May 2010
17 posts
2 tags
Immigration: The Crime Fighter?
John Petro
A number of police chiefs from across the country have issued a warning about Arizona’s new immigration law: it could lead to an increase in crime.
“Arizona’s law will intimidate crime victims and witnesses who are illegal immigrants and divert police from investigating more serious crimes, chiefs from Los Angeles, Houston and Philadelphia said.”
These are the same concerns that...
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Suffolk Legislator Says Why His Voters Don’t Like...
Cristina Jimenez
Pat Young, Long Island Wins blogger, shares with us Suffolk legislator Jack Eddington’s thoughts on why his voters dislike immigrants. Mr. Eddington’s district encompasses the neighborhood where the hate crime against Marcelo Lucero took place. In an interview with Guernica magazine, Mr. Eddington said:
By and large, county residents have not welcomed the influx of Hispanic men…...
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Whither Public Housing
Harry Moroz
On the heels of a report showing that 13 million low-income individuals have “worst-case” housing needs, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan writes at The Huffington Post that the administration’s Transforming Rental Assistance initiative is critical to ensuring that affordable housing options remain available to low-income households.
Among other things, the initiative would – if all goes...
2 tags
About Time: New York’s Domestic Workers May...
Amy Traub
Is scrubbing somebody else’s floor “work”? How about staying up all night – every night – with another person’s colicky baby? Or helping their elderly mother shower and use the bathroom? The reality is, domestic workers like nannies, caregivers and housekeepers do some of the hardest and most necessary work around. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are able to do their own jobs and...
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Cuomo’s Lieutenant: Leaving The City For The State
Harry Moroz
Back in the dark ages of December 2007 when the Great Recession was just beginning, Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy, Attorney General Cuomo’s pick for lieutenant governor, expressed concern about the federal government’s treatment of cities. He was worried that urban areas were not a priority for the Bush administration and criticized it for trying to win over hearts and minds in Iraq while...
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The Wayback Machine
Karin Dryhurst
The Albany Project picked up a DMI video today of Andrew Cuomo’s running mate Mayor Bob Duffy talking cities back in 2007:
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Federalism And Its Discontents
Harry Moroz
Europe’s financial woes have led many across the Atlantic to look longingly at American federalism. Washington’s capacity to come to the rescue of its ward states in times of economic collapse is considered an antidote to the conflicting political, economic, and financial motivations that are pulling Europe apart.
It would certainly be politically taxing for President Obama to bail...
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Putting Spit in a Headline is Fun
Karin Dryhurst
The meme against public sector workers and their supposed outsize effect on unbalanced budgets has spread from local dailies to The Wall Street Journal to The New York Times. But a Times columnisthad to admit that the most recent outrage—bus drivers who took paid sick leave after riders spit on them—had been blown out of proportion:
City bus drivers were taking off...
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Bloomberg Wrong on Living Wage
John Petro
Mayor Bloomberg’s comments on a new bill being considered by the City Council are not just disingenuous, they’re also flat out wrong. Yesterday, Bloomberg slammed the new bill—which would require employers to pay living wages to all workers at city-subsidized projects—saying that the requirement would stop new development deals from going through.
...
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The Transportation Status Quo
Harry Moroz
Writing at New Geography, Ken Orski expresses concern about the Obama administration’s plans for transportation policy and, particularly, its call for a strategic focus on livability:
If “livability” becomes a euphemism for a federal policy of favoring high density, transit-dependent living, then we are moving closely to “newspeak” when words mean whatever Big Brother intends...
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Liveblogging the Marketplace of Ideas: Good Jobs
Karin Dryhurst
Welcome to the live blog of the Drum Major Institute’s Marketplace of Ideas! Today New York City Comptroller John Liu will introduce Pittsburgh City Council Member Douglas Shields, who will discuss his work to pass prevailing wage legislation in Pittsburgh. Shields will be joined by New York City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Peter Colavito of SEIU 32BJ, and Ava...
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What You Can Do About the Disaster in the Gulf
John Petro
The idea of thousands of barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico every day is unsettling, to say the least. The footage is even worse— perhaps even bad enough for those toting “Drill, baby, drill” placards to rethink their stance on energy policy.
But apart from relying on Superman to swoop in and plug up the oil spill with a giant boulder, what can we actually do about it?
...
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The Real Problem with Arizona’s Immigration Law?...
Afton Branche
Federal officials in recent weeks have publicly opposed SB1070, Arizona’s now-infamous immigration law. Department of Homeland Security Secretary (and former Arizona governor) Janet Napolitano said the law could invite racial profiling and hurt local law enforcement. John Morton, head of DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said: “I don’t think the Arizona law,...
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“It’s for the Kids’ Education”: New York Voters...
Amy Traub
Governor David Paterson thinks he knows what’s on New Yorkers’ minds. On Monday, the governor predicted that voters across the state would reject tax increases for local school budgets “because voters are saying public spending must be cut and tough decisions are needed,” according to Businessweek. “I think people will be very surprised when the public — not the governor,...
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A Jobs Bill Is In Our Future
Harry Moroz
The prospects of another jobs bill are about as dim as the Cavaliers’ hopes of keeping Lebron James in Cleveland (at least I think that’s the sports comparison of the hour). Or maybe not.
Visiting New York yesterday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan endorsed legislation, as he had last week in a letter to Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi, that would funnel fiscal aid to states and...
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Growth of Low Wage Jobs Puts City Economy on Shaky...
John Petro
With the Senate on the verge of voting on financial reform legislation, there are many who fret about the impact that reform will have on New York City’s economy. After all, the city has already lost about 48,000 financial sector jobs since 2007. Mayor Bloomberg has warned that the city’s economy is “very dependent” on the financial sector, and that new...
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A Green Corridor Stops Short of Miami
Karin Dryhurst
The Berkeley FIRST model continues to spread. From The Miami Herald:
Going green could extend to consumers’ wallets if Cutler Bay Mayor Paul Vrooman’s plan passes muster with the governor.
The program Vrooman has championed, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), enables property owners to borrow money to buy solar panels, wind generators, insulation or shutters for...
