Paterson holds off distributing millions in pork-barrel spending
May 15, 2008
Gov. David Paterson suggested Wednesday he may not allocate millions of dollars designated for capital projects around the state as a way to save money during the state’s tough fiscal times.
Paterson is sitting on more than $30 million in so-called member-item spending, also called pork spending, and about $500 million for capital projects across New [...]
Richard Hanna to run for Congress
May 15, 2008
After several months of waiting, local businessman Richard Hanna will formally announce his candidacy for the 24th District Congressional seat today, a news release from his campaign stated.
Hanna, a Republican, will run against first-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica. Arcuri won the seat in 2006 after longtime U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, retired.
Hanna, [...]
Study Finds No Evidence of Risk in Synthetic Turf
May 15, 2008
A draft report conducted on behalf of the Bloomberg administration says that there is no scientific evidence that synthetic turf fields in New York pose major health hazards for people playing on them.
Critics, however, said the study by TRC Companies, an engineering, consulting and construction management company based in Connecticut, would not quell concerns about [...]
JPMorgan sees Bear’s Midtown NY site saving $3 bln
May 15, 2008
JP Morgan Chase will save $3 billion because it no longer will have to build a new Lower Manhattan headquarters for its investment bankers who instead will move into Bear Stearns & Co’s (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) midtown building, according to JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.
JPMorgan agreed to acquire credit-starved Bear Stearns in mid-March. [...]
City Council overrides Mayor’s veto of E-waste bill
May 15, 2008
The new bill, approved in a 44-3 vote, punishes manufacturers for failing to reach collection rates for an electronic recycling program.
The City Council overrode on Wednesday Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto of a bill forcing manufacturers to take back electronic goods sold when customers are finished with them.
The 44-3 vote, overriding the mayor’s “e-waste” bill veto, [...]
Democrats in 95th Assembly race shrinks
May 14, 2008
The race for the 95th Assembly District seat has thinned out considerably since January, when five local Democrats said they were considering a challenge to the incumbent.
Now only one, Ramapo Town Clerk Chris Sampson, has confirmed he plans to run in a primary against Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern.
Sampson said his candidacy is less about unseating [...]
Albany and Council Debate Who Owns Oversight of Leased DoE
May 13, 2008
Facing overcrowded classrooms and an expected budget crunch, New York City’s Department of Education has increasingly turned to leased buildings to help create new public schools in a hurry. But parents, politicians and environmental activists say that the leased sites leave too many loopholes in the safety review process.
“When the city plans construction on a [...]
State Dems push bills to help renters
May 13, 2008
The Democratic-controlled Assembly is set to act Tuesday on a series of pro-tenant bills that would strengthen rent-stabilization laws despite the fact they don’t expire until 2011.
The full-throttle assault with support from tenant groups and the Working Families Party will put pressure on Senate Republicans - particularly those from the city - “to take a [...]
Negotiations Under Way to Ease Ground Zero Deal
May 13, 2008
In 2005, state and city officials were so eager to keep Goldman Sachs downtown that they provided the investment bank with one of the biggest incentive packages in city history to build itself a new headquarters across West Street from ground zero.
But buried in hundreds of pages of documents from that deal was another potential [...]
Democrat Brian Foley may vie for Trunzo’s Senate seat
May 13, 2008
State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, escalating efforts to oust Republican Sen. Caesar Trunzo of Brentwood, showed up in Suffolk County last week to personally enlist Brookhaven Supervisor Brian Foley to run against the veteran 36-year lawmaker.
Smith met with Foley and Suffolk Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer Friday at party headquarters in Bohemia for more [...]
