Any minute now, Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. will introduce a bill to eliminate fluoride from the city's tap water, claiming it "amounts to forced medication by the government." We've contacted him to elaborate a bit more on his ideas, but the US Department of Health and Human Services may be backing him up. According to the Daily News, they now want the maximum of 1 milligram of fluoride per liter set 30% lower. Wait, so they really are after our precious bodily fluids? more ›

While waiting for the city to come plow his neighborhood, city Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is taking up another crusade: the fluoridation of water! Vallone is attempting to stop the decades-old practice of putting fluoride in the drinking water, something the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. Vallone told the Daily News, "This amounts to forced medication by the government. What's next? They decide we're depressed and add Prozac to our drinking water?" That depends, is it good for our teeth? more ›

It's been two days since Blizzageddon rocked our tranquil city, and many outer borough residents are growing restless over the lack of plows. Yesterday an 87-year-old couple told us that they worried they wouldn't be able to get out if there were an emergency, and readers from Bayside to Kensington to Ridgewood have told us that there has been little to no plowing in their neighborhoods. Even the politicians are pissed. more ›

The FDNY was quick to dismiss any complaints about their proposed charging of drivers for FDNY assistance after an accident, saying that insurance companies would most likely foot the bill. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. "Except for some limited circumstances, a charge by the Fire Department for responding to auto crashes would not be covered under current auto insurance policies," said Insurance Superintendent James Wrynn. And don't even think of complaining, because Bloomberg thinks you should just suck it up. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The Empire State Building will honor nearly anything with its lights. Tonight they're going yellow for the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Tomorrow they're going blue, green and yellow for Caribbean Week. Last October, they lit up for the Grateful Dead. But the building has refused the Catholic League's request for them to light up white and blue for Mother Teresa's 100th birthday on August 26th. Now, City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. has formally proposed a bill requesting the building honor the late nun. more ›

Though Queens is the biggest borough with the most profitable mall in the country, it boasts only five chain bookstores (one of which is the Borders in JFK) and one independent bookstore, forcing many residents to schlep into Manhattan any time they need a new book. "It's pretty extreme how few [bookstores] there are in Queens," Seaburn Books employee Ariadne Reza told the Daily News. Barnes & Noble spokesman David Deason cited tough times for expansion, but Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. has reportedly been reaching out to chains. There hasn't been a bookstore in the 150-storefront Queens Center Mall for 10 years, when good old Walden Books closed down. more ›

Councilmembers are pushing the NYPD to abolish a database containing the names of New Yorkers who have been stopped, frisked, and released without charges. With the NYPD stopping and frisking a record number of people last year, Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) and Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) wrote a letter urging Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to get rid of files on individuals who haven't been arrested or given summonses, arguing the current policy "raises significant privacy-right concerns and suggests that these innocent people are more likely to be targeted in future criminal investigations." more ›

Instead of cutting free student MetroCards and reducing subway and bus service, angry commuters say the MTA should stop giving retirees, employees, and their families free rides. According to Metro, nearly 50,000 MTA NYC Transit workers received a free ride this year, as well as 15,000 retired MTA workers—a policy that Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) calls "irresponsible." "They're cutting the W, which is a lifeline, while at the same time giving out perks like this." more ›

Yesterday we received this photo from a concerned reader who told us: "Saw some Amtrak workers checking out the mess under the Hell Gate bridge.. not sure the bridge is going to make it through the day!" But as it turns out, the workers were simply fixing the leak that caused the bridge to be built in the first place! more ›

Opponents of the proposal to rename a three-block stretch of Liverpool Street after Sean Bell — a 23-year-old who was killed by police in a barrage of bullets on his wedding day — continued to lash out against the plan even after City Council voted overwhelmingly to approve it yesterday. "A City Council that places a man who nearly ran over police officers in the same category as heroes who risk their lives for us all every day needs to no longer have the authority to do street renamings," said Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-Staten Island), who according to the Post voted early in the meeting and left in protest. more ›

In an attempt to curb graffiti, the City Council voted unanimously yesterday to gradually ban solid metal roll-down gates from storefronts. Starting in July 2011, shopkeepers who install new security shutters will be required to purchase gates made mainly out of metal mesh or metal grilles. Supporters say the new gates will help protect police and firefighters by giving them the ability to see into stores when responding to potentially dangerous situations, while deterring graffiti writers who seem to prefer solid metal gates. Solid metal gates will be banned entirely by 2026. more ›

City Councilman Charles Barron has extended an invitation to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop by City Hall while he's in town for this week's UN summit. Barron has a history of wooing controversial world leaders, having brought Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe by the city's chambers in 2002. Barron's latest invitation has raised the ire of other local politicians like Peter Vallone Jr., who told the Daily News, "If he wants to invite despotic dictators, he should invite them to his own house. They don't belong at the home of democracy in New York City." Barron clearly doesn't see Chavez in the same light calling him "a shining example of a humanitarian." The controversy even got the fiery of late former mayor Ed Koch into the discussion, saying, "Barron has a right to invite anybody he wants, and everybody else has a right to moon him." more ›

Earlier this year Queens Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. introduced a bill that would make it illegal to jump or climb a building (monument, statue, crane and bridge) 25-feet or taller. Yesterday the City Council unveiled bill No. 721, which The NY Times is calling the "anti-Spidey law." more ›

In a recent Guardian article the subject of the New York art world rejecting street art was touched upon, a topic that led to a bigger discussion on New Yorker's views on the medium. more ›

New stats from the NYPD show an 81.5% rise in graffiti-related complaints from 2006 to 2007 (pre-Splasher!), a year that graffiti arrests also went up 28%. more ›

Would-be Empire State Building jumper, Jeb Corliss (pictured), isn't in the clear yet. Last year's decision from Supreme Court Justice Michael Ambrecht to dismiss the charges against him was overturned yesterday when The Supreme Court Appellate Division decided to bring the case back to life. more ›

Yesterday we noted Council Member Peter Vallone Jr.'s latest mission: putting an end to stunts. Of course, one of the best examples of this daredevil activity is brought to us by Jeb Corliss; after attempting to jump off the Empire State Building in 2006 Bloomberg wasn't too happy with this thrill-seeker. Or the judge that dropped the charges against him. But now the city is revisiting the case and trying to appeal the decision. more ›

Queens Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced a bill that would have Evel Knievel rolling in his grave. If it becomes law, stunt men are going to have a tough time working on their craft in New York, as it would outlaw climbing and jumping off any structure taller than 25 feet; daredevils could get fined and spend up to a year in jail. Alain Robert is not going to be happy about this (video). more ›

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. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Chambers and Water Sts. off Manhattan, an armed robbery on Rockaway Blvd. and 75th St. in Queens, and a shooting on Grafton St. in Brooklyn.
• LibrerDia Lectorum, one of the city's oldest Spanish language bookstores will be closing September 30th. The Manhattan store on 14th St. opened in 1960 and became a mainstay of Spanish literature in the city.
• A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in a building undergoing demolition at 80 Washington St., just a few blocks from the Deutsche Bank building. The fire ocurred in an elevator shaft filled with debris.
• President Bush reversed course and decided that Brooklyn residents should be eligible for disaster relief after all. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Bay Ridge residents affected by the August 8th tornado can call (800) 621–FEMA or visit www.fema.gov to apply for assistance.
• The Times reports that New York City's school bus union is all mobbed up, and that the supposed housecleaning following the federal indictment of its leaders was nothing of the sort.
• Park Rangers and the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit were called to Central Park to rescue a six-foot-long boa constrictor that appeared to be stuck in a rock's fissure. ESU members eventually had to drill the rock to successfully remove the snake, who will likely wind up at a reptile refuge.
• Queens Crap wonders why Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is holding his German Octoberfest fundraiser (with honorary co-host AG Andrew Cuomo!) at the Czechoslovakian Bohemian Beer Hall and Garden.
• Dirty Laundry: where writers read and musicians perform over the hum a laundromat's machines in the East Village.

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. more ›

Lawmakers are looking to toughen laws around tinted windows on automobiles. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum pointed out that police officer Russel Timoshenko was fatally shot when he approached a stolen SUV with tinted windows. And current State Senator Eric Adams (a retired police captain and a founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care) summed it up, "The criminal element does not use tinted windows to protect themselves from dangerous UV rays. They use them to protect their illegal activity." more ›

The City Council voted, 46-2, to allow NYC public school students to bring cell phones to and from school - though not to use them during the day. The bill was meant to address concerns of parents and students who believe cell phones are critical to students' safety (see these tales of cell phone-less horror). City Councilman Lew Fidler who sponsored the bill said his 17-year-old son walks eight blocks for a bus and "We wouldn't dream of sending him to school without a cellphone. If he's going to be late, we want to know why." more ›

After months of silence, it looks like Shepard Fairey's recent work on the streets of New York has brought the Splasher out of retirement. Not clear yet if this is related to last week's stinkbomb arrest. Matt Barber writes:

Was down on Wooster today at the candy factory building and snapped this photo, the wheatpaste and paint look pretty fresh to me, Shep just put the same poster up near my house last week so thought it may be new, hit me back if you know if it is new or not.

While 11-year-old Xochil Garcia is still being praised for her quick thinking and bravery after escaping and helping nab a man who tried to abduct her, some adults are upset at the law. Her parents, as well as City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., are angry that the suspected kidnapper, Bernard Mutterperl, was set free on $25,000 bail. more ›

As part of Adidas's new spring line of End to End sneakers for Foot Locker, the German shoe manufacturer has created an EndtoEnd Project exhibit in an empty lot on Lafayette and Houston. Adidas had different graffiti artists create designs for shoes in an East London warehouse, so in bringing the finished shoes to the states, Adidas has the artists tagging a replica of a NYC subway car! more ›

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