The two-week strike by unionized employees of Verizon offset all of the hiring that occurred last month in New York City and pushed the city’s unemployment rate up slightly, according to figures released Thursday by the State Department of Labor.

The city’s official unemployment rate rose to 8.7 percent in August from 8.6 percent in July, as the total number of jobs declined, the department reported. Even discounting the strike, the city’s job market remained weak at the end of the summer as fears of another recession spoiled some employers’ appetites for new workers.

Without the strike by 8,700 Verizon workers, the city’s private-sector employment would have fallen by 4,500 jobs, after adjustments for the usual seasonal trends in hiring and firing, said Barbara Byrne Denham, an economist with Eastern Consolidated, a real estate services firm in Manhattan. Countering those losses — in jobs, if not in incomes — was a gain of about 4,900 government jobs in the month, she said.

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Democrat David Weprin has conceded the special election to fill the seat vacated by former Congressman Anthony Weiner.

In a statement, Weprin congratulated Republican Bob Turner for a “well-fought campaign.”

He adds, “He [Turner] will now have the honor of representing Brooklyn and Queens in Congress, and I hope that he will work every day to represent all of the diverse communities that make up the 9th Congressional district.”

With 88 percent of precincts reporting, Turner has 54 percent of the vote compared to Weprin’s 46.

The retired media executive pulled off a victory in the the 9th Congressional District covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

He could be sworn-in as early as tomorrow.

Turner has vowed to bring business practicality to Washington and to push back on spending and taxes.

He says the election proves voters are dissatisfied with President Barack Obama’s economic policies.

“This country has been plagued by apathy and indifference to the political process and I think we’re all waking up and I am more than thrilled to lead the charge,” Turner told supporters last night.

Weprin was once thought to be an easy-in.

Democrats hold a 3-to-1 registration advantage in the district, which has not elected a Republican to Congress since the 1920s.

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Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz got slapped with a $20,000 fine Monday for bringing his wife on several free trips abroad.

The city’s Conflicts of Interest Board fined Markowitz for taking his wife on trips to Turkey in 2007 and 2009 and to the Netherlands, also in 2009, despite having been told he had to pay for her expenses.

Markowitz said the trips were paid for and requested by the foreign countries and added that it’s protocol to bring one’s spouse.

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The Rent Guidelines Board has approved a nearly 4 percent hike for rent-stabilized apartments in the city, affecting some 1.1 million apartments by 3.75 percent for one-year renewals and 7.25 percent for two-year contracts, the New York Daily News reported. The hikes will take effect October 1.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Jesse Duperon, who lives in a rent-stabilized unit in the East Village. “They’re turning their backs on the New Yorkers that stood through the crisis of 9/11.”

The increases are more substantial than those of the past two years, the Daily News said. Last October, the board approved increases of 2.25 percent for one-year lease renewals and 4.5 percent for two-year deals.

There some good news for tenants: The board vetoed a 1 percent surcharge for oil-heated buildings to compensate owners for rising prices.

Source: The Real Deal

The Rent Guidelines Board will hold a final vote tonight on how much the tenants of more than one million rent-regulated city apartments will pay this fall.

Board members are gathering at Cooper Union’s Great Hall at 5:30 p.m. to consider a hike of 3 to 5.75 percent for one-year lease renewals and an increase of 6 to 9 percent for two-year lease renewals.

Buildings heated by oil would be hit with an extra 1-percent surcharge.

The Rent Stabilization Association, which represents some 25,000 property owners in the city, says raising rents are necessary to help keep up with the higher costs of running a building, such as fuel oil and rising taxes.

“The value of buildings has actually dropped this year, but tax assessments continue to go up, tax rates continue to go up, and water and sewer costs are right behind them,” said said Frank Ricci of the Rent Stabilization Association.

Tenants’ rights advocates say if there is any increase, it should be on the lower end of the range being considered by the Rent Guidelines Board.

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After a long battle followed by days of protracted deal-making, the New York State Senate voted Friday night to legalize same-sex marriage in the Empire State.

The historic yet divisive measure passed by a narrow margin of 33 votes to 29.

The vote will make New York the sixth state – and the largest one to date – to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

It will become law 30 days after Governor Andrew Cuomo signs the bill.

In a series of emotional speeches on the Senate floor, lawmakers both for and against the measure spelled out the factors that led to their decision

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In a bombshell announcement, Brooklyn-Queens Congressman Anthony Weiner admitted Monday afternoon to sending racy online messages to six women over the last three years, after claiming for several days that he had nothing to do with a lewd photo posted from his Twitter account.

The prospective mayoral candidate said he will not resign from Congress.

A conservative website today posted photos that appear to show the Brooklyn-Queens congressman with his shirt off. Another site, RadarOnline.com, says a young woman has come forward with 200 sexually explicit messages she says were sent from Weiner.

BigGovernment.com says the photograph it published was allegedly sent to the woman on May 20. It is said to have come from a Yahoo email address the woman says as used by the 46-year-old married congressman.

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A new state law cracking down on illegal hotels is already getting results. The city says it has taken action against 15 illegally converted hotels since the law took effect two weeks ago. The mayor’s office released video of some of the residences located in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Investigators say the buildings were overcrowded, and many had no fire alarms or sprinkler systems. One three-family home on Lafayette Avenue had 45 people living inside. Vacate orders were issued at eight of the 15 locations.

Owners have been fined between $800 and $2,500 per violation.

Source: NY1 Watch the Video Here

Osama Bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader who orchestrated the September 11th terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, has been killed by U.S. forces, President Obama announced Sunday night.

“The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda,” the president announced in a nationally televised address shortly after 11:30 p.m.

The president said that military intelligence revealed that Bin Laden was likely hiding in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburb of the capital of Islamabad, and that on Friday the president authorized an operation to capture or kill him.
A crowd gathers at the World Trade Center site following the announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death.

A small team of Americans carried out the operation on Sunday, and after a firefight they killed Bin Laden and took possession of his body, the president said.

He said that no Americans were harmed in the operation, and that they took care to avoid civilian casualties.

Disgraced former State Comptroller Alan Hevesi will be sentenced today after pleading guilty to felony corruption charges.

Hevesi appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court last week for the first time since October.

He was supposed to be in court the week before, but was hospitalized for a medical procedure.

Hevesi’s attorneys are asking for leniency.

They say the 71-year-old is in poor health.

Hevesi faces up to four years in prison for his role in influence peddling at the state pension fund.

Source: NY1