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The Wonkster
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Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster
Description: Gotham Gazette's blog about New York policy and politics
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Schneiderman Working With Jcope On Lopez Scandal
Published: Friday August 31st 3PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...-working-with-jcope-on-lopez-scandal/
Description: If true, the actions of Assemblyman Lopez are reprehensible, and the decision of the Assembly to keep secret the provision of ‑ and even the existence of ‑ a settlement agreement was wholly inappropriate and contrary to the public interest. Our office policy requires that agreements of this kind do not include confidentiality provisions. On May 30, 2012, an OAG attorney provided the Assembly’s counsel with a copy of a model pre-litigation settlement agreement which included no ... read more »
Let The Battle Of Maps Begin
Published: Thursday August 30th 4PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...2/08/30/let-the-battle-of-maps-begin/
Description: Deliberations over how the New York City Council’s district lines will be drawn for the next decade is getting communities and advocacy organizations into a map-making mood. One coalition of civil rights organizations released a map today of how they think the Council’s district lines should be drawn to account for shifts in demographics and to protect the voting rights of blacks, Asians and Latinos. The mapmakers say they followed the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act and the... read more »
Sanders: Quinn Should Bring Paid Sick Leave To Vote
Published: Thursday August 30th 3PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...should-bring-paid-sick-leave-to-vote/
Description: New York City Councilman James Sanders Jr. is imploring Speaker Christine Quinn to bring a stalled paid sick leave bill to a vote. “There is nothing harder to stop than an idea whose time has come,” the councilman said in a recent interview with the Gotham Gazette. Quinn has refused to bring the bill to a vote, both in an earlier form in 2010 and after it was revised and reintroduced in recent months. In both instances, she has argued that the bill would negatively affect businesses ... read more »
Silver Thinks Jcope Investigation Is A Great Idea
Published: Wednesday August 29th 6PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...-jcope-investigation-is-a-great-idea/
Description: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is facing tremendous scrutiny for his role in settling sexual harassment claims against Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Everyone and their Governor has expressed interest in having the newly-formed Joint Commission on Public Ethics investigate the allegations against Lopez and the deal that led to his censure. You can now add Silver’s name to that list of people. “I would welcome a JCOPE investigation, as a JCOPE inquiry would supersede any confidentiality agr... read more »
Ethics Board To Get Earful On Vito Lopez
Published: Wednesday August 29th 12PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...cs-board-to-get-earful-on-vito-lopez/
Description: Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW NYC said: “Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s reported acts of sexual harassment against numerous employees make him entirely unfit to serve the public in any capacity. Just as disturbing is Speaker Silver’s cover-up of Lopez’s earlier transgressions, which demonstrate an ongoing acceptance and tolerance for sexual harassment. It is absolutely unacceptable that in the hallowed halls of government, women demanding the fair and equal treatment to which... read more »
Hunger Action To Cuomo: Raise The Wage
Published: Wednesday August 29th 11AM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...unger-action-to-cuomo-raise-the-wage/
Description: Cuomo Should Use Labor Day to Raise Minimum Wage Albany, NY Hunger Action Network of NYS called today for Governor Cuomo to raise the state minimum wage by using Labor Day to convene a minimum wage board. State Labor Law Sec. 653 gives the Governor the power to raise the minimum wage without the need for legislative approval if the Labor Commissioner in reality, the Governor determines that the minimum wage is inadequate to support workers. Hunger Action also said that Cuomo should convene a Lab... read more »
The Fallout From The Assembly Scandal
Published: Wednesday August 29th 10AM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...he-fallout-from-the-assembly-scandal/
Description: The New York Post is reporting that the Joint Commission on Public Ethics has launched an investigation into the secret taxpayer-funded settlement of the sexual harassment complaint against Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday ceded fault for authorizing it. Silver went on to repudiate the policy, which he approved, that calls for privately handling complaints against lawmakers instead of sending the matter to an ethics committee. It was revealed yesterday that the s... read more »
Silver Regrets "confidential" Lopez Settlement
Published: Tuesday August 28th 7PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...egrets-confidential-lopez-settlement/
Description: In July 2012, two employees in Assemblymember Vito Lopez s district office filed a complaint about sexual harassment in the Assemblymember s office. We referred the complaint promptly to the bipartisan Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance and acted swiftly on their recommendations last Friday. However, it has been the opinion of Assembly counsel, which I endorsed, that if an employee or employees represented by counsel request a confidential mediation and financial settlement, the Assembly ... read more »
Shirley Huntley Faces Charges In Corruption Case
Published: Monday August 27th 4PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...tley-accused-in-scheme-to-defraud-ny/
Description: State Sen. Shirley Huntley told reporters over the weekend that she expected to be arrested and low and behold the senator turned herself in today to face a number of federal charges. Huntley is accused of helping to defraud New York out of nearly 30,000, including forging a document to make it appear as if a nonprofit she had formed was using taxpayer funds to help the community as intended, according to state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. Huntley’s aide and a niece are both accu... read more »
Calls For Lopez's Resignation
Published: Friday August 24th 4PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...2/08/24/calls-for-lopezs-resignation/
Description: The New King’s Democrats, a group that has been battling Brooklyn political boss Vito Lopez for political power on the local level have called for the embattled Assemblyman to resign following his censure by the Assembly for sexual harassment. “Yet again, Vito Lopez has embarrassed Brooklyn and the Democratic Party. We have long been used to stories about his corruption, cronyism and nepotism,” said Alex Low, president of NKD. ’s news marks a new low. Vito’s time ha... read more »
Williams And Cabrera Comment On Shootings
Published: Friday August 24th 2PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...ams-and-cabrera-comment-on-shootings/
Description: Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this morning s shooting and their families and friends. It was a terrible act of gun violence and thankfully many more people were not hurt in midtown Manhattan. But it s not the only act of gun violence in our city this summer. Just last night, a 13-year-old child was heading to the store in Brownsville when he was gunned down and killed. We should be outraged and frightened by each and every one of these incidents, and they should strengthen th... read more »
Brooklyn Boss Lopez Rebuked By Fellow Lawmakers
Published: Friday August 24th 2PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...-boss-lopez-punished-by-ethics-panel/
Description: Longtime Brooklyn party boss Vito Lopez will be stripped of his committee chairmanship and lose his seniority after an ethics committee found he violated the Assembly’s sexual harassment policy. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced today that Lopez will be removed as chairman of the Assembly Committee on Housing, banned from any other committee chairmanship or leadership position and stripped of his seniority. Silver also said that Lopez’s staff allocation will be reduced throug... read more »
Ny Pols React To Shooting At Empire State Building
Published: Friday August 24th 1PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...to-shooting-at-empire-state-building/
Description: At least one person was killed and 10 people shot today when a gunman opened fire at the Empire State Building today. The incident will surely spark more debate about preventing gun violence in the wake of the shooting at a theater in Aurora Colorado and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. A number of New York’s elected officials have issued statements on the shooting. Gov. Andrew Cuomo: ’s shooting near the Empire State Building is a tragedy for New York City and our entire state. My adm... read more »
Coalition For Homeless Blasts Bloomberg
Published: Thursday August 23rd 2PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...lition-for-homeless-blasts-bloomberg/
Description: Mayor Michael Bloomberg was recently quoted as saying that the sharp rise in the length of stays at city homeless shelters has to do with “more pleasurable” shelter conditions. The Coalition for the Homeless called the comments “shocking.” and their executive director Mary Brosnahan issued this statement: “The Mayor’s assertion that homeless New Yorkers are staying in shelters longer because they are ‘much more pleasurable’ is shocking and offensiv... read more »
Dc 37's Interesting Endorsements
Published: Wednesday August 22nd 4PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...8/22/dc-37s-interesting-endorsements/
Description: The city’s largest public employee union, DC 37, has released its slate of endorsements for the Sept. 13 primary. And, boy, are there are some interesting ones. Perhaps most noteworthy is their endorsements of Assemblyman William Boyland, who is facing an indictment for federal bribery charges for allegedly soliciting 25,000 from an undercover FBI agent to cover legal expenses from his previous indictment. Boyland is also being investigated for falsifying travel records for reimbursement, ... read more »
Nypirg Looks For Board Of Election's Teeth
Published: Wednesday August 22nd 12PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...g-looks-for-board-of-elections-teeth/
Description: The New York Public Interest Group went looking for the state Board of Election’s teeth and they didn’t find any. Thanks to two freedom of information requests NYPIRG discovered that the only action the BOE took against violators of campaign finance law over the last year were ” fines against committees that disclosed late. NYPIRG points out that the BOE isn’t really doing its job when it comes to fining late-filing committees. “An examination of committees that hav... read more »
Bike Share Delayed, Software Blamed
Published: Friday August 17th 4PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...e-share-delayed-software-bugs-blamed/
Description: NEW YORK The much-touted bike share program that some speculated would transform public transit in New York City has been delayed until March 2013. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says bugs with the software that runs the planned system of thousands of two-wheelers is to blame for the hold-up. The program was supposed to launch this summer. “The software doesn t work. Duh, Bloomberg said on his morning radio show earlier today. We re not going to put it out until it does work. Shortly after Bloomb... read more »
Cuomo Unveils Online Voter Registration
Published: Thursday August 16th 2PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...mo-unveils-online-voter-registration/
Description: New York ranks 47th among all states in voter registration. Over sixty percent of the eligible voters in the state are not registered to vote. After months of discussion Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled sweeping changes at the Department of Motor Vehicles designed to make it easier for voters to register. The DMV will now offer online voter registration and allow voters to change their party alignment or address online. “Today, we are knocking down longstanding barriers that have prevented many ... read more »
Dinapoli: Mta Tipped Apple Bid On Grand Central Space
Published: Monday July 30th 12PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...ped-apple-big-on-grand-central-space/
Description: The Apple store’s arrival in Grand Central Station was greeted with much ballyhoo, its unveiling like something out of a science fiction novel appearing out of nowhere to stun the masses. Well, according to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, there was something extraordinary about the Apple store’s arrival in Grand Central. He says Apple had an unfair advantage in the bidding process for the space thanks to help from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. According an audit by DiNap... read more »
City Gives Columbia 15m For Applied Science Institute
Published: Monday July 30th 12PM
Link: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs...ia-15m-for-applied-science-institute/
Description: The city will support Columbia University’s new Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering with up to 15 million in financial aid, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today. The New York City Economic Development Corporation projects that the new institute will generate 3.9 billion of nominal economic growth over the next three decades, with more than 4,000 permanent jobs created. Columbia will spend more than 80 million of its own money on the project, and part of the city’s contribu... read more »