Tag Archives: City Council
City Council Bill Could Mean More Billboards and Sidewalk Sheds In Our Neighborhood
In late January, with very little notice, the City Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee held a hearing on a bill which could have a substantial impact upon neighborhoods like the West and Central Village, Meatpacking District, Hudson Square, SoHo, NoHo, and Union Square. The bill would, for the first time ever, legalize advertising billboards on sidewalk sheds (scaffoldings) in certain parts of the city, with a permit fee paid to the City.
City Council Flouts Voters, Votes to Extend Term Limits
Comptroller Bill Thompson disapproves
In 1993 and 1996, the electorate voted overwhelmingly to limit to two terms, i.e. 8 years, the time New York City politicians may serve. Prior to that, the power of incumbency had resulted in politicians being in office until they died or got indicted and convicted on some kind of criminal charge.
The [...]
City Council Votes Itself A Third Term
Overrides Two Referenda
Twenty-nine members of the City Council voted yesterday to overrule 586,890 New Yorkers who, in a referendum, had rejected an earlier proposal by the Council to lengthen their eligibility from two terms to three.
The result is considered a victory for Mayor Bloomberg, and it is a victory in the sense that, if [...]
Slushwater Percolates Along, Discrediting Member Items - Even the Legitimate Ones
Incidents of misconduct in the appropriation and expenditures of public funds for City Council member items continue apace. Government agencies and newspaper reporters are scrutinizing official files to determine the legitimacy of Council grants.
The sins so far discovered include outright embezzlement, the hiring of relatives, the falsification of records, the use of recognized organizations as [...]
Speaker Quinn Chided by Council members for Leading Sheep to the Slaughter
April 18, 2008
I report on the past four days’ events in the burgeoning scandal involving City Council budget lines allocated to fictitious entities, and fund transfers from those accounts to organizations whose officers stole the city money they received. It may be slow going to read, but it adds up to a situation that requires [...]
Village Politics: 2009 City Council Race: Will It Remain a “Gay Seat”?
As political races seem to start earlier and earlier, it’s not too soon to think about who will represent us as our next representative in the City Council. Since our current City Council representative, Christine Quinn, is precluded by term limits to run again in 2009, we need to consider who may possibly succeed her [...]
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