Results tagged “City Council”

The list of opponents of the plan to hold the trials of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other suspect terrorists in a Lower Manhattan courthouse keeps getting longer. Due to concerns about security, cost, and trial's possible impact on the lives of Manhattan residents, the state Senate passed a resolution today urging the federal government to try the suspects in military tribunals, not civilian courts, according to 1010WINS. The advisory vote comes as the Obama administration appears to be considering moving the trial out of Manhattan—but not necessarily out of civilian courts. Meanwhile, tomorrow's planned City Council hearing on the terror trial has been postponed due to the pending snowpocalypse. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) has reportedly been hit with a 13-count indictment on federal charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, extortion, and receiving an unlawful gratuity. Insiders told the Times that the Democrat—who represents Wakefield, Co-op City, Edenwald, Williamsbridge and Baychester—is suspected of helping a boiler company obtain city contracts. more ›

The faltering plan to hold trials for the 9/11 terror suspects in downtown Manhattan has elicited intense criticism from Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson, the NYPD, Chuck Schumer, and other local politicians and business leaders. But in an interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, President Obama still declined to officially "blink," saying, "I have not ruled it out, but I think it's important for us to take into account the practical, logistical issues involved. If you have got a city that is saying no, and a police department that is saying no, and a mayor that is saying no, that makes it difficult." But what about the City Council; maybe they can turn this thing around for Obama? They've just decided to hold a hearing on the issue, so don't touch that dial... more ›

A former deputy chief of staff to Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been fined for soliciting campaign contributions for Quinn while working for her City Hall office. City laws bar Council staffers or anyone with "substantial policy discretion" from working on their bosses campaigns, but a board found that Maura Keaney solicited contributions from union representatives for Quinn's re-election campaign in 2007. According to the Times, Keaney—who last year took a gig with Mayor Bloomberg's re-election campaign and landed a $150,000 bonus—was fined $2,500. Just hours after the city's Conflicts of Interest Board ruled against her, Bloomberg's school's chancellor Joel Klein announced that Keaney had been appointed as the Department of Education's executive director of external affairs for $143,000 per year. more ›

Just weeks after trouncing Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York) to be re-elected as Council Speaker, Councilwoman Christine Quinn (D-Chelsea) stripped Barron of his position chairing the Higher Education Committee. In a near repeat of the 48-1 vote in the Speaker race, the Council voted 47-1 to demote Barron. In both instances, Barron cast the only vote in his favor. more ›

You've heard of slush funds, but what about lulus? Lulus are stipends given to members of City Council who lead committees, allowing politicians to take on a little extra responsibility and take home as much as $28,000 per year in extra cash on top of their $112,500 salaries. Critics say the money is really a payout to those who are loyal to Council Speaker Christine Quinn. more ›

Councilwoman Christine Quinn was re-elected as Council Speaker yesterday in a lopsided, 48-1 victory over Councilman Charles Barron, who cast the only vote on his behalf. Though Quinn's victory doesn't come as a big surprise, AMNY reports that the scene inside City Hall became chaotic when a dozen Barron supporters gathered on a second floor balcony and heckled black councilmembers who didn't vote for the East New York politician with chants of "sell-out," "Uncle Tom," and "Charles Barron for speaker!" more ›

A day after the City Council approved to rezone a mostly industrial stretch of land on the border of Williamsburg, Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvessant, a State Supreme Court judge ordered an injunction. According to CityRoom, "It came in response to a lawsuit the lawyers filed on Tuesday, claiming, among other things, that the process that led to the rezoning excluded and discriminated against minority groups around the Broadway Triangle site, including blacks and Latinos, violating the Constitution and federal and state civil rights laws." Now any work on the site will have to wait until a hearing in March. more ›

The plan to turn a 26-acre rail yard in the West 30s into a residential and commercial neighborhood won a major victory yesterday when City Council approved a rezoning for a significant portion of the property, according to the Times. The Council voted in favor of the plan after coming to a consensus with developers Related Companies and Goldman Sachs — who hope to construct more than 5,000 apartments in eight high-rises between 11th and 12th avenues and 30th and 33rd streets — about the amount of new and maintained affordable housing in and around the Hudson Yards development. more ›

Like Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, Inwood Hill Park has long been known as a popular spot for Santeria animal sacrifices. Joggers have reported seeing mutilated chickens tied to trees, and one assistant Parks Department gardener recently came forward to share her fun story about picking up animal remains in the park. These include decapitated turtles and roosters, plus a cow’s heart with magnets and a picture of a boy and a girl tied around it. Awww. Here's a slideshow of some of what she's found; it's really not as gross as it sounds, but probably not the best lunch accompaniment: more ›

City Council voted to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of a bill that will give drivers a five-minute grace period at certain metered parking spots. Last month, Council voted 47-2 to pass the bill, which will prevent ticketing agents from issuing violations until five minutes after alternate side parking regulations take effect and five minutes after MuniMeters run out. Supporters have said the proposal will help eliminate "gotcha" ticketing, while opponents including the Mayor say it will lead to "chaos and enormous increases in the number of contested tickets." more ›

City Council overwhelmingly approved a plan to rename the street where police shot and killed Sean Bell, voting 41-7 (with two abstentions) in favor of the proposal, according to a Council insider. The decision clears the way for converting a three-block-long Queens strip into "Sean Bell Way" to honor the 23-year-old who died in a salvo of police bullets on the day of his wedding. more ›

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg vetoed the 5-minute grace period bill which was overwhelmingly passed by the City Council. He also vetoed a similar bill which would allow clergy to receive city-issued free parking permits. Today it was expected that the Council's Transportation Committee is expected to overrule the vetoes on both bills. This would be followed by the full Council voting to overrule on Dec. 21, with both bills becoming law 90 days thereafter. more ›

After postponing two votes, two City Council subcommittees voted against a $310 million proposal to transform the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping Mall. NY1 reports, "This is the first time the current City Council, that which was voted into office in 2001, has voted against a major Bloomberg administration proposal." more ›

Yesterday, the City Council passed legislation "to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing government, commercial, and residential buildings." Mayor Bloomberg praised the Council's work and said, "By requiring buildings to conduct energy audits and improve their energy efficiency, the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan will reduce the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions while creating thousands of jobs and dramatically reducing annual energy costs. I thank Speaker Quinn and the members of the City Council for their efforts to make New York a greener, more sustainable city.” more ›

Last week a Bronx motorist threw a ticket agent's hand-held computer to the ground during an angry dispute over a parking ticket issued minutes after his Muni-Meter expired. "I get a five-minute grace period. It was in the media, today on the news," George Collazo reportedly yelled during the altercation. George, if you're reading this, we regret to inform you that your grace is still denied. more ›

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn isn't sweating Councilman Charles Barron's announcement that he's running against her for Council Speaker. The Daily News reports that Quinn said, "I take all races seriously, but I am very, very optimistic that I will be reelected in January as speaker of the City Council." more ›

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has vowed to dedicate the next four years to food. She has a dream that the city can create jobs, improve food quality, support local farmers, and improve the environment by bringing NYC's "food infrastructure" into the 21st century. At a press conference to announce the city’s FRESH supermarket initiative, Quinn unveiled her big FoodWorks New York plan. Over the next six months, the Council will work with experts from a wide spectrum of fields to examine every step in NYC’s food cycle: production, processing, transport, retail, consumption, and post-consumption. During her remarks, Quinn said: more ›

After telling the Village Voice he would be an "excellent Speaker" last month, controversial City Councilmember Charles Barron is expected to announce that he will challenge City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for leadership tomorrow. He tells the Daily News that he knows he's a "long-shot" but adds, "This is going to be done from the ground up. I think the speaker should be a facilitator, not a dictator." Barron has been in the news this week for his intense-for-a-groundbreaking ceremony argument with a CUNY trustee, whom he called a "sickening racist" and whom he wants removed. more ›

After getting into a public squabble with a CUNY trustee at a groundbreaking event on Tuesday, City Councilman Charles Barron wants him out. According to the Daily News, the controversial Council member told an audience at Medgar Evers College (a CUNY school), "The Board of Trustees has to change... This is a racist, rednecked right-winger who's sitting on the Board of Trustees. Make sure you write a letter and say he must be removed." more ›

Last month the City Planning Commission approved a controversial plan to turn the Kingsbridge Armory, a massive red-brick castle in the Bronx, into a mall that will include a large department store, shops and a movie theater. But critics of the $310 million project insist the developer should not get the green light unless future mall employees are guaranteed a living wage. Opposition was intense yesterday at the City Council subcommittee's public hearing to decide whether to approve rezoning. more ›

On Monday the City Council passed a bill that would give motorists a five minute grace period on parking tickets issued at Muni-Meters or when a vehicle is in violation of alternate side parking regulations. Mayor Bloomberg has vowed to veto it, but the Council approved it 47 to 2, and they only need a two-thirds vote to override a veto, meaning the law could very well take effect in 90 days. Will "chaos" reign, as Bloomberg predicts, or will motorists receive a welcome relief from "parking enforcement officers hiding behind the bushes, waiting for the meter to run out," as one parking commissioner in White Plains puts it? more ›

Business owners did their best yesterday to scare off Council members mulling a bill that would require all employers in the city to provide up to nine paid sick days. The owners insist such a law would force small businesses to slash salaries and benefits, lay off employees, and eventually flee the city. "Pile on another expense to us, you’re gonna put people out of business. You’re gonna encourage people to move their business out of New York City. I’m a mile from New Jersey. It’s a hop over the bridge. And it’s very tempting," said Tom Scarangello of Scaran Heating & Air Conditioning. more ›

Today the City Council is expected to pass two laws that would give motorists more wiggle room when fighting parking tickets. The first bill would create a five-minute grace period for drivers for certain no parking zones, such as alternate side parking regulations and expired Muni-Meters. (The bill does not include regular coin-operated, single-space meters, seen failing here.) A second piece of legislation would require the DOT to post notices of new and changed parking restrictions in affected neighborhoods and online up to one week in advance. (Last October, Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg were outraged when the DOT wrote tickets for over 90 vehicles that were violating new parking regulations—on a Saturday.) more ›

While minorities are the new majority in the City Council, the Daily News' Adam Lisberg believes Speaker Christine Quinn will keep her leadership position: "When Quinn gave her late and grudging endorsement to city Controller William Thompson's mayoral campaign, reporters went running to [Councilwoman Letitia] James for what was sure to be an incendiary quote - but heard her praise Quinn instead. 'An endorsement is an endorsement,' James said." Apparently James and other Council members realize they should "cut deals with Quinn, because the speaker isn't going anywhere" and the "members who had seen their names floated as potential speakers are now talking with Quinn about getting leadership roles or powerful committees." As for Charles Barron's shot at being speaker, it's suspected he'll just get one vote. more ›

One of the staunchest opponents to same-sex marriage is a Bronx state senator with two gay brothers, a gay grandchild, and a gay chief counsel. Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., a Pentecostal minister, has been a die hard foe of any bill that would legalize gay marriage in New York State, despite his supposedly convivial relationship with many homosexuals. "I love them. I love them," says Díaz, who grew up one of 17 children in Puerto Rico. "But I don’t believe in what they are doing." more ›

According to Runnin' Scared, City Councilman Charles Barron is considering challenging Christine Quinn to be Speaker, saying, "I would be an excellent speaker...We need someone to be a check on the Mayor, not a deputy mayor." He noted that the Speaker and Council chairs for the finance and land committees are white, so if a non-white Council member doesn't throw her or his hat into the ring against Quinn, he will. He added, "You only need 26 votes. There's an African American leader in the Bronx, 8 council votes in the Bronx, an African American county leader, with 10 council votes in Manhattan. And in Brooklyn a lot of us are. So even if you don't have all of those on board, they could pick the next speaker. I think we could do it if we could stick together." more ›

For the first time ever, black, Latino, and Asian politicians will outnumber white politicians in the City Council. In last night's election, minority candidates secured 28 seats while white candidates won 23, according to the Daily News. Currently in the Council, white politicians outnumber minorities 26 to 25. more ›

The Bloomberg and Thompson bout was certainly been more entertaining than many expected, but it wasn't the night's only contested race. Though all of the incumbent Borough Presidents won another term and the citywide elections for Comptroller and Public Advocate were unsurprising (John Liu and Bill de Blasio won easily), several City Council races were action packed. more ›

There's always a lot of political name-calling on the eve of election day, but we're pretty sure this one is a first. Democratic Queens Council candidate Kevin Kim is alleging that his Republican rival isn't just an anti-Semite — he's also a pagan. Kim's campaign is accusing Dan Halloran of insulting Jews in his attempt to downplay the role of blood sacrifice in the ancient Germanic religion of Theodism, a faith in which the City Hall hopeful has risen to the title of "'First Atheling,' or King," of a New York City area pre-Christian group according to the Queens Tribune. more ›