Mayor Chides Diaz on Armory

Here is a piece that appeared on NY 1 where Mayor Bloomberg chides Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. for his lack of a plan for the Kingsbridge Armory after Diaz helped to kill a prior investment of over $300 million. The Mayor is quoted as saying, "Related Companies wanted to go and build there. There was this craziness that they had to guarantee that whoever they leased space to would pay prevailing wages,". But his most pointed comment came when he said, "The borough president said he was going to find solutions and he was going to find people to come in. Well that went nowhere." Diaz responded, "I have no regrets about what happened before. There has got to be a better way to develop the armory,". What do you think?

Klein Wants to Make Cyberbullying a Felony

Here is an article from the NY Post about a bill introduced by State Senator Jeff Klein to make cyberbullying a felony. This comes in wake of a recent suicide of a 14 year old boy from Buffalo who was taunted online for being gay.

Where is Marble Hill?

Here is an interesting piece in City Hall News about the interesting political status that Marble Hill enjoys (or suffers under). As the article explains, parts of Marble Hill are in Manhattan and parts are in the Bronx. In addition, it intersects multiple Council and Assembly districts. All together, Marble Hill is represented in the Assemblyman by Jeff Dinowitz, Jose Rivera and Guillermo Linares. In the City Council it parts are represented by Oliver Koppell, Fernando Cabrera, and Ydanis Rodriquez. Given that most of it is officially in Manhattan, their Borough President is Scott Stringer. Now that is a crazy mess.

Seabrook Funneled Money to Family and Girlfriend

Here is a Daily News article about Councilman Larry Seabrook employing family and funneling money to a not for profit that employs his girlfriend. Seabrook is under indictment for using taxpayer dollars for personal expenses.

Independent Democrat Group Denies Deal with Senate Republicans

Here is an article from Capitol Tonight Blog discussing whether the Independent Democratic Conference, a group founded by Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein, made a deal with the State Senate Republicans on redistricting.

Should Public Decide How to Spend Public Dollars?

Here is a unique idea by four members of the City Council who are proposing to let members of the community decide how they will spend their descretionary funding. Under the proposal, constituents in each of the four Council districts will be enlisted to develop and choose among proposals for local capital projects like street repairs, new parks and public artworks. Three Democrats, Brad Lander and Jumaane D. Williams of Brooklyn, and Melissa Mark-Viverito of Manhattan, and one Republican, Eric Ulrich of Queens, are taking part. The spending could be worth millions of dollars. The question is will others follow? Of course, this is our money they get to hand out like they are druken sailors.

Jeff Klein Spends $1 Million on Staff

Former Riverdale Review hack reporter Candice Giove is still slinging mud with a piece in the New York Post about State Senator Jeff Klein's million dollar payroll. The story claims that Klein got more than double the normal staff allotment for his role in creating a breakaway Democratic group called the Independent Democratic Conference, which has at times voted with the Republicans.

Did 9/11 Cost Ferrer the Mayoralty?

Here is an article from the Huffington Post that postulates that had 9/11 not occurred former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer would have been Mayor of New York. Over the years I have seen countless articles that point to 9/11 to justify an election win or loss in New York because of changed dynamics after the attack, but I have never been able to see how it helped or hurt one candidate more than another. What do you think?