It is good to elect, in this case, a councilman that has a completely different outlook on the same problem.

To this blogdiva and Eyore stan, the strategic foreclosure of Stuyvesant-Town & Peter Cooper is a sign of the coming affordable housing apocalypse. Yesterday on a quick conversation with Garodnick and his staff, I got a completely different outlook.

 read more »

There is some chatter that Christine Quinn might not be able to remain as Speaker of the City Council next year. A NY Post article lends fuel to that chatter.

There are several reasons for the Council to consider replacing her: The arm-twisting Quinn did for term-limits extension; the residual effects of the so-called "slush fund scandal" (which, rumor has it, will take out a few more Council members in the months ahead); her close relationship with Mayor Bloomberg (she has yet to endorse Bill Thompson, and may not ever endorse him); and the feeling around the Council that despite her attempt to be seen as a reformer she has been a classic strong-arm despot. In addition, she barely got a majority of votes in her three-way race; that is a sure sign of weakness.

Until now, the big question being asked is who would step up and challenge her. Before answering that, I'd like to look at it from a different viewpoint -- how could it happen?  read more »

I had heard about this last week, but haven't been able to follow up until now. Bathroom repairs and other apartment issues have been taking my attention in recent days. Steve DiBrienza, the one time City Councilman for the 39th City Council District, has dropped out of the race for his old seat. This leaves us back with Brad Lander and Josh Skaller as the apparent front runners with four other candidates trying to catch up.

Recently I was talking with a Brooklyn politician and he was telling me what a shame the DiBrienza scandal was because DiBrienza had been a good councilman. That was before I lived in Brooklyn, so I don't know. But it is clear to me that the DiBrienza scandal is indicative of what is deeply wrong with the way NYC is run and why we need some serious change. This scandal, where a city councilman was given taxpayer money with only minimal oversight and little to show for it, taints every layer of the city government, from the mayor, to the Public Advocate to the City Council.  read more »

As Steve DiBrienza started his run for his old City Council seat, he rapidly got sidetracked by an apparent scandal. The highly dubious NY Post claimed DiBrienza had simply kept his old city council office, two doors down from current City Councilman Bill de Blasio's office (did Bill know this?), paid for by city money (either with the approval of Gifford Miller and Christine Quinn, or they both were sadly lax in their oversight of their colleagues), and still drew a salary from city money. The cover for this was a supposed non-profit called the "Neighborhood Assistance Corp." Clever name. Sounded good AND it sounds like a branch of the legitimate, national organization Neighborhood Assistance Corp of America.  read more »

Among the City Council reps who sided with the Bloomberg Putsch and betrayed two votes of NYC voters on term limits was Sara Gonzalez. Fortunately there is a good candidate running against her for the Democratic Primary in the 38th District...as first announced on Daily Gotham (go here for my initial comments on Galarza). There seems to be something of a spat between Galarza and his opponent, Gonzalez, regarding a moratorium on any new building construction in Sunset Park, something Gonzalez has apparently adopted from Galarza without acknowledgment (I am a scientist, so in my field you reference who you get your ideas from even if they are rivals, and if you don't, it is considered dishonest). This is a press release from Galarza's campaign:  read more »