Another state senator with a shady non-profit

From the NY Post:

State Sen. Eric Adams funneled $30,000 in taxpayer money to a nonprofit he founded, 100 Blacks Who Care, but doesn't know how, or if, the money was spent.

The Brooklyn group, which got $15,000 in 2008, didn't record the money, as required on its federal tax returns, or document any expenses.

"Once the money is turned over to an organization, we, as elected officials, can't get involved in how they use it. I don't know how it's used," Adams told The Post last week.

The Brooklyn Democrat said he couldn't remember, without checking his records, why he gave the organization the "member item" grants in the first place.

Adams approved a $20,000 member item for 100 Blacks in 2007, money that was to go toward equipment, including a slide projector, a laptop case, microphones and computer software, and $600 for staff members who conducted forums, according to state documents.

The state sent only $5,000 to the group, which never submitted an expense report to get the rest of the cash, according to an Education Department spokeswoman.

Adams secured the $10,000 member item the next year.

But, he said, he resigned from the organization before he took office and had nothing to do with its spending.

Bloomberg after welfare recipient's Lotto winnings

From Eyewitness News:

There is an update on a story Eyewitness News brought you more than a year ago about a former welfare recipient who won the lottery, only to have half his winnings taken away by the state.

Not only did he recently gain a major court victory in his battle to get back his prize money, his case could result in millions of dollars being returned to others.

Last time we heard from Walter Carver, he was taking on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city's team of attorneys.

He is suing the city for taking half of his $10,000 in lottery winnings to reimburse the state for money he received years ago while on welfare. Under New York law, the state is entitled to half the winnings of any welfare recipient. That, plus taxes left Carver with a little more than $1,000 the day he went to claim his prize.

Carver says the state and city have no right to his lottery winnings, since during the three years he was on welfare, he worked 36 hours a week for his checks, washing floors on the Staten Island ferries. He sued, arguing that taking his winnings is a a violation of the Fair Labor act.

The U.S. District court ruled he had no case and moved to dismiss it. That's when the former sergeant in the Vietnam war and his attorney fired back by filing an appeal.

A few weeks ago, Carver and his attorney found out they won the appeal. The U.S. Circuit Court ruled that the lower court's dismissal was in error.

Eyewitness News has learned that since 2002, the state has intercepted $33 million in lottery winnings from welfare recipients, many of them having worked for their checks just like Carver. It is for them, he says, that he continues his David and Goliath battle against the city and state.

Corrupt pols should lose pensions

From the Daily News:

State Controller Thomas DiNapoli has seen enough shenanigans, and now believes that corrupt state officials should lose their pensions.

DiNapoli told the Daily News on Wednesday that he will publicly push for a law that bars pols busted on felony corruption charges from getting their pensions.

DiNapoli said he changed his long-held opposition to such a law after a spate of indictments and convictions - including his predecessor, the disgraced Alan Hevesi - that have tarnished the Capitol in recent years.

"We don't have anything now that's a deterrent," DiNapoli said. "We need to do something to build in some kind of penalty to get people to think twice before they do some of those things."

He's now researching ways to crack down on current lawmakers from collecting pensions if they commit a crime.

At least 21 other states have laws stripping pensions of legislators convicted of felonies related to their official duties.

Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo supports such a law.

Admiral's Row building in danger of collapse

Photo from Gothamist

From the Daily News:

A historic Admiral's Row building could soon be gone for good if the feds keep neglecting it, Navy Yard officials and preservationists have warned.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. plans to restore the 1830s-era Timber Shed - one of two Admiral's Row buildings they agreed to save from the wrecking ball after a long fight.

But unless the 19th-century structure is stabilized, it could collapse this winter before the group gets its hands on the property, now owned by the National Guard.

And it's not just the Timber Shed that's at risk - a $60 million deal to develop the site with a supermarket and industrial space could also fall through if it crumbles, officials said.

"The building is in real distress. The roof is starting to fall in," said Navy Yard Development Corp. President Andrew Kimball. "If action isn't taken very, very soon to stabilize the building, it will collapse."

Part of the roof of the Timber Shed - which was used to store ships' masts while they cured and is believed to be the last such structure of its kind in the country - already caved in during a snowstorm last winter.

Experts say the building can still be saved, but could be beyond repair if it's damaged further. Navy Yard officials hope to rehab it along with one of the stately former officers' homes that make up the. The rest will be razed to make way for a ShopRite and industrial space.

Saving the shed is a required part of the city's development deal with the federal government, Kimball said, adding that demolishing it "could jeopardize the whole project."

The feds have begun the process to sell the land to the city, but it's expected to take at least until the end of next summer. In the meantime, the Navy Yard wants the National Guard to either stabilize the building or let the Navy Yard's own developer do the work.

Snowplows, buses stuck in snow

Here's one for the records - College Pt Blvd and 7th avenue in College Point. This bus got stuck on it's route on Monday at 8am. There has been no other buses since, no plows to plow the bus routes, and this poor bastard has had to stay with his bus since then. What's happening in Queens? If there isn't a sanitation job action, what is the reason for this screw up? It's inexplicable otherwise. - Jack

Bloomberg's block one of first to be plowed

From the NY Times

At least one city street is looking positively spiffy. That's East 79th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues you're looking at, grayish asphalt positively gleaming (metaphorically speaking) in the afternoon shade.

The block happens to be the home of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg - those are the bay windows of his doublewide townhouse on the left.

East 79th, it should be noted, is also a thoroughfare for buses, so there's plenty of reasons to keep it extra-clear. - COREY KILGANNON and ANDY NEWMAN

Subway crime increases

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Straphangers may feel the city's subway system is a little less safe these days.

Subway crime is up 5 percent.

The increase could be age-related, as the NYPD says 15 percent of all subway crime is committed by teenagers.

The most common crimes include stealing cell phones and iPods.

Subway crime is still about 55 percent lower than it was just six years ago.

State forgets its history

From the NY Times:

It was anything but civil. On Jan. 7, 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood exhorted New York’s Board of Aldermen to declare the city’s independence from Albany and from Washington — a bold stroke of self-preservation that he maintained “would have the whole and united support of the Southern States.”

Two years later, the federal government diverted Union troops fresh from the Gettysburg battlefield to quell bloody draft riots in Manhattan, a defensive military maneuver that might have allowed Robert E. Lee to escape and prolonged the war.

If that is all New Yorkers remember about the Civil War, it is no wonder that the State Legislature balked at authorizing an official sesquicentennial commemoration.

“The Union does not win the war without New York,” said Kenneth T. Jackson, a historian at Columbia University who edited the Encyclopedia of New York City.

Yet earlier this year, the State Senate failed even to authorize a sesquicentennial commission, much less appropriate any money to support commemorations, exhibitions, retrospectives or any other events around the state to mark the start of the Civil War 150 years ago.

Johnny's living the high life

From the NY Post:

It's good to be the comptroller.

As the pension time bomb ticks, city Comptroller John Liu took in the Yankees' home opener, a whiskey tasting with the British consul- general and countless photo ops with community groups.

A 250-day schedule of the city's top financial watchdog -- obtained by The Post under the Freedom of In formation Law -- suggests he spends more time chasing his mayoral dreams than sniffing out budgetary waste and confronting the city's mounting financial troubles.

While Liu attended just one of the dozen meetings of the city's biggest pension fund in his first eight months in office -- and ducked out of that single NYCERS meeting after just 15 minutes -- he did find time to attend two stickball parties and a dragon-boat event, meet with foreign diplomats, take in a preview of MoMa's Matisse exhibit, drop by the grand opening of the restaurant Valentino's on the Green, and hit an endless circuit of galas, award dinners and press conferences.

In fact, Liu regularly showed up to as many as seven grip-and-grins a day that had little or nothing to do with his comptroller duties.

Elected comptroller last year, the Flushing-based Democrat is custodian of the city's five pension funds and their $100 billion in assets. Underfunded, snakebitten by years of stock-market losses and with mounting annual obligations -- $6.8 billion this year and expected to double in six years -- the pension system threatens to bankrupt the city.

"The absence of business groups, academics, and financial-service professionals on his schedule is startling," said a fellow Democrat who has met with Liu this year and reviewed his schedule. "He's showing no intellectual curiosity. There are a lot of labor meetings, but that's it."

Political observers say Liu's schedule is less about auditing agencies and managing pensions than about crafting a campaign strategy for a possible mayoral run in 2013.

In particular, it shows an interest in rallying support from gay and Irish New Yorkers -- two constituencies thought to support City Council speaker and potential mayoral-race rival Christine Quinn.

City studying stability of the Pavilion

From the Daily News:

A city study next year on the New York State Pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair will analyze the structural stability of its foundation and three deteriorating towers, officials said yesterday.

The $300,000 review is expected to examine two key aspects of the Queens landmark: below-grade parts of its elliptical rotunda and its spaceship-like towers, which were immortalized in "Men in Black."

Preservationists figure the study - the second in two years on the decaying pavilion - will dictate whether the city reuses or demolishes what has become a borough symbol.

A city Parks Department spokeswoman said the analysis will provide "a fuller picture of the situation" and help the agency "determine the next steps."

The city hired the Dutch firm Arcadis to undertake the four-month project starting in March.

The study results will be crucial to the fate of the trio of towers that are visible from major highways.

Illegal dumping in Elmhurst

On Dec 23, an enormous amount of trash and cardboard was dumped by 85th Street off 57th Avenue. I took a picture of the U-HAUL truck but was unable to get the license plate number. Do you think you could alert the media of this problem and make it known throughout the neighborhood? I called 311 and faxed a note and two photos to city council member Koslowitz's office. This is getting out of hand, what else can I do?
Thanks,
Anonymous

New Jersey helps with City EMS calls

From CBS 2:

A winter storm that dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on New York City is also whipping up criticism about how the city handled the response.

The heavy snow sent city emergency services into a nose dive, with ambulances and fire trucks trapped in snow and facing long delays. There was also bickering between the city and some unions over whether a snow emergency should have been called, CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer reported.

Just how much did the city struggle in its response to medical and fire emergencies on Monday? So bad that CBS 2 has learned EMS crews from three counties in New Jersey had to rush to New York City’s aid Monday night.

Crews from Burlington, Somerset and Mercer counties in New Jersey arrived in New York City to help with the back load of calls – 20 crews were assigned to Queens and 20 ambulances went to Brooklyn.

Blocked Street Delays Firefighters: MyFoxNY.com

"The city is going fine."

From the NY Observer:

"The world has not come to an end," Bloomberg said. "The city is going fine, Broadway shows were full last night. There are lots of tourists here enjoying themselves. Two people told me they went to the theater last night and afterwards tried to get into a restaurant and there was a waiting list. I think the message is, 'The city goes on.' Our Sanitation Department needs some help, they need cooperation. If you do that, things will get better much quicker."

Bloomberg encouraged New Yorkers to take mass transit and to continue to enjoy the city. But the mayor may have had his eyes on the tax revenues that will be lost if too many people stay home. His message was contradicted by some of those tasked with getting the city up and running again.

MTA Chairman Jay Walder said that the subways and buses will not be up to normal capacity, especially the lettered lines in Brooklyn and Queens, until some time tomorrow. And Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said it would take at least 24 hours for all of the city's roads to be plowed.

Well thank God. My main concerns were the Broadway shows and whether tourists were enjoying themselves.

(At 8:30, Mr. Bloomberg makes up a new name for Juniper Valley Park...)

MTA not going their way

From the Daily News:

Some 500 weary and frustrated straphangers have been stuck on a disabled A train in Queens for six hours after the blizzard sapped power to the third rail.

"This train is completely dead," the conductor announced at one point.

The Manhattan-bound subway, filled with passengers from Kennedy Airport who already had waited hours for flights that were ultimately canceled, came to an abrupt halt between the Aqueduct and Rockaway Blvd. stations. The train has since been moved to Aqueduct station, but the passengers have not been let out despite the desperate need for bathrooms, water and food.

"It wasn't like the storm just snuck up on us," said David Kelley, 25, who tried unsuccessfully to get to his security job at Kennedy before being forced to turn around. "They were aware ... They need to have a backup plan. This isn't a Third World country. This is New York City."

The passengers received some hope with an announcement that a rescue train was on the way -- only to hear a second announcement a short time later: "The rescue train is stuck."

A conductor estimated that 500 passengers are on the train.

Manhattan councilmember supports terrorist

From the Daily News:

A City Councilman Wednesday accused a colleague of pandering to a terrorist in a blistering email that evoked 9/11.

The flare-up started when Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-East Harlem) asked colleagues to support the upcoming parole hearing of Puerto Rican radical Oscar Lopez Rivera, a leader of the violent FALN.

Many of Rivera's fans consider him a political prisoner by supporters.

"Mr. Lopez was arrested in 1981 and is serving a sentence of 70 years for seditious conspiracy, for his commitment to the independence of Puerto Rico," Mark-Viverito wrote in an email to Council members Tuesday night.

Lopez Rivera's 29 years in prison is enough, Mark-Viverito wrote, adding: "He was not accused of causing harm or taking a life."

Queens Republican Dan Halloran went ballistic.

He said his "jaw hit the ground" when he read the note.

"I couldn't believe that somebody could seriously say that FALN was a non-violent organization," he said, noting its ties to a series of bombings in New York and Chicago.

He dashed off a skewering response that he copied to every member of the 51-person Council.

"This terrorist, like all terrorists, should rot in jail forever," he wrote. "It is only a shame the death penalty was not imposed to prevent him from becoming a threat in the future."

He added: "I guess the 9-11 bombers could make the same argument. They were merely responding to the 'evils' of the U.S. Will you be asking for them to be pardoned too?"

MTA budget bloat

From the Daily News:

Infighting and faulty oversight has pushed the MTA's big-ticket megaprojects nearly $2 billion over budget and up to five years behind schedule, a damning new report says.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's extension of the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal may not be completed until April 2018, five years late, the report from MTA Inspector Barry Kluger found.

The LIRR link, the Second Ave. subway and the Fulton Transit Center projects, are a combined $1.93 billion over budget.

"The failure to complete megaprojects on time and within budget has raised serious concerns...and indicates a need for more effective oversight," the report said.

Kluger's probers say managers bicker with consultants and the responsibilities of an outside engineering firm were left unclear. The first leg of the Second Ave. subway project is expected to be completed in 2017, about five years late.

The Fulton Transit Center is about two years behind schedule and is slated for a 2014 finish.

It was Nazli's job to get mosque approval

From the NY Post:

Dozens of emails between Mayor Bloomberg’s aides and developers of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero show the mayor’s office has gone out of its way to support the controversial plan – with one of his commissioners going so far as to ghost write a letter to a community board leader on the mosque’s behalf.

In one exchange Nazli Parvizi, commissioner of the city’s Community Affairs Unit, penned a favorable letter to Community Board 1 Chairwoman Julie Menin -- thanking her for being open-minded to the project – which has drawn scrutiny nationwide for its proximity to Ground Zero.

Parvizi emailed the drafted letter to the mosque’s imam and his wife – Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan – for their permission and ended it with Daisy’s first name.

She sent along the fax number and mailing address for CB1 – which voted in favor of the project in May – and offered any further help.

The letter thanked Menin personally for “giving us an audience to share our vision of the Cordoba Center in Manhattan,” referring to the planned project.

“We are incredibly saddened by the media distortion on what this project actually is and to whom it serves,” Pavizi went on to write.

Menin, a major proponent of the development, said she never received the letter.

Bloomberg has been a vocal fan of building the project – commonly referred to as Park 51 – near Ground Zero, decrying opponents as foes of religious freedom.

His spokesman Stu Loeser today said Parvizi’s job is “to help groups navigate city government, and from helping prepare for a Papal visit to extending approval of a Sukkah in a midtown Manhattan park, this kind of assistance is typical of its regular work.”

Nazli Parvizi only helps favored groups navigate city government. When it comes to Queens, she's more likely to throw up roadblocks than help. And she makes a 6-figure taxpayer funded salary for this.

Living in Jamaica building is no picnic

From the Daily News:

A rent-stabilized building in Jamaica has become hell on Earth for many of its tenants.

Residents of 88-22 Parsons Blvd. have battled vermin, sporadic heat and moldy apartments - and until yesterday many of the 37 units had little to no water.

The building's water pump was shut down Dec. 12 after a strange noise began emanating from the basement, she said.

The pump controls the water flow in each unit. After it was turned off, tenants on the building's top floors complained their water stream had been reduced to an anemic trickle.

"There's not enough water for the toilet to flush sometimes," said Asahafik Chowdhury, 16, who grew up in the building. "When you're taking a shower, water trickles out. Sometimes the water comes out discolored."

Tenants have complained that the building has been left to deteriorate since it came under new ownership in late 2007. It was bought by five corporations, including the New York Affordable Housing Associates III LLC, said city Department of Finance spokesman Owen Stone.

The facility now has 132 city Department of Housing, Preservation and Development violations. And there are another 24 active Department of Buildings violations against the facility, DOB officials said. This led HPD to sue the owners of the building in May to force them to make repairs.

Manhattan Project still haunts Ridgewood

From the Times Ledger:

A city agency announced that it found radioactive material in and around a Ridgewood building, and will continue to test the site. Area officials said that the material was left over from the World War II-era nuclear experiment known as the Manhattan Project.

Gary Giordano, district manager for Community Board 5, relayed the announcement at a meeting Dec. 15, but said the material is not dangerous.

A statement released by the city Department of Health also said that the material was not harmful.

The Manhattan Project was the code name for a secret military project responsible for developing atomic weapons during the war, and according to another board member many locations around the five boroughs participated.

The Ridgewood building, which houses auto repair and iron working shops between the addresses of 11-27 and 11-29 Irving Ave., was entirely occupied by the Wolff-Alport Chemical Corp. during the war.

When America joined the allies, the company — along with many others in the industrial sector — was asked to help with the war effort, according to Vincent Arcuri Jr., chairman of the community board.

“We were major participants in the Manhattan Project,” he said, adding that by farming out the projects to sites all over the city, the project’s secrets would be harder to steal.

The chemical company extracted minerals from a sandy substance called monazite in the 1940s and ’50s, according to a document released by the city. But along with the minerals, the company also extracted a radioactive element called thorium.

Workers got rid of the thorium by flushing it into the sewer system until the Atomic Energy Commission stopped the practice in 1947. Afterward, the atomic mineral was kept in solid form and sold to the government, the document said.

Watch the mayor blow his nose and cough

Mayor Bloomberg Updates Storm: MyFoxNY.com

MYFOXNY.com - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg updated the blizzard on Sunday afternoon.

Bloomberg said, "This really is dangerous."

The 13 minute news conference was held in a Sanitation Department building on the West Side of Manhattan.

Bloomberg appeared to be under the weather, and coughed several times as he delivered his message.

The mayor urged people to stay home but said if New Yorker's needed to go out, to use mass transit.

"Fortunately, this is a week many people take the week off from work anyways so tomorrow there should be fewer people commuting," Bloomberg said. New York City schools were already closed on Monday for the winter break.

The NYPD was also being deployed to look for dangerous situations, such as stranded drivers and downed power lines.

The FDNY was also adding a fifth man to all trucks for the night.

Mayor Bloomberg asked citizens to shovel out any fire hydrants in front of their buildings to aid fire fighters in an emergency.