Results tagged “citycouncilmanbill”

Housing activists and some City Council members believe that New York City needs a law prohibiting landlords from discriminating from potential tenants using federal rent vouchers. The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program gives low-income families the opportunity to rent apartments while paying only 30% of the rent; the remaining portion is covered by the vouchers. The Times explains that "Eligible households are those earning no more than 50 percent of the metropolitan area’s median income, or no more than about $35,000 for a family of four in New York," while the rent limits are "$1,069 for a one-bedroom and $1,556 for a four-bedroom."

The city changed its emergency shelter policy yesterday at 5PM, vowing to turn away homeless families who had previously been deemed ineligible (because they could, potentially, stay with relatives or a friend).

Earlier this week, the Daily News looked at the YouTube video showing a classic meltdown at the Kensington Post Office. A man, frustrated about the service, yells, "Get the manager over here! I want the manager. We'll see how long you have your job, sweetie." An employee says, "Who the hell do you think you are?" only for the man to reply, "I'm the customer, you stupid bitch." Yeah, that sounds about right.

The wonders of timing! Yesterday, Brooklynites' beef with the tagger Backfat was examined in the Daily News, and last night, the police arrested him! The News reports that Charles Abarno was cuffed "in front of the 72nd Precinct stationhouse." Hmm, was Abarno considering tagging the stationhouse? Detective Mike Cleary had been following the case of the mysteriously appearing Backfat tags in the Windsor Terrace-Kensington neighborhood's stores, schools, subway stations, anything, and arrested his white whale.

It was one year ago yesterday that 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown, previously starved and beaten, was murdered in Bed-Stuy - her stepfather and mother are currently charged with her death. On this grim anniversary, city officials and child advocates implored the government to increase resources in keeping with an increase in child abuse reports over the past year. Specifically, officials are requesting an increase in the number of Family Court judges and maintaining a healthy budget for protective programs. The NYC Family Court says that the number of neglect reports increased 163% last year while the number of reports of abuse went up by 63%. Although its important to remember that this is an increase in the number of cases reported and not necessarily an increase in the absolute number of cases. The number of judges, on the other hand, has held steady at 41 since 1991 leading to long wait lists for hearings, some lasting up to a month.

What kind of a person stabs a Pastor in the back?

The city will be starting the Integrated Pest Management Academy, aka The School Where People Will Learn How To Get Rid of Rats, with a federal grant from the CDC. The college will teach "exterminators, rodent inspectors and other city workers better ways to get rid of rats." In the press conference, Assistant Commissioner for veterinary and pest control services, Edgar Butts, said that the biggest misconception of catching rats is that you leave bait by a rat hole and then seal it up: "Rats are intelligent animals. You have to put the bait deeply in the hole as far as you can put it - [otherwise] the rat will throw the bait back out."