In a vote last Wednesday, the city renewed its franchises with Time Warner to provide cable television in Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and western Brooklyn—without the input of the City Council, which filed a lawsuit a day earlier seeking a say in the 10-year, multibillion-dollar deals. The Giuliani-dominated Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) signed the agreements immediately after a state court ruled that the panel could proceed. Meanwhile, a judge will consider the council's claim: that the city has broken state law by refusing to allow it to vote on... More >>>