they're supposed to request an evidence collection team who will swab the steering wheel, the rearview mirror and gear shift.

The samples will then be sent for testing, comparing the genetic samples against several databases.

Police officials hope to conduct DNA tests on about 500 cars.

Studies show the use of DNA in property crimes can double the number of arrests.

Reading, writing and chewing gum

From the NY Post:

When does 2 + 2 = 5?

When you're taking the state math test.

Despite promises that the exams -- which determine whether students advance to the next grade -- would not be dumbed down this year, students got "partial credit" for wrong answers after failing to correctly add, subtract, multiply and divide. Some got credit for no answer at all.

"They were giving credit for blatantly wrong things," said an outraged Brooklyn teacher who was among those hired to score the fourth-grade test.

State education officials had vowed to "strengthen" and "increase the rigor" of both the questions and the scoring when about 1.2 million kids in grades 3 to 8 -- including 450,000 in New York City -- took English exams in April and math exams last month.

But scoring guides obtained by The Post reveal that kids get half-credit or more for showing fragments of work related to the problem -- even if they screw up the calculations or leave the answer blank.

Scorers joked about giving points to kids who wrote their names, brought a pencil or shared gum.

Poorhouse remains found near City Hall

From the NY Post:

A bit of the city's pre-Revolutionary history peeked through when archaeologists began digging test holes around City Hall as part of a $100 million renovation project and discovered remnants of an ancient almshouse.

City officials yesterday reported artifacts of the poorhouse right behind City Hall, including what appears to be the original foundation sitting adjacent to a modern-day retaining wall.

"It's not surprising to find remnants of historic structures," said Amanda Sutphin, director of archaeology at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. "But to be this close to the retaining wall is a little shocking."

She said a three-day dig uncovered hundreds of artifacts, from clay pipe stems to pottery shards to bones of butchered animals, all suspected to date from the 1700s. Tests are continuing to confirm the dates.

"There were lots and lots of bones," Sutphin reported. "This was a pretty big institution."

The two-story almshouse stood from 1736-1797 in an area that dates back to Dutch days and now serves as City Hall Park and includes both City Hall and the infamous Tweed Courthouse.

"In the 18th century, institutions not wanted in the center of town were placed here," Sutphin explained.

Now they're dumped in an outer borough.

Photo from the NY Times.

Wind 1, Window 0

From the NY Post:

Violent gusts of wind yesterday blew out windows from the 52nd floor of a luxury apartment building in Midtown, sending glass and debris raining onto the street.

The window, about 30 by 30 feet, crashed to the ground at 4:25 p.m. from 117 East 57th Street. Magician David Copperfield lives in the building but in another apartment.

No one was hurt in the building or on the ground.

About an hour earlier, bricks fell from the roof of a Harlem apartment building.

Officials were trying to determine if the wind -- which reached as high as 60 mph -- caused the incident.

Have there been increased incidents of bricks and windows committing suicide?

Also, a tree limb fell on a man's shoulder in Flushing, Queens, at around 1:10 p.m. He was taken to New York Hospital of Queens in stable condition.

Fallen tree causes injuries in Little Neck

He hasn't gotten the message yet...

From NY1:

Disgraced former State Senator Hiram Monserrate reportedly may be eyeing another run for public office.

According to a Daily News report Saturday, Monserrate is considering a run for the Assembly seat left open by Jose Peralta, who replaced Monserrate in the State Senate.

Monserrate was removed from office in February after being found guilty of a misdemeanor for assaulting his girlfriend.

If he runs, he'll face Democrat Francisco Moya, who has the backing of Peralta.

Everything old is new again

From WCBS880:

In a business that loves terms like "curb appeal", Marianne Cusato is known for using words like "affordable" and "sustainable."

Her team has introduced the New Economy Home, its answer to the McMansion, in the Warwick Grove community in Warwick, NY. Unnecessary hallways, and formal dining rooms and livings rooms have been replaced by functional alternatives. Instead of a room filled with furniture covered in plastic, Cusato's houses offer spaces that can be converted to formal areas during the few times in a year the modern family needs them.

"It's actually designed to live through multiple life phases," designer Marianne Cusato said.

A concept drawing of the New Economy Home. Rendering courtesy of the New Economy Home.

The houses have two master bedrooms, one that can be transformed into a elderly parent's bedroom, or a space for an adult child living at home after college.

"You can have plenty of storage and big rooms even. You can have all of that if its designed in such a way to make it liveable," she said.

The company estimates that a 1800 square foot New Economy Home, with four bedrooms and 3.5 baths, will cost about $150,000 to build.

Illegal hotels continue to operate despite fines

From the Daily News:

City Hall should be able to see that the building at 341 W. 51st St. is operating illegally: There are literally red flags all over it.

The flags call it "Jazz on Times Square," a cheap hotel for backpackers and foreign students. And there are plenty of other red flags inside the city's files.

The Buildings Department knows the building isn't licensed to be a hotel, because the certificate of occupancy is valid only for single-room occupancy apartments.

"Illegal use in a residential district," reads one inspector's notes, available on Buildings' Web site. "Bldg occupied throughout as an illegal transient hotel. ... Remedy: Discontinue."

The building paid $3,200 in fines for that offense in January - and kept operating. You can rent a bunk bed in a shared room for as little as $40 a night, with a bathroom down the hall.

The situation is similar in what neighborhood activists say are hundreds of other buildings around town, where unscrupulous landlords kick out longtime tenants and market the empty rooms as hotels - building codes be damned.

How City Planning pulls their fast ones

Time after time, the Department of City Planning takes on a project meant to "improve the zoning" in a community. Here are the steps, from Amanda Burden's secret tweeding manual:

1) Approach civic leaders and the community board and tell them you hear their concerns and are working on a rezoning plan to stop non-conforming buildings from being built.
2) Wait 3 or 4 years. During this time, release no information. Work on massive upzonings during this time. Those make the mayor and developers happy. Might even get you a raise or promotion!
3) After the torture period has gone on long enough, leak something out to the press that the new zoning is about to be unveiled. Again, release no information. Do not accept input or suggestions; tell the public they can wait until the meetings to speak their minds.
4) Have "community meetings" and unveil the plans. But do not put any information up on city Planning's website ahead of time. God knows we live off the element of surprise.
5) Highlight the areas that you actually are downzoning. Gloss over the areas that you are pretending to downzone but are really upzoning. When questioned, desperately try to convince the public that the upzoned areas that you are putting before them are really being downzoned.
6) If that doesn't shut them up, tell them that revising the zoning at this stage would require more studies, etc, and that will take another year to fix. Explain that if they don't approve the plan now, there will be a delay that will allow more out-of-character development to happen while the revisions are made. Explain that they can do an amendment to fix the zoning that was not to their liking after the initial rezone is passed. They will fall for it and then hopefully forget about the amendment, because heavens knows we will.
7) If this doesn't work, tell the community board they can pass the rezoning with stipulations. When they choose this route, you will wipe your ass with their stipulations when you return to the office.
8) This formula is foolproof.

Now, with this in mind, enjoy this article about the latest Sunnyside rezoning meeting.

Photo from Norwood Neighborhood Association

Jackson Heights Cinema reopens

From the Daily News:

The Jackson Triplex, now renamed the Jackson Heights Cinema, has begun screening Bollywood flicks. And starting Friday, the revamped venue's new owners are adding American films to the lineup.

"We want everyone to feel at home when they come to this theater," said Siva Gunasegaram, the son of one of the theater's three new owners, of the movie house's Bollywood/Hollywood mix. "This is a theater that will bring everyone together."

The long-neglected Triplex, at 40-31 82d St., was shuttered last year after its previous owners could no longer afford the rent on the once-majestic theater. The neighborhood's only other movie house, the Bollywood-focused Eagle Theater, also closed around the same time due to financial woes.

Triplex's new owners hope to avoid their predecessor's fate by appealing to the area's multiethnic population. They are planning to subtitle all of the Bollywood movies in English and add Spanish subtitles to its American flicks.

They will also offer Indian snacks like samosas and kabobs, along with Hispanic goodies in its concession stands. And they're adamant about capping ticket prices at $9, and $6 for matinees.

Corona getting 3 more schools

From the Daily News:

A QUEENS community with some of the city's most overcrowded schools is slated for some sorely-needed relief.

The city has found sites for three new elementary schools in Corona - which could add more than 1,800 seats to the burgeoning district.

Community Board 4 has scheduled a hearing today on the newest proposed school, an 800-seat facility to be located at the site of a parking lot at 98th St. between 50th and Christie Aves.

"The overcrowding has just become enormous. We've never had this much of a kindergarten waiting list," said Nick Comaianni, president of Community Education Council 24, which oversees the area. But "there's not a lot of locations, especially in Corona, for us to build schools."

[That's funny. While Nick Comaianni was busy shoving schools down Maspeth's throat for Corona's anchor babies, someone found 3 sites in Corona for schools...]

Corona's Public School 143 has the city's longest kindergarten waiting list. About 110 students are hoping for a spot.

The city has also proposed a 379-seat school at 110-20 Northern Blvd., slated to open in September 2013. And there are plans to open a 664-seat school at 97-36 43rd Ave. in January 2014. Both proposals are under public review, education officials said.

Inside the MTA sign shop

From NBC 4:

Keeping the nation's largest subway system up-to-date is no easy task -- and ever since the MTA announced huge service changes will take effect June 28, artists at the little known "Sign Shop" in Crown Heights, Brooklyn have been working double-shifts get the job done.

One of the main tasks: silk-screening new signage for the Sixth Avenue line, where the previously brown M train will become an orange-line train for the first time ever.

The huge facility -- in an old Brooklyn trolley barn -- is busier than at any time since 9/11, when temporary service changes required some quick new signs.

"It's a huge challenge, but we embrace it," says John Montemarano, Director of Station Signs for New York City Transit.

He explained that some of the tasks ahead are low-tech -- like placing decals over the soon-to-be-defunct "V" logos.

Other projects are bigger, including brand new aluminum signs for much of the Broadway line, where the Q will be extended to Astoria instead of ending at 57th Street.

The total price tag for new signs, station maps, stickers, decals and other renderings is estimated at $800,000.

Terror sting at JFK

From the NY Post:

Two New Jersey men allegedly bent on waging holy war against the US were arrested last night at JFK airport as they prepared to board separate flights to Egypt to join an Al Qaeda-linked group, according to a report.

Federal and local authorities, including the NYPD, also raided the North Bergen home of Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, and the Elmwood Park residence of Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, the Newark Star-Ledger said.

The suspects were nabbed as they walked onto the jetway boarding ramps for separate flights. The arrests had been planned for days, according to the report.

Sources said that the suspects' families dropped the dime on their relatives after they grew concerned about their increasingly radical beliefs.

The men had reportedly led fairly normal lives until recently, but boasted that they wanted to wage holy war against the US both here and abroad.

In the past few months, the duo had saved thousands of dollars, worked-out, practiced tactical maneuvers at local paintball fields and bought gear and apparel they would use to fight Americans overseas.

The would-be terrorists, who have been eyed by authorities since October 2006, eventually planned to goto Somalia where they would join al Shabaab, a youth-terror network with links to al Qaeda, the report said.

MTA workers get raises, riders get cuts

From the NY Post:

A slew of secret bus-service cuts -- a product of the ongoing war between the MTA and its biggest union -- are leaving riders stranded at stops across the city, The Post has learned.

Since April 2010, MTA management has refused to fill dozens of slots each day for bus operators who have called in sick or were on vacation time -- which means the bus stays in the depot instead of heading out on its run.

As a result, some straphangers could wait for up to 30 minutes longer than advertised.

And when the bus finally arrives, riders are crammed in like sardines.

"There's an all-out war on the union. They're going head to head. So I think management is doing everything they can to break them while trying to save money as well," said one source familiar with the practice.

MTA brass said in a statement that they'd saved $3 million since April 2010 by not paying out the overtime.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even as service cuts and layoffs loom, salaries at the agency that operates New York City's subways and buses have increased for the second year in a row.

The Empire Center for New York State Policy released data on Wednesday. It shows that average pay at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority increased more than 2 percent in 2009. More than 10 percent of employees made at least $100,000. The average pay for an employee was just under $70,000.

MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said the increase was due to raises already promised to unions. All managers had their pay frozen last year.

Due to an $800 million budget shortfall, service cuts and layoffs are planned for the end of June.

MS-13 invading all over

From NBC 4:

The Hispanic gang was formed in Los Angeles in the mid-eighties. But when arrested members were deported, the gang spread to Central America, concentrating in El Salvador, before spreading to Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and other parts of the world.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, MS-13 is present in at least 42 states and there are as many as 10,000 members nationwide. Gang members are generally known for blue and white colors in their clothes and their graffiti. The number 13 and the letters MS are present. Another trademark are tattoos, not just on the arms and chest, but also on the head, neck and face.

In New Jersey, gang is most prevalent in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex and Somerset counties, but its presence has grown on Long Island as well, making law enforcement's job ever more difficult.

Royal Ranch group home is a royal pain

From the Times Ledger:

Residents of the Royal Ranch section of Glen Oaks said a group home for autistic teenagers has been a nightmare for the community ever since it opened in February.

One of the teens stabbed a worker at the home with a pen, while another snuck into a neighbor’s backyard and masturbated, residents said. Other problems include vandalized cars and increased traffic near the home at 70-25 267th St., they said.

“It was a quiet neighborhood,” said Cindy Markopoulous, who lives near the group home, where houses are valued close to $1 million. “Tough luck for us, I wish I knew. There’s a lot of problems.”

The group home is run by the city chapter of the Association for Help of Retarded Children, which could not be reached for comment.

Markopoulous accused AHRC of “bad management” for hiring workers who she said were not equipped to handle the six teenagers with autism who live at the home.

Since a community meeting was called three weeks ago to address issues at the group home, she said AHRC has not let the teens outside.

“Now they have them caged like Alcatraz,” Markopoulous said. “Not only are they caged in, we’re caged in. I won’t let my daughter go out and play by herself.”

She said she doubted the improved conditions in the neighborhood will last.

“They just want us to shut up,” she said.

Skate park opens in Flushing Meadows

From NY1:

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and professional skateboarders attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday at Flushing Meadows Corona Park's new skate park.

The park was opened as part of the "Adopt-a-Park" program, where small businesses, community groups and individuals provide funds to refurbish city parks.

The $1.1 million for the park, which is located at the old Astral Fountain from the World's Fair, came from the Maloof Brothers, who own the Sacramento Kings and the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.

"We decided let's take advantage of it, build a beautiful park for the kids, and donate it to the kids,” said Joe Maloof of Maloof Companies.

"We brought them around, showed them some locations, and they just fell in love with this spot at the fountain at the site of the state pavilion and the unisphere,” said Queens Borough Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski. “It's a beautiful spot in Flushing Meadow."

Skaters are giving the park rave reviews.

Note: If you live in an area of Queens without waterfront towers, you are forced to rely on the generosity of strangers. Elsewhere in this City, taxpayers actually foot the bill for park construction...

Charge upgraded to murder in Flushing attack

From the NY Post:

“I want to kill that man! I want my daughter back!”

A devastated mother screamed those words again and again after she looked for the first time at the man accused of raping and beating her daughter to death with a pipe in Flushing.

Guihua Yu, 55, a petite woman with a heart condition, had to be restrained by half a dozen men when she lunged at Carlos Salazar Cruz, 28, in Queens Criminal Court [Monday].

Cruz allegedly raped Yu Yau, 23, and then beat her with a pipe, leaving her brain dead last month. She died nearly a week later, on May 21.

Yau had arrived in Queens from China two months ago with dreams of becoming a lawyer, and had been staying with her uncle in Flushing.

Yau's woman's mother flew in from China last week to identify her body. The mother then fainted, hit her head and was treated at Elmhurst Hospital.

“She only found out her daughter was dead when she arrived here last week,” said State Assemblywoman Grace Meng, who has been helping Yau's family and who accompanied the mother to court yesterday.

“[Yu] told the DA, 'I want to make sure (Cruz) is sentenced, and to return justice to my daughter. I don't want my daughter to die for nothing.'”

Handcuffed and wearing jeans and a brown T shirt, Cruz listened silently as prosecutors bumped up his charges from attempted murder to murder.