Results tagged “report”

Earlier this month, a study examining fast-food consumers in poor NYC neighborhoods found that the city's law requiring chain restaurants to post calorie info might not be making a difference in what people order. Looking at customers' receipts, researchers found that many had actually ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer had before the law went into effect. But a more comprehensive study of the law, released today, tells a different story.

Someone slipped the 44-page ruling in the Jeremy Piven sushi saga to the Times, and it's a must-read for the Piven completist. You'll recall (because we wouldn't let you forget) that last December the Smokin' Aces star abruptly quit the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow, claiming that excessive seafood consumption—not excessive partying—had left him exhausted with "dangerously high" mercury levels. But we never found out exactly what unfolded during the emotional, three-day arbitration hearing in June. Until now.

A new study by several professors at NYU and Yale has taken a close look at the purchasing habits of fast-food consumers in poor NYC neighborhoods with high rates of obesity. Researchers were curious to find out if the law requiring chain restaurants to prominently display their calorie information was influencing customers' choices, and what they found was probably not what the Health Department had hoped for when implementing the rules in 2008.

After a two year study, a commission evaluating the State Liquor Authority has concluded that the SLA is highly dysfunctional. It's no shocker; the SLA has been mired in scandal forever, with investigations into alleged bribery and questionable favors doled out by the Governor to the top commissioners. In May, SLA chairman Daniel Boyle was ousted, weeks after the SLA Harlem office was raided by investigators on orders from the state Inspector General.

Animal's Bucky Turco has talked about his 9/11 story before, and today he's also posted video to go along with it. He recalls, "it was 8:45 p.m. or so, the night of 9/11, and Diane Sawyer taps me on the shoulder. I’m standing in front of Pace University, and I guess she saw the shitty camcorder I’m holding. Diane asks me to join her film crew; there’s evidently a 'media blackout' around Ground Zero, and they need some guerrilla camera work. They give me a paper towel roll to conceal the camera, and I tuck it under my arm and basically shoot from the hip." She tells her unofficial cameraman: “Do your best. I’m walking away to distract attention from you. Just keep shooting everything you can shoot.”

Just when you thought developer Bruce Ratner was about to turn the corner in the P.R. war over his proposed $800 million arena for the Nets in Brooklyn, along comes the city’s Independent Budget Office with a big bucket of ice water. A new analysis concludes that "over a 30-year period, the arena would cost the city nearly $40 million more in spending under current budget plans than it will generate in tax revenues (present value, 2009 dollars)." It also estimates that "for the developer, Forest City Ratner Companies, the mix of special government benefits result in total savings of $726 million."

After a record low number of fatalities from auto accidents in 2007, the number of deaths spiked last year to 292 pedestrians, drivers, passengers, bicyclists and motorcyclists—18 more people than in 2007. According to a report issued by the DOT, pedestrian fatalities last year jumped to 147, seven more than in 2007.

In a study due out this week, Thomas Frieden, the head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reveals that during the Spring in NYC "about 800,000 people—about 10% of New York City residents—got infected with the flu. That's a lot of people." In all, the virus killed 47 New Yorkers, less than 1% of those infected. But could this be just a prelude to something far worse? Dr. Harold Varmus, president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, thinks so. A heavy report spearheaded by Varmus and the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology predicts that the swine flu could potentially kill between 30,000 and 90,000 Americans in the coming months, infect half of the population, and force some 1.8 million people into hospital ICUs. Frieden, however, thinks the report is over the top, and told C-SPAN, "Everything we've seen in the U.S... suggests we won't see that kind of number if the virus doesn't change." Who to trust? The Daily News could not track Varmus down for comment, probably because he's busy stocking up on canned goods and ammunition for his bunker. (Either that, or raising money to build a new MSKCC Swine Flu Research Wing.)

In April, Mayor Bloomberg signed a bill giving New York the toughest laws against vehicular idling; leaving your engine running for more than three minutes is punishable by fines ranging from $220 to $2,000 for repeat offenders. And the limit in a school zone is just one minute. At the bill signing, Bloomberg declared, "Those of us that want to leave a good life for our children, and want to have clean air for us to breathe, and clean water to drink... it's incumbent on us to really carry the fight."

The NYCLU, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, and Make the Road New York have released a report arguing that schools can create a safer environment without metal detectors and harsh discipline. The study, called "Safety with Dignity: Alternatives to Over-Policing Schools," is based on a year-long examination of six NYC schools with "at-risk" student populations that do not use metal detectors. According to the report, these schools have improved attendance, better student retention and graduation rates, and "dramatically fewer" criminal and non-criminal incidents and school suspensions than schools equipped with permanent metal detectors.

NYC has kept its ranking as the metropolis with the lowest overall crime rate, as compared to 2008 stats from the 25 largest cities in America. The FBI’s Crime in the United States report asserts that violent crime decreased by four percent in NYC last year, outpacing a national decline. And according to NYPD Compstat data, crime was down an additional 12 percent citywide for the first five months of this year, compared to 2008 levels. Murders are down 21 percent, robberies are down 17 percent, and there have been 17 percent less rapes. But declines in felony assaults, while slightly down (1.6 percent) from 2008, have not kept pace with other reductions. Some downtown precincts, including those that police Greenwich Village, have reported a spike in assaults, and the NYPD has beefed up patrols in the area. Still, the report is great news for Mayor Bloomberg's third term hopes. In a statement, he praised the NYPD's "innovative policing strategies" and also attributed the decreased crime to his focus on getting guns off the streets.

Remember that $25,000 sundae that Serendipity 3 was selling back before the stock market parked itself in the garage with the engine running? Needless to say, they haven't been selling too many of those lately, and even their down-market $1,000 sundae hasn't had any takers since last November.

Think you're safe from lung cancer because you don't smoke? Here's a fun fact: Secondhand smoke is estimated to account for at least 35,000 deaths from heart disease and 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in nonsmokers nationwide each year. And a recently-published study suggests that New Yorkers are even more at risk because our dense urban environment results in a greater exposure to secondhand smoke.

NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy has released a massive report examining how the city's 59 community districts have fared during four distinct real estate periods: two upturns (from 1980 - 1989 and from 1996 - 2006) and two downturns (from 1974 - 1980 and from 1989 - 1996). Between '74 and '80, housing prices declined by 12.4% citywide; between '80 and '89 prices increased by 152%; then between '89 and '96, prices dropped by 29.3%; and in the last boom, which lasted from '96 to '06, prices grew by 124.2%. All in all, sales prices citywide grew by 250 percent during the 32 year time span!

Payouts from the NYPD in settlements and judgments soared during the last fiscal year, according to a report from Comptroller William Thompson detailing the city's payouts. Overall, the city paid $567.9 million as a result of lawsuits, an increase of about 2% over the previous time period. But the NYPD's payouts increased 11% percent, to $102.8 during fiscal year 2008, which ended September 30th. Of that amount, $35.2 million was paid in settlements over charges of improper police action, up 40% over the previous year.

There's good news and bad news in Mayor Bloomberg's latest status update on the city's performance. According to the mandated "Mayor's Management Report" for Fiscal Year 2009, major felony crime decreased 3% during the first four months of the fiscal year (July to October), while homicides rose 10.6% and grand larceny auto also increased, compared to the same time period in 2007. The annual report is an early indicator of how the city will fare this year; here are some other findings:
• Traffic fatalities decreased, from 112 to 102.
• The 311 customer service center received 12% more calls, from 4.78 million to 5.37 million.
• The number of trees planted nearly tripled, to 1,028, due to projects associated with the Million Trees Program. (Only about 999,000 more to meet the goal!)
• Less cacophony? The city received 15,275 noise complaints compared to 19,998 last year.
• The Department of Homeless Services saw an across-the-board increase in single adults and families entering the shelter services system, including an increase of 38% for families with children.
• The number of persons receiving food stamps increased by 18.1%. Among these recipients, the number of non-cash assistance persons receiving food stamps increased 25.8%, reaching an all-time high.
• The number of syphilis cases rose by 30%, reflecting national trends.

The Bloomberg-appointed Panel on Climate Change released its final report yesterday, predicting that annual temperatures will rise between 4 and 7.5 degrees over the next century, while heat waves, damaging rain, and coastal flooding will become increasingly regular occurrences. Here's a look at what the city may very well look like as heavy flooding becomes more frequent.

Newark airport had the worst on-time arrival rate in all the land in 2008, according to the federal DOT, which just released its year-end report [PDF] on flight delays. Go EWR! This is the the fourth time in the past six years Newark won the top prize for tardiness, coming in second place in 2007 and 2004. Last year flights to Newark arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled time only 62.32% of the time; by comparison, the airline industry's overall on-time rate is 76%. (A 2.6% improvement over '07!) For the record, La Guardia was second-worst and JFK ranked fourth. Airlines blame the delays on congested air traffic in the New York region, which is only exacerbated by inclement winter weather and high winds. The study also found that one of the worst flights you could possibly take in '08 was the consistently delayed ExpressJet Airlines Flight 2019 from Hartford to Newark, which was late 93.3% of the time. Of course, when Newark's the destination, why rush? [Via Star-Ledger.]

Kings County Hospital Center was founded 175 years ago, but it didn't become truly infamous until last year when that horrible video surfaced, depicting a woman being left for dead on the floor of the ER waiting room for nearly an hour. Now, after a year-long probe, the Justice Department has documented an appalling pattern of sexual and violent assaults at the psychiatric unit. Read no further if you think One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is hard to stomach.

       

A new report from the Center for an Urban Future (whose previous report, "Attack of the Chains," sparked a bidding war between Fox and Warner Bros.) confirms the obvious: the so-called middle class can no longer afford to live in New York and are relocating in large numbers to the exburbs or far-flung cities like Houston, where $50,000 a year gets you the same standard of living as a $123,322 salary does in Manhattan. Don't scoff; Space City has theater, opera, ballet, air-conditioned skywalks, a Holocaust Museum—even a lively local weblog, just like the one you enjoy here!

A state commission has recommended revising New York's drug laws to favor rehab for low-level offenders and give judges more discretion in sentencing convicts, but many lawmakers say the commission's report falls short. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver called it a "missed opportunity" in a letter to commission Chairwoman Denise O’Donnell:

The Commission held in its hands a unique opportunity to help undo thirty-five years of failed drug policy and set New York on the path to establishing a more just, more humane and more effective approach to combat drug crime and drug abuse. I am saddened that it failed to do so.

Continue reading "Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Report Too Weak for Shelly"

Yesterday's report that Wall Street bonuses fell 44% last year had State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli bemoaning all the income tax revenue lost by the belt-tightening. But today the Times takes the long view, and points out that those belts weren't really so tight when compared to previous years. Sure, last year's $18.4 billion in bonuses is less than half of the 2007 and 2006 take, but it was still the sixth-largest haul on record. Adjusted for inflation, Wall Street workers took home about as much as in 2004, when the Dow was soaring. (And those figures omit stock options that would push the numbers even higher.) Harvard Professor Lucian Bebchuk tells the Times he's concerned banks might be using taxpayer bailout money to subsidize the bonuses, which definitely calls for an angry torch mob or a sad trombone, take your pick.

According to the temperance scolds over at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, you are a binge drinker if you consume more than five alcoholic beverages during one occasion. We always thought that just means you're a New Yorker, but apparently drinkers nationwide go on crazy, multi-drink "binges" just as much as we do here. A study released today finds that 15% of New Yorkers cop to "binging" at least once a month, compared to 16% nationwide.

As the President-elect vacations in Hawaii, his transition team released a 5-page report emphasizing that Barack Obama had "no contact with Gov. Rod Blagojevich or his office and no one acting on Obama's behalf was involved in any 'quid pro quo' arrangement the governor allegedly sought for filling the vacant Senate seat with a candidate of Obama's choosing," according to Chicago Breaking News. Is it worth noting that the report was issued late on Christmas Eve Eve? The report says that incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had one or two conversations with Blago, but apparently the conversations were above board. From Politico: "The report does not say so, but an Obama adviser told Politico that at least one of Emanuel's calls was taped as part of the federal investigation into corruption in the governor's office."

The number of homeless families with children entering New York City shelters has risen dramatically in recent months, hitting an all-time high in November, when 9,720 families were reported in the municipal shelter system. According to figures released by the Department of Homeless Services, 1,343 new families were accepted into the shelter system last month, a 43% increase over the 935 who moved into shelters in November 2007.

A report released Tuesday by the Food Bank for New York City has found that approximately four million New Yorkers—one in two—are having trouble paying for groceries, a 26 percent increase since the last survey in February. The Hunger Experience 2008 Update also found that college degrees are increasingly useless protection against indigence; one out of every three (36 percent) NYC college graduates had difficulty affording needed food this year, up from 11 percent in 2003. Lucy Cabrera, the food bank's president, says, "The results of this report are devastating. These numbers should be a wake-up call for all New Yorkers." The Food Bank NYC sources and distributes food to the estimated 1.3 million New Yorkers who rely on emergency food. Today you've got until noon to help the Food Bank by bidding on one of their cool celebrity decorated lunchboxes. (Just please don't outbid us on Mike D's Jacob the Jeweler box.)

Almost half of all accidental subway fatalities happen to riders with alcohol in their bloodstreams, according to a study by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, which looked at data on subway deaths between 1990 and 2003. 145 of the 315 accidental fatalities during that time period were found to involve some degree of alcohol, though the report doesn't specify how blotto the victims were, if at all.

New York City's budget gap will be as much as $1.9 billion in fiscal 2009 and could possibly balloon to as much as $5 billion by 2011, according to a wholly depressing new report from City Comptroller (and mayoral hopeful) William Thompson Jr. Is it okay to just go back to bed and pretend this isn't happening? Certainly, but the report's disheartening data will still be there tomorrow morning: The recession could cost the city some $935 million in tax revenues next year, a figure that includes a $525 million shortfall in real estate-related taxes, a $345 million reduction in personal income and business taxes, and a $65 million loss in property taxes.

In response to a recent spate of violent muggings in the West Village, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has sent an email to constituents warning them to "remain alert." In the email, Quinn cites six violent muggings that have occurred in the neighborhood from November 15th to December 4th, explaining that "every time, the victim was approached from behind by two males, hit and then mugged. This past Monday, the 6th Precinct formally declared these muggings to be a pattern." (This contradicts the Post's earlier report, citing NYPD sources dismissing the notion a pattern was emerging.) In the most recent attack, a young woman's jaw was broken during a mugging near The Spotted Pig. Quinn's email details exactly where the crimes took place but does not include a description of the suspects. And she assures residents that the 6th Precinct's Anti-Crime Unit, in conjunction with the NYPD City Wide Robbery Squad, will beef up their presence in the area.

As crews begin dismantling Olafur Eliasson's four arboricidal waterfall scaffolds, the mayor's office has released a report asserting that the economic impact of the installation was better than expected. When the waterfalls were turned on back in June, Bloomberg predicted the city would see some $55 million in revenue from the exhibition. A study commissioned by the city’s Economic Development Corporation says that the NYC Waterfalls generated an estimated $69 million for the city. According to City Room, that figure breaks down like so: