Mayor Bloomberg sounded off on some issues that came up yesterday. He was upset that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department have reversed a policy where NYC collected taxes from foreign governments' diplomatic buildings. About $260 million in unpaid back taxes plus future revenue will be lost, leading the mayor to say, "Since 1873 they've been saying this is taxable... It's just patently unfair to New Yorkers and Americans and it contravenes established policy for 130-odd years and it just doesn't make sense." He also worried that foreign governments would buy properties, since they'd be tax-free, and rent them out. Even Senator Schumer thinks the policy sucks! As for news that the NYPD signed a $1 million contract for typewriters—used for police reports (and which are so cumbersome they may prohibit some cops from filing reports)—Bloomberg said, "Why are they using any is the question you should ask, and where do you find them? That was the thing that I thought about. I didn't think anybody made them anymore." more ›

If you think Windows Vista bugs are hurting your productivity, just be thankful you're not still struggling with typewriter ribbon and jammed keys. That's what the NY Post reports hundreds of city cops must do thanks to the NYPD's reliance on outdated technology, and it's slowing down policework. One cop tells the Post the typewriters are so archaic that, "We have to sneak around the rest of the precinct in search of a ribbon to steal." The Post also cites a retired NYPD officer and criminal justice professor who concludes the inefficient machines are hobbling the NYPD, discouraging officers from making arrests because filling out the necessary forms requires use of the dinosaurish typewriters and carbon-paper. So when will the city finally pull police office technology out of the 1970s? Well, since the city signed more than $1 million in new typewriter purchasing and servicing contracts last year, it's looking like robots could rule the subways before the NYPD ditches its last Selectric. more ›