Week in Review 12/26-12/30

Tuesday 12/27
With Jeanine Pirro bowing out of the US Senate race against Sen. Hillary Clinton, the last standing Republican candidate who has crossed New York State and picked up countless Conservative Party endorsements is profiled in the New York Sun.

Former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer talks his record where he cut the surcharge on state income tax and the city's real estate transfer tax by two-thirds. He kept properties taxes from increasing above an annual average of 4% and as Senator, he'd vote to make the Bush tax cuts perminent.

On immigration, he would focus on stopping the flow of illegal immigrants first, then work with his collegues on developing a comprehensive plan to deal with those who have already entered America.

Spencer is pro-life and would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned so the issue returns to the states. He wouldn't impose abortion penalties for women or doctors, but instead, would try to divert funds to counseling programs aimed at adoption. Mr. Spencer is a product of adoption and believes it should return to society as a primary option.

Spencer, a former veteran from the Vietnam War, supports President Bush's War on Terror and has a few choice opinions for Sen. John Kerry, which are expressed in the NY Sun interview.

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Senators Schumer and Clinton are asking the Pentagon to spend $123 million of its wartime budget for New York projects that the Dept of Defense didn't ask for. Sen. John McCain lashed out at the earmarks in a speech on the Senate floor.

"During a war, in a measure designed to give our fighting men and women the funds they need, the Congress has given in to its worst pork barrel instincts," Sen. McCain said.

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The two leading candidates for Speaker of the City Council are Bill De Blasio of Brooklyn, and Christine Quinn of Manhattan.

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January 1, 2006 will see the New York State minimum wage rise to $6.75 from $6 an hour. In another change, state income tax for those earning between $150,000 to $500,000 will drop to 6.85% from 7.25%. Also, those earning over $500,000 will see their taxes decling to 6.85% from 7.7%.

Wednesday 12/28
The health department said it plans to spend nearly $1.4 million equipping hospitals with radiation detection devices that might become essential if terrorists detonated a dirty bomb. The equipment, largely paid for by federal grants, could help medical centers diagnose the thousands of people who likely would flood hospitals after such a blast.

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Four Iraqi children with life-threatening heart defects left a Bronx hospital after successfully undergoing open heart surgery. The children's families had sought help through US military forces stationed in Iraq.

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Charlie King, a Rockalnd County attorney and former candidate for Lt Governor, could surprise democrats as the leading candidate for State Attorney General. While the media focuses on the races of Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green and now with Jeanine Pirro in the AG race, Mr. King has quietly toured the state and continues to attract more an more support from the Democratic Party.

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New York City will likely report the lowest rate of homicides in more than four decades. According to police data, the city's total crime rate declined in nearly every category.

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Thursday 12/29
Mayor Bloomberg signs legislation that could be a boost for broadband Internet access in the city. The legislation, which passed through the Council, will create a "broadband advisory committee" to look at how the city can use its resources to expand broadband technology, particularly in neighborhoods that only have dial-up Internet access now. The creation of an advisory committee has support from Interent providers such as Earthlink, which testified in favor of the legislation. But the idea of expanding braodband may face opposition from telecommunication companies in the city.

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A Queens motel frequented by underage prostitutes has been shut down and an employee arrested, capping a months-long investigation. Officials padlocked the Executive Motor Inn on North Conduit Ave near JFK airport. The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Queens district attorney's office , the New York Police Dept, the Dept of Buildings and Dept of Finance. The cooperative effort has led to 12 other arrests throughout 2005.

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Fiddling Governor, George Pataki, is trying to recruit Health Commissioner Antonia Novello to run against Senator Clinton. Ms. Novello has a terrible record as health commissioner. She has presided over a vast expansion in state health care spending, a giant giveaway to the healthcare workers union accompanied by millions of dollars in Medicaid billing fraud and abuse.

Friday 12/30
Buoyed by low interest rates and a decline in crime, NYC is in the midst of a historic construction boom on par only with the real esate rush that defined the early 1960s and the late 1920s, eras that gave birth to iconic city structures such as the MetLife building and the Chrysler Building.

The executive director of the city's Planning Commission, Richard Barth noted that the city has gained more than 160,000 residents since 2000, bringin its total to more than 8.2 million, a record high. He also cited low interest rates, a healthy economy, improving quality of life, and a decreasing crime rate as factors contributing to the building boom.

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The city's 8,900 firefighters overwhelmingly approved a new 50-month contract with teh city, their union announced - although agreement will expire at the end of July 2006 because they had worked without a deal for more than three years. The new agreement provides a 17.5% pay increase retroactive to 2002, when the last deal expired for the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

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Who does the Law again?

Gay City News, The Villager and Downtown Express (all the same publisher) recently interviewed Mayor Mike Bloomberg and discussed the issue of Gay Marriage. The piece, written by Paul Schindler, was published for the Dec 14-20 issues.

The cover page article tells of the trivial position the mayor has taken on the Gay Marriage issue. I couldn't help but think there was a hint of bias making the issue a republican-democrat battle, though for the most part, Mr. Schindler stayed on point.

The issue is the mayor has expressed support for Gay Marriage, yet a current court case has the mayor's lawyers defending the State Constitution which says marriage is between a man and a woman. From what I understand about how law is written, what the mayor is doing is the correct action. It is not the mayor's job to draft state law and he is bound to represent the city under current constitutional law.

Bloomberg this week explained his decision to appeal as one largely influenced by an analysis of the state Constitution carried out by the city Law Department.

“We believe… my corporation counsel believes that Judge Ling-Cohan’s decision is inconsistent with the state Constitution,” he said, when asked whether the city’s aim in the appeal was to overturn the decision or merely clarify the issue at the state’s highest court. “We had two judges Upstate who ruled the other ways. And I think that we should let the courts decide with clarity what the law is.”

Where Mr. Schindler drifts into partisanship was about two-thirds into the piece.

Monday’s meeting was the first occasion on which Bloomberg sat down with gay press representatives since a meeting in the summer of 2001 when he was still only a mayoral candidate. At that time, he was emerging as a Republican willing to show unusually strong support for gay rights compared to others in his party. Since that time, however, he has clashed with gay community leaders on several key issues.

Is Gay City News saying there are no gay Republicans? Are they saying the legislation of gay rights was never passed back in 1986 under the Koch administration? Are they saying Democrats usually show strong support for gay rights?

I think my third question is the big one. Where are the Democrats on the issue of Gay Marriage? Some Democrats are barking about the matter and want Gay Marriage legal, but the ones that are really have no say in the matter. Marriage Law is, as already noted, a state matter defined under the State Constitution. This sort of ties the arms of city officials who champion Gay Marriage, such as Democratic Councilors: Christine Quinn, Margarita Lopez, Gale Brewer, A. Gifford Miller, as well as Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Alas, two weeks after the article was published, we get a voiced opinion from a state legislator who submits a letter to The Villager and Gay City News.

Mayor Bloomberg’s claim that he hopes he loses his appeal against civil marriage for same-sex couples in the New York Court of Appeals is both patronizing and insulting to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. It is also an argument that defies logic.

...Mayor Bloomberg’s absurd position that he is in favor of same-sex civil marriage, while his corporation counsel argues against it, is nothing but the worst kind of political double talk and slight of hand that fools no one. Mayor Bloomberg’s actions speak far louder than his words.

Thomas K. Duane
Duane is state senator for the 29th District

I've gota an idea for Sen. Duane. YOU are a State Legislator. YOU are responsible for State Law. Propose a Constitutional Amendment Referendum in the State Senate to be put on the 2006 November ballot. Also, since you are Democrat, get your fellow Democrat, who is the Speaker and Majority Leader of the State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, to introduce the Constitutional Amendment in the lower House.

If all goes well, the referendum will appear on the ballot, democracy will once and for all decide the matter in New York State, and we will see where the people of this great state stand on the issue of Gay Marriage. Then the Democrats can get what they want. A decision made by the people. Why drag the matter through the courts? Laws are better applied when they are put to the people and not decided by a few activist judges.

It's almost as if Democrats and gay New Yorkers are afraid to do things by the book. If they did, I'm sure we'd find just as many Democrats opposes Gay Marriage as Republicans. And I could say there are a number of Republicans who support Gay Marriage, or very willing to put the decision to the people of the state via referendum, if the state legislature chose to do so.

I've seen Republicans try to dance around this issue in 2005 and it's not a difficult issue to dance around. I think it's clear that most New Yorkers, regardless of political affiliation, believe marriage should remain between a man and a woman. If you are a Republican who holds this position, there's no reason not to express it, because the numbers are simply in your favor. If you tend to be more libertarian and believe government already regulates social issues too much, say you support a referendum on the ballot for November, if the Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly that dominate New York City decide to act on the issue rather than deflect it to Republicans who aren't even in power.

P.S.
I think Speaker Sheldon Silver's position on Gay Marriage is quite clear. If you click on the above links to the three papers, Gay City News, The Villager and Downtown Express, you'll see the Downtown Express' interview with the mayor doesn't deal with the Gay Marriage debate. The Downtown Express covers the 64th Assembly District, which is Sheldon Silver's territory.

Maybe Harry Reid should do a Geico commercial

Unfrozen Caveman Leader

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm just a caveman. I fell on some ice and was later thawed by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses me! . . . When I see my image on the security camera at the country club, I wonder, are they stealing my soul? I get so upset, I hop out of my Range Rover, and run across the fairway to to the clubhouse, where I get Carlos to make me one of those martinis he's so famous for, to soothe my primitive caveman brain. But whatever world you're from, I do know one thing--in the 20 years from March 22, 1972, when he first ordered that extra nicotine be put into his product, until February 25, 1992, when he issued an interoffice memorandum stopping the addition of that nicotine, my client was legally insane."--Phil Hartman as "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer," "Saturday Night Live," March 23, 1996

"Mr. President, maybe I didn't have the education of a lot of my friends. I was educated in a little school in Searchlight, Nev. We didn't have English class. Maybe my choice of words wasn't perfect. Maybe I should have said we killed the conference report. But the fact is, that is what we had done. People can try to change the words and the meaning of it all they want, but that is what happened. I may not have the ability to express myself like the folks who were educated in all these private schools and fancy schools, but I understand the Senate rules. Everyone knows that cloture was defeated, killed, whatever you want to call it. That means that cloture was defeated and that bill is still before the Senate."--Harry Reid as "Unfrozen Caveman Leader," "U.S. Senate," Dec. 19, 2005

Week in Review 12/19-12/23

Monday 12/19
New York risks losing many of its most creative residents if the city does not address the high cost of real estate, a study released found.

The report by the Center for an Urban Future considered trends relating to a wide variety of fields in the city's "creative core." Though the city remains a world leader with more than 300,000 creative workers in nearly 11,700 businesses, the study found NY lagging behind London in areas such as access to workspace and affordable housing.

New York is the sixth safest state in America. During the first half of 2005, crime in NYS decreased by 2.8% as murder dropped 5.3% and burglary fell 64%, according to FBI data. Overal crime has declined by 45% since 1994.

Tuesday 12/20
Democracy is Spreading, Freedom House Finds. Reports of increased freedom emerged from lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories. Observers attribute the results to the Bush administration's support of fledgeling democracies worldwide.

Unfortunately, when it comes to local politics here in New York City, Grassroots Initiative finds a crisis of local political representation that permeates each of New York's five boroughs. Vacancies in... county committees are rampant and there are few contested elections for [committee] seats. ...The result is limited democracy and over a million New Yorkers without any local party representation.

President Bush sharpened his attack against senators who blocked reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, zeroing in on lawmakers from New York and other target-rich states (i.e. Sens. Charles Schumer & Hillary Clinton).

The City Council's transportation committee unanimously voted to approve a bill that would implement "no-wake areas" on the Harlem River. The Committee chairman, John Lui, said the legislation was prompted by the proliferation of boats on the city's rivers and the fatal crash of a boater, Jim Runsdorf. The no-wake zones the bill would establish are Swindler Cove from High Bridget to University Heights Bridge.

Wednesday 12/21
Republican candidate for governor, William Weld, challenged Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to take a stand on the transit strike.

City Council, Bloomberg administration, and New York Nightlife Association may have reached a compromise deal on revamping the city's noise code. The parties were in down-to-the-wire negotiations as of today. The code has been hotly contested, partly because of its potential economic affects, for more than a year.

Thursday 12/22
Immigration advocates in New York are stepping up pressure on Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer, saying they have been diappointed in the lawmakers for their low profiles on the issue of immigration policy.

Gifford Miller ended his tenure as Council Speaker presiding over a council meeting that passed 36 pieces of legislation. The Health Care Security Act was on the floor, as were bills on finance, land use, noise code policy and graffiti removal laws.

New York State's Medicaid Program pays for the highest share of doctor and hospital bills, according to a survey by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. NY's Medicaid program covered 21% of doctor and hospital bills in 2003, more than double a national average of 9.2%.

New York City Council passed a resolution urging the state to opt out of the Real ID Act, a federal legislation that created national standards for driver's licenses. The council fears the Real ID Act will hurt immigrants and may not prevent against terrorism.

Jeanine Pirro officially announced that she will bow out of the US Senate race and now direct her sites on the Attorney General race, which already included prominent Democrats such as Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green.

Friday 12/23
The USA Patriot Act is extended until February 2.

Senate Republicans in Albany proposed a $2.4 billion cut in local government and school taxes through rebate checks and state subsidies. The Democrat-led Assembly, which would have to approve a 3-year plan, will review it but is skeptical of the approach of many provisions. Governor Pataki will review the proposal as well. The Senate proposal would involve tax rebates, tax breaks adjusted for rising property assessments, and measures aimed at cutting waste in local governments and school districts.

New York state will hire 100 state troopers as part of a new effort to crack down on illegal gun trafficking. The program comes after lawmakers at the special Wednesday session approved tougher penalties for gun-trafficking offenses. Under the $4.5 billion project, state police investigators and federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, will work with local police departments to target illicit gun sales.

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Some readers may have noticed I did not do much talking about the transit strike, while bloggers throughout the five boroughs had lots to say. Well, the strike really didn't affect me a whole lot.

You see, I live twelve blocks from my job. I walk to work every day. Okay, well sometimes I ride my bike, but for the most part, I didn't have much to worry while the subways and buses weren't running. On Tuesday, the first day of the strike, I had a Christmas Party up at 83rd Street and ended up riding my bicycle the 77 blocks in 20 degree weather, but for the most part, I stayed downtown and did a lot of walking. I do a lot of walking anyway. It made for an exhausting week, but I could use the excersize. So could a lot of us.

Would I have done something drastic if I was in a position of power? Of course. I don't believe in having the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Transport Workers Union running and opperating our mass transit system. I agree with Nicole Gelinas on what we should do about our transit system. If not the way she describes it, in some way to prevent a mass transit shutdown. Our subway system was built by three, three, indpendent rail companies. We used to have many independent bus lines all using the same token for fare. The idea of the Second Avenue Subway line getting built by the MTA is proposterous. An independent company would have the line halfway dug up when the revival talk sprang up a decade ago.

I have a lot of underground rail ideas, but the likelihood of them getting done is less than the current projects that constantly get stalled. Have the shovels hit the ground with the SAS yet?

Happy New Year.

Matthew Long in Our Thoughts

Because of the Transit Strike, firefighter Matthew Long was riding his bike to work and was struck by a charter bus. He is listed in critical condition and as of 2 PM today, is still hanging in there, but barely.

According to Tom Long, Mike [Long's] brother, the doctors say if Matt gets through the weekend, he'll have shot....

He is still fighting internal bleeding - - every time his blood pressure stabilizes, the bleeding reoccurs. The area of the bleeding is not easily accessible, requiring microsurgery to cauterize each reoccurrence. Matt is listed as most critical... Keep praying.

Matthew Long is a son of Michael Long, the New York State Conservative Party Chairman. Matthew also co-owns Third and Long Sports Bar with his brother Jim. This is a horrific story to hear around Christmas time. Let's hope Matthew stays strong and gets well.

If you wish to send sympathy and prayers and are not sure how to contact the Long Family, I recommend sending it to Third & Long at 523 3rd Ave. New York, NY 10016

Grassroots Initiative Study

Recently published by Grassroots Initiative is a study on New York's Republican & Democratic County Committees of the five boroughs. The findings are very revealing and show that neither party is doing a good job reaching out to communities. With over 8.5 million New Yorkers, probably more than 6 million registered voters, have you ever wondered why elections are decided by only 1.2 million votes?

The 47 page report is titled: Vacancy: Democracy Take A Nap Party Politics in New York's Five Boroughs.

This report looks at political representation in New York City through the lens of the Republican and Democratic county committees in each of the five boroughs. Our primary objective in undertaking this study is to assess the state and health of New York's party apparatus, including the way in which the Republican and Democratic Party county committee seats are filled and what communities are or are not being represented in the process. To better understand this information and place it in a broad context, the study also explores public interest and awareness regarding political party committees and local politics in general.

The information may not be entirely accurate, however that is due to lack of cooperation by all ten county committees. Grassroots Initiative could only rely on records held by the Board of Elections, while letters and calls to the county committees went unanswered. If any county committee disputes the findings, they will need to update their records with the Board of Elections, because the City of New York only registers what has been found in this Study.

As a member of the Vincent F. Albano Republican Club for the 74 Assembly District, I have now set my sites on filling committee seats by primary day, September 4, 2007. According to Vacancy: Democracy Takes a Nap, the 74 Assembly District should have 228 County Committee Members [CCM]. The Board of Elections says there are only 55. My records for 74 AD give only 108 Election Districts, so that would mean 216 committee seats, but still, that means we only have 25.5% of our seats filled.

If I can accomplish my objective of having at least one committee member for each 108 EDs, then I hope it sets an example to all district clubs throughout the five boroughs that grassroots party building is possible.

Letter to the Villager #2

There is another story in this weeks edition of The Villager which deals with the proposal of changing Avenue B in the East Village to a One-Way Street.

Last Tuesday, I posted on the crackdown of excessive nightlife and traffic along Avenue B. The article presented support for the suggestion of changing the narrowest of the Alphabets to a northbound one-way street.

A meeting at Community Board 3 held on Wednesday had many neighborhood residents opposed to such a change fearing a one-way street would make the strip feel less of a neighborhood.

Residents said that changing two-way Avenue B to one-way would make the area seem less like a neighborhood; the proposal sparked fears of traffic speeding up and accompanying concern about the impact this would have on the at least four schools that line the avenue.

I wish I could attend the meeting on December 20, but I'll be at a County function that evening and won't be able to present a plan I thought of which could reduce traffic build up.

The PetersonforNYC Proposal
Part of the problem is congestion forming at certain intersections along Avenue B from East Houston Strett to East 14th Street. I propose installing No Left Turn signs at designated points along Avenue B.

If a car is heading northbound along Avenue B, they will not be able to make a Left Turn at E. 3rd St, E 7th St and E. 13th St between the hours of 11 PM to 5 AM.

If a car is heading southbound along Avenue B, they will not be able to make a Left Turn at E. 12th, E. 6th St and E. 4th St between the hours of 11 PM to 5 AM.

Preventing left turns at points along the strip should clear the road from congestion at street crossings that tend to get a little crowded during the evening. It will force automobiles to drive to Avenue A or Avenue C, which are wider and can handle the increase of car traffic.

Of course, you do not want to prevent left turns at every crossing, because that would simply create issues on other avenues. I think a test program should be tried with No Left Turn signs and a study on how it helps with late night traffic. If it keeps traffic flowing and reducing noise pollution, it should be perminently enacted.

Letter to the Villager #1

My local neighborhood paper, The Villager is a great read for anyone living in Alphabet City who wants to know how the liberal minds of the area work. I'm not sure if I'll actually send this letter to the Villager, but I want to respond to the cover story for this weeks issue.

Dear Villager,

Your editorial in response to Paul Schindler's story on Mayor Bloomberg's answers on gay marriage fails to offer the best democratic solution to the gay marriage debate. Perhaps it's because your paper supports an undemocratic solution to the debate.

The solution is an Initiative and Referendum for the People of New York State to decide whether they are ready to accept gay marriage. Eleven other States have already done just that and learned whether their State is ready for such a change. Unfortunately, New York is not a State that lets its voters enjoy the democratic process and many times leaves us out. Gay marriage supporters should organize and petition for a ballot measure instead of forcing our courts to rule against current law.

Gay marriage is not an issue that is supported or opposed by one party, though some local democrats try to make it a partisan matter. If gay marriage was favored by democrats, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver would have already brought the matter to the floor of the Assembly for a vote or at least drafted a referendum. Democrats who are tired of Mr. Silver's obstructionism should challenge the Speaker in a Primary so they can bring in new leadership to Albany.

Marriage Laws are currently a State matter and all the bickering on the City level cannot change what our leaders (Silver, Sen. Joseph Bruno and Gov. George Pataki) in Albany must decide.

Marriage is viewed differently by different people. We would like to believe our State is progressive minded in a way that is willing to accept change, but we will never know unless our State begins to present social issues to the People in the form of a ballot measure. WIth all the problems we read about in California, at least their State votes on countless Propositions in any given year. It's time for New York to do the same.

In 2006, when studying up on candidates for Statewide and local state races, learn their positions on Initiative and Referendum. If you have a chance to confront a candidate on the issue, ask them, "Would you push New York's government to embrace Initiative and Referendum so we have a say in the democratic process?"

Week in Review

Monday, December 12,
56 of our 62 New York State Republican County Chairman met in Albany to cast ballots for the GOP Gubernatorial candidate.

23 Chairs voted for William Weld

23 Chairs voted for John Faso

2 Chairs voted for Randy Daniels

8 Chairman abstained from the vote

State Chairman Stephen Minarik had the votes weighted, which bases the value of the vote on the number of registered voters who voted republican in 2002.

43.2% for William Weld

10.2% for John Faso

1.1% for Randy Daniels

45.5% were abstemious

The vote helped officially launch William Weld’s website as the leading Republican candidate for Governor.

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Hundreds rallied in Chinatown on Sunday to celebrate 6 million Chinese people who have renounced their membership to the Chinese Communist Party. State Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, along with representatives of several human rights groups spoke at the rally, which culminated with a parade through Chinatown.

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Two City Council members are urging parents to be careful when buying video games this holiday season. Democrats Eric Gioia of Queens and Gale Brewer of Manhattan published a list of the 10 best and worst video games on the market for children.

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A new group, People to Stop a Self Serving Council, is banding together to resist the NYC Council’s effort to extend Term Limits. PSSSC is the first New York group established to oppose the council on its term-limits initiative.

It’s three founding members are active in their communities. Kenneth Moltner is a lawyer who says the council is “shunting democracy for their own self-interests.” Frank Scala, a barber who is co-chairman of Community Board 6 says he “believes in the word of the voters.” Joe Metzger, a political science and history major at New York University says many of the current council only have their job because of term limits and don’t deserve to change the law. A national organization Don’t Touch Term Limits is working to unite all organized groups defending the voice of the people.

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Tuesday, December 13,
The City Council is planning to pass a resolution condemning the proposal of President Bush’s advisory panel on tax reform to abolish the federal deduction for state and local income taxes and limit the deductions for home mortgages. David Weprin of Queens and candidate for Speaker, as well as outgoing Speaker A. Gifford Miller, said the proposal would harm high tax paying states like New York and California.

Lawmakers said the new proposal would increase the amount of money New York sends to the federal government by $10 billion. New York already sends $13 billion more in taxes than it gets back in federal spending.

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Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn, has offered a bill for vote that would impose stiffer restrictions on the use of eminent domain. The bill expresses support for two bills - that have already been presented in the two State Houses - that would mandate a local review process before government could take control of a private property.

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Wednesday, December 14,
Congressman Anthony Weiner of Queens is urging Harvard and Georgetown Universities to return $20 million donations they received from a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud. The democrat from New York’s 9th Congressional District chastised them for “accepting gifts from a family that bankrolls terrorist organizations.”

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The New York Sun editorial page lauds the opportunity for a Republican Primary after the results of Monday’s meeting in Albany among State County Chairman. The paper believes New York republicans will appreciate the chance to choose the candidate they feel best represents their values in the polls.

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Thursday, December 15,
The mayor decided not to veto a bill that will increase the amount of money labor unions can donate to candidates running for office. As a result, the bill will quietly become law next month.

Chairman of the Campaign FInance Board, Frederick Schwarz Jr., said in a statement: “The Board is very disappointed and does not believe that the Administration has fully appreciated the ramifications” of this bill.

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Friday, December 16,
Democrats worry Spitzer’s enemies could haunt his campaign. The New York Sun reports Eliot Spitzer has made more enemies than the average public official, and some democrats are worried those he investigated for corporate corruption may come back to haunt him as he runs for governor.

Nassau County Executive, Thomas Suozzi, has emerged on the sidelines as a potential challenger to the Democrat designate for Governor, and is expected to start raising money for a statewide bid after he is sworn in to his second term.

Yesterday, two county leaders - Robert Brehm of Schenectady County and Richard Schaffer of Suffolk - sent a letter to Suozzi demanding he disassociate himself with Kenneth Langone, a former director of the NY Stock Exchange, who is a target of an investigation by the Attorney General. The letter stated Suozzi should not be associating with someone who contributes to ‘radical right wing candidates.” Mr. Langone has contributed in the past to “right wing radicals” such as Sen. Charles Schumer and Sen. Joseph Biden.

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Two State Legislators are going “phishing” for Internet scam artists. Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Democrat of Westchester, and Senator Charles Fuschillo, a Republican of Long Island, plan to introduce a bill that would target the practice by allowing the attorney general, industry, and non profits to bring civil cases against Internet “phishers,” a practice where an email is sent to someone using the same font and interface of a legitimate institution. The recipient is informed their account information is suspended or has become inactive and in order to correct matters, they must click a link and provide their personal information to update the records. “This is theft. This is theft of the worst kind,” said Mr. Brodsky, who is running for Attorney General. There were more than 15,000 “phishing attacks” in the month of October alone.

The House of Representatives approved a resolution aimed at protecting “The symbols and traditions” of Christmas. By a vote of 401 to 22, the House said that it “recognizes the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas” and that “it strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas.”

Most members of New York’s congressional delegation voted in favor of the resolution, however, Rep. Gary Ackerman, a Democrat of the 5th District, voted against the bill, and Rep. Steven Israel, a Democrat of the 2nd District, chose to abstain from the vote.

King Kong

I saw King Kong last night and I have to say, it is well worth it. I know some of you may have heard reviews that the script isn't the greatest, but what do you really expect? Watch the original 1933 movie. There is no script to this story.

Peter Jackson does a good job putting together a cohesive story set in the 1930s. He takes the movie to a new level, adds some elements not from the original, but the remake, by having Ann Darrows (Naomi Watts) develop a connection with the big ape. He treats us to unbelievable scenes on Skull Island where we see the reason Kong is King of the jungle. He tips his hat to the original movie at the end of the T-Rex fight scene, which was nice.

The original portrayed Kong as a monster and gave us a damsel in distress screaming throughout the entire picture. Jackson's remake shows us a real primate, the last of his kind, acting just as an actual ape should act.

It would not do the movie justice to see it set in 2005 for reasons of political correctness. We can imagine the fear of a giant ape running around New York, but present day society would try to capture and return Kong to his island. In 1933 New York, we can imagine the fear in New Yorkers and stopping the rampage at any means possible. Reminds me of the filmed electricution of Topsy, an elephant in Coney Island at the beginning of the 20th Century.

I was worried that I'd find myself in tears by the end of the movie. I do sometimes get sentimental with silly movies with emotion. But the emotion of Kong made me believe he was at peace. He did not fear his impending death. He accepts it, while spending his final moments with a woman who touches his heart.

Humor Me

From Today's Best of the Web - Today by James Taranto:

From a Baltimore Sun article on Anthony Brown, who is running for Maryland's lieutenant governor on a ticket with Martin O'Malley:

He chose a partner who reflects some of the diversity of Maryland. Brown is the product of the marriage between a Cuban father raised in Jamaica and a Swiss mother.

"It does not hurt that he is an African-American," [Rep. Elijah] Cummings said. "African-Americans in the Democratic Party want to see somebody on that level representing them, coming from that community."

OK, here's a trivia question. Which of the following countries is in Africa?

a. Cuba

b. Jamaica

c. Switzerland

Actually, as far as we know, the answer is d. none of the above.

Community Center? Why not a Charter School?

Today's New York Sun carries a story on the opening of five new Charter Schools, one will be run by outgoing councilwoman Eva Moskowitz.

Ms. Moskowitz officially announced yesterday that she will take control of the Harlem Success Charter School when she leaves the council next month.

The School will be located in central Harlem, historically one of the city's poorest performing districts. It is hope the school will serve as a model for 20 to 30 additional schools to open over the next decade.

Since we currently do not have a voucher program and have seen a large number of parochial schools close recently due to low enrollment, the expansion of Charter Schools is a good sign.

I've been thinking, though, about the recent victory for the community of Alphabet City with the old PS 64 school, used as a cultural center known as CHARAS/El Bohio until is was forced to close in 1998.

Why not convert this old school into a new school? A Charter School?

The Villager recently reported on the victory of neighborhood advocates who prevented the building owner from tearing it down and building university dorms. Though a community center sounds like a fine idea also, I still believe it should be a school. It was a school, make it one again. Renovatve it and make it into a Charter School.

It's a historical structure.

In its “statement of significance,” which the Landmarks Commission issues prior to calendaring a hearing, the commissioners cited P.S. 64 for its “rare Baroque-revival style.” Designed in 1903-’04 by famed architecht C. B. J. Snyder, the school was one of the first to introduce a ground-floor auditorium, which allowed it to function after hours as a community center. Among those to lecture there during the 1920s were former Mayor Jimmy Walker and governors Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

According to Landmarks’ prehearing assessment: “Snyder designed P.S. 64 when he was at the height of his powers, having mastered the technicalities of school design and construction. P.S. 64 is an unusually intact example of a school building retaining its original fence and sculptural seals and, unlike many H-plan schools, it has not had an addition.”

Let's return the building back to what it was originally intended for.

Avenue B Clean Up.

On December 2, Alphabet City along Avenue B finally got their wish and had the NYC Police force come in to tackle noise complaints and disorderly conduct. The Villager reports:

Blanketing the avenue with 25 to 30 officers on foot, in patrol cars and vans — as well as on horseback to provide visual presence — police targeted quality-of-life and moving-vehicle violations from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., issuing a total of 99 summonses, making two arrests and towing seven cars.

Recently, with so many small bars and restaurants opening up, Avenue B has become the hotspot for young professionals and college kids. This is not the Avenue B I knew a dozen years ago when I first started hanging around the area. With the high volume of pedestrian traffic and Avenue B being the narrowist of the alphabet streets, congestion on the strip has forced many drivers to blow their car horn more often than not.

The police crackdown comes as Community Board 3 is considering possibly making a recommendation to the city’s Department of Transportation to change Avenue B from two-way to one-way northbound, as a way to lessen the problem of late-night traffic and honking.

I brought up the idea of a one-way Avenue B to two co-workers of mine who live in the area and both feel a one-way street would be a wise move. I have my reservations to the idea, but I do see the advantages of such a change.

Week in Review

Council Member introduces Resolution on Iran’s stance on Israel. Council Member David Weprin, a Democrat from Queens, who is also seeking the Speakership, introduces a resolution denouncing comments made by President Ahmadinejad of Iran last month. The NYC Council does not have a say in America's foreign policy.

The chairman of Manhattan’s Libertarian Party, James Lesczynski, expects to appeal Judge Paul Feinman’s recent ruling that Mr. Lesczynski lacked the standing to challenge the city’s campaign-finance rules. Mr. Lesczynski had asked the judge to declare the rules unconstitutional. He argued that matching funds force him and other New Yorkers to fund speech they object to - a violation of an individuals free speech.

Roughly half of all students who enter city high schools do not earn any kind of diploma in four years. It was also reported that only 10% of black and Hispanic students earn a Regents diploma compared to one-third of white and asian students. Only 18% of NYC high school seniors earn a Regents diploma compared to 58% statewide.

Judiciary submits budget requests for Fiscal Year 2006-2007. The state’s top judge says her colleagues deserve a raise. The state’s judicial branch yesterday submitted its $1.96 billion budget proposal to the governor and legislature. The request, a 7.1% increase over the current budget, includes $69.5 million for judicial raises. The last time New York judges got a raise was in 1999. Governor Pataki proposed raising the judiciary’s pay earlier this year, but lawmakers balked.

Gubernatorial hopeful John Faso expects to be the Republican designate after the December 12 meeting of the 62 Republican County Chairman up in Albany. Also seeking endorsement are former Massachusetts Governor, William Weld, who has the support of State Party chairman Stephen Minarik, Pat Manning, an Assemblyman from Dutchess County, who is the only candidate to receive endorsements from six Conservative County Committees, and Randy Daniels, former secretary of State, who says he will seek the Conservative Party line if the Republican Party selects a candidate who is not suited for the party (i.e. Weld or Golisano).

Mayor Closes Deal on Four Remaining Private Bus Lines. The deal has reached $25 million to acquire the city’s four remaining private bus lines, allowing the MTA to operate all fleets by the end of February. The city had missed half a dozen self-imposed deadlines to take over all the private bus lines because negotiations failed to resolve concerns over the fate of both union and nonunion workers operating private fleets.

On December 1, The New York Sun wrote an editorial to the NY GOP to fire Stephen Minarik, Republican State Chairman. The Sun sites the leadership has not provided New Yorkers with an open process on candidate selections and by squashing the possibility of statewide primaries.

On December 1, The New York Sun wrote an editorial titled “Up to Code” which says Mayor Bloomberg has signed into law the first major revision of the city’s building code in nearly 40 years. Currently, New York City laws are considered “unfriendly” to builders in the Big Apple and slow the growth of economic development. Though the law lacks significant change, the Sun says it is a step in the right direction to open the market for new construction.

$1.1 Million of tax payer money went to city council candidates without competitive races. A preliminary review by the Campaign Finance Board said public money was doled out to candidates who won by 60% to 80% of the vote. Critics of the current system are sure to use the findings as ammunition against the program.

City Council Member, Tony Avella, announced his support for term limits in a letter to the 50 other members. “I find the thought of ignoring the wishes of the citizens of this city by plotting to overturn term limits offensive,” he wrote. Six of the seven candidates for Council Speaker publicly support plans for overturning the law.

The New York City Comptroller’s office released results of the third quarter job growth rate, which shows New York City lags behind the national average. Economic watchdogs at the Manhattan Institute explain the slow growth rate in New York has to do with high taxes and too many regulations that create “road blocks” on growth.

On December 5, the New York Sun reports thousands of residents reap the benefits of rent regulation, while living out-of-town. Rent Stabilization was created to protect middle-income residents from leaving New York City, but today, many enjoy the benefits of below market apartments, which forces the rental rates of available apartments to be higher than normal. Free market advocates say too many regulations and high taxes impedes the creation of housing for the middle class and believe an open and friendlier market to development will lower the currently high market rates. Supporters of Rent Laws say regulation is important for middle-income housing and deny the problem of abusing the laws is systemwide.

City Council Minority Leader, James Oddo responded to the NY Sun’s story on the abuse with regulated rents and called for the Department of Finance to investigate. Council Oddo says the report “cries for further investigation. We always hear about landlord-gouging. This is gouging by the tenants. Rent regulation has a chilling effect on private investment.” On Sunday, December 4, about 40 advocates rallied outside Mayor Bloomberg’s home asking the mayor to wrest more control over housing policy from Albany.

New York Sun columnist Alicia Colon says she called 800-FOR-VOTE and asked for a bunch of voter registration cards so she can switch her party registration from Republican to Conservative. Ms. Colon says she feels disenfranchised by how the NY State GOP is “fixing” the process of “selecting” candidates for next year’s statewide elections. The extra registration forms she receives she intends on distributing among her family.

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved a $5 billion budget for 2006 that increases security spending and does not call for a fare-hike before 2007. The budget also provides funding for 340 new PATH trains, airport upgrades and continued work on the WTC transportation hub.

The City Council voted to override a veto by Mayor Bloomberg to include the Hindu holiday of Diwali as one of the days when alternate side parking is suspended. It is the first Hindu holiday to warrant the parking regulations.

City Council Member Gail Brewer introduced legislation that would force community board members to file annual disclosure statements in order to avoid conflicts of interests with companies seeking commercial permits. community board members are subject to conflicts of interest laws but are not yet required to file financial disclosure forms.

On December 9, NY Sun columnist J.P. Avlon writes that the NY State GOP needs to get its act together, yet he doesn’t necessarily believe republicans should call for a primary. He sees the candidacy of William Weld as a step in the right direction and says a ticket with John Faso or Randy Daniels as Lieutenant Governor could bring across the state unity for state reform. Mr. Avlon sees republicans as one election away from irrelevance, similar to the current situation in New Jersey.

Thank God John Kerry isn't our President!

I know it's funny to hear President Bush mangle his words every now and again, but Senator John Kerry is a real bafoon when it comes to discussing matters clearly. He continues to phrase his words in a confusing manner that even gets himself mixed up.

From James Taranto's Best of the Web - Today

Kerry Supports the Troops
The old proverb is right: A haughty, French-looking Massachusetts leopard who by the way served in Vietnam doesn't change its spots. John Kerry* appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer yesterday, and his comments on U.S. troops in Iraq were vintage 1971:

Schieffer: Let me shift to another point of view, and it comes from another Democrat, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. He takes a very different view. He says basically we should stay because, he says, real progress is being made. He said this is a war between 27 million Iraqis' freedom and 10,000 terrorists. He says we're in a watershed transformation. What about that?

Kerry: Let me--I--first of all, there is so much more that unites Democrats than divides us. And Democrats have much more in common with each other than they do with George Bush's policy right now. Now Joe Lieberman, I believe, also voted for the resolution which said the president needs to make more clear what he's doing and set out benchmarks, and that the policy hasn't been working. We all believe him when you say, 'Stay the course.' That's the president's policy, which hasn't been changing, which is a policy of failure. I don't agree with that. But I think what we need to do is recognize what we all agree on, which is you've got to begin to set benchmarks for accomplishment. You've got to begin to transfer authority to the Iraqis.

And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not--

Schieffer: Yeah.

Kerry: --Iraqis should be doing that.

Terrorizing kids and children and breaking sort of the customs! Didn't "Jenjis Khan" used to do stuff like that in Vietnam? Note, too, that Kerry isn't against this per se; he just thinks Iraqis should be doing it. It's highly reminiscent of Vietnam, only back then Kerry's words carried some weight because he sold himself as a veteran against the war, whereas now he's just the junior senator from Massachusetts.

* Do we really need a footnote when we describe him in the text?

Kerry was so intent on doing two things at once, he sounds like a fool. He wants to first; make a point that Iraqis need to take over responsibility where for the most part, the US military has been in charge of; and second, he also wants to disparage American soldiers by concocting some unsubstantiated attack on our men and women who have volunteered to represent our country. This is a man that the Democrats voted for to lead this country?

Draft Peter Hort

The NY GOP needs strong candidates to send to Albany in 2006. While still having a slim majority in the State Senate, it will be important to find someone who can run on real republican issues and give a Democratic incumbent a difficult challenge. My first recommendation for 2006 is Peter Hort for the 25th State Senate District.

Peter ran against Jerry Nadler in 2004 and did modestly in a Congressional District that sweeps across the left side of Manhattan into Brooklyn. If the district had more moderate to conservative voters, he could've given his opponent a run for his money.

In October, I caught Peter at a GOP judicial endorsement meeting and asked if he thought of running for a seat in Albany. He said he has thought of a run for Assembly, but his Assembly representitive is Deborah Glick, not Sheldon Silver. He misses Mr. Silver's 64th AD by a few blocks and running against Ms. Glick wouldn't attract the same amount of attention that a run against Mr. Silver would. He's certainly right about that. Any formidable GOP candidate challenging Sheldon Silver would draw quite a bit of attention.

Assuming I read what Peter said about missing Mr. Silver's district by a few blocks, I have to believe he resides in State Senator Martin Connor's district. If he can't challenge Silver, then he should challenge the man who is involved in every petition challenge case brought before the Board of Elections. Martin Connor is a strong Albany Democrat in the Upper House. If Peter can get on the ballot and run a well funded campaign, I think he can win the State Senate seat. And every Senate seat is important in 2006.

I've had many discussions with consultants and district leaders and State Senate districts are big and difficult. But so are Congressional Districts and I have to believe Peter learned a lot in 2004. I think he can handle a Senate District. I just have one word of advice if he does run. Say you are "Republican Candidate for State Senate." Don't let the Democrats attack you for not being proud of your elephant blood.

So I ask New York Republicans to Draft Peter Hort for State Senate.

Civil Court Judge?

The Board of Elections has finally posted the November 8 Election results and apparently someone in the 74 AD voted for me!

I swear it wasn't me, but I am very curious to know who it was.