Results tagged “legislation”

Business owners did their best yesterday to scare off Council members mulling a bill that would require all employers in the city to provide up to nine paid sick days. The owners insist such a law would force small businesses to slash salaries and benefits, lay off employees, and eventually flee the city. "Pile on another expense to us, you’re gonna put people out of business. You’re gonna encourage people to move their business out of New York City. I’m a mile from New Jersey. It’s a hop over the bridge. And it’s very tempting," said Tom Scarangello of Scaran Heating & Air Conditioning.

For college kids heading back to school in New York this Fall, don't plan on pulling all-nighters whilst chain smoking--or covering up your pot smoke with a Marlboro, for that matter. The Bwog just got word of a legislation, which was signed by Gov. Paterson in July, that makes smoking illegal in all New York college dormitories. They add that "a pair of RAs also noted that at least for Columbia, the mere possession of tobacco products is forbidden." Who knew that smoking in the dorms was even legal anymore? As Columbia's website states, there are both safety and health concerns with smoking in living quarters, and from now on, "those who choose to smoke do at least 20 feet away from undergraduate housing and dining buildings" (this includes fraternity and sorority housing).

Republicans in the State Senate introduced a bill this week that would protect minors, particularly transgender students, from bullies. But no one will take credit for sponsoring the bill, and it may disappear as quietly as it was introduced. A spokesman for the Senate majority leader Dean G. Skelos would not comment on the proposed law, telling the Times, “We are focused on property tax relief.” Similar legislation has been passed in the Democrat-controlled Assembly; the mysterious Republican version would require schools to train teachers to intervene during bullying and keep track of bullying cases, including incidents involving sexual orientation. 11 other states have already enacted such laws, according to Alan Van Capelle of the Empire State Pride Agenda.

Last week, City Councilman Tony Avella introduced a resolution to urge the state senate to outlaw the force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras. A bill has been on the back burners in Albany, and Avella hopes that his resolution will move things forward. Ariane Daugin, head of D'Artagnan, the nation's leading foie gras purveyor, had a some strong opinions to share on the matter. Read more about her opposition (and see the Humane Society's video of the duck and geese) here.

Is that friendly server who just recited the evening's specials an ex-con? Quite possibly, and maybe even more frequently so if the New York State Restaurant Association has anything to do with it. The trade association is rallying behind a newly proposed bill sponsored in the State legislature by Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry of Queens.

Outraged by the unstoppable deluge of delivery menus on your doormat and the inability of our elected officials to stem the rising tide? You are not alone! One man has decided to take matters into his own hands by designing a sticker for your apartment door to ward off unwanted promotions.

I've decided to start promoting my own solution: a simple bumper sticker that uses a helpful diagram to warn trespassers that fingers will be crushed if menus are put under the door. This has actually made a huge difference in reducing the number of menus arriving at my house.

First responders gathered in front of the NYC Medical Examiner's office to protest how the ME has classified deaths seemingly related to Ground Zero illnesses. State Senator Eric Adams said he would introduce legislation making sure first responders who worked at Ground Zero will "get the same line-of-duty benefits" as September 11 victims. Recently, the ME's office has not named two rescuers, who worked at the World Trade Center site after September 11 and later...

After City Council member Simcha Felder announced he would propose legislation to ban feeding pigeons, bird lovers joined forces and, yesterday, held a rally at City Hall. Armed with posters like "Save Our Right to Feed Wildlife," "Have U Known Anybody Killed by a Pigeon?", "Pigeons are Beautiful Birds," and "Felder's Pigeon Bill is Poop!", the pro-pigeon protesters spoke out for their feathered friends. One demonstrator told City Room, "We are voices for the...

Who knew thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers would agree with presidential hopeful Fred Thompson on something? In this case, the former Senator and former Law & Order District Attorney was talking about Rudy Giuliani's reliance on touting his New York City credentials during a campaign stop in New Hampshire today. Thompson told a crowd at a gun store, Giuliani "relates everything to New York City. Well, New York City is not emblematic of...

City Councilman Simcha Felder's proposed legislation to fine people $1,000 for feeding pigeons has struck a nerve. Felder and other elected officials claim that pigeons' poop is harmful to New Yorkers and, therefore, various ways to limit pigeons' eating and procreating should be explored. But some pigeon lovers are unhappy with the level of vitriol directed at the city's unofficial bird. Hence the video from Animaniacs, "Goodfeathers" (it's 10 minutes, so settle in to...

After some City Council members were caught red-handed using public funds to distribute self-promoting ads to voters--even in election years, which is illegal--the council voted 48-1 in favor of banning the practice. The vote comes on the heels of the release of a report [pdf file] by Citizens Union that showed elected officials spent $1 million in paid advertising singing their own praises during the last five years. According to The New York Sun, city...

Citing the unsightly damage that pigeon poop does to the city, City Council Member Simcha Felder announced a bill proposal to fine people $1000 for feeding pigeons. Some of Felder's key remarks and findings: "Stop feeding pigeons!" "If people like pigeons... feed [them] in your house and let them crap all over the place in your living room." A pigeon creates about 25 pounds of poop annually. "[The pigeons] may go elsewhere. Let them...

Famed New York realtor Barbara Corcoran chimed in on a matter of public aesthetics and the nature of our city by advising that homeowners would be best served by tearing up their lawns and gardens and paving them over as a suitable place to park their cars. We'll let her speak directly on the subject, as it seems too insane to try to rephrase ourselves. From Friday's Daily News:Q. My wife and I have...

Brooklyn Councilman Simcha Felder is frustrated with Albany's politics and politicians for derailing his relatively simple bid to rid New York City of fliers and takeout menus. Back in April, Felder introduced a bill to the City Council that would have imposed fines on restaurants and businesses that dropped unsolicited materials on people's property. He was spurred to action after his mother was fined several times for having litter on her property––takeout menus that someone else had left there.

More and more cases of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), more commonly referred to as a staph infection, are being reported in New York State - four more were reported on Long Island yesterday. Senator Schumer is asking the President not to veto $5 million in emergency legislation to help stop the staph superbug and local health departments are urging people to exercise better hygiene habits.

Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola is unhappy with Gov. Spitzer's plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. As an employee of the State, he has no legal discretion over whether he can ignore the plan once it's enacted, so he's filed a lawsuit to block the initiative in state Supreme Court in Albany. In a statement explaining his lawsuit. County Clerk Frank Merola alluded to a recent public opinion poll that showed widespread opposition to Spitzer's plan licensing plan.

“New York residents have stated loudly and clearly that we are not in favor of giving license to illegal aliens and all we get from the Governor are lectures on how we are wrong, and that if we were as smart as he was, we would understand and support this policy. Well, 72% of New York residents, including myself and a vast majority of County Clerks are not as smart as the Governor and I am filing suit to prevent this travesty of a policy from being implemented.”

As the NYPD Hate Crimes unit, as well as the FBI and Justice Department, investigates the noose found outside a Columbia professor's office, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly commented about the school's cooperation. Apparently the school only turned over surveillance videos after the NYPD provided a subpoena - three days after the noose was found on Teachers College Professor Madonna Constatine's office door knob.

For some reason, Norwegian comedians thought that City Councilman James Oddo would be a perfect target for their program, "Rikets Rost." Oddo, a Republican and the minority leader in the Council (he's recently supported legislation such as banning aluminum bats and giving the Department of Transportation the authority to name streets), apparently consented to the interview because the request was to discuss presidential politics.

Gotham Gazette has a fantastic analysis of what happens to the hundreds of City Council bills that have been introducedsince Christine Quinn become the City Council Speaker. The article points out many interesting things. For instance, out of the 622 bills introduced, 68% of them are never heard of again. About 15% do get hearings, but are never voted on, and only 17% actually pass to become bills.

Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D, 51st District) wants to ban alcohol ads on buses and subways. The ads provide just $3 to $5 million of the $100 million in revenue the Metropolitan Transportation Authority gets from ad sales and the MTA has not taken a position on the proposed legislation. The state’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services did express support for the legislation calling it "consistent with our strategy of preventing alcoholism across the state."

The Village Voice is questioning the merits of some top designers suing Forever 21 for "ripping off" their style. Over 20 designers in all are calling the store out for their fashion faux-pas, and they're led by Diane Von Furstenberg, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who has brought the case to Washington "attempting to get federal legislation passed that would make clothes-copying clothes a criminal offence." This isn't the first time she's taken issue with the store, and now she claims they have knocked off her famous wrap dress and more than one of her prints, one of which the Voice adds "actually looks a lot like an old Marimekko design."

Senator Charles Schumer's latest crusade? Trying to keep the national Do Not Call registry list extended so New Yorkers and other Americans won't have to deal with re-registering.

Governor Spitzer's plan to allow illegal residents of U.S. to get New York State drivers licenses by producing a valid foreign passport is generating widespread opposition. More than 80% of New York's DMV offices are supervised by county clerks and The New York Times reports that many oppose Spitzer's license plan and will resist processing applications that don't include proof of legal residence. Clerks in NYC, Westchester, and Long Island are agents of New York State, and have little autonomy to resist Spitzer's wishes, but the county clerk in Rensselaer County near Albany told the Times he will simply refuse to comply, although he doesn't know the ramifications of butting heads with the governor.

The roadway has been closed to regular vehicle traffic since 2001; the NYPD asserts that it's necessary to protect its HQ from a truck bomb attack. Chinatown residents are increasingly frustrated, however, at the disruption caused by the closure of a vital thoroughfare. People who live nearby argue that the police department has placed a chokehold on an entire neighborhood and that if One Police Plaza is such an obvious terrorist target, perhaps it should be moved from a residential area. One middle school teacher said "I’m only let into my building at the whim of a cop."

A bill before the City Council would limit the hours Dept. of Sanitation agents can issue building owners tickets for having trash on their yards or the sidewalk in front of buildings. Brooklyn councilman Simcha Felder introduced a bill limiting the hours that DOS enforcement agents can ticket New Yorkers for having litter in front of their property, claiming that it is unfair to penalize property owners for litter that appears when they are away from home and unable to collect and dispose of it. The New York Sun quotes Felder saying "The purpose is to finally rein in the ticketing blitz that takes place with sanitation enforcement."

aboutmattlaw took this great photograph at the Ditmars Boulevard subway station stairs. It's a nod to Queens City Councilman Peter Vallone's proposed legislation to ban "non-sensual" peeping, with punishments like 90 days in jail and a $500 fine for first offense. Vallone said that his bill was prompted by some women's complaints that a "rather large pervert" was lurking under the Ditmars station's subway steps. Per the Queens Gazette, Vallone emphasizes, "These perverts use their eyes to invade the privacy of people's bodies, leaving many feeling violated. Yet, up until now, there has been a peephole loophole that gives anyone a license to gawk, leer and spy anywhere they please."

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to.

The Post and Daily News have a number of editorials and columns about the Deutsche Bank building fire response and fallout. The Post continues to demand FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta's resignation and faulted Mayor Bloomberg for standing by Scoppetta. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez wonders why Bloomberg and Scoppetta have gone into "virtual hiding" and blasts Bloomberg for sending lobbyists to kill "legislation that would force tougher enforcement of safety laws by the city Buildings Department." The News also has an editorial saying that Spitzer must take charge (he "has the muscle to crack heads among the contractors and federal, state and city agencies that have made a perilous hash of the job").

L.B. Jeffries would be screwed! City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. is proposing legislation to ban "non-consensual peeping with cameras to peeping with the naked eye" according to the NY Sun. The crime would be a misdemeanor, with a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. CityRoom has some of the legislation:

b. Voyeurism in a private place. It shall be unlawful to deliberately view another person, without that person’s knowledge and consent, at a place and time when a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, while such person is (1) in a state of undress or partial dress, (2) engaged in sexual intercourse or sexual contact, or (3) urinating or defecating.

Continue reading "Vallone Wants to Stop Peeping Toms (and Tonyas)"

A report tracking the rates of property foreclosures in New York state showed the the city was not impervious to the wave of distressed homeowners that is sweeping the rest of the country. Staten Island was the only borough that displayed a decrease in the rate of its foreclosures (6%). Leading the boroughs with foreclosure increases was Queens (126%), followed by the Bronx (56%), Brooklyn (51%), and Manhattan (12%). We published this map of city foreclosures back in March.