Remember the East River Ferry that we were so excited about? The one that was free for a few weeks when it first started running? Well, as it turns out, now that it's not so free anymore, no one wants to take it. more ›

Sure, NYC's Off-Tracking Betting operation needs a firm hand, especially since it teetered near bankruptcy, but the state decided to keep it open for another year. But does the new guy running it really need to be paid $125,000 a month? more ›

On Wednesday, the Empire Center for New York State Policy released payroll data showing over 8,000 MTA employees made over $100,000, including overtime and extra pay, and an overall average pay raise of 2.4%. There's a searchable database of the employees and their salaries, leading to factoids like "Eleven of the 561 employees who earned more than $150,000 in 2009 were Long Island Railroad car repairmen who earned an average of $167,342 - which was $102,477 over their annual base pay rate of $64,865." Yup, overtime is costing a fortune. more ›

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Grammy Award-winning singer Wyclef Jean's charity Yele Haiti received millions of dollars of donations before coming under fire for years of shaky accounting and reports that the nonprofit had given $410,000 to businesses tied to Jean. Now, according to Yele sources and tax documents, it appears that the former Fugee paid his personal assistant and mistress $105,000 in 2008—more than three times the salary of the program's director, according to Gawker. more ›

The Jersey Shore cast is taking advantage of their instant fame and cashing in wherever they can. We already know they're making $10,000 per public appearance, but now they're asking for that same amount per episode for the second season (they received a few hundred per episode the first season). According to the NY Post, they're arguing the cast of The Hills, which rates lower, get $100,000 per episode. They're sticking together, saying if they don't get what they want, none of them will return. Snooki also mentioned she's looking to hire a bodyguard, noting: "When we try to go to TGI Friday's or Applebee's, we can't eat because people go crazy." (Just think of all the buffalo wings they'll be able to get with the new pay increase!) And if you're planning to check out Pauly D tonight at Sutton Place, don't expect the rest of the cast to be there — they've been invited to P. Diddy's son's birthday party. more ›

Those space-age automated public toilets—or A.P.T.s, as they're known in the business—are all the rage in the two locations where they've been installed. Cemusa, the Spanish company that won a contract in 2005 to install 20 of them citywide, says that the self-cleaning A.T.P. in Madison Square Park was used 2,736 times in a recent 30-day period, while the one in Corona was used 1,920 times. So why have only two been installed since the prototype was unveiled back in 2006? A spokesman for the DOT tells the Times, "Some communities don’t want A.P.T.’s." You'll recall that some Park Slope residents had objected to a proposed toilet at Grand Army Plaza, and a Councilwoman representing the Upper East Side also declined. more ›

Peter Cammarano, who resigned as mayor of Hoboken due to accusations that he took $25,000 in bribes during his 21-and-a-half days in office, got a nifty payout from the city: According to the Jersey Journal, "Cammarano received $12,904.04 for his one month as Hoboken mayor, according to city payroll records. Of that $12,904, $4,254.46 of it was paid to Cammarano for his unused vacation days... He was inaugurated on July 1, 2009 and his resignation was effective at noon on Friday, July 31. On his last day in office, Cammarano was paid for half a day. Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer was sworn in later that day." You know how many unused vacation days? Twelve—he got all of them, they weren't pro-rated or anything! That's super generous of Hoboken. more ›

While the State Senate did meet yesterday during another "extraordinary" session, Newsday reports that it only "lasted about seven minutes... All 31 members of the Republican-dominated coalition were present in the ornate chamber. Five of the 31 Democrats were absent." State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is investigating whether the state is able to withhold Senate pay, Paterson now wants a judge to decide. He told the Daily News, "We want a direct ruling on whether it's right or wrong for them to be paid when our position is they have abdicated their role... It's also our contention that they have been derelict in their duties. Government has been shut down by the Senate. Cities and counties are losing money off of this." The Senate has another session tonight at 6 p.m.—the Democrats and Republicans claim they are closer to an agreement, but seriously—it's been weeks. more ›

Almost a dozen school nurses say they're not being paid for the days the city closed their schools due to the swine flu outbreak. Most of the nurses in question got sick themselves or have children who became ill, but not one of those troupers called in sick during the crisis when the schools were open. One Queens school nurse tells the Daily News, "You couldn't leave people when they were that scared. It was chaos. I had a thermometer in each pocket—you had to be like an octopus." more ›

Brooklyn will have to cross its legs and wait for the arrival of the first automated pay toilet; following up on an initial report on Brownstoner, the Daily News has confirmed that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has postponed a vote on the matter. There was considerable excitement last month when plans for a toilet in Grand Army Plaza were revealed, particularly because there are few bathrooms in the immediate vicinity, and the public is often reduced to using the less than sanitary porta-potties in Prospect park. The local community board approved the proposal, but it seems the commission is concerned the toilet's aesthetics will clash with the surrounding landmarked structures, such as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch. They've requested renderings showing how the toilet will look in the wider context of Grand Army Plaza, and won't vote until they're satisfied with what they see. Two of the self-cleaning pay toilets are already doing brisk business in Manhattan (with occasionally embarrassing results); they cost 25 cents for 15 minutes on the throne. more ›

NYC comptroller William Thompson is proposing that the city plug the MTA's budget gap by raising automobile registration fees in the 12 counties served by the MTA’s trains and buses. If passed by the State Legislature, his plan would require drivers in the city and surrounding counties to pay $100 a year to register their vehicles. (The city currently charges $30 every two years.) According to the Times, drivers with vehicles weighing more than 2,300 pounds would have to pay an additional 9 cents per pound. By that measure, owners of Lincoln Navigators, which weigh in at 6,000 lbs., would owe the city $450 per year. Thompson says the revenue could add up to about $1 billion per year and serve as an alternative to the MTA's "devastating" budget proposal announced last week. more ›

A judge has finally ruled on a long-simmering dispute between a restaurant and its deliverymen. Last March deliverymen at the popular Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Grill, which has locations in Greenwich Village and on the Upper West Side, demanded a raise from owners Simon and Michelle Nget. The deliverymen reasoned that since the chain was pulling in more than $2 million a month, they ought to earn more than $120 for a 75-hour week. more ›

The City Council's Committee on Government Operations met this week to talk about possible changes to how much money council members make. Questions were raised about how raises were determined, leadership bonuses, and whether outside work should remain permitted. After a 25% increase in base pay in 2006, council members earn $112,500 annually. They can earn an additional $10,000 a year on average if a member holds a leadership position. In addition, members can hold... more ›

The Chronicle of Higher Education released its annual salary survey of the heads of educational institutions and the value of a college education is evidenced in the paychecks being cashed by institutions' presidents. More than a dozen heads of private universities took home more than $1 million during the 2005-06 school year. According to the New York Post, the dean of higher earning was Donald Ross, who took home $5.7 million--most in deferred compensation after... more ›