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Thursday, July 21, 2011

As Stringer Calls for Elimination of Pork, Diaz Hands Out $13 Million



Here is an article from the Daily News pointing out that just one day after Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer called for the elimination of member items or pork, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. announced that he was handing out $13 million to Bronx organizations. Diaz's office said they are in the process of examining Stringer's report. My bet is that Stringer will be the only major politician in this City to take this position.

40 comments:

  1. Boro Prez Stringer also receives and doles out discretionary funds!

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  2. Of course member items need to go, but SCOTT STRINGER HAD NO PROBLEM WITH MEMBER ITEMS back when he was a state legislator.

    He spent 12 years in the New York State Assembly distributing pork-barrel money to politically connected groups in the 67th District (which includes parts of Manhattan's Upper West Side and Clinton neighborhoods).

    Can you say hypocrite?

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  3. No honor among thieves?

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  4. How disrespectful & shameful some people are!! These are YOUR elected representatives, & you needd to treat them with a high level of courtesy.

    And if you feel they are not doing a good job, vote for someone else next time. Until then, kindly shut your mouth!

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  5. There's an informative review of the 4 primary forms of NY State member-item money on pages 232-233 of the 2001 book "New York Politics: A Tales of Two States" by Edward Schneier and John Brian Murtaugh.

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  6. So now we kill Stringer because he finally got religion? Just cause he dipped his beak while a STATE legislator doesn't mean he's wrong about City pork. We're in a financial crisis folks, allowing politicians to dole out taxpayer money with minimal oversight so they can maintain their voting base is just wrong.

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  7. Excuse me Mr/Ms Anonymous @ July 26, 2011 2:40 PM, but when someone becomes an elected official, they are on a higher level than their constituents and should be treated with higher respect than the average person.

    Now regarding the borough presidents, Marty Markowitz correctly noted that borough presidents and their spouses are treated like heads of government when they travel internationally. That's a very good thing for the residents of each borough and gives great respect and dignity to New York City!

    There is nothing wrong with the United Nations giving the same level of courtesy to the borough presidents as they give to the Prime Minister of Australia, the Chancellor of Germany or the President of Taiwan.

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  8. Uh-oh, looks like Ms. Hanley of CB8 is trolling this blog again, with reference to "go sit down please" and the like. Always bullying and on the offensive to deflect that there is no substance. Don't get her mad, or she'll trash you behind your back (but never to your face)!

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  9. It's just plain silly to compare NYC's five pointless and powerless borough presidents to the elected chief executives of foreign countries like the Commonwealth of Australia, the Federal Republic of Germany, or the Republic of China on Taiwan..

    The borough presidents have no control over any executive agencies and have nothing to do with the military, economics, foreign affairs, justice, etc...

    The borough presidents are a total waste of public money. They are pointless local ribbon cutters.

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  10. The last time the five borough presidents actually mattered was on Aug. 27, 1990, when the 92-year-old New York City Board of Estimate, which had been declared unconstitutional, had its final meeting before being dissolved under the sweeping charter revisions enacted in 1989.

    Besides the borough presidents, the now-disbanded board included the City Council president, the comptroller and the mayor. It wielded enormous administrative power over planning, building and spending in the city. When the Board of Estimate was abolished, its considerable powers were divided among the City Council, the mayor and various new agencies and boards.

    The last powerful borough presidents were:

    Fernando Ferrer (Bronx)
    Howard Golden (Brooklyn)
    Ruth W. Messinger (Manhattan)
    Claire Shulman (Queens)
    Guy V. Molinari (Staten Island)

    Today, the borough presidents are glorified ribbon cutters who have little effect on policy. Their primary authority is limited to a greatly reduced budgetary role and to making appointments to some citywide commissions and panels and local community boards.

    Since they are vestigial, mostly ceremonial posts that are not even necessary, it is high time for the borough presidencies to be scaled back or, better yet, abolished outright.

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  11. Hey Mr Stringer, while you're at it, how about calling for the elimination of the borough presidencies?

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  12. Don't forget that some of the powers of the borough presidents were already slipping away nearly three decades before the 1989 charter revision. In 1961, New York City voters approved a charter revision proposed by Mayor Robert F. Wagner to strip the borough presidents of their considerable control over such functions as street and sewer repairs.

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  13. J.R.Dobbs is BishopJuly 27, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    Anonymous@ 5:20

    Don't forget the "Name the Street for Cash" events. It takes a staff of twenty about a year to rename a street. Imagine a visiting nurse or doctor wasting time and energy trying to find a real address. Or a 911 dispatched up and down Southern Blvd, when, in fact, it is renamed after a councilman's dentist. That is the pay grade of our elected officials. Too sad.

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  14. I'm pretty sure the three of you are talking to yourselves.

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  15. United Nations??? . . . The borough presidents would have to wait at the U.N. Visitors' Entrance like everyone else!

    So if Mr. Markowitz and the “first lady of Brooklyn” want to visit, they should not expect the Secretary-General to greet them. The Visitors’ Entrance is located on 1st Ave. & 45th St., and the gates open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:45 PM. I hope they enjoy the tour with all the regular folks.

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  16. markowitz is a joke

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  17. Kelly and Quinn lead right now in the polling, with Stringer at bottom, way below Markowitz, Liu, Thompson and DeBlasio.

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  18. Look at this interesting report on the US debt ceiling crisis:

    Reuters.com | July 28, 2011 | 2:29pm EDT

    US CONGRESS CAN WORK WITH LIGHTENING SPEED ON DEBT COMPROMISE

    * If deal is reached, leaders have tools for quick action
    * Two key dates -- Aug. 2 and Aug. 5
    * "Smelling the jet fumes"

    By Richard Cowan

    WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress, known for moving painfully slowly, can kick into high gear when it is staring down a deadline important to the entire country -- or when lawmakers are approaching their cherished August recess ...

    READ MORE: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/28/usa-debt-congress-action-idUSN1E76R0Y720110728

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  19. uh-oh Anonymous. When I comment on blogs I leave my name, not "anonymous" like yourself. Perhaps you should read the Riverdale Press today? Sounds to me like you are deflecting attention from some of the real issues that plague your "community". Does your Mom have anything to add to the conversation. I have no problem telling people what I think of them to their faces. Please get your head out of mental 7th grade please. If you have an issue with me, come upstairs and knock on my door. Please keep in mind that I will not get your brother a job or ask one of my co-workers to fix one of your broken laptops or lend you money or contribute to any of your causes or fundraisers. I gave at the office and I earned everything I have, you should try to do the same. Have a fabulous day, anonymous!
    Signed,
    Colleen R. Hanley

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  20. Hanley only writes tough, but never talks tough. Too bad for her, so she must go sit down please.

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  21. Dearest Colleen,

    Instead of your passive bitching and moaning, if Amalgamated is really as upset with Jeffrey as you say, why don’t you do something meaningful about it? There’s power in numbers (if you actually have any numbers???).

    So here’s the deal: As long as Jeffrey gets the votes at Amalgamated, he doesn’t give a crap what you say. So put up or shut up.

    Your friend,

    A-N-O-N-Y-M-O-U-S

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  22. Isn't Ms. Hanley on the CB and active in other community organizations? I'd say that trying to "do something about it". She speaks her mind and gets trashed for it, or at lest gets calls from elected officials who don't like what she says.

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  23. And what exactly does this Hanley do on Bronx Community Board 8, other than warm a seat?

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  24. anonymous...I'm pretty sure you know where I live. come on upstairs. I'm always open for discussions about suspect tax credits over a period of 7 years, drug dealers on staff, ex-con managers, managers who werent vetted but were referred by former assistant managers, a broken allocations process, conflict of interests and the charitable contributions Board members make to their pet religious institutions using shareholder funds and lots of other topics that must be addressed. as far as Dinowitz is concerned, quite a few members of his family reside at the Amalgamated,I am sure his mother/brother/sister/son have mold free apartments which never require repeated visits from HPD. some folks have all the luck.

    you and I clearly have two different concepts of tough. we can discuss that too, anonymous.

    such a debbie downer.

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  25. Colleen is just proving to everyone that she needs clinical help. She has webrage in the 1st degree. Every post she makes, either identified, or not, proves it. She cannot stay away, she is addicted to crawling the blogs and web and will cyberbully anyone. I would state my name, but she's not worth it actually. I have family to consider being harassed by her on the street that to post my name. Call me a coward, yes, but I'd rather be called a name than subject my family to her rants and gossip. Besides, I never recall her to appear at the stockholder meeting each May.

    This statement will twist in her psyche until she gets help. I would love to see her sucess in carrying out her threats from her rants, it would make for a great show, but at the community's expense.

    The officials at the local and state levels have heard her rants and have cast her off as hot air. She'll respond here I am sure, she's a blog addict. She needs help.

    For the rest of the real world outside of amalgamated, I am sorry to post here, as the story is about Mr. Diaz, but then again, isn't he the reason why we have Colleen Hanley on the community board anyway? Has she actually done anything constructive with her position?

    Yours truly,

    ANONYMOUS

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  26. I've got news for some of your bloggers. Bronx life, Bronx news, Bronx politics do not revolve around Hanley, Dinowitz and Amalgamated. Why should we care about them?

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  27. Dear Anonymous Blabbermouth:

    Please stop littering these open forums with the bile of your desperately unfulfilled life. Your self-directed frustration and rage are palpable. Please turn off your computer, read a book, learn to enjoy life. If you can't do that, then please cram my words down your toothless piehole and choke on them. If you think Colleen Hanley is your only (imaginary) adversary, then you are mistaken.

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  28. http://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/Amalgamateds-new-manager-has-fraud-on-resume

    From the Riverdale Press: Amalgamated's New Manager has Fraud on His Resume
    ----------------------------------------------
    http://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/Two-fires-prompt-co-op-to-rethink-safety,48029

    From the Riverdale Press: Two Fires Prompt Co-Op to Rethink Safety
    -------------------------------------------------
    http://riverdalepress.com/stories/Tenants-want-Amalgamated-to-hold-line-on-rent-hikes,39926

    From the Riverdale Press: Tenants Want Amalgamated to Hold the Line on Rent Hikes
    ------------------------------------------------

    http://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/At-Amalgamated-fee-increase-draws-ire,39697

    From the Riverdale Press: At Amalgamated Fee Increase Draws Ire
    ------------------------------------------------

    http://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/An-amalgamation-of-troubles-at-local-co-op,41554?page=1&content_source=

    From the Riverdale Press: An Amalgamation of Troubles at Local Coop

    ----------------------------------------------

    http://riverdalepress.com/stories/Looking-for-change-at-Amalgamated,41754

    From the Riverdale Press: Looking for Change at Amalgamated

    ------------------------------------------------

    The articles above speak volumes about the decline of what was once considered a Utopia for many. While internal cliques absolutely insist all of the problems at the Amalgamated are contained within the Service Department (SCAPEGOAT), the real problem can be traced directly to the Board of Directors who approve carrying charge increases, hire shady managers, etc. Candidates for the Board are handpicked by the same people year after year. The Board is now working on a nominating committee for new Board members, in the interest of democracy of course.

    Your pathetic attempts to discredit what I have been saying all along, by referring to me as crazy or in need of meds, is quite funny. Pathetic too. Have a great weekend. XXX-OOO.

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  29. Colleen R. Hanley for City Council !!!

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  30. Hey Colleen,

    What do you think of this posting on the website Uncivil Servants, which says that Assemblyman Dinowitz abuses his government parking permit?

    The site reports that Mr. Dinowitz illegally parked in front of his apartment building on a Sunday.

    SEE REPORT (WITH PHOTO):
    http://nyc.uncivilservants.org/post/index/6506

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  31. Diaz can hand out discretionary funds, but he's not on the right track to get the Bronx moving.

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  32. According to an article in today's NEW YORK POST, the city's five borough presidents soak up the following in taxpayer money:

    * $23 million for staff and to operate their offices.
    * $63 million in capital cash the beeps dole out to their pet programs.
    * $160,000 in annual beep salary.

    In addition, the article says the following:

    The borough presidents were powerhouses until a 1989 revision of the city charter eliminated the Board of Estimate -- as voting members of the board, they could approve or kill virtually any big city project. They were further weakened in 2002 when the Board of Education, to which they appointed members, was disbanded.
    Now, the role of a borough president includes appointing community board members, making budget recommendations, issuing advisory opinions on land-use matters and producing official maps.
    "I look at some of the things that the borough presidents do and say, 'What the hell are they doing?' " said Baruch College political-science professor Doug Muzzio. "This isn't government."

    Read more:
    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/marty_bark_owitz_wDuDAJjT0QhjI1QAv6kCQP

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  33. Public dollars should not be used and manipulated this way.

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  34. governmt process distorted by interest group pork politics

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  35. and boro presidents are needed because.......................... ? ? ?

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  36. Let me say hi to all that are managing this blog as they are good opeople. Like coleen I think its important to use your name to have a voice. No name-no voice

    And talk about warming up a seat. With the new declaration thatCB8 appointments are not in tune with its neighborhood, do you think ts important for troublemakers like lily white Robert press to be let go of his seat, in hopes of productive repreentation from say kingsbridge, which is underrepresented?

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  37. If u want more of the same political mess-then just keep doing the same-and support riverdalian robert ppress

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  38. Nobody can mangle a sentence like Rivieccio!

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  39. Hey its hard to write on these new "mobile tools"

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  40. I wonder which member of the New York City Council is the worst value for the money?

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