Results tagged “davideweprin”

Is Speaker Christine Quinn guilty of cronyism when it comes to moving legislation through City Council? Since 2002, Quinn has seen 35 of her bills get passed, second only to her closest ally David Weprin (he's had 78 bills passed). Meanwhile, foes Charles Barron and Tony Avella have only seen four bills total passed over the same period of time. That sharp contrast led Councilman Avellla to tell the News, "The speaker is very vindictive, and when you oppose the speaker, she doesn't let bills go through." But other members defend the Quinn's methods as rewarding persistence, pointing out legislation most often comes from committee chairs, whom she's appointed. Weprin heads the Finance Committee, which leads to a number of procedural budgetary legislation, and Quinn herself headed the Health Committe before coming Speaker. Former Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. said to the paper, "Every speaker is accused of playing favorites when it comes to bills."

Council Members Davide Weprin, Simcha Felder and Vincent Gentile ripped up mock parking tickets in front of City Hall yesterday to protest what Gentile calls "a ticketing blitz, with New Yorkers being treated as revenue sources instead of residents, targets instead of partners." The Councilmen have introduced a bill that would require a five-minute "grace period" for certain parking violations, including no parking zones (such as alternate side) and expired Muni-Meters.