Results tagged “ericgioia”

Last night was the second debate for what might be the sleeper race in the city-wide elections this fall, the four-way contest for public advocate. While the first debate wound up being a Mark Green pile on, this one saw mud being slung in every which direction after the recent momentum and attention gained by the biggest fund raiser and endorsement-getter, Bill de Blasio. The candidates showed they were hungry for the second highest elected position in the city, a job Councilman Simcha Fielder recently suggested should be done away with.

Last night, the Democratic candidates for NYC Public Advocates squared off for a WABC 7-televised debate, and it got good fast: Within 10 minutes, City Councilman Bill de Blasio attacked frontrunner and former Public Advocate Mark Green, "I have to say, with all due respect to Mark Green, he has a little amnesia. He did not stand up to Rudy Giuliani when it mattered most, when Rudy Giuliani wanted to stay on for 90 days at the end of 2001. Mark caved in to him for political reasons.” Green retorted, "There was not any public official in the eight years of Rudy Giuliani who stood up to him more often and more successfully." Green also told moderator Diane Williams, "Diane, let Bill attack me one more time because he needs it emotionally."

Remember how last year the City Council made a big stink about milk price gouging, calling on the Department of Agriculture and Markets to enforce price limits after a study showed that 86% of NYC retailers are breaking the law by overcharging for milk? The department regulates the price of milk with a monthly cost calibration, but many grocery store owners are unaware the law even exists. It's one year later, and Councilman Eric Gioia—who's running for public-advocate—is still crying over the price of milk. Though there's been an 83% drop in the wholesale price of milk in the past 18 months, some Manhattan stores are still charging as high as $6 a gallon. The Agriculture Department just can't get it together to publish the monthly threshold price on its website, and at a press conference yesterday, Gioia told reporters that the department's milk price enforcement is virtually non-existent: "We have a state agency that's not doing its job. The Department of Agriculture went from bad to worse." With an election looming on the horizon, you can definitely expect Gioia to milk this issue for all its worth.

Researchers from Columbia University and Berkeley say they've proven that children attending schools near fast-food restaurants have higher-than-average obesity rates. Using data gathered from 1,047 California high schools over the course of eight years, the report [PDF] concludes that among 9th grade children, a fast food restaurant within a tenth of a mile of a school is associated with at least a 5.2 percent increase in obesity rates.

Councilman Eric Gioia's people are pumped because last night the politician finally arrived, getting his name up on the blue board in last night's episode of Jeopardy. And the name-check appeared during Double Jeopardy, no less! Seen here, the clue refers to one of the Queens pol's favorite pet projects. If you guessed, "What are push-ups?" you'd be dead wrong—it's "unpaid parking tickets." (Of course, the Daily Politics was quick to point out that the total amount owed by the top 10 scofflaws is more like $18 million.) And making the five seconds of fame even sweeter, Alex Trebek reportedly pronounced the Gioia's name correctly. We're green with envy—some tech geek needs to create a Jeopardy screen generator (like the famous Disney sign generator) so we can get "Gothamist says grammar scolds can choke on a bag of these" into Final Jeopardy!

After Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum announced she would not run for a third term in 2009, the race for the seat was officially on. City Council member Bill de Blasio thinks he's right for the job--his 2009 election website, which once announced his campaign for Brooklyn Borough President, now highlights out his experience organizing people against the term limits extension. Speaking with City Room, de Blasio said of his possible, rumored opponents, including fellow Council members John Liu and Eric Gioia (who has raised $2 million), Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV and lawyer Norman Siegel, "It's a strong field of candidates, a group of quality people. In a way, you wish there were more elections in this city with this kind of a field of strong candidates."

City Councilman--and hopeful mayoral contender--Eric Gioia thinks the city should crack down on "erotic services" ads on craigslist. He said, "What used to happen on seedy street corners and brothels has now moved to the Internet." However, the NY State Division of Criminal Justice Services tells the Sun it really relies on "tips from people who know or suspect what's going on."