Bill De Blasio

Word of Advice to Mayoral Candidates: Do Not Hire Staffers Like "Hyman Doodlesack"

If the FDNY social media guidelines enforced a few weeks ago taught us anything, it's that conducting yourself on the Internet as a government official or affiliate is not really that hard. Just keep the nudity and racism at bay. That's pretty much it. Well, one of Bill de Blasio's staffers on his ... More >>

The 'Anyone But Quinn' Campaign Paints Speaker As Bloombergian Nightmare

You might've already seen this little snippet released by New York City Is Not For Sale 2013 (that's a mouthful).The video opens to a "smoke-filled room" with four stools in it, where the viewer would assume the Speaker makes shady deals with business-type folk. She's charged with a pseudo-liberal a ... More >>

Workers Strike Across the City in Biggest Fast-Food Strike in History

It was still dark when the fast-food workers began gathering outside the McDonald's just north of Times Square yesterday morning. Carrying signs that read "Strike for higher pay for a stronger New York," they lined up outside the restaurant, where workers from the night shift were still on the job. ... More >>

Sal Albanese Duels Bill de Blasio Over Quinn's Member Items Mishap

How do you create more mayoral drama? Start fighting over who's better at dealing with previous mayoral drama. Yesterday, we reported on the Halloran/Smith scandal's foray into the electoral spectrum. News swirled around the fact that Councilman Dan Holleran had planned to use Council/taxpayers' fu ... More >>

After the Storm, Mold is Taking Over Flooded Rockaways Homes

Nearly three months after Sandy pushed the ocean clear across the Rockaway spit, there's a hidden aftermath. In basements and first floors across the peninsula, a vast bloom of dangerous mold is spreading across flood-soaked beams and floorboards, studs and drywall. Stakes are high. "What starts in ... More >>

Mayoral Hopefuls Denounce School Closings and Co-Locations at Education Forum in Harlem

A crowd of more than a thousand students, parents and teachers packed First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem last night to hear mayoral hopefuls pitch their plans to improve the city's fractured educational system. The candidates continued to distance themselves from many of Mayor Michael Bloom ... More >>

New York City Parks Are Hot Spots For Rapists. Bill de Blasio Credits NYPD "Blind Spots"

New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio says NYPD "blind spots" are partially to blame for a recent spike in sexual assaults in city parks. To fix the problem, de Blasio says the cops need to start tallying park-crime data.De Blasio's suggestion comes just days after a 31-year-old woman was nea ... More >>

New Legislation Will Make Subway Fondling a Felony (Because It Wasn't Before That?)

You may have heard what has been called "subway grinding." On the subway, there is a sign that warns, "Sexual harassment is a crime in the subway, too. A crowded train is no excuse for an improper touch." The inclusion of the "too" in the first sentence always confused me; are we to assume ... More >>

Melissa Mark-Viverito, Bill de Blasio Call on City To Retire Carriage Horses

Around fifty people gathered on the steps of City Hall this afternoon to demand the City Council test out a prototype electric car that they hope can replace horse-drawn carriages. That proposal, Intro. 86A, is sponsored in the City Council by Member Melissa Mark-Viverito. New Yorkers for Clean, Li ... More >>

In Stop-and-Frisk Debate, Mayor Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio Bad-Mouth Each Other

The debate over the NYPD's controversial stop-and-frisk policy is in full swing this week with a proposal from the public advocate prompting a badmouthing match between the mayor and the elected official who hopes to replace him in 2013. Yesterday, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, an expected mayor ... More >>

Bill de Blasio Creates Another Website To Tackle a Not Very Local Issue

Public Advocate and mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio has gotten some headlines recently about his campaign against car companies that do business with Iran. In March, he created the website IranWatchList.com, designed to target companies that work with Iran and in some cases allegedly sell directly ... More >>

Bill de Blasio: Release Your Staff Evaluations, Mr. Mayor

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is upping the ante on the debate over teacher evaluations by calling on the mayor to release evaluations of staffers from his office. De Blasio -- who is expected to run for mayor in 2013 and who frequently gets headlines for criticizing Bloomberg -- is rallying arou ... More >>

John Liu Continues to Battle Tough Headlines; Bill de Blasio is Focused on Israel, Iran

In the race to replace Mike Bloomberg as mayor, two expected candidates -- who are trailing behind two frontrunners, according to a recent NY1 poll -- have made headlines this week that are of interest. City Comptroller John Liu has tried to stay on-task and on-message since he was dealt a major bl ... More >>

Mayoral Hopeful Bill de Blasio Gets Involved in Foreign Policy, Targets Iran

​Running for mayor of New York City? Well, you better stick your nose in some foreign policy issues -- and backing Israel certainly won't hurt your cause. Enter Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who is expected to run for mayor in 2013, and who held a press conference this morning -- on a plaza on 4 ... More >>

Support for Majority Latino Congressional District Grows; Mayoral Hopefuls Like It

As delays and uncertainty persist in the redistricting process in Albany, support is growing for a new majority Latino congressional district in New York City. Pols and advocates have been rallying this month in an effort to pressure the state to draw a majority Latino district that would include p ... More >>

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio Slams Bloomberg for Failure to Finalize Teacher Eval Plans

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio took the mayor and his administration to task on Sunday afternoon for failing to come to an agreement with the United Federation of Teachers over a proposed teachers evaluation program. In a press conference outside of the city's Department of Education, de Blasio said ... More >>

Public Advocate Bill De Blasio Criticizes The City for Criticizing His Report On Child Deaths

​Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who plans on running for mayor in 2013, released a report over the weekend on child deaths in the City -- calling on the Administration for Children's Services to implement a more comprehensive system for assessing cases of abuse and neglect. De Blasio argued ... More >>

Bill de Blasio, John Liu, and Scott Stringer: Mr. Mayor, Why Did You Talk About Teachers That Way?

After Mayor Mike Bloomberg finished his State of the City speech in the Bronx, Runnin' Scared tripped over many reporters and shoved a recorder in the face of a few relevant pols to get their reactions. We reached Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, and Manhattan Borough President ... More >>

Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn Councilman, Detained for Walking on Sidewalk

Yesterday afternoon during the West Indian Day Parade, in the midst of various incidences of gun violence, there was another incident involving the NYPD. Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane D. Williams, along with Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's aide Kirsten John Foy, was handcuffed and briefly detained by ... More >>

Let's Play, "Who's My Landlord?"

The new game that's sweeping New York's crumbling rental rat-traps

New Yorkers Protest Target's Donation to Anti-Gay Candidate

​New Yorkers unhappy with Target's recent $150,000 donation to anti-gay-rights Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer gathered yesterday at the flagship Target in Brooklyn to protest. The rally, organized by Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, City Councilmember Letitia James, and MoveOn.org ... More >>

New York's Ten Worst Landlords, Part 1

In a city of slumlords and broke-ass apartment buildings, these stand out.

Bill de Blasio to Landlords: You'll Be in Hot Water if Your Tenants Aren't

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is warning that he wants to more than double the fines for New York City landlords who don't heat their buildings for more than five days in a row. In 2008, there were 230,000 lack-of-heating complaints logged by the city, and tenants commonly take such dangerous meas ... More >>

Barrett: Role of Public Advocate Gets Endorsement in FDNY Discrimination Finding; No Wonder Bloomberg Still Wants to Kill the Job

Bill de Blasio's job as public advocate: something Mayor Bloomberg would love to eradicate​One surprise in Mike Bloomberg's State of the City speech this week was his failure to say anything about the long-promised charter revision commission, which is expected, among other things, to act on o ... More >>

Bill de Blasio Pleads with Bloomberg to Return to the Enlightened Homeless Policies of Rudy Giuliani

On Monday the Times ran an article saying new Public Advocate Bill de Blasio "Assails Bloomberg's Performance on Homelessness." This is curious, as de Blasio's pitch is described later in the article pithily thus: "Mr. de Blasio offered several suggestions on how to improve conditions for the homel ... More >>

Mayor Thompson Could Mean "Fear of Going Out at Night" (Giuliani), "Detroit" (Bloomberg)

The Bloomberg-Giuliani victory tour of friendly city territories began with a bang in Borough Park, where the former Mayor told the annual Legislative Breakfast of the local Jewish Community Council that if Bill Thompson were elected, the city "could very easily be taken back to the way it was with ... More >>

Election Night: At de Blasio Party, Shock, Then Euphoria

Over at his victory party in Dumbo, Bill de Blasio seemed shocked that he managed to get himself into a runoff for the office of Public Advocate with veteran candidate Mark Green. "This is a wonderful result -- amazing!" de Blasio said between hugs. "You kind of just get used to assuming it's not go ... More >>

Primary Over But -- Questions Remain!

Now that the poorly-attended primary election is over, what droplets of meaning can be wrung from it? Some people think Mark Green (pictured), who finished second to Brooklyn councilmember Bill de Blasio in the public advocate race and will face him in a runoff on September 29, is played out in New ... More >>

Primary Culler: Green Leads in Public Advocate Race, But Can He Dodge a Runoff?

​Mark Green was the first New York City public advocate -- a sort of Mayoral VP and public busybody -- and, after a two-term interregnum by Betsy Gotbaum, he looks good to become the third. But it's not such a sure thing as it once looked. When Green announced for the race he actually scared ... More >>

Barron Enraged at Bill de Blasio's Black Wife in Flyer

​We thought the mailer for Public Advocate candidate Bill de Blasio featuring his wife Chirlane -- who is black -- and their kids was cute, as the headline "He Gets It" could be interpreted all sorts of ways depending on the constituency. But councilmember Charles Barron -- who is black -- con ... More >>

Gerson 2nd City Candidate Thrown Off Ballot for Typo

​Another New York City elected official has been kicked off the ballot for apparently trivial reasons. First it was city councilmember Bill de Blasio, who was running a heady campaign for public advocate until last Thursday, when election officials found that the cover sheet on his packet of p ... More >>

de Blasio Petition Crisis Settled; Gerson (and now Jackson!) Still Waiting

The petition problems of Bill de Blasio (pictured) have been settled with the Board of Elections and he's back on the Democratic primary ballot for the public advocate nomination. No word yet about councilmember Alan Gerson, whose petition rejection we announced earlier and whose case is supposed to ... More >>

Bill de Blasio Thrown Off Ballot for Petition Error, Will Appeal

 There's a reason why political candidates take such care with their ballot petitions in New York; they are subject to notoriously arcane rules and can be easily challenged and denied. Councilmember Bill de Blasio, a strong contender for the office of Public Advocate, had his ballot application ... More >>

Denny's Gets Sued Over Salt; Hawaii to Kick Wienermobile to the Curb

 A man from New Jersey is suing Denny's for failing to warn him that his favorite item, the Moons Over My Hammy egg sandwich, was "loaded up with the salt." [NY Daily News] Brooklyn councilman Bill de Blasio has proposed that New York follow in Chicago's footsteps and pass a green food resolut ... More >>

Case Against Term Limits Overturn Thrown Out of Court

A case requesting reinstatement of term limits, brought by councilmembers Bill De Blasio, Charles Barron, Tish James et alia and which began in Brooklyn on January 5, has been thrown out of court. Plaintiffs argued that the council's overturn of the limits was a violation of the civil rights of vot ... More >>

A Thanksgiving NYC Honor Roll for Hard Times

Staten Island's Molinari to Sue Over Term Limits

Two Term-Limits Rebels Run for Gotbaum's Seat

Bloomberg's Term-Limits Coup: Heroes, Villains, and Wimps

Brutal brawling in the first throwdown of the 2009 elections

Welfare Chief: New Federal Law Could Soak City

Letters

Council Orgy

Erasing term limits and contribution caps amid a speaker battle

Friendly Fencing From Speaker Seekers

Council Jihad

De Blasio Leads Unholy Union War on City's Campaign Finance Board

Speaker Squeaker

Council Chaos

Facing Bloomberg and Newness, Legislators Struggle to Organize

Park Slope Scramble

Is the 39th CD De Blasio’s to Lose?

Seduced and Abandoned

What HUD Knew—and Didn’t Do—About the Mortgage-Loan Scandal

HUD: The Horror Movie

A Big Fish Fries the Little Fish in Harlem-Brooklyn Mortgage Scam

Slicing the Park Slope Pie

Could DiBrienza Wannabes Cost Lefties the Race?