Well, now we know why The Donald didn't pursue his dream of leading the free world! Why would he want to take an annual salary of $400,000 that forces you to live in your office building and make hard decisions when you can curiously eat pizza in one of your many developments while pulling in $65 million a year from NBC for saying "you're fired?" more ›

A little OTB update: Yes, it's still dead and its employees have been put to pasture...except for CEO Gene Rayburn. Earlier this year, it was noted that Rayburn was being paid $125,000 a month and it turns out he's on payroll through January 14. The Daily News reports, per the governor's office, "Rayburn has stayed on to 'finish everything up.' The restructuring specialist is dealing with the outfit's remaining issues in bankruptcy court and is making sure money owed to various creditors and staffers is paid out... By the time he is through, Rayburn will have been paid at least $750,000 for six months on the job. His predecessor made $175,000 annually." more ›

We thought it was pretty darn bad that several notable convicted politicians, including Alan Hevesi, Joe Bruno, Guy Velella and Clarence Norman, continued to receive taxpayer-funded pensions worth tens of thousands of dollars a year even after they were convicted of criminal charges. But it turns out that even the ones who haven't been convicted yet are doing their own dirty dealings: at least 11 politicians are double-dipping, taking advantage of a loophole that allows entrenched elected officials to collect pension checks while still in office. And by the love of Costanza, it's just not right! more ›

Well, this is disturbing, but not all that shocking. A new study has found that skinny women bring home more bacon than those of average weight, and much more than those who are overweight. The NY Post reports that the Journal of Applied Psychology's research discovered being 30 pounds below the average American female weight of 164 pounds can garner you around $10,719 more than the average woman's pay of $40,000 a year. Make that 60 pounds less and you can make around $22,300 more per year! more ›

Those buzzkills at CNNMoney created a Google Map that shows what it really means to have $250K/year—which the White House says is a mark that someone is wealthy. Since cost of living is different in various cities, however, that is a sweeping generalization. In some parts of Texas and Florida it may be accurate, but here in New York City (and more specifically, in Manhattan) the local equivalent is $545K. Meaning that is how much you'd have to make to maintain the same lifestyle as someone living in, say, Missoula, Montana. On the upside, you don't live in Missoula; their fresh air is so overrated anyway. more ›

“I’ve been knee deep in raw sewage at 7:15 in the morning, and let me tell you, it don’t smell like Folgers in your cup,” griped Anthony Mongiello, one of many city sewage workers up in arms over his industry's longtime wage freeze. Because of union foibles, some sewage plant employees haven't gotten a raise in fifteen years, reports the Times. Their average salary has continued to hover around $42,000, while their private sector counterparts are sometimes paid twice as much. “It’s disrespectful,” said Michael Enright, an 18-year sewage plant veteran. “I’ve got to change bearings and seals on million-dollar pumps with raw sewage flowing between my legs, and we make less than an auto mechanic.” more ›

Considering city street conditions, a union leader thinks the $27.99/hour wage earned by some senior bus drivers is completely merited. "New York City bus operators work in the most dangerous work environment of any bus operators in the country," Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen told the Daily News. "The notion that they are overpaid is now clearly debunked." Even at that generous rate, NYC bus drivers aren’t the best paid in the nation, according to a ranking by a transit research firm. In Boston, bus drivers earn $30.18/hour, and in San Jose, Chicago, Seattle and Rockville they get close to that much. Still, another recent ranking showed NY traffic could be a lot worse.
more ›

Possible Senate candidate Harold Ford has been bashed by his likely rival for not disclosing whether or not he received a "taxpayer-backed bonus" from his job at Merrill Lynch. Turns out he didn't really need a bonus, because his unusual Wall Street contract promised him at least $2 million per year, regardless of his performance. more ›

If Gov. Paterson's proposed budget is approved and Mayor Bloomberg is unable to negotiate pay concessions from the teachers' union, city educators may face significant layoffs for the first time since 1976. About 11,000 of the city's 79,000 teachers might be fired, and others might be shuffled around the city to different schools, the Mayor said. more ›

The city's richest man keeps living up to his big spending reputation — even after his poorer-than-expected performance at the polls. Despite fears that after his narrow third term victory, Mayor Bloomberg wouldn't pay out the big bonuses that his campaign staffers have come to expect, the Times reports that he's giving out "roughly the same generous checks to his staff as he did after winning office in 2001 and 2005 — 20 percent of each worker's total wages." more ›

You may get to Carnegie Hall through practice, but you get to walk away from Carnegie Hall with a half million a year by being a stagehand at the legendary venue. Bloomberg News blows the lid off the shocking salaries that Carnegie doles out annually, saying that while "a star pianist can receive $20,000 a night... he or she would have to perform at least 27 times to match the income of Dennis O’Connell, who oversees props at the hall." more ›

Amanda Ernst is dancing for pennies as the new editor of Mediabistro's Fishbowl NY. This morning she appeared on the Today Show with her financial guru, telling the tale of how she went from making $50K/year at Condé Nast to just $1,666/month (about $20K/year) at the house of Laurel Touby. Livin' the dream. Some tips: cut out your gym membership, New York Times subscription, and social life whilst earning extra bucks babysitting. more ›

The City Council will give 550 council aides and central staffers approximately $3.9 million in raises for this year’s salaries and, retroactively, for last year’s salaries. The decision, which was not bogged down by any annoying "voting," was framed by Council speaker Christine Quinn's spokesperson as a "cost of living increase." Charles Meara, the Council's chief of staff and top paid employee, will see his salary go up to $209,973 from $194,132, a gain of $15,841. And his deputy chief of staff, Ramon Martinez III, got a nice bump too, from $191,664 to $207,303. (The Wonkster has a nice top 10 list of the Council's highest paid staffers.) The salary increases, which do not apply to council members, come on the heels of Mayor Bloomberg's $45 million in raises for his staff. And the city's district attorneys and borough presidents have given or are expected to give similar raises. Bucking the trend, City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., a cash-starved Democratic candidate for mayor, has frozen the salaries of all his employees who make over $90,000 a year. But how will they afford the cost of living?! more ›

It's hardly a secret that organized religion can be a very lucrative business model, but the sky high compensation package offered to the new senior minister of Riverside Church—which has a long history of advocating social justice—has some congregants raising hell. The Daily News's Juan Gonzalez reports that a group of dissident church members filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court last week to stop Saturday's installation of Rev. Brad Braxton, who's been hired with a $600,000 annual compensation package. more ›

Let's hope Governor Paterson isn't as whimsical with our state budget as he is with his own. Less than twenty-four hours after being presented with the idea to take a pay cut while at a town hall meeting in Niagara Falls, the governor announced that he will in fact give up ten percent of his salary. While in Buffalo today, he said, “I will symbolically make the gesture for the state. I will take that sacrifice.” But while the governor might be desperate to get in the good graces of state voters, don't expect to him to do it at the expense of his staff members, who recently drew attention to him for the raises he gave them amidst the budget crisis. As for them, Paterson said, “I don’t want anyone else to do anything but do their jobs and make sure that we get rid of this budget deficit." more ›

The salaries of all city employees are available for the public to peruse at See Through NY, a project from the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy. AMNY's Urbanite reports, "The mayor’s office is boasting some of the highest salaries of any city agency, with nearly one in five of its staffers pulling in at least $100,000 a year." The average salary in the Mayor's office is $71,626; the response from the Mayor's office: "The mayor’s office, unlike other city agencies, is mostly managers who are responsible for overseeing all facets of city government"—and, therefore, deserves those salaries. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein makes the most, with a take of $250,000 annually, and Urbanite notes that the salaries do not include overtime. more ›

After longtime Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio's arrest on bribery charges, the State Assembly apparently held a secret meeting to discuss, per the AP, "tougher rules over disclosure of outside income by lawmakers." more ›

The Gristede’s supermarket chain could be forced to pay $25 million to more than 400 current and former managers who've successfully sued the company for refusing to pay overtime. Last week a federal judge sided with the employees, dismissing Gristede's argument that they were "salaried executives who, under federal and state law, are generally exempt from receiving time-and-a-half pay for overtime," the Times reports. In his decision, Judge Paul Crotty wrote that “Gristede’s clearly sought to treat workers as ‘hourly’ for some purposes, (i.e., docking them for hours not worked during the workweek), but ‘salaried’ for other purposes (i.e., not paying them overtime for hours worked in excess of the workweek).” Naturally, Gristede's plans to appeal, since billionaire owner John Catsimaditis (pictured) is going to need every cent to run for mayor. more ›

Hey, did you get your year end bonus yet? The bros at Goldman Sachs sure did, to the tune of $600K per employee, on average. Yep, $600,000 dollars, a number that stands out in a year when most Wall Street bonuses, though still obscene, are either diminished or staying even with previous years. In fact, 600K is double the average bonus paid at other firms, according to Reuters. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's generosity has been noted from educational institutions (like his alma mater Johns Hopkins) and even city organizations (like the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation). He gave staffers on his re-election campaign payouts as big as $300,000-400,000. And when Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff announced he would leave City Hall to become president of the mayor's business, Bloomberg LP, it suggested that the Mayor rewarded staffers he trusts. Well, the NY Times now looks at how some Bloomberg aides' salaries have grown since taking the government jobs in City Hall. more ›

Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who was in charge of Economic Development and Rebuilding in the Bloomberg administration, announced he would resign by the end of the year. The Post called the news "stunning," but we'd like to call it "classic," because his new job will be president of a little company called Bloomberg LP. At a City Hall press conference, Mayor Bloomberg said, "As a result of Dan's efforts, we've allowed for the creation of... 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 ›

"Broadway Joe" Namath (who's now hitting AARP-age) will be larger than life when his life story hits sacks the big screen. Starring as the Hall of Fame quarterback (and ladies man) will be none other than Jake Gyllenhaal, who will likely only have to do a touch of bulking up for the role.While other quarterbacks racked up bigger lifetime stats, Namath became the first football player to achieve rock-star status. The pic will tell the... more ›

Unnamed sources are telling the Daily News and The Post that a deal between the stagehands’ union and Broadway producers is within reach. The two sides have an agreement on the main sticking point, the dispute over the number of stagehands required for a show’s “load-in” and are currently negotiating salaries. As one source put it, "Everybody is confident we can finally get this done." There’s even optimism that some shows affected by the strike... more ›

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released data showing Manhattan as the country's highest paid place. Thanks to financial executives' salaries, the average weekly salary for a Manhattanite is $2,821. The next highest weekly salary in the country is Fairfield, Connecticut - $1,979. The figure reflect the heady first quarter of 2007. The rest of New York City residents make more modest amounts. Queens residents make an average of $831/week, followed by $788 made in... more ›

The NY State Department of Taxation and Finance is pretty sneaky. After years of observing the Yankee captain's comments, lawyers are saying that DJ owes hundreds of thousands in back taxes. Though Jeter's Yankees salary is partially taxed by NY State, he has claimed that his primary residence is in Florida, which has no state tax. The argument from tax officials is that Jeter has made statements "professing his love for New York" and that... more ›

"O Stephon, Stephon, wherefore art thou Stephon?" Those are the words that Isiah Thomas might be saying. At least if what one media outlet is reporting is true. Not because the Knicks seem like they their star point guard after last night, or because Stephon Marbury is AWOL, but because the Knicks star point guard may have the dish on his head coach. While on the flight to Phoenix, Marbury learned that he wasn't going... 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 ›

More than a year and a half after the death of Nixzmary Brown, the Administration for Children's Services has hired 20 retired NYPD detectives to work as trained investigators consulting with ACS caseworkers. The ACS plans on eventually fielding 120 such investigators. more ›

Presidential hopefuls can scurry around the country, choking down rubber chicken dinners and hustling for campaign cash, but Mayor Bloomberg knows that it's best to just sit back and let one's money work for you. He's certainly busy working for his $1-a-year salary, and even pays for his own travel when on jaunts to places like London where he's addressing another world capital. Still, our Mayor managed to more than double his wealth from last year. Forbes magazine says that Bloomberg's net worth rose from $5.5 billion to $11.5 billion, launching him from the seedy straits of single-digit billionaires into the elevated realm of the country's top-25 richest Americans. more ›