Here is a NY Post editorial criticizing Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio and Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. over their stance on the living wage bill. DeBlasio only recently supported the bill and Diaz loudly applauded his stance. The editorial states, "Two years ago, Diaz got the council to kill a promising plan to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall — which could have provided thousands of jobs — by insisting on living-wage salaries at the site. The demand made the project economically unviable — and the developer, the Related Co., pulled out. Puff went the mall. And all the jobs. Diaz couldn’t have been prouder. “The notion that any job is better than no job no longer applies,” he exulted. Two years later, The Bronx boasts the highest unemployment in the state. Now, Diaz is applauding de Blasio, citing his “support for this historic legislation.”
BIG TROUBLE AT THE RIVERDALE REVIEW?
ReplyDeletePermit me to change the subject to Andrew Wolf's beleaguered weekly
tabloid, the Riverdale Review.
Caught in the vortex of a public boycott that seems to have led to an
exodus of maybe a dozen or more of its main advertisers, the Riverdale
Review has now taken the unusual step of suspending publication for an
extra week in January.
Typically, at the end of each year, the Riverdale Review has taken a
one-week hiatus over the winter holidays. For example, the final issue
of 2010 was dated "Dec. 23, 2010 - Jan. 5, 2011," which means that
2010's last issue covered two weeks instead of one.
But this year, the final issue is dated "Dec. 22, 2011 - Jan. 11, 2012,"
which means that last issue now covers THREE weeks instead of two.
One can only speculate that the Riverdale Review is trying to cut costs
in a desperate attempt to counter the loss of advertising revenue caused
by the boycott. Just think about it: Why else would a weekly
publication that calls itself a newspaper skip three whole weeks in a
row?
My guess is that Mr. Wolf is at the helm of a sinking ship.
When you are so frequently and so approvingly linking to editorials in the New York Post, it might be time to take a step back and do some thinking about stuff.
ReplyDelete( . . . like moderating comments. Who in the hell has the time for that?)
Maybe Andy Wolf is cutting costs to make payroll. Or maybe he's
ReplyDeletefollowing the example of U.S. News & World Report, which gradually
reduced its publication frequency several times in recent years,
switching at first from weekly to biweekly, then going monthly, and then
switching to an online-only format (except for the special issues it
still prints about colleges, hospitals and personal finance).
Personally (and I'd like to think I'm not too biased ...), here's what I think: Whatever the reason, now it's just a matter of time. If this boycott keeps up, it will soon be all over for The Review, at least as a print publication.
ReplyDeleteGoing, going, gone... digital
ReplyDeleteMr. Andrew Wolf and his poor excuse for a newspaper deserve exactly what they are getting.
ReplyDeleteHis is a Miserable Legacy.
Hey there! Isn't this a bit early and in poor taste to write an obit for the
ReplyDeleteRiverdle Review since it's still in print???
I can understand that Wolf would not want to publish during the dead week between Christmas and New Year's, but skipping the second week of January can only be a sign of desperation. And then he even lies about it by falsly claiming that this is his usual custom.
ReplyDeleteOut of sight, out of mind.
ReplyDeleteThose bus shelter advertisements against the Riverdale Review have been up for more than a month already. That costs big bucks. So I wonder WHO IS PAYING FOR THEM?
ReplyDeleteCan The Riverdale Review survive? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteEXCUSE ME, but the topic is De blasio and Diaz Jr !!! So Keep your unrelated remarks elsewheree.
ReplyDeleteQUESTION: What do NYC Public Advocate Bill De Blasio and Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz, Jr. have in common?
ReplyDeleteANSWER: They both occupy useless and largely ceremonial jobs.
Maybe we should revise the city charter to eliminate the meaningless posts of the public advocate and the borough presidents. It would save the city a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteAs someone noted in a previous blog comment, RUBEN DIAZ, JR. was first elected Bronx Borough President in a SPECIAL ELECTION in 2009 where he received just 28,301 votes . . . That’s LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT (or 4.29 percent to be more precise) of the approximately 660,000 registered voters in the Bronx, and just TWO PERCENT of the nearly 1.4 million people who live in the Bronx.
ReplyDeleteThat means that a man who claims to represent 1.4 million Bronxites was only elected by 28,000 people!
ReplyDeleteNot to worry, that Kingsbridge Armory fiasco should seal his fate. He will never be Mayor of New York.
ReplyDeleteFrom the New York Times:
ReplyDeleteDecember 25, 2011
A Living Wage, Long Overdue
New York City provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year in taxpayer-financed subsidies to private developers. It is only right that the jobs created by those projects pay a decent wage. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, widely known as the living-wage bill, would nudge these employers in the right direction.
The bill now before the City Council would require future development projects that receive $1 million or more in discretionary financial assistance from the city to pay $10 an hour plus benefits for full-time workers and $11.50 an hour without benefits for at least 10 years. That may not be much, but it is an improvement over the minimum wage of $7. 25 an hour.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is fighting this change, arguing that a wage increase might scare off new developments and cost the city thousands of lower-paying jobs. That has not been the experience elsewhere.
A similar law enacted in 2003 in Los Angeles requires companies receiving city subsidies to pay workers $10.42 an hour or $11.67 without benefits. Despite warnings that the city would lose projects, Donald Spivack, a development official in Los Angeles, said at a Council hearing last month that those predictions were wrong and that he was unaware of any project that was canceled because of the wage requirement. The Center for American Progress found that 15 cities with living wage laws, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cleveland and San Francisco, “had the same levels of employment growth” as other similar cities without the requirements.
Mayor Bloomberg’s arguments against this modest wage increase contrast with his endorsement of a 2002 city law that now sets a minimum of $10 an hour for about 60,000 workers employed by service contractors hired by the city, many of them home health care workers. Home care workers got a similar increase as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Medicaid redesign this year.
The City Council has revised the bill after earlier criticisms that it was confusing and too restrictive. It now has clear exemptions for manufacturers and smaller businesses with revenues of less than $5 million. The bill’s sponsors should also consider exempting grocery stores in areas that need fresh food markets. That said, this bill makes sense. A wage of $10 an hour would help lift thousands of New Yorkers above the poverty line.
"EXCUSE ME, but the topic is De blasio and Diaz Jr !!! So Keep your unrelated remarks elsewheree.
ReplyDeleteJanuary 5, 2012 8:41 AM"
Cut them some slack, Anonymous. The boycott isn't gaining much traction in the community, and when even an out-of-touch editorial page haunt like Alvin Gordon accurately calls you out for a lack of intellectual honesty, you know you've got problems.
This is their private space to issue self-congratulatory messages, with each and every message individually moderated and approved for publishing by the blog host.
I believe that the Government should cut spending before cutting taxes. We also need tighter control of foreign-aid spending.
ReplyDeleteBill De Blasio and Ruben Diaz, Jr.have started 2012 as they ended 2011 – as insincere union-pandering politicians in wasteful ceremonial jobs.
ReplyDeleteRuben Diaz Jr.’s resume cannot compare to Bill de Blasio’s record of leadership and broad experience in government and public affairs.
ReplyDeleteHere are 8 things that distinguish Bill de Blasio from a lightweight like Ruben Diaz Jr.:
1) Bill de Blasio holds a CITYWIDE elected office as NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE.
2) Bill de Blasio is FIRST IN LINE in the mayoral succession.
3) Bill de Blasio served as a CITY COUNCILMAN for 8 years.
4) Bill de Blasio ran Hillary Rodham Clinton’s U.S. SENATE CAMPAIGN.
5) Bill de Blasio was the Regional Director of the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT in the Clinton Administration.
6) Bill de Blasio served as MAYORAL AIDE to David Dinkins.
7) Bill de Blasio served as a member of COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD 15.
8) Bill de Blasio holds a MASTER’S DEGREE from Columbia University's School of International & Public Affairs.
The post editorial is a great piece and so right. De Blasio and Diaz deserve criticism, but especially Diaz.
ReplyDeleteWhy the critical comments? Because they earned it.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Mayor Bloomberg's sweetheart deal for Donald Trump ?? Golf anyone?
ReplyDeleteIt's not a sweetheart deal, and we in the Bronx would be very lucky indeed to have such a great golf project.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, eveyone should think about reducing their personal debt and lowering their cholesterol levels.
ReplyDeleteYes, we should support projects like the K'bridge Armory Mall and Trump Golf.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't listen to the attention-seeking naysayers like Ruben Diaz Jr. and his city council pals.
Support jobs and free enterprise. Screw the so-called living wage!
Ruben Diaz Jr. = Non educated,speech impaired, do nothing, for the Bronx. Better off voting for the guy begging for a dollar.He was asking for a quarter but needs a living wage so now its a buck!
ReplyDeleteYes, what he suffers from is called Outsized Stupidity.
Delete