Later today, the city will discuss whether the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers should be landmarked. The Observer reported that NYU announced its support today, a reversal from an earlier position over three years ago. more ›

Back in March of 2003, Mayor Bloomberg opened up the City Hall Academy at the Tweed Courthouse. The school offered two-weeks "residencies" for students, giving them an "inter-disciplinary approach" to learn about NYC and its history. Mayor Bloomberg, who made education reform one of the cornerstone of his mayoral platform (it's a big part of his "national" persona, too!), had said, "The opening of City Hall Academy demonstrates our commitment to excellence, achievement, and innovation in the public school system. City Hall Academy will provide New York City children and their teachers a unique opportunity to study and participate in the cultural and historical fabric of the City.” more ›

The New York Times details how it was not for a lack of trying that homeless grew during Bloomberg's tenure in office. The city spent $79 million on initiatives to fight the problem, including a Compstat-like program to track incidences of homelessness and identify trends that could be corrected before they became full-fledged problems. Bloomberg took on programs that he thought encouraged people in marginal housing to become homeless, and met stiff opposition. more ›

Governor Spitzer nominated H. Dale Hemmerdinger to be Peter Kalikow's replacement as MTA Chairman. Hemmerdinger is a real estate developer with long and varied ties to New York City. He is the president of ATCO Properties and Management, which owns and manages two million square feet of residential, commercial, industrial, and retail space. A longtime backer of Democratic politians, Hemmerdinger's wife donated $40,000 to Spitzer's campaigns since 2000, and Mrs. Spitzer hosted a fundraiser at the Hemmerdinger's Central Park South home last month, according to the Daily News. He is also the former head of the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission, where he recommended balancing the MTA's operating budget by hiking subway and bus fares, as well as increasing tolls for motorists. more ›

- Employment and training incentives will promote increased employment and earnings or combine work activities with specific job training activities. For instance, exemplary attendance in elementary could earn $25 every two months, while exemplary high school attendance earns $50. Getting high scores on exams is worth $200-300, and things like going for check-ups or keeping a job would also be rewards. The city estimates families will earn $3,000-5,000. more ›

The hard-hitting polemical film, , lucidly articulates and amplifies the movement to stop Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan. Directed and produced by Isabel Hill, the film portrays the AY project as an outrageous scam to be perpetrated upon hoodwinked Brooklynites. Numerous interviews with critical residents, planners, critics, and elected officials portray a scenario in which a cynical developer and corrupt State agencies have hired gullible community allies and a star architect to conceal their true motives. The politics of the Brooklyn-based coalition, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), are evident in the film, although the work was independently created and funded by Hill, a former city planner. more ›

When we were little our parents would often tell us the same terrifying bedtime story: An old woman walks into a lawyers office demanding that they help her sue the criminals who have taken away all of her savings. The concerned lawyer asks the woman who could have done this to her so that he can help. She explains that she spent every one of her pennies on the Lotto because she had to win big sometime, right? But that now she is penniless and pension-less. The lawyer sighs, and sadly informs the poor woman that unfortunately no criminal activity had occurred as the people who took all of her money was her very own Government and that they were allowed by the citizens of New York to start a lottery, for good or bad, way back in 1966. more ›

If you are interested in urban planning, architecture, or real estate, The Stamford Review is a great read. It's a scholarly journal that deals with a lot of those issues, published in NYC and Stamford, CT. We got a copy of their spring issue (available as a free download at StamfordReview.com, which contained many intriguing pieces about the limits of growth in our city, and what is going to happen next. Larry Sicular, the editor and publisher of the review, and Jonathan Miller, one of the contributors, were nice enough to answer some of our questions. more ›

Bad news for Fernando Ferrer: He's trailing Mayor Bloomberg by a whopping 31 points according to a Quinnipiac poll. And this poll, unlike earlier ones where Bloomberg enjoyed a 27 point lead, is after fears about the subway terror threat on October 7, which might mean that New Yorkers, despite their grousing, might really love Mayor Bloomberg! The Mayor introduced a new health plan to insure children, which Ferrer's campaign says is the second instance of the Mayor copying Freddy's promises. "Plagiarism," the Ferrer campaign slinged as he campaign with John Kerry on the Lower East Side. More shockingly, it seems that some of the diners at the Harlem International House of Pancakes (where the Mayor previously served diners) when Mayor B got an endorsement from Reverend Calvin Butts were actually Bloomberg volunteers. It's Flapjackgate! more ›

A day after the MTA's announcement of unprecedented and, frankly, surprising discounted fares between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the reality has set in. First off, the MTA is really trying to restore its credibility with riders by being nice; a Regional Plan Association spokesperson tells Newsday, "You can't take the politices out of it totally." Second, some critics wonder why the MTA can't put the money ($50 million for holidays discounts this year; another $50 million for possible discounts next year) towards balancing their budget inthe coming years? Policy groups tell the NY Times "Why is the M.T.A. engaging in feel-good, short-term gimmicks rather than convincing riders and business leaders that it has sensible, long-term plans for a balanced operating budget and a fully funded capital budget?" (Fiscal Policy Institute) and "There's no question that the most responsible use of the money would be to pay down the authority's unfunded pension liability" (Manhattan Institute). And, third, just because things are good this year, the MTA isn't ruling out 2007 fare hikes. Well, it's not like anyone who even peripherally follows the MTA really expected that - it's so dysfunctional. We can't always hope the real estate taxes will give us surpluses every year. We don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth (too much), but Gothamist would really prefer the MTA to give us subway service for Christmas. We'll pay the extra $1 not to be sent on wild weekend subway service goose chases! more ›