Results tagged “jeffklein”

How much do our elected officials in Albany get by on their salaries as legislators and how much of their regular expenditures come from campaign money raised for nonexistent election battles? The Daily News has an extensive piece today investigating just what state senators and assemblymen are using their campaign funds for—all within the scope of the law.

Under current state law, you can be paying your rent on time every month, and one day come home to find that you've got less than 10 days to vacate your apartment because the landlord defaulted on the mortgage. State Senator Jeff Klein says nearly 600 New York City tenants are being evicted every month because of foreclosures, and they're usually the last ones to know about it because banks are not required to inform them.

The Department of Health will soon require NYC restaurants to prominently display their cleanliness ratings in windows or entryways, Mayor Bloomberg and State Senator Jeff "Dirty Dozen" Klein announced at a press conference Saturday. The changes which will alter the numbered DOH ratings to a letter-grade system, which has been used for years in LA. The new rules will be implemented over the next two years, and health commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden says he plans to hire 45 additional restaurant inspectors, adding to the current total of 140. Also, less sanitary restaurants will now be inspected more frequently. Of course, the restaurant industry is cool to the changes; a New York State Restaurant Association rep tells the Times, "a major objection we have is that an inspection is a snapshot, it reflects a condition on a particular day, but not necessarily a long-term condition."

SCIENCE: Since we spent the weekend thinking about the Earth, spend tonight learning about Mars with NASA Solar System Ambassador Dr. Ken Kremer. He'll take you on a tour of the planet through 3-D orbital views.

amNewYork features State Senator Jeff Klein's letter grading idea for restaurants on its cover. In the wake of the media capturing rats running around a KFC-Taco Bell that had just passed a health inspection, the Health Department has been under fire.

"Rodent activity was particularly rampant near retail displays of candy, snack and pet foods. 16.9 lbs. of rodent defiled foods were seized from stock room shelves on 10/26/05 and 12 lbs. of rodent defiled Iams cat food were seized from retail shelves on 8/24/05.

It's all the rage for state lawmakers to ask for things to be graded. First, it was Assemblyman Felix Ortiz asking that kids get graded on their weight. Now, State Senator Jeff Klein wants NYC restaurants to be graded on their cleanliness - and that the grades should be posted at the establishments. Klein's main complaint is that the Department of Health's website that allows diners to check on restaurants' health inspection is too cumbersome and not very easy to navigate; he wants something quick and easy for consumers to understand. Klein compiled a list of the state's ten "dirtiest restaurants," and the NYC joints on the list were Kitchenette on West Broadway, Trattoria Alba in Midtown and Salaam Bombay on Greenwich. The owner of Trattoria Alba claims that her restaurant shouldn't be on the list, as her problems with restaurant inspectors have been more about paperwork. And it's true: When Gothamist looked at the listing for Trattoria Alba, all it said was "Current valid permit, registration or other authorization to operate establishment not available," which is a problem, but nothing like having mice, as Salaam Bombay's latest inspection claims it does. (Kitchenette's inspection had the same "no current permit/registration" notation, as well as the presence of expired milk.) Gothamist is all for restaurants being cleaner, but perhaps instead of the letter grading system Klein wants there should just be a prominent sign that lists that this restaurant has been inspected and passed without MAJOR violations. Also, we'd like to suggest that the Department of Health also inspect restaurant bathrooms, as some are truly gnarly.