Albany And The City Council Legislate Greener Buildings In N.Y.C.

New York City by definition is greener than most metropolitan areas. The widespread use of mass transit and higher population density put us way ahead of the sprawling cities of the South and West. However, being in the more temperate Northeast combined with old, large buildings where people live means that New Yorkers rely on antiquated heating oil systems. The large trucks bring it in, and the chimneys belch out the black, smoky byproduct that at first glance gives the impression that a building is on fire.

With hybrid taxis, prohibitive costs of driving in general and an extensive transit system (save for the recent death of the V and W trains), buildings are the last frontier in the green revolution within New York City's sphere of influence. Yesterday the City Council passed legislation that aims to curb that nasty pollution we are accustomed to.

From The N.Y. Times:

As announced earlier this week by the City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, one of the new laws will halve sulfur levels in a common type of home heating oil, No. 4, starting in October 2012. The law also will require that biodiesel fuel make up at least 2 percent of all grades of petroleum heating oil.

With the enactment this month of a New York State law that will drastically reduce the sulfur content in No. 2, the most common type of heating oil, the city’s action is expected to make an important dent in soot pollution and asthma cases.

The City Council also approved a package of bills ushering in the first major overhaul of recycling laws adopted in 1989. The new laws will increase plastics recycling, put more recycling bins in schools and public areas and allow residents to recycle hazardous waste like paint.

Quinn might be ethically-challenged in other areas, but when it comes to the environment this was the right move. In the future our buildings will hopefully all be LEED certified, but for now those historic relics of the 1800s and early 1900s should be adapted to limit their pollution as quickly as possible. These city and state laws will help to accomplish that.

Speaker Quinn And The Power Of Pork

While the New York City Council (rightly so) examines Mayor Bloomberg's problem with hiring minorities, it turns out they have a few in-house problems to fix themselves. The just-passed budget has approximately $50 million in pork-barrel spending that Speaker Quinn has the power to dole out to the other fifty Council Members. With power like that, you'd think an investigation would be warranted.

Oh wait, there is one:

Christine C. Quinn, the speaker of the New York City Council, has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent her in federal and city investigations into Council spending practices, an aide said on Friday.

The move comes a week after disclosures that Ms. Quinn’s office had appropriated millions of dollars to organizations that do not exist, instead routing the money to organizations favored by individual council members.

The lawyer retained by Ms. Quinn, Lee S. Richards III, a former federal prosecutor, will be paid with city funds, as will Sullivan & Cromwell, a firm that the Council has hired to assist in responding to the investigations.

Asked why the speaker felt she needed her own lawyer, Jamie McShane, a Quinn spokesman, said in an e-mail message that the lawyer would assist “the speaker in her cooperation” with inquiries by the city’s Department of Investigation and the United States attorney’s office.

The only problem is that nothing is being done about it (this article referenced above is more than two years old), and the idleness of the U.S. Attorney's Office allows the problem to continue. While she has taken action to clean up the worst abuses of the infamous slush funds, clearly this year's budget shows New York City has a long way to go.

NYC Council Takes Action Against Arizona For Legislative Bigotry

California and various cities within were a few of the first government entities to condemn Arizona for the highly controversial SB1070. In the few weeks since the racial profiling law passed, the outrage against the bill has been fierce across the nation and even the world.

Meanwhile, supporters contend that this is in response to rising crime (not true) and that racism has nothing to do with the legislation (if so, explain this other racist legislation Arizona passed). Regardless of Arizona's claims of innocence, Americans outside the Copper State realize the totalitarian and apartheid-like movement within and are rapidly creating distance between those that value immigrants and those that do not. Thankfully that will now include the mecca of America's immigrants, New York City.

From WNBC:

The City Council announced a resolution Wednesday calling for a boycott of the state of Arizona--a reaction to the recent law that allows police officers the right to ask residents to provide immigration documentation.

Two major potential targets for the boycott include U.S. Airways, which is based in Arizona, and Major League Baseball, which is holding its 2011 All-Star Game in Arizona.

The move was introduced by Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez and co-sponsored by Council Members Margaret Chin, daniel Dromm, Robert Jackson, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rosie Mendez, Jumaane Williams, and the Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio.

If Arizona wants to (further) marginalize an entire ethnicity within their state, they will pay a heavy price for it and now New York City has placed itself on the right side of this debate. Hopefully this will continue to propel the movement against Arizona and their legislature, putting an increasing load of economic pressure and shame until they realize just how wrong that bill was.

N.Y. City Council Progressive Caucus Proposes Another Way To Budget

Speaker Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg had no trouble berating Albany for failing to deliver an on time budget yesterday, without owning up to their mess right here at home. While Bloomberg and the Council cannot pass the city's budget until the state finishes their business, a blueprint for how the New York City treats its people is developed beforehand. Unfortunately being the out of touch billionaire that Bloomberg is, the burden of spending cuts are being planned to placed on the working and middle classes. The newly created Progressive Caucus within the Council however, is proposing a different way.

From The Daily Politics:

Ten of the 12 members of the City Council’s new Progressive Caucus held a tax-the-rich press conference shortly after Mayor Bloomberg gave his private budget briefing this morning to elected officials.

Their theme: Everybody’s being asked to sacrifice -- except the fat cats of Wall Street and well-off New Yorkers. They called for higher tax hikes on Wall Street profits and on New Yorkers earning above $500,000 a year.[...]

Lander said the speaker was aware of the press conference, but deflected a question on whether she approved: “You’d have to ask her,” he said.

I think we know the answer to that question. When faced with a decision to favor the upper class or the rest of us, she always goes with the upper crust. Even when she does talk about something promising, nothing ever gets done in the end. In fact, these are the types that generally get her assistance. Many residents noticed this last year, as the powerful speaker, thought to have a crushing re-election effort, barely took half the votes and came away weak in the process.

What needs to happen in order for this caucus to make real reform and good progressive policy....is to elect more of them that will endorse a platform that takes the very wealthy off the pedestal that Bloomberg and Quinn have placed them on.

Note: I served as Yetta Kurland's Field Director in 2009.

NYC Council Hands Out Nearly $50 Million In Pork

Times are tough, the Mayor and Council tell us we must skimp and save to weather the economic storm. They're doing that by increasing the sales tax, cutting city services and of course, pulling in almost a billion in fines. However, despite preaching to New Yorkers about fiscal responsibility, the Council is terrible practicing what they legislate for the rest of us. Thanks to Quinn's "reforms" concerning city spending after she was caught in a slush-fund scandal, we get a whole 24 hours to see what they are going to spend on member items. The possibility that this so-called transparency will do anything to combat their wasteful spending is slim to none.

From The NY Daily News:

The funds are disbursed by Council members to several thousand nonprofit and charitable groups that defenders say will help a wide variety of needy constituency groups.

But it also lets Council members - most of whom are running for third terms because they and Mayor Bloomberg lifted the prior two-term limit - boast they've brought home the bacon.

In a public disclosure on Thursday fraught with missteps, Council aides said the new pork pie is to be spent as follows:

$17.7 million dispensed by the individual 51 Council members, with some members getting to dole out bigger slices because they chair major committees or hold leadership posts;

$17.9 million dispensed through Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan);

$7.7 million equally divided among the 51 members to give to youth-service groups;

Another $5.5 million to be disbursed by the members to senior citizen groups.

Quinn of course gets the largest piece of the pie and from that, a tremendous amount of influence with specific groups that are essential for her to hold onto power. It is incredibly unethical, should be criminal, yet she continues to do so because that is the name of the game in New York City. Nearly two years after the scandal broke concerning the secret slush fund, there still has been no accountability for the Speaker's actions and she continues to (falsely) claim that everything has been addressed and resolved. Of course, it hasn't it because the political will to take out Quinn from within is simply not there, especially with that smile of hers.

Dean Endorses Two Council Candidates In The Same Race

Howard Dean may be the genius behind the fifty state strategy, but he needs a little help remembering which progressive candidates he endorses. Yesterday all New York City Council candidates began the long and arduous petitioning process and District 39 hopeful Josh Skaller enlisted the Governor for some assistance on the first day out there. Unfortunately, things did not go exactly to plan, which was good news for his rival Brad Lander.

From The Brooklyn Paper:

“I told Brad that I would not endorse [anyone] before I realized that this was Josh’s race,” he said, later adding that he did not have a plan to campaign with Lander as he did with Skaller today. “Brad is a perfectly good candidate. He’s a progressive. Most people like him. So I tried to do what I think was the fair thing, which is to endorse both.”

Well that seems fair enough considering the circumstances. Personally I am behind Josh in this race but honestly as long as Bill de Blasio's replacement is not as slimy as Bill de Blasio, then I'll be satisfied. Lander's statement to the Brooklyn Paper made light of the situation:

For his part, Lander, the former head of the Pratt Center for Community Development, said he was “thrilled to have Gov. Dean’s co-endorsement.”

“He’s a progressive champion on health care and bringing the troops home,” Lander added. “His endorsement shows that there are two strong progressive candidates in the race.”

As long as we get a progressive Council member, then I'm excited for District 39.

Update: Based on this account from the Daily Gotham, I take back anything nice I said about Brad, this is just low and petty politics:

An odd thing happened, though. Working Families Party somehow is turning this visit to personally endorse Josh (where Howard Dean says outright that he thinks Josh can win) into an endorsement for their candidate, Brad Lander. In a letter from Brad Lander's campaign, Dan Cantor of WFP says:

This morning at a press conference in Park Slope, Brad picked up the backing of none other than former Governor, DNC Chair, and Democracy for America founder Howard Dean.

The press conference referred to is the same press conference you see in the video above where Howard Dean endorses Josh. Truth is, Howard Dean had nice things to say about Brad at that press conference. But watch the video. The reason Howard Dean was at that press conference was to endorse Josh Skaller. Dan Cantor doesn't mention that, does he? Nor does he mention that Howard Dean, right after the endorsement, did some campaigning with Josh. Dan Cantor and Brad are misleading people with this. It is true Howard Dean, because he basically didn't realize that Josh and Brad were running against each other, had previously promised Brad he wouldn't endorse in the race. And so there was, buried in the press conference, a backhanded endorsement of Brad to recognize that promise. But to turn a Josh Skaller endorsement press conference into one endorsing Brad Lander is misleading.

We already have plenty of misleading in the Council. What New York needs is an honest activist who will fight for his district and the city as a whole, that candidate is Josh Skaller.

Santa Has Nothing On The NY City Council

Once a year, depending on whether you were naughty or nice, Santa comes to bestow presents on millions of children. His red suit is always clean and the reindeer are strong enough for the long haul, but he's never given us a campaign finance statement to show how he pays for it all. Down here in New York however, a paper trail exists for many City Council members that show that their "gifting" to special interest groups is rewarded with campaign contributions.

From The NY Daily News:

- City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) earmarked $150,000 for the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, whose board chairman raised at least $10,900 for her abortive mayoral campaign.

- City Councilmen Bill de Blasio and David Yassky, both Brooklyn Democrats, were co-sponsors of $145,000 for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy for the past two fiscal years. Board members and the nonprofit's director raised $16,150 for de Blasio and $22,700 for Yassky in the same period.

- City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin (D-Manhattan) sponsored $15,000 for the private Gillen Brewer School on the upper East Side. Members of the school’s board contributed or raised $11,875 for her campaign.

- Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn) collected 758 contributions for his $157,392 campaign fund - 23 came from employees of 12 organizations that raked in $113,000 in tax dollars he sponsored.

- Councilman John Liu (D-Queens) sponsored or co-sponsored $37,500 in Council funds for the Chinese-American Planning Council. He picked up $9,713 in checks from employees, board members and their spouses (up to $20,213 with matching funds).

It all adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from groups that got millions in taxpayer cash - more than $200,000 in contributions, or up to $467,000 with public matching dollars.

And those are just a few examples of this, as the Daily News calls it, being Santa with tips. Of course, none of the legislators mentioned would ever admit to engaging in quid pro quo, but every one of their advisers can quickly claim it is all legal. The fact that it is legal is the problem and especially that this activity is encouraged. Currently led by Christine Quinn, the ability to hand out and push other Council members for lulus is a tremendous exercise of power (not to mention the whole slush fund thing). She is supposed to be the example for the other fifty members and her actions dictate a less than reputable manner of behavior. So it shouldn't be too surprising that so many Council members think it is acceptable to play Santa while accepting handouts from the same people they give funding to.

Daily News Finds The City Council Colored With Money

As if we needed yet another reason for Clean Money, Clean Elections, the NY Daily News has highlighted the problem of money in politics at the level of the New York City Hall. The article won't surprise you, might not even shock you, but it is disappointing to anyone and everyone that believes those we elect to public office should make decisions based on what is best for their constituents and not just their campaign donors. Unfortunately, that is just not the case for many City Council members.

From The NY Daily News:

Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo got $33,500 from employees of a developer building a 600-unit apartment complex and shopping center in the Bronx.

Thirty-eight of the 51 Council members got some campaign cash from nonprofits to which they steered millions of dollars in taxpayer funding. The News found contributions of at least $200,000 from nonprofit employees and some board members in the last four years.

Nearly all the donations are legal, but special-interest donors often skirt the law by bundling checks from a company or corporation to raise more money. It is illegal for the bundler to repay the “donors” because that would mask the source of the funds.

Veteran lobbyist George Arzt and his colleagues at George Arzt Communications have given more than $23,000 to 17 Council members since 2005. He concedes that as long as people believe they need to contribute to have influence, the money will flow — and some pols will take advantage.

“There are elected officials who, believe it or not, will hand you [an invitation to] a fund-raiser when you leave their office [after a lobbying visit],” Arzt said. “I’m genuinely embarrassed when that happens."

And Maria Carmen del Arroyo is just one of many names listed within the piece. Bill de Blasio, Melinda Katz, Diaz, Baez, (current Public Advocate candidate) Gioia and even Garodnick. Though Garodnick was an odd twist in the story, because it highlights people raising money to stop the bullying developers that largely dictate policy in this city. I get that it is about money in politics, but that one is a stretch. Overall the Daily News does a good job. I'd mention that Chris Quinn is a big elephant in the room that they missed, but the article promised to highlight the slush fund scandal in their next investigative piece.

After an extended blogging break, I'm back at keyboard ready to type. Though I'll probably post less in the coming months, I've felt less connected to the news I've read over the last three weeks so it is something I'll keep at.

Assemblyman Dinowitz Threatens Change On Maria Baez

Assemblyman Dinowitz pulled no punches for change in the Bronx. The borough certainly needs it with many self-serving politicians living in and out of the area. He was talking specifically about the representation within the City Council and quite possibly Maria Baez. Whomever it was, one thing is for sure, it was a subject that sorely needs to be discussed and acted upon.

Quinn And Avella Get "Perfect Attendance" But Quinn Deserves An Asterisk

This morning, before the dire M.T.A. news crowded everything out, it was reported that out of fifty-one Council Members, only two, Tony Avella and Chris Quinn, had perfect attendance. Now attendance is an ambiguous term. In this context, it refers to actual votes.

From The NY Daily News:

Only two members had 100% records - Tony Avella (D-Queens) and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan).

Avella, the Council's maverick and underdog candidate for mayor, made it to all 135 of his assigned meetings and sessions.

Quinn attends full sessions only - and those committee meetings where she wants to spotlight an issue. She attended 38 meetings and sessions.

Council posts are technically part-time, although only a few members hold other jobs.

For part-time jobs, all CM's make very nice money and then some when they awarded the sweetest "lulus." Quinn of course gets the biggest stipend as she is Council Speaker, but that is beside the point.

Quinn has attended all full sessions, but when the serious issues are up for debate, she is nowhere to be found, especially during the short public comment periods that she allows for. Case in point, during the term limits extension Quinn was the guiding force for ramming the bill through the Council, but she was absent when voters came to voice their opposition to the bill. So while this set of criteria gives Quinn an A+, when it truly matters her grade drops to something like a D-.

Yetta Kurland's Website To Hit Obama Levels

There may not be as much going on at myBarackObama.com anymore but that doesn't mean your organizing fun has to be over. City Council candidate Yetta Kurland is launching a site of her own, aptly named "myYetta.com" The webpage isn't just your standard politician's site. Sure, the "Volunteer" and "Contribute" buttons are over on the main page, but that is just the beginning for this challenger in the 3rd district.

Just like on Obama's social networking site, users can join groups, start events, invite friends and much, more more. When you are going up against the Speaker of the City Council, innovation and using that to spread your ideas is essential. Quinn has the backing of the Mayor and through her power, commands many different groups. However, if a challenger is dedicated like Yetta, anything is possible. Remember a couple years ago no one thought that the skinny Senator from Illinois could ever make it past the vaunted Hillary Clinton and now look at where we are.

Now I'm not suggesting that myYetta.com is going to propel her past Quinn. What I am saying is that when you are ready to do whatever it takes, come out with state of the art campaign tools and work hard, then there is a real chance of winning this thing. New York City is a big place, but the Council District is only a small part of it. With social networking capabilities and a strong message that resonates in the area, all the tricks Quinn has up her sleeve will not be enough.

City Councils Fills In Empty Seats Today

While I was busy out apartment hunting all afternoon, voters in three districts were casting ballots to determine their representation in the Council for the several months before the main event this September/November (the primary is really what counts in most of these things). How many people actually turned out though is probably not much, so depending on who did the best field operation, that is a reliable indicator of who is going to City Hall.

From NY1:

In Queens, voters in the 21st Council District will select a replacement for Hiram Monserrate, who was elected to the State Senate last fall.

The district encompasses Elmhurst, Corona and part of Jackson Heights.

Those vying for the seat include Monserrate's former chief of staff, Julissa Ferraras, George Dixon, Jose Eduardo Giraldo and Francisco Moya.

In the 32nd District, four candidates are also vying for the seat vacated by Joseph Addabbo's election to the State Senate.

The candidates are Lew Simon, Geraldine Chapey, Eric Ulrich and Mike Ricatto.

The district covers Ozone Park, Howard Beach and the western half of the Rockaways.

On Staten Island, six candidates are running for the 49th District seat formerly held by Michael McMahon.

And to top it off, because of last-minute candidates, the DOE used paper ballots. It'll probably be the last time too, since the city is planning on going electronic this fall.

NY Blade Goes For Yetta!

For some reason or another, I missed a very important piece of news on Friday. The New York Blade has already made an endorsement in the city elections this fall. Perhaps it was the desire to be at the end of the week (as I already am for the end of this one) but I'm glad a friend had forwarded it along. Yetta Kurland added the prominent GLBT paper to her list of endorsements in the race to unseat Speaker Christine Quinn. Yetta wants to change things up in the Council, and the Blade can clearly see it...and wants to see it happen.

From The NY Blade:

Kurland has been a civil rights attorney the past decade, which has given her experience empowering people. She is an impassioned teacher who has worked as an adjunct professor at New York University; she also opened an alternative language center, and she’s been the vice president of the Stonewall Democrats.

Currently, District 3 is represented by Christine Quinn, who is openly gay and is the City Council speaker. Quinn is likely to seek reelection, which is possible since the council, with the backing of Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg, extended term limits for this election (Kurland opposed the extension without a referendum).

“I have respect for Christine Quinn and honor her contributions to our community,” Kurland told us. “But it’s time for change in this city, and the term limits issue typified that. I think I offer a chance to restore the voice of our community to city government and to be able to stand up for those too often ignored by those in power.” We agree.

The Blade also notes her advocacy in education reform, GLBT issues, her career as a civil rights attorney and her passion to be a voice for the community. The paper is absolutely right in their assertion about Yetta. Currently District 3 is represented by the Speaker of the Council and while that may be considered a boon for her constituents, the damage she has done to the city by being at the Mayor's side in the last few years is too much to bear. That slush fund scandal didn't help matters either. Basically, when the powerful stop responding to the people that they are supposed to represent, it's time to make a change. Yetta Kurland is that change.

Battle To Ban Carriage Horses In NYC Heats Up

Activists and horse carriage drivers have been at it for a while now, but today they are facing off at City Hall with legislation to ban the industry at stake. Quite a few cities have done away with horses pulling carriages already and in my opinion, it would be great if we'd follow their lead. Passions are high on both sides and it can clearly be seen by the amount of people at City Hall today.

From PolitickerNY:

At the start of a Council hearing on a proposed bill to ban the carriage horse industry, a collection of about 20 people stood outside the gates in consternation. They had been told that the hearing room was full.

"We're all in this together," said a distraught Pamela Seri, owner of a vegan restaurant on the Upper West Side. "This has to stop. They can't go on like this anymore." The hearing room inside was indeed packed, with PETA-sticker-sporting horse lovers and carriage horse drivers themselves.

At issue are two bills: one, spearheaded by Councilman Tony Avella, to ban horse carriages outright, which has been in the works for several years as the anti-carriage movement has bubbled up around the legislative fringes. The other, proposed by Councilman David Weprin, would raise the price of a carriage ride from $34 per half hour to $54 and impose other regulations for the health of the horses.

Of course, the newly minted teamsters are backing Weprin's bill. Perhaps that is because even with new regulations, they'll probably be left unenforced, just as the current ones are. Studies have shown that the agencies meant to police the horse carriage industry have failed again and again. The truth of the matter is, that despite the half-truths and lies spread by the people who work with these horses, it is cruel and inhumane for these creatures to ferry people around Midtown Manhattan. There are much better ideas that we can all get behind, such as utilizing classic cars to take people around the park that would provide just as many jobs as the horse industry does.

Quinn's Corruption: It's In The Legislation

To get things done in any legislature, you have to be able to accommodate, compromise and in the end, try to stay true to your principles above all. It may sound a little idealistic, but it is the exact opposite of what goes on Christine Quinn's City Council. The Speaker not only utilizes slush funds for her wheeling and dealing, but punishes Members that disagree with her. How so you ask? Well, it's in the bills for one.

From The Gothamist:

Is Speaker Christine Quinn guilty of cronyism when it comes to moving legislation through City Council? Since 2002, Quinn has seen 35 of her bills get passed, second only to her closest ally David Weprin (he's had 78 bills passed). Meanwhile, foes Charles Barron and Tony Avella have only seen four bills total passed over the same period of time. That sharp contrast led Councilman Avella to tell the News, "The speaker is very vindictive, and when you oppose the speaker, she doesn't let bills go through." But other members defend the Quinn's methods as rewarding persistence, pointing out legislation most often comes from committee chairs, whom she's appointed. Weprin heads the Finance Committee, which leads to a number of procedural budgetary legislation, and Quinn herself headed the Health Committee before coming Speaker. Former Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. said to the paper, "Every speaker is accused of playing favorites when it comes to bills."

Vallone Sr. and her other supporters can spin all they want for Quinn, but facts are facts. Perhaps Vallone was accused of favoritism because he engaged in the same slush fund activity that Quinn did. So why wouldn't he try and do some damage control here? Now politics isn't the only aspect of whether a bill passes or not, but in NYC, it surely does help to have Quinn's wind in the sails of your legislation.

Hinds Gambles On An Odd Fundraising Adventure

When I think of fundraisers for local candidates, small bars with dim lights as well as nice sit-down dinners. Going online is also highly cost-effective if done properly. Doing something at a bowling alley or a picnic in warm weather makes for good fun and doesn't stray too far out there. Even the attempt at bringing Dave Chappelle to a club for a certain Congressional candidate was exciting in theory. This one by Terry Hinds though is far out there even by my easy-going standards.

From The Daily Politics:

The event is a bus trip to the Connecticut casino Mohegan Sun. Tickets are $50 a head, which includes transporation, a $20 "free play voucher" and a $15 voucher for the all-you =can-eat buffet - all "compliments of the campaign."

(For the record, there are casinos in New York, although they do require more hours on the road to reach).

Campaign Finance Board spokesman Eric Friedman said it's unclear whether the contributions generated by this trip will be matchable.

Liz investigated the election laws and determined that it works for the city, even if the officials are still officially unsure. Even if it works out, it doesn't seem like Hinds gets much bang for his buck here. I applaud him for running in Bloomberg lackey Kendall Stewart's seat but can't he come up with something fun, but also in the city and something that generates more cash for the campaign and not some casino out in Eastern Connecticut?

Quinn Still Rewarding Her Obedient Council Members

Speaker Christine Quinn purportedly stopped doling out slush fund money earlier in the year, but that doesn't mean there aren't other funds she can tap. A woman that started off as a good progressive a few years ago, Quinn has become part of the problem at City Hall and with Bloomberg at her side she's gotten even worse. The latest revelation of political favoritism is sadly unsurprising.

From The NY Post:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has quietly been rewarding her political allies by allowing a handful of loyal lawmakers to bolster their legislative staffs with funding from her own budget, The Post has learned.[..]

Every member of the council has an equal budget of $277,300 a year, with committee chairs getting an additional $40,000, to pay staff and manage an office.

But since she became speaker in 2006, Quinn has given 18 additional staffers to 14 council members including one to her own district office - from the central budget, for reasons her staff would not explain to The Post.

It isn't hard to deduce that having more staff makes things easier for the Council Members getting them. Whether the staffers work on legislation or do extra constituent service, it is a boon to any CMs that receive the extra salary expense. Quinn's explanation for it though, is far from satisfactory.

Quinn's spokeswoman, Maria Alvarado, said, "Ultimately, all staff members work for the institution of the City Council, as directed by the speaker. At times, central staff has been assigned to work with certain council members or on a legislative committee."

Alvarado can B.S. us all she wants, but anyone with at least an ounce of common sense can see through that weak excuse. Even though her predecessor engaged in the same activity, that does not make it right. New Yorkers deserve more, but Quinn's record shows she isn't willing to run an honest City Council.

Councilwoman Mendez Sets Bloomberg Straight On Term Limits

Rosie Mendez is my Councilwoman in District 2 and she stood up in front of the Mayor to address her concerns on term limits. She still wants the issue to be addressed by the public through a special election (though the Mayor feels differently of course). Except for the comment about her constituents wanting to re-elect Bloomberg, her two minutes at the podium wasn't half bad.

Mayor Gutless Should Look In The Mirror Before Lashing Out At The Council

Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg really must be ensconced in his own heavily protected bubble. It may not be as thick as George Bush's, but when you whine to the press that a minority of Councilmembers rejected his property tax increase and call them gutless, there has to be some element of delusion there. He cannot possibly imagine that some Councilmembers want to find another way to fund the budget instead of raising property taxes yet again.

From The NY Daily News:

As far as Mayor Bloomberg is concerned, the 18 no-sayers took the cowardly route, not taking responsibility for assuring essential services and workers - such as cops, firefighters and sanitation workers - are maintained.

"It's not an easy vote whether to raise taxes," the mayor said. "Those that didn't are really trying to slap the uniformed services and others .... And it's just gutless if you really want to know."

"Gutless" is rather harsh an adjective, especially coming from Mayor Bloomberg. If not gutless, a certain degree of cowardice was involved when the Mayor undemocratically swiped term limits off the books two months ago, allowing him to run again without the public's consent. Of course, that applies to at least a few of the 18, those that voted to extend term limits. They weren't only gutless, they were just as big a coward as the Mayor who perpetrated the whole thing.

S.I. Advance Finds NY City Council In Disarray

There was plenty to be grateful for during Thanksgiving (and every day of course) but a working City Council in New York City is not one of them. In a lengthy report the Staten Island Advance has found that the legislature in our city is divided and broken over the term limits fiasco. Not only were things heated between members of the Council last month, but continuing even today with the budget battle looming.

From The S.I. Advance:

In the aftermath of the most divisive battle in recent City Hall history, many members of the City Council who spoke with the Advance said they find it difficult, if not impossible, to trust some of their colleagues. A few even described the institution itself as broken -- that now, more than ever, people seem to be just going through the motions.

The question is, how will that affect the way they work together? Over the next few months, while they negotiate with Bloomberg to finalize a plan to chop hundreds of millions of dollars from spending in this year's budget and even more from the budget for the next fiscal year, will the tough choices they make represent the best choices for the people of this city -- or the deals brokered simply for political advantage?

Brokered deals bred out of ethically-challenged, smoke-filled rooms? In our Council?!? Can I make sarcasm drip out of your monitor on this one? Seriously though, we have long known about how City Hall works and the fact that the term limits extension bill passed is a testament to just how broken it is. What makes me hopeful (to a degree) with all of this mess is that there are actually Council Members that realize how flawed the system is, particularly the ones that voted against the Mayor's undemocratic 845A legislation and that heads must roll for it.

As the Advance notes, Tony Avella and others understand that those that voted for selfish reasons need to be voted out of office. Now that we know what's going on, it is time to act. Every single Council Member must join the thousands of New Yorkers who demand change from their government. We must work together to find challengers to the Bloomberg 29 and work as hard as we can to get competent people into the chamber who will represent their constituents for a change and not the whims of an egotistical plutocrat such as Michael Bloomberg.