ExxonMobil, Bank of America, General Electric, Chevron and Boeing had combined profits of $77.16 billion in 2010 but paid $0 in federal income taxes, according to a new report from NYC Public Advocate Bill De Blasio, who is outraged that many massive corporations are getting incredible tax breaks while also pouring money into political campaigns. Contributions have soared since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision last year, which gave corporations more freedom to spend money on politics. De Blasio's analysis found that these top five recipients of corporate tax breaks avoided paying $5.4 billion$3.7 billion in potential taxes last year. At the same time, they spent a combined $7.86 million in campaign contributions, a 7% jump over their 2008 political spending. But you can't hold it against them, it is their First Amendment right. more ›

State officials say oil spill cleanup efforts under Greenpoint are seriously picking up speed. “In terms of oil recovery, we’re more than a third of the way there,” state Department of Environmental Conservation project manager Ed Hampston told the Brooklyn Paper. With the help of new sludge-sucking pumps (and at the urging of subway artists), workers removed 880,000 gallons of oil last year, more than twice as much as in 2008. Since 2000, the year the cleanup began, 10.8 million gallons of petroleum product have been extracted. more ›

State attorney general Andrew Cuomo filed suit against oil giant Exxon Mobil to clean up an oil spill along Newtown Creek that is estimated to be twice as large as the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. The suit also names BP, Chevron, KeySpan and Phelps Dodge and is seeking action and fines against the companies that spilled approximately 20 million gallons of fuel into the ground and water of industrial Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The New York Times reports that environmental group Riverkeeper filed its own suit against Exxon Mobil in 2004 after it found the ground in Greenpoint heavily contaminated and benzene fumes were even emanating into the air. more ›