Budget Bust-Up

New York's politicians are generally displeased with President Bush's ideas for the new budget because, as Newsday says, it's a mixed bag of "a doubling of homeland security money and steady funding of transportation projects, but fewer funds for firefighters and police and cuts in public housing assistance." Senator Charles Schumer called the $2.4 trillion U.S. Budget for Fiscal Year 2005 "a bad news budget for New York that leaves New York behind."

Representative Anthony Weiner says, "It ain't good. Not only does the Bush budget whack traditional urban programs like housing assistance, they are shortchanging us on homeland security needs." It seems that while funds for high-alert areas have increased, so have the number of those areas: "Charlotte and Fresno are considered high threat. I love the Charlotte Raptor Museum but if it ever becomes a terrorist target, we're all in trouble."

Aw, well, we have a soft place in a our heart for North Carolina these days as that's where information leafblower is moving to. And speaking of bloggers leaving the city, rachelleb is moving to Chicago. We'll miss you both and Gothamist expects a new topic area called "Why I Miss NY" on your blogs.