Results tagged “sanitationcommissionerjohndoherty”

The way the local news was hyping today's storm (especially with their nifty, paranoid graphics!), we expected to see a few inches of snow by the time we woke up. But, no, the snow is expected to come around later this morning (the snow and sleet will make a NYC appearance around 11AM or 1PM, according to WABC). Even so, there are many school closings in the suburbs as local government and anyone else out...

The Dept. of Sanitation has proposed doubling the fines for those who fail to pick up after their defecating dogs from $100 to $200. The Daily News reports that Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said that since the introduction of the pooper scooper law in 1978, the city has been issuing about 1,000 fines annually. If only New Yorkers could be deputized to issue fines!

With much fanfare, the city announced a new public space recycling pilot program last month at the Staten Island Ferry Terminals. Six locations across the city are getting blue and green recycling bins to encourage people to separate their glass bottles and newspapers from regular trash. Not a groundbreaking idea, an important step for the city to expand its recycling efforts.

"We want to get the Health Department involved and possibly get the mayor out there, too," Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said yesterday.

It finally snowed yesterday, but it wasn't quite the Winter Wonderland we'd been waiting for. Because being pelted by sleet/freezing rain does not make the heart happy, nor does slipping on what looks like a cleared patch of sidewalk. There were winds in at least the 30+ m.p.h. zone, which also made it worse. Many roads were unplowed, and Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty admitted, "Sometimes I'd rather try and control a 12-inch snowstorm than a storm where we got a lot of sleet and ice coming down. This freezing rain and sleet is a particular problem because... you can never seem to get ahead."

Mayor Bloomberg released the 2006 Fiscal Year Mayor's Management Report yesterday. The MMR is the Mayor's way of being accountable for city initiatives and agencies, and during the press conference, the Mayor felt that there was still work to be done, saying, "Two-thirds of the things are going in the right direction. A third aren't going as fast as I'd like, or in the right direction.": Like what? The quality of streets has declined (which the Department of Transportation says is due to construction projects), the Civilian Complaint Review Board received 16% more complaints about police officers, structural fire response times increased and pest control exterminations dropped by 39%.

This morning's NY Times article about some very high-ranking city officials who get a salary AND pension at the same time from the city's payroll is fascinating. For a mayor who wants to limit pensions and benefits for other unions, Mayor Bloomberg has made a point of requesting special waivers for certain retired city workers to draw pensions as they return to the city workforce, and the Times's opening is hilarious:

One of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's first acts on starting his second term was to write a letter to personnel officials asking that his correction commissioner, Martin F. Horn, be allowed to collect a pension along with his $178,200 salary.

Continue reading "Double Dipping In the City's Chip Bowl"

There are many things about Mayor Bloomberg that New Yorkers should know about: His thoughts on what can be done to help the homeless, how he will improve the NYC school system, how the budget is coming alone. But then there are some things that we don't need to know about. But the folks at KISS-FM asked him a couple questions, including if he wore boxers or briefs. And as if you couldn't guess it, he's a briefs man. Please, everyone, let's never ever go there again.