Bill De Blasio

Civil Rights Groups Eye Youth Vote to Sway Mayoral Election On Stop And Frisk

At this point, it goes without saying the controversy that is stop and frisk will be a staple of the 2013 mayoral race. Floyd v. New York - a case that seeks to upend the controversial practice - is heating up, as the NYPD seeks to justify its usage through intimidating tutorial videos. The Communi ... More >>

The FDNY's "Bad Lieutenant" Resigns Because The FDNY Has A Social Media Problem

About a month ago, the New York Post ran a frontpage story on Timothy Dluhos, a 12-year EMS lieutenant in Bed-Stuy with a really terrible social media presence. This guy was tweeting things like "I'm going to give up racial insults for Lent. Jesus that didn't [last] too long. F--ken chinks can't dri ... More >>

Halloran/Smith Scandal Quickly Becomes Latest Mayoral Drama For Quinn

As you may have heard yesterday, City Councilman Dan "America's Top Heathen" Holleran is in a whole lot of trouble. Along with State Senator Malcolm Smith, the two were involved in a rigging scheme that planned to posit Smith as a Democrat switching over to the Republican side to run for Mayor of ... More >>

Celebrate Easter With a 113-Year-Old Video of New York on Easter Sunday (Complete With Creepshots)

Close your eyes and think back to a time over one hundred years ago. Wait--don't close your eyes; you won't be able to read this. Shit, have you already closed them? Great, now you have no idea of what we're trying to show you. If anyone happens to walk by the person sitting in front of their comput ... More >>

The Community Safety Act Puts Mayoral Candidates' NYPD Views on Display

We're almost close to labeling 'NYPD actions' as the hot button issue for this mayoral race. Two weeks ago, the Voice reported that the NYPD had committed its 5 millionth stop-and-frisk. Then, a few days later, hearings began downtown on Floyd v. New York, which challenges the practice all together ... More >>

John Catsimatides, Supermarket Mogul, Latest Name in Swelling Mayoral Race

Day by day, the wide open upcoming race to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg is getting more entertaining, and morphing into a new year's gift for reporters, political junkies, and maybe the public. Last week, Mayor Giuliani's former deputy mayor, Joseph Lhota, a man not known for conversational sub ... More >>

Workers Swarm 42nd Street and Picket Across the City For Liveable Wages and Better Treatment

Hard-hats and picket-signs flooded 42nd Street yesterday evening as thousands of workers and social activists from around the city gathered in solidarity to fight for better working conditions. The demonstration came on the heels of last week's Fast-Food Forward protest -- where employees at differ ... More >>

Maria Montealegre Evicted Today, a Lot of "Community," But Little Help

Maria Montealegre, the tenant at 1985 Amsterdam Avenue who was assaulted by her landlord and evicted after helping organize neighbors, has been evicted today. A marshal showed up roughly around 4 p.m. this afternoon, leaving 95 percent of her, and her family's, belongings on the sidewalk. A bevy o ... More >>

More Mayoral Hopefuls Weigh in on the Ray Kelly Rumors: He Has a Great Record!

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said today that if the Ray Kelly running for mayor rumors turn out to be true, the dynamics of the mayoral race would certainly change. And some candidates gearing up for their campaigns are probably afraid of that, Stringer, an expected contender himself, ... More >>

Christine Quinn Would Not Limit Mayor's Power in Schools, Thinks City Should Take Parents More Seriously

Though most expected candidates haven't even officially announced their campaigns for mayor, a big part of the race to replace Mayor Mike Bloomberg is already taking form in the area of education policy. This week, mayoral hopefuls have been offering their views on the current Administration's educa ... More >>

Four Expected Mayoral Candidates Endorse Grace Meng. Where is Scott Stringer?

Assemblywoman Grace Meng, who is running for Congress in a crowded race, nabbed the endorsement today of four pols who hope to be the next mayor of New York City. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and former comptroller Bill Thompson stood ... More >>

Immigrant Groups, Alongside Bill de Blasio, Push Dream Act with Fellowship

​When Yelky Ramos, a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was filling out college applications, her counselor told her that she would have a rough time getting the scholarships she needed. "My counselor said, 'There's a lot of great opportunities out there, but unfortu ... More >>

Christine Quinn Likes it, Too! Another Mayoral Hopeful Supports Latino Congressional District

Christine Quinn is also a fan of a new proposed Latino congressional district. Yesterday, we reported on the growing support for a new majority Latino congressional district in New York City that would include parts of Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. Among the increasing number of pols who ... 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 >>

Judge Temporarily Blocks City From Banning Worship in Schools; Churches Rejoice

Thank God! That's what Pastor Sal Sabino did today when he heard the news that he and other churches may be able to worship in schools this Sunday after all. The drama around religious groups renting public school space reached new heights today when a federal judge decided to block the city Dep ... More >>

Mayor's Budget: No Tax Increases and No Layoffs of Teachers, Police Officers, or Firefighters

Announcing the city's annual budget today, Mayor Mike Bloomberg said he would not be increasing taxes and he would not be laying off teachers, police officers, or firefighters. He said it multiple times. Runnin' Scared, watching a live feed of his announcement, counted at least three times. Can you ... More >>

Brian Lehrer Discusses the Voice's "100 Most Powerless New Yorkers" on WNYC (AUDIO)

​WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show did a segment on "The 100 Most Powerless New Yorkers" on its Martin Luther King, Jr. day show this morning. Audio of the segment is embedded below. Our segment looked at the silly side of "power lists," and at the serious side of some of those we included on our pow ... More >>

Christine Quinn Presents Living Wage Bill Compromise, Pols Are Generally Happy

Some important news in the ongoing living wage battle in New York -- City Council Speaker Christine Quinn proposed today a compromise that would require higher wages at city-subsidized developments. Companies subsidized by the city would have to pay employees $10 an hour plus benefits, instead of th ... More >>

100 Most Powerless New Yorkers

A 'power list' for the rest of us

De Blasio Report: Uptown Has the Worst Landlords

According to NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's Worst Landlords Watch List, Manhattan's worst-run buildings are mostly in Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. Forty five of the 56 Manhattan buildings on the list are in those areas. Four of the lowest performing five are in Harlem and one is in ... More >>

FOIL'd Again: Why Doesn't the NYPD Want You to Know Anything?

It was hard to feign much surprise last month when the New York Times slapped New York's finest with a lawsuit, accusing the department of habitually withholding information and flouting government transparency laws. In fact, as any reporter would certainly know, one of the city's toughest agencies ... More >>

Goldman Sachs Will Not Buy Their (Political) Love!

​Goldman Sachs has said they will not spend their money on political advertising, showing what the New York Times calls "an unexpected sign of restraint" following a Supreme Court ruling (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) stating that on the basis of free speech, corporations can ... More >>

Adolfo Carrion Comes Back to NYC, but Maybe Not the Way He Wanted To

​Former Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrion, who left city politics to become the first director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, is coming home via another federal gig. Carrion will be leaving his current job to become the regional director of New York and New Jersey for HUD. W ... More >>

Parents and Students Hold Bake-In at City Hall Park to Protest City's Bake Sale Ban

The scene at City Hall Park yesterday afternoon.​The sun shone brightly yesterday afternoon on an assembled crowd of parents and children who gathered in City Hall Park to protest A812, the Department of Education's recently instituted regulation banning school bake sales. Holding signs with s ... More >>

MTA Passes New Doomsday Budget (Updated)

The MTA board just voted to pass that new budget with service cuts. MTA Chairman Jay Walder "stressed the preliminary nature of this proposal," says Second Avenue Sagas, which live-tweeted the meeting. SAS says board members stressed their "legal obligation to pass a balanced budget for 2010" befor ... More >>

Mayor Funds de Blasio, Defends Gay Cab Duo; Is Snubbed By Liu, Who's Attacked by Koch

​Despite winning his third term, Mayor Bloomberg is still giving away money, offering an extra $850,000 to incoming Public Advocate Bill de Blasio to supplement his tiny budget, which had been cut by more than half by the Mayor and his city council allies last year. The Mayor photogenically m ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​Twitpic by Mom101. Mayor Bloomberg asked Obama for antiterrorism money. Yet his NYPD minions busted a Staten Island citizen for keeping guns 'n' ammo in his kid's bedroom, so how serious can Bloomberg be about fighting terrorists where it counts? No matter, Marty Markowitz backed him anyway ... 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 Day Continues with Flag-Burning Flyer

​Primary Day looks like it's going pretty much as usual -- that is, quietly -- though Azi Paybarah has found this last-minute flyer calling Manhattan city council candidate Ydanis Rodriguez an "anti-American flag burner." Rodriguez, considered the front-runner, has seven opponents and none has ... More >>

Primary Results: Vance In; Comptroller and P.A. Go to Runoffs; Council Incumbents Suffer; Rose Romps in Staten Island

Primary Day led to expected results, for the most part. For the Democratic mayoral nomination, Thompson romped, 70 to 21 percent, over Tony Avella. (Also someone named Roland Rogers got eight percent. Clearly a name to watch!) With no comptroller candidate making the 40 percent mark, John Liu and Da ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​ Dancers from InSpirit beckon passers-by to enter a new store on Broadway near 13th Street. Labor Day, with its West Indian American Day Parade, was the high point of the week. The low point was, let's see... the rest of it. 9/11 was a popular topic. It was oddly related to a Twitter Festiv ... More >>

Quick Hits

The Lakers' Ron Artest sings "My Heart Will Go On." At excruciating length. An ice cream party. For dogs. In St. Nicholas Park, Saturday. Remember the Nevele? A place you go! With your family! Where you feel at home! And you're glad to be! The once-famous resort is on the auction block. Some ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​ Museum of Natural History. Twitpic by ashelamb. The week was hot as hell -- which, a quick scan of our stories reveals, is an apt comparison. In a tribute to democracy, people with guns started following around President Obama. Busybodies were all over Michelle Obama's butt. Old peo ... More >>

On the Stump: Citywide Candidates' Latest Doings

​Damn, August already -- and we haven't paid our rent or looked at the local candidates much besides the mayoral prospects. Here's a fast look at what contenders for three big spots have been up to lately: Manhattan D.A.: Richard Aborn appeared with former NYPD Commissioner and current LAPD C ... More >>

Cuomo Extends Support to Paterson, Who Is Charged with Partying

Let us, in this era of endless polticial mud-fights, enjoy the rare moments of comity. Like Bill de Blasio's opponents in the public advocate's race coming to his defense when his petition was challenged. And Andrew Cuomo, defending Governor Paterson from charges that his late-night partying at Taj ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​ Twitpic by iamawizard. The week started with an underwear run and went downhill from there. President Obama's Supreme Court pick, Sonia Sotomayor, rocked the Judiciary Committee. He felt so good about that he released unexpected stimulus money for New York cops, and announced Medal of ... More >>

On Day of Rent Increases, Landlords Show Their Human Side in Ads

As the Albany coup has pretty much killed the proposed new rent laws, and a Rent Guidelines Board hearing is set for tonight that will certainly not go the tenants' way, the group that represents landlords has seen fit to advertise their humanity to the people who live in their buildings. The Times ... More >>

Endorsement Fever! Aborn, Others Clean Up

The Times says today that Manhattan D.A. candidate Richard Aborn "Aims to Raise His Profile" in that race, and that he does so mainly via endorsements. We'll say -- his office alerts us to each one (other candidates are also encouraged to do so), and he's had plenty, most recently those of four Demo ... More >>

VID for Siegel, NARAL for Gillibrand, Johnson for Bloomberg (and Unemployment)

The Village Independent Democrats just announced their endorsements for the primaries. It's not the biggest Democratic club, but it's influential around these parts. The VID made mostly expected choices, among them Bill Thompson for Mayor, John Liu for Comptroller, and Richard Aborn for Manhattan D. ... More >>

Quiet Hammerman Up for de Blasio's Council Seat

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn alerts us that Craig Hammerman has declared for the city council seat presumably to vacated by Bill de Blasio, who is running for Public Advocate. Hammerman has for 15 years been the District Manager of Community Board 6, and is a member of the New York Hall of Fame. Non ... More >>

Gowanus Project Moves Forward, Builders Suffer Huge Losses

At Election Night Party, NY Dems Cheer, Pump Fists, Boo Palin

Slope Weighs One-Way Byways

Actual Poor People Rate Bloomy's Poverty Plan

Council Priorities

The new City Council Speaker doles out some surprising assignments

Speaker Squeaker

Where Credit Is Due

Council Plan Helps Landlords Do the Right Thing

Council Chaos

Facing Bloomberg and Newness, Legislators Struggle to Organize

Spit-Shining a Scandal

The Chilly Victims of the HUD Housing Scam Listen to Some Hot Air

Seduced and Abandoned

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