I recently wrote a series of essays on what I consider to be phony or exaggerated economic issues in New York State. Now I’m going to write a series of essays on the real problems, as I see them. For New York City, perhaps the biggest problem is the low share of its adults who work, or look for work. The support of the non-working is a burden the working have to carry, and to the extent that burden is concentrated on those who live in their proximity, it is a particular burden in New York. But that liability is small compared with the impact of the absence of employment on the non-employed themselves. It is one of several ways New York’s poor are less well off now than in the 1950s – though, as we shall see, better off than in the mid-1990s.
Category: News and Opinion
Joe Dreck
|The saga of the cash cow known as the Independence Party (IP), which I’ve religiously documented here and here continued on primary day when a number of votes important to the party took place.
In the 13th Congressional District (Staten Island/Brooklyn), the party forfeited its one opportunity for usefulness, when it rejected its homegrown lunatic, Anita Lerman, and re-nominated the repugnant Vito Fossella, who shares with both factions of the IP leadership a predilection for spending taxpayers’ money in manners inappropriate, whether it be on matters small (photos for his campaign literature) or large (the war in Iraq).
Brooklyn Bridge Park: A Modest Proposal
|“One of the real issues in the campaign (on the Brooklyn side of the district) is the proposed construction of luxury housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP). Connor's for it. Diamondstone's against — and so is the community. It's not Atlantic Yards. Call this story "on the waterfront." But this primary election is shaping up as a referendum on an issue. And isn't that what they're supposed to be about.”
Alex Navarro – Working Families Party (WFP) Blog (9/6/06)
Although Marty Connor beat Ken Diamondstone 55/45, these numbers are deceiving. About 65% of the the 25th Senatorial District is in Manhattan, about 10% in Williamsburg/Greenpoint; Connor won those areas handily; although a 36 year resident of Brooklyn Heights, with 28 years representing the area in the State Senate, Connor lost the Brownstone Brooklyn area by a resounding margin, taking less 40% of the vote. While there were other issues, Mr. Navarro is exactly right. Atlantic Yards, which Mr. Navarro and the WFP support, is not in the 25th SD, and the intensity of opposition to it drops exponentially with every block. The proposed park is at the edge of the prosperous areas of Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill, and has inspired intense, albeit uninformed, opposition. If this was a referendum on the Park, and I think it was, the Park lost.
Governor’s Island 4.0
|The news broke earlier this week that the latest planning process for the redevelopment of Governors’ Island has been scrapped, and the agency charged with the redevelopment of the island would start over. Again.
The latest plans called for a variety of uses, including hotels, condos, conference centers, and an amusement park. Mayor Bloomberg’s earlier plan called for moving the CUNY campuses there, and using the existing campuses for public schools. Mayor Giuliani’s plan called for a casino. The next failed plan, which will no doubt provide positive publicity (and that is the point isn’t it?), will be the fourth. Under the circumstances, you may be interested in what I suggested, while working at the Department of City Planning, when the first plan was being cooked up – moving the United Nations and all related embassies to the island. That proposal may be read after clicking “read more.”
Tuesday’s Big Loser – Rev. Al
|People like me who think Al Sharpton is more a creation of the media than an authentic leader of the African-American community were hopeful that Rev. Al’s truly pathetic vote totals when he ran for President would cause people to stop taking him seriously.
In that year, Sharpton lost the black majority District of Columbia primary to Howard Dean, finished 3rd with less than 10% in South Carolina where Blacks were 50% of the turnout and lost badly to “soul brother” John Kerry in both of Central Brooklyn’s Congressional districts.
NY Sun vs NY Times vs NY Observer
|Since the New York Observer has anointed me as an expert on New York Times endorsements, I feel compelled to point out what’s wrong with these comments in Tuesday’s New York.
First, not even New York City Democrats listen to what New York Times editorials tell them to do. The Times endorsed three candidates in closely contested races: David Yassky in a Brooklyn congressional race; Ken Diamondstone in a race to represent a Brooklyn district in the state Senate; and Mark Green in the race for attorney general. All three candidates — Yassky, Diamondstone, and Green — lost. The New York Observer ran a 2,000-word article last year claiming that "It’s a given among the city’s political classes that an endorsement from The Times in a race for City Council, the State Legislature or a judgeship is tantamount to election in affluent, Times-reading neighborhoods." Not anymore.
Mouthstradomus (brought to you by New York’s solipsistic blogger diva)
|"And Coppolla, jr. won the Senate seat in Buffalo. The Times saw a story here that wasn’t. Look, however, for young Cop to be the second in his family to take the seat in a special and lose it in the next primary."
Posted by: Gatemouth | March 1, 2006 05:06 PM on The Politicker
"Perhaps all of DDDB’s superheroes: [Bill] Batson, Major Minor, The Black Barron, Diamondhead, and Super Cop can all meet together in Jonathan Lethem’s Fortress of Solitude to offer a victory toast to Super Cop, who, in solitude, will likely be the only one holding a new elected office come January."
Posted by: Gatemouth | August 21, 2006 08:26 PM on The Politicker (Note: the quote is far funnier, and less offensive to those with delicate sensiblites, in its original context, here.
No Recounts in NY
|The day after a Primary always have a few losing candidates, their supporters and gullible reporters talking about "demanding a recount".
Let’s make it clear. There are no recounts in New York because there hasn’t been an official count yet.
The results that are out there now are unofficial. They are called in by election inspectors after the polls closed Tuesday night. Numbers are not double checked and mistakes are always made. No absentee, affadavit or emergency ballots have been counted yet.
In the next week or two, the Board of Elections will conduct the official count by recording the numbers off the machines and counting the paper ballots.
Thanks Tom Suozzi
|American doesn’t love a loser, so today is not a day many people will be thanking Tom Suozzi for his work and his campaign. I was going to drop him a note, but I’m a blogger now, so what the hell, I’ll do it here.
Thank you for turning your back on the safe path of careerism, trading favors, waiting for the death or indictment of an incumbent, and occupying a seat. Instead you took on the corrupt and seemingly impregnable Nassau County Republican machine, made many of the hard short run decisions – higher taxes, reduced services, tougher labor negotiations – required to begin turning the situation around for the long run. Thanks even more for taking on the disgrace our state government, once one of the best in the nation, has become. That was even harder, because it required that you not only call out the other side, but also your own side and its supporters. It made a lot of enemies, which has cost you. But from my point of view, they include many of the right enemies. And thanks for running for Governor. You offered your service. The voters decided to choose otherwise. So be it. That isn’t anything for Tom Suozzi to feel bad about.
Let’s Change The Primary Date!
|I had been planning to post an argument that we should move New York’s Primary date but today’s New York Sun shows that Chris Owens, Yvette Clarke, Jonathan Tasini and of all people Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver beat me to it.
Silver, in fact, has co-sponsored a bill to move the Primary to the 3rd Thursday in June.
The argument in that because the media has, and presumably will continue to focus so much on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks and there is now such much pressure on candidates never to campaign on September 11th, turnout in the Primary is depressed.