[UPDATE BELOW] A bill in Albany that would prohibit eating food on the subway with fines up to $250 for violators, does not have the support of the new MTA chief Joseph Lhota. Although Lhota was known as the "rat czar" when he was deputy mayor under Rudolph Giuliani, he thinks an outright food consumption ban would adversely impact poor people who inhale their greasy stinking McDonald's on the train because there's simply nowhere else for them to eat. Also, think of the children! "It severely hurts and impacts minority communities," Lhota tells the Times. "I don’t want to deny the kid the only time that day he’s going to get food." more ›

The first thing Google suggests when you type in Harlem currently is "Harlem Hospital." So of course locals would be upset at the rumors that the financially troubled hospital would be closing. So let's be clear everybody: Harlem Hospital is not closing. It is just, like most hospitals these days, going through a tough time. more ›

Don't want to see rats in the subway system? Stop feeding them! Senator Bill Perkins reminds: "Rats don't grow the food that they eat on the subway, and they don't buy it, either. We as customers, unfortunately, are the ones that are feeding, and thereby breeding the rodent infestation problem we have." Perkins has been rallying for a ban on food in the subway system, and now NY1 visits his fears that MTA budget cuts, and no food ban, could lead to a real ratdemic. more ›

Rats are really trying to make their way into the headlines after being pushed aside by bedbugs all summer long, and today they made it all the way to the Gray Lady, who says Northern Manhattan straphangers are claiming rodents are on the rise underground. Or maybe this was their plan all along, to distract with news of bedbugs while they plan their diabolical rat takeover! more ›

New York State Senator Bill Perkins must have caught wind of the ratdemic taking over New York City's streets, as he's now sent out a survey (which you can also take online) asking about these rumored rodent problems in subway stations from 86th Street and up. Some of the highly optimistic answer choices are amusing, such as: "I never see rats" and "There is no rat problem." Yeah Perkins, what rat problem? more ›

Now that the Assembly has agreed to raise the cap on charter schools, perpetual charter opponent Bill Perkins is singing a different tune! He said yesterday that "this bill makes important progress in providing independent auditing making charter schools more accountable [and improves New York's chances of obtaining federal aid] at a time when . . . our budget situation is worse than ever." But charter-school parent Karl Willingham says it's all an act, and that "It would've been political suicide for him to continue on the path he was on." more ›

Perhaps Albany was just taking their bizarre spending cues from the state's charter schools. Amid the debates over raising the cap on charter schools in order to be eligible for federal education funding, the NY Times reports that some of the state's charters haven't been using their public funding too well. Niagara Charter School reportedly spent $100,000 on consulting contracts, but had to hold a fundraiser to buy new playground equipment. more ›

Political strategist Basil Smikle will be challenging incumbent State Senator Bill Perkins for the District 30 seat in Harlem this fall. Smikle, who has worked with Hillary Clinton and Mayor Bloomberg, told the Daily News, "I don't like the way that [Perkins] has pitted residents of upper Manhattan against one another. I want to try to tone down the rhetoric....I don't see him doing that. He seems to be stoking the fears and anxieties of the community, and that's something that I don't like to see happening in my neighborhood." more ›

The controversy over charter schools, whether they're truly effective or run in a corrupt manner, came to a head yesterday at a public hearing that devolved into a shouting match between supporters and critics. And much of the vitriol seems to be directed toward "Judas" State Sen. Bill Perkins. more ›

Now that the State Senate has adjourned for summer vacation, Mayor Bloomberg is participating in the time honored tradition of talking smack as soon as someone has left the room. On his weekly radio show yesterday, Bloomberg went off about the fact that the senators left Albany without addressing the issue of mayoral control of the schools, now back with the re-formed Board of Ed until senators return in September. Bloomberg said, "The only thing I can think of is they want to ruin the schools." He also suggested that Governor Paterson "send the state troopers to drag them back" to Albany and added, "Giving them the summer off is, as we say in Gallic (sic), 'Meshughena.'" Senator Bill Perkins referred to the mayor's rant as a "tantrum" and Senator Thomas Duane added that "the threat of troopers knocking on the door" was not the best way to coerce legislators into a vote. A spokesman for Paterson said the governor had no plans to call in state troopers to resolve the matter. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg picked up a big endorsement from across the aisle yesterday from Democratic rising star, Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Booker said, "Mayor Bloomberg is simply the model in America...A lot of us younger, next-generation, thirty-something forty-something mayors have been relying on him for a long time as giving us examples and instruction in how to dramatic change in our cities.” Booker became more visible throughout the 2008 presidential campaign as a fervent supporter of President Obama. Bloomberg rival Bill Thompson tried to take the sting out of an endorsement from such a prominent black politician saying, "I respect Mayor Booker, but hard-working people who actually live in New York know that we need change." State Senator Bill Perkins went further, calling it, "Just racial...that (Bloomberg) would go outside of the city to get some support." Neither Bloomberg nor Mayor Booker mentioned any potential rift between the two due to the Garden State's role in the Maple Syrup Phenomenon. more ›

After the NY Times story revealed how NYC votes for Barack Obama appear to have been undercounted for the unofficial (yet official enough to be sent to the AP and other news outlets) results on primary night, State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem spoke out. Perkins, who supports Obama, told the Post

: "Every election has problems, but in this case, all the problems seem to have been his," said state Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem). "He got all the zeroes and undercounting. more ›