Here's a new video from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s office about the annual coat drive they just launched earlier this week. This is worth checking out, because now his office's videos are coming fully equipped with fancy video editing and music!
Ahh, the 21st century!
Friday, December 2, 2011
It's beginning to look a lot like...a special session
Speaking with a handful of various staff members in both the state Senate and Assembly, everyone seems to be preparing for a special legislative session to resolve the state budget. Earlier today on the State of the Politics blog, Liz Benjamin also said she's heard rumblings that a special session could be called as early as next week:
Another source, when asked if the special session would turn into a circus, gave me a list of things that will probably get brought up regardless of if Governor Cuomo has a set agenda or not:
Members of the Assembly are being given a heads up this morning that a tentative three-day special session in Albany next week is possible, a highly placed Democratic source said.
The potential session would be held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week.One source who was down at an event at City Hall today told us that the legislators are all talking about it with one another but don't have any official word exactly.
Another source, when asked if the special session would turn into a circus, gave me a list of things that will probably get brought up regardless of if Governor Cuomo has a set agenda or not:
- tax code change...no millionaire's tax, but one that's more equitable nonetheless (higher rates for wealthy mixed w/ tax cuts for middle-class)
- taxi medallion issue
- possibly healthcare issue (NY is not in compliance)
Walmart has the second largest active army in the world
Mayor Bloomberg said last week, incorrectly, that his army-the NYPD-is the seventh largest in the world. That wasn't correct, seeing as the NYPD only has about 33,000 people.
Walmart, however, has 2.1 million people, so if they all decided to buy a gun from the superstore (then walk out to their car, put the gun away, walk back in and buy bullets--and yes, that's a rumor I heard that I can not confirm about not being able to buy guns and ammo at the same time in some states), they'd be the second biggest active army in the world, trailing only China.
That's just one statistic out of many in this nice little infographic about Walmart.
Other tidbits include that 96% of Americans live within 20 miles of a Walmart, and that if you lined up every one of Walmart's warehouses, they would cover the entire island of Manhattan.
Check it out after the jump.
Walmart, however, has 2.1 million people, so if they all decided to buy a gun from the superstore (then walk out to their car, put the gun away, walk back in and buy bullets--and yes, that's a rumor I heard that I can not confirm about not being able to buy guns and ammo at the same time in some states), they'd be the second biggest active army in the world, trailing only China.
That's just one statistic out of many in this nice little infographic about Walmart.
Other tidbits include that 96% of Americans live within 20 miles of a Walmart, and that if you lined up every one of Walmart's warehouses, they would cover the entire island of Manhattan.
Check it out after the jump.
Yankee great helped bring in holiday season in the Bronx
Former New York Yankee Mickey Rivers helped the Bronx Botanical Gardens launch their holiday season last week.
Rivers (far right), the former center fielder who won two World Series with the Bronx Bombers in 1978 and 1979, joined a handful of elected officials, including Assemblymen Marcos Crespo (far left) and Jeffrey Dinowitz (second from right) and state Senator Jose Serrano (second from left), to help bring in the holidays.
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| -Photo by Talisman Brolin |
Rivers (far right), the former center fielder who won two World Series with the Bronx Bombers in 1978 and 1979, joined a handful of elected officials, including Assemblymen Marcos Crespo (far left) and Jeffrey Dinowitz (second from right) and state Senator Jose Serrano (second from left), to help bring in the holidays.
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| Dinowitz turned on the lights for the Botanical Gardens' menorah. -Photo by Talisman Brolin |
Dinowitz speaks out against potential cuts to senior centers
We touched upon this in a budget article in this week's Riverdale Review, so make sure to check that out if you can.
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| Dinowitz (at podium) speaks out against possible cuts to senior services with (l-r) NYC Department for the Aging Commissioner Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, state Senator Diane Savino, and Assemblywomen Grace Meng and Joan Millman. |
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz spoke out against potential cuts to Title XX funding for senior centers at a rally at City Hall yesterday, sponsored by the Council of Senior Centers & Services of NYC. For each of the last two years, the Governor's budget proposed cutting tens of millions of dollars from Title XX funding, which resulted in New York City threatening to close over a hundred senior centers. Dinowitz, the former chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging, led a successful fight this year to prevent this cutback and the closing of senior centers.
With Governor Andrew Cuomo pondering calling a special session that would bring legislators back to Albany to discuss more cuts, in order to balance the budget after the tax revenue did not match expectations, Dinowitz and others are worried that senior services could end up back on the chopping board.
"This time around, we want to convince the Governor to not propose this cut in the first place. I will fight together with Speaker Sheldon Silver, Aging Committee Chair Joan Millman, and my other colleagues to make sure that seniors will not have to live in fear that the senior centers that so many of them depend upon would be closed," Dinowitz said in a statement.
Burlington Coat Factory's Gateway Mall store is now hiring 200 people
With news of unemployment dropping throughout the country in the month of November, it looks like Burlington Coat Factory will be helping those numbers improve in December. The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. said about 200 positions need to be filled.
Burlington Coat Factory hiring in the Bronx
Burlington Coat Factory hiring in the Bronx
NAACP releases redistricting maps
The state NAACP has released a handful of maps they gave to LATFOR, the committee charged with redistricting the state.
The maps created are just the NAACP's opinions on what they would like see, which would be to ensure the African American population continues to be represented in Congress. They are not the final product.
"The big picture here is to preserve New York's black congressional districts and black New Yorkers' voting rights," NAACP State President Hazel Dukes said in a statement. "I urge our faith and civic leaders, grassroots activists, good government and legal defense groups, politicians and others to join with the NAACP in this fight."
This district would be the 15th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Charlie Rangel. They also created maps for Queens/Nassau and Brooklyn.
The new district would run from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Marble Hill, through to the reservoir, then up through Norwood and Wakefield to Mount Vernon, also spanning further east to Co-Op City.
This map takes away from Rep. Eliot Engel more than anyone else, which would push Engel--who is white--further into Westchester and Rockland counties. Engel would keep Rivedale, Woodlawn and Van Cortlandt Park but lose Jerome Park Reservoir and everything east and south of Van Cortlandt. He would also lose Mount Vernon.
It would take Co-Op City from Rep. Joseph Crowley, who has parts of the Bronx and Queens.
NYS-NAACP_PrelimPlan_BlackVtgRts_CD15
The maps created are just the NAACP's opinions on what they would like see, which would be to ensure the African American population continues to be represented in Congress. They are not the final product.
"The big picture here is to preserve New York's black congressional districts and black New Yorkers' voting rights," NAACP State President Hazel Dukes said in a statement. "I urge our faith and civic leaders, grassroots activists, good government and legal defense groups, politicians and others to join with the NAACP in this fight."
This district would be the 15th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Charlie Rangel. They also created maps for Queens/Nassau and Brooklyn.
The new district would run from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Marble Hill, through to the reservoir, then up through Norwood and Wakefield to Mount Vernon, also spanning further east to Co-Op City.
This map takes away from Rep. Eliot Engel more than anyone else, which would push Engel--who is white--further into Westchester and Rockland counties. Engel would keep Rivedale, Woodlawn and Van Cortlandt Park but lose Jerome Park Reservoir and everything east and south of Van Cortlandt. He would also lose Mount Vernon.
It would take Co-Op City from Rep. Joseph Crowley, who has parts of the Bronx and Queens.
NYS-NAACP_PrelimPlan_BlackVtgRts_CD15
Thursday, December 1, 2011
DOT putting stickers on their parking signs
Two Department of Transportation employees have a pretty repetitive job right now.
They were seen today outside our office putting stickers on parking signs, changing 'HR METER PARKING' to 'HR MUNI-METER PARKING.'
Thank goodness they hopped right on this, because I for one would have been even more confused than the signs already make me.
To the DOT's credit, at least they're saving money by not replacing the entire sign.
The DOT is replacing every single-space meter in the city right now, saying the muni-meter's are better because they offer more parking spaces (Unless they don't know how to pull up to the car in front of them!), you can pay for parking with a credit card or dollar bills and not just quarters, they break less and are less expensive to maintain.
They were seen today outside our office putting stickers on parking signs, changing 'HR METER PARKING' to 'HR MUNI-METER PARKING.'
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| Stickers! |
To the DOT's credit, at least they're saving money by not replacing the entire sign.
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| R.I.P. |
Carrion fined $10,000 in conflict with architect
Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion has been fined $10,000 by the city Conflict of Interest Board for his connection with the architect who helped renovate his home in 2006. At the time, the architect was also seeking approval from his office for a separate project.
This caused a two-year delay in being billed for the architect's work (A bill that probably wouldn't have been paid had the public not found out about the situation, despite what Carrion claims).
Carrion left the Bronx BP position in 2009 to become Obama's urban affairs czar, but later got 'moved' to the regional director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Head over to the Daily Politics later on to get more information. Right now, they only have the disposition, which is here below:
COIB Press Release _ Disposition _Bronx Borough President_
This caused a two-year delay in being billed for the architect's work (A bill that probably wouldn't have been paid had the public not found out about the situation, despite what Carrion claims).
Carrion left the Bronx BP position in 2009 to become Obama's urban affairs czar, but later got 'moved' to the regional director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Head over to the Daily Politics later on to get more information. Right now, they only have the disposition, which is here below:
COIB Press Release _ Disposition _Bronx Borough President_
Brooklyn Rep. Clarke has spent more on travel this year than all three Bronx congressmen combined
Elected officials have a lot of opportunities to waste taxpayer dollars. Office rent, cable, mailings, food, telephones, furniture, travel, staff and so much more.
Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clarke has spent the most in travel expenses so far this year, costing taxpayers $45,745 on travel for her and her staff to go to Washington, D.C. and back, through September. In the last three months recorded (July-Sept.), she spent $11,188, according to a recently released congressional report.
By contrast, Rep. Joseph Crowley (Bronx/Queens) has spent only $8,567 in 2011 and only $2,943 in the last few months recorded.
The two other Bronx representatives, Reps. Eliot Engel and Jose Serrano, also paled in comparison to Clarke.
Engel spent $12,020 through September, and just $4,785 in the third quarter. Serrano spent $17,006 this year and $5,858 in the third quarter.
Check out the Daily Politics to see who the other top spenders are from the New York City area.
Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clarke has spent the most in travel expenses so far this year, costing taxpayers $45,745 on travel for her and her staff to go to Washington, D.C. and back, through September. In the last three months recorded (July-Sept.), she spent $11,188, according to a recently released congressional report.
By contrast, Rep. Joseph Crowley (Bronx/Queens) has spent only $8,567 in 2011 and only $2,943 in the last few months recorded.
The two other Bronx representatives, Reps. Eliot Engel and Jose Serrano, also paled in comparison to Clarke.
Engel spent $12,020 through September, and just $4,785 in the third quarter. Serrano spent $17,006 this year and $5,858 in the third quarter.
Check out the Daily Politics to see who the other top spenders are from the New York City area.
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