The clock is ticking for everyone's favorite purveyor of Ham Bowls to open up shop in NYC: Crain's notes that after Walmart wined and dined us last summer, it's now acting all "Oh we'll call you next week." In two years, the company will likely have to deal with an anti-Walmart mayor (although Christine Quinn has flirted with the store), and polling may not be so generous, so it's crucial that they don't squander the goodwill. “Walmart doesn't know how to be a good winner," a "political insider" says. Will they finally bust out the Wet kiwi strawberry intimacy gel and consummate this thing? more ›

City Council Speaker and presumptive mayoral candidate Christine Quinn announced a compromise on the controversial living wage bill yesterday. While it would require companies who receive substantial tax benefits from the city to raise employee wages to $10/hour with benefits or $11.50/hour without, according to Crain's the law would only apply to direct employees of the companies who receive benefits, not their tenants, thus significantly narrowing the initial scope of the legislation. more ›

Restaurateurs, the City Council feels your pain. Though the Department of Health's restaurant letter grade program has proved popular among consumers, many restaurateurs are still not loving it. Some are even taking pains to skirt DOH inspections. But don't worry, 2013 election-ready Speaker Christine Quinn and her Council hears the cry of the common cook and is doing something about it! Why, they've even set up an online survey! more ›

When it comes to elections most people are focused on the biggie this November. But not New York City pols! They're already focused on next November when Gracie Mansion, long left vacant by Mike Bloomberg, is once again up for grabs. And the early front runner is... still City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo are at it again, sparring over whether or not food stamp recipients should be fingerprinted, a debate that's been growing for months and is reaching a fever pitch as more New Yorkers than ever need the benefits. more ›

In a letter sent yesterday to Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said it's time to take action on a Living Wage bill. The bill, which is currently in limbo in the City Council, would require some companies receiving city tax breaks to pay employees $10 an hour plus benefits or $11.50 without. De Blasio is expected to face Quinn in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the debate over a living wage has put Quinn in a difficult position, because the business community and her mentor Mayor Bloomberg are firmly opposed to it. more ›

Over the years, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has come to be viewed by many New Yorkers as a pliant tool of the Bloomberg administration. But with an end to the Bloomberg era on the horizon, Quinn—a likely mayoral candidate—is eager to show some daylight between her and the billionaire plutocrat. To that end, the City Council will slap the Bloomberg administration with a lawsuit over a controversial policy requiring single homeless adults to prove they have nowhere else to stay before the city gives them shelter. more ›

Waaaay back in 2005 East Villagers and New Yorkers alike were horrified to learn that not only were Catherine and Alistair Economakis planning to evict all the tenants in their apartment building at 47 East Third Street in order to create an 11,575 square foot mansion, but that they got away with it, too for a mere $75,000. Fast-forward six years and it is happening again. But this time it is in the district of City Council Speaker and Mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn, so naturally SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. more ›

City Council speaker Christine Quinn is questioning Bloomberg's decision to make food stamp applicants in the city get fingerprinted, calling out the practice as expensive and unnecessary. Statewide, where one in five people are on food stamps and 2.5 million people can't afford enough food, fingerprinting is not required, but in New York City it is, making the city one of only two areas in the country requiring fingerprinting (the other is in Arizona). more ›

For the seventh time in four years Mayor Bloomberg has announced from upon high that city agencies must trim the fat off their books. Just like he did earlier this year, Bloomberg has declared that almost all city agencies need to cut off two percent of their budgets for this fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2012. Crazier, he expects them to trim an additional six percent next year. That should save about $500 million this year and $1.5 billion next year. So maybe now is not the time to quit your job to follow your dream of being a low-level city employee? more ›

Not only did the new study completely ignore the new (more business-friendly and therefore watered-down) version of the Fair Wages For New Yorkers Act, it failed to take into account hard data from actual cities like LA and yes, New York, when calculating the supposed damage done by raising pay. The study "takes place in an unrecognizable New York City where real estate values never rise and 40,000 retail jobs weren't added over the past decade," James Parrott, chief economist at the Fiscal Policy Institute says in a blistering rebuttal [pdf]. more ›

While other states continue a disgraceful race to the bottom when it comes to their immigrants, Mayor Bloomberg has repeatedly supported progressive immigration reform and denounced unnecessary and cruel deportations. In this spirit, the mayor's office recently reversed positions on a law sponsored by councilmember Christine Quinn that will make it harder for federal authorities to deport illegal immigrants in custody at Rikers Island. "Our goal is always to protest public safety and maintain national security, while ensuring New York remains the most immigrant-friendly city in the nation," Bloomberg's chief policy advisor tells the Times. more ›

The next election is way off, but pols hungry to replace our diminutive billionaire mayor from Boston are already lining up to raise funds. And, with Anthony Weiner out of the picture, one candidate is distinctly leading the pack. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn raised $1.32 million dollars in the past six months, bringing her campaign's total to $4 million. more ›

In twenty years, we'll all be driving our "Rollback Riders" to Father Walton's reeducation camps to pick up little "Wally" from his daily Bargain Drills. And this future has taken a step toward becoming reality through councilwoman and Wal-Mart naysayer Christine Quinn's recent efforts to integrate the chain with the Hunts Point produce market, negotiating a deal that would require Wal-Mart to purchase a portion of its produce from the vendors there. Quinn tells Crain's, "Walmart, by its own admission, isn't interested in a single supermarket in New York; they're interested in growing into a much bigger part of the market." This is presumably because once the Wal-Virus is implanted in a community, it spreads with abandon. So why fight it? more ›

The Daily News took a look at some city politicians (and possible 2013 mayoral candidates), and the findings may shock you: Apparently, politicians network at parties. That's right, pols like Comptroller John Liu, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn were all schmoozing during the holiday season in December, but only Liu could walk away with the title "partier-in-chief." more ›

Five hundred forty police recruits that were supposed to be sworn in this month will now enter the NYPD later this year, a move from the Bloomberg administration that has the City Council and police union angry. The NY Times notes, "The department’s head count is now 34,525 officers, about 6,000 fewer officers than at the peak of departmental staffing, in 2000," which prompted this assessment from City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens) in a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, "I believe you can't have economic recovery unless it's built upon the bedrock of a safe city. We learned that lesson in the '90s and apparently we are forgetting it now." more ›

Nearly two years ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced that unsold condo projects and stalled construction projects would be turned into affordable housing in a new city program called Housing Asset Renewal Program (HARP). Now, that program has added its first building: A stalled condo at 382 Lefferts Avenue in Brooklyn which will offer 46 rental units. more ›

Yesterday, the Daily News listed the various ways City Council members cut corners (read: possibly get away with stuff regular citizens can't) and one standout was how Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Queens) has two outstanding arrest warrants on pending criminal charges and owes $27,000 in child support. He told the News yesterday, "There is no excuse...While these events are more than 10 years old, I take full responsibility and I have taken steps to remedy the situation," and today he went to court to face his criminal charges from 1996. more ›

The Staten Island St. Patrick's parade wasn't all about Bloomberg. Homophobia, that old St. Pat's bugaboo, made an appearance as well. Turns out that while the dispute regarding the Tea Party and Young Dems marching was resolved last week before the parade another issue, this one with the LGBT group Staten Island Pride, did not come to such a friendly resolution. That one even led to some drama, caught on video, at the actual march. more ›

Gotham Gazette went and launched a nifty new new wiki today, the Councilpedia. The idea is that the site lists all of the members of the City Council and consolidates all of the public information about their finances in one place. For instance, want to know how many social workers gave money to Christine Quinn in 2009? The answer is three for a total of $625 bucks. And look, here are all the contributions she's received from the real estate industry through July 2010. The site is a work in progress, as most wikis are, but it it has real promise. more ›

Today's the big City Council hearing on Walmart's all-but-confirmed NYC debut, at the Gateway II shopping plaza in East New York. And of course the "Ground Zero" mosque protesters will be on hand to add their voices to the pro-Walmart side of the debate... because not allowing Walmart to open in NYC would mean the terrorists have won and make a mockery of 9/11? The relationship between the two issues may seem opaque to the untrained eye, but anti-Islamic gadfly Pamela Geller sees it, and she's calling all Ground Zero patriots to ask the City Council, "Who are you working for? Christine Quinn shilling for the pro-sharia mega mosque is... sad. What happens to those who share Quinn's lifestyle in a Muslim country?" Do they save money and live better? more ›

Because tougher state exams meant fewer city students were found proficient in math and English, Mayor Bloomberg has pledged $10 million to state test tutoring (video below). The money will be distributed to 532 schools where over two-thirds of students failed the tests last year, with schools getting between $6,000 and $65,000. But why give the money in the middle of the school year? According to Bloomberg, "New chancellor!" more ›

It might be cold outside, but Andrew Cuomo's affair with voters is heating up. The second Cuomo to lead New York currently boasts a mammoth 70 percent approval rating (the highest he's scored since he was Attorney General and hit 71% in June 2009). Even better for the frugal gov, more than half of voters consider him a moderate. Which has some wondering if Cuomo is going to use his honeymoon with voters to try and bring weddings to gay New Yorkers. more ›

Even though they have no actual authority in the matter, the City Council today held a hearing today in Brooklyn to discuss the FDNY's idea to start charging a tax fee to drivers involved in accidents. And guess what? Nobody likes this plan! more ›