Results tagged “schumer”

Placing your phone number on the federal "Do Not Call" list was supposed to be the end of unwanted sales calls, but the government's war on telemarketing seems to be going about as well as the war on drugs. But here comes the cavalry! Senator Chuck Schumer says he's "had enough"—after getting a robocall about fraudulent car warranty renewals during a health care meeting on Capitol Hill last week, he held a Sunday press conference to demand a Federal Trade Commission investigation into the businesses behind the calls.

In one of his signature Sunday press conferences, Senator Chuck Schumer announced that he'll introduce a bill this week that would prohibit ticket brokers from buying up tickets during the first two days they're on sale to the public. The proposal is believed to be a reaction against February's Bruce Springsteen ticket debacle, in which Ticketmaster referred fans to its high-priced subsidiary TicketsNow almost immediately after tickets went on sale for two New Jersey concerts.

New York State will be receiving some $750 million from Washington in earmarks for various projects throughout the state, and Senator Chuck Schumer, as usual, is getting most of the credit. According to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, the $410 billion federal budget contains approximately $7.7 billion in disclosed earmarks for various politicians' pet projects; 230 of those earmarks have New York pols' names attached. Locally, these include $381,000 for music education programs at Jazz at Lincoln Center, $277 million for the Second Avenue subway, and $210 million to connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central. Watchdog groups argue that many of these special projects—such as $950,000 for a pedestrian bridge in Poughkeepsie (a bridge in nowhere?)—win funding based on each politicians' power, not because of the projects' merits. But Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon tells the Daily News, "If left to them, Washington bureaucrats wouldn't give New York its fair share."

The economic stimulus package will benefit New York more than any other state in several crucial ways, and Washington insiders say Senator Chuck Schumer deserves a lot of the credit. Much of the allocation is still being determined, but as it stands now, New York will receive more money for Medicaid relief ($12.6 billion), mass transit ($1.3 billion) and home weatherization ($403 million) than any other state. Schumer is widely credited with big Democratic wins in the Senate in the 2006 elections, and one unnamed Democratic "insider" tells the Daily News, "Pretty much everyone from Harry Reid on down owes their job to Chuck. So whatever Chuck wants, Chuck gets." And it's not just Chuck; even less senior players like Rep. Anthony Weiner have been bringing home the bacon, securing $390 million to help New York's aging housing projects. But Weiner explains that part of the recent legislative success simply has to do with the end of the Dubya era: "Trying to explain public housing elevators to the Bush administration was the equivalent of talking French to a fish."

If you were one of the 150,000 New Yorkers who tried and failed to nab one of the golden tickets to the Obama Inauguration distributed by Senator Chuck Schumer, consider yourself lucky. Schumer is now calling for an investigation into last Tuesday's utterly predictable clusterfuck, which left thousands languishing in lines far from the area where President Obama took his mangled oath of office. (Some were reduced to calling family at home and listening to Obama's address on TV via cell phone!) The Daily News obtained an e-mail sent to Schumer from one bitter ticket winner named Cathy Shannon, who writes, "I'm sorry I was a winner, as now I am a big loser. After waiting on line for 3-1/2 hours... I actually got to miss the event. It was disgraceful... The most disorganized event I ever attended in my life. Schumer says he "feels terrible" and promises he'll make it up to everyone in 2012!

Not to be missed: Yesterday's lengthy NY Times article about Senator Charles Schumer, which explores his relationship with Wall Street—namely how he made sure to protect the industry industry "from government oversight and tougher rules, a review of his record shows... He has also helped save financial institutions billions of dollars in higher taxes or fees." (The article is part of the Times' "series...exploring the causes of the financial crisis.") Though Schumer touts himself as a middle class defender, his support of Wall Street and hedge funds goes way back. One financial industry executive amusingly summarized Schumer's reassurances during the bailout talks: "We are not going to be a bunch of crazy, anti-business liberals. We are going to be effective, moderate advocates for sound economic policies, good responsible stewards you can trust.”

A state law proposed to offer airline passengers trapped aboard grounded planes at New York airports a baseline of humane treatment (e.g. water, air, bathroom facilities) was struck down by the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today. The New York Airline Passenger Bill of Rights was enacted after some high-profile incidents that had passengers stuck aboard delayed flights for hours, with overflowing toilets and no food or drink.

The Justice Department is denying federal benefits to the families of the two auxiliary police officers who were brutally killed by a marauding gunman in the West Village last year.

Some good news in the ongoing saga to save 1520 Sedgwick, better known as the Birthplace of Hip Hop. Today Senator Schumer, who has been lobbying on behalf of the tenants to preserve the building's affordability, announced that "the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development rejected the proposed sale to developer Mark Karasick because current rents could not be sustained if the sale had gone through." The move doesn't insure that the building’s owner won't still opt out of the Mitchell-Lama program, however.

All over the city, events were held to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. One of the biggest events was the Reverend Al Sharpton's annual forum at his National Action Network in Harlem, which attracted Governor Spitzer, Senator Schumer, former Mayor Dinkins and Mayor Bloomberg.