Bloomberg-Quinn's Budget Has A Hole Innit

From True News From Change :

Just weeks after Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn celebrated their inside budget negotiation deal, acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron issued an opinion that put a stop to the mayor's taxi medallion revenue plan for the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. The court ruling creates a $600+ million hole in the Bloomberg-Quinn budget.

... At issue is a law, passed in February, allowing New York City to create a new fleet of 18,000 lime-green "borough taxis" to service the outer boroughs and Upper Manhattan, where regular yellow cab service is a rarity.

That same bill also allowed the city to auction off 2,000 wheelchair-accessible yellow cab medallions, which were expected to garner more than $1 billion for the city's budget and also vastly improve the fleet's ability to serve passengers in wheelchairs. As the fleet now stands, there are only 233 wheelchair-accessible yellow cabs. ... (Capital New York)

Mayor Bloomberg warns of layoffs after judge shoots down outer borough taxi plan (NYDN) Judge's decision creates $1.46 billion hole in the budget, including $635 million for this fiscal year.

Do Mike Bloomberg And NYPD Use Intimidation Against Bloggers ?

Watch as how NYPD Detective Lynch guided political blogger Suzannah B. Troy off the sidewalk and onto the street, and then watch as how Det. Lynch called Ms. Troy out for being on the very street he lured her off of.

Ms. Troy then called NYPD Internal Affairs to file a complaint, according to her blog post about how NYPD use intimidation against, give false information to, and withhold identification from, bloggers.

In the second video, Ms. Troy shouts some of her criticisms to Mayor Michael Bloomberg of the corruption she says has taken place in respect of the large and expensive IT technology deals under the Bloomberg administration.

"NYPD Det. Lynch who refused to identify himself and was abusive as well as physically intimidating," Ms. Troy wrote on her blog.

Michael Bloomberg Oreo Protest

Advocates for animal rights and members of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages held a protest earlier this afternoon across the street from the Plaza Hotel, WCBS Channel 2 News reported. The protest was in response to a traffic accident that injured a horse named Oreo last Thursay.

“Horses don’t belong in traffic, it’s an inhumane and unsafe industry and it needs to be shut down,” coalition president Elizabeth Forel told WCBS 880′s Jim Smith.

The artist and political blogger, Suzannah B. Troy, was dressed up in a red wig and symbolic costume and pretended to be New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Animal rights activists, who have been putting pressure on the New York City Council to pass legislation to support the safety and wellbeing of horses by banning horse-drawn carriages, point to Speaker Quinn and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for blocking any meaningful animal rights protection legislation.

Fran Lebowitz OWS Mike Bloomberg

Read Also : Fran Lebowitz And Frank Rich At The Town Hall : A Review Of The State Of The Union Conversation

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Fran Lebowitz spoke about the intersection of Occupy Wall Street and Michael Bloomberg, and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

"The thing I have enjoyed the most, I have to say, about Occupy Wall Street, because I am a vengeful and superficial person, is to see Bloomberg not have any idea which way to go with this thing. ... We know how he really feels, because, I mean, this mayor is not even in the 1%. He's in the 1% of the 1%. We have a mayor, who is so rich, that he will not live in a place actually called Gracie Mansion. It's not nice enough for him, you know ? He has not in any way attracted the ire of these [activists], which is shocking to me. I mean, when I walk around and sometimes these kids talk to me, I say, 'Go to Bloomberg's house.' You know, the day that they went to rich people's houses, I said, 'Go to Bloomberg's house,' and those kids said to me,'No, no, no. He's O.K., he said we could stay.' I said, 'What are you talking about ? This isn't his city. Anybody can stay. This is not his estate.' ...

"And we've seen the new, doe-eyed Christine Quinn -- all of a sudden, champion of the people, you know, not in fact his henchman or henchwoman that she's been for the last 40 years of his mayoralty, who helped him overturn two elections in order to have this third term.

Two days after the Zucotti Park eviction, Ms. Lebowitz said, Mike Bloomberg "is a central villian in all this." In respect of Speaker Quinn, Ms. Lebowitz said, "She is an architect of this."

Mike Bloomberg aka Robert Moses

The Sexton Plan for NYU represents a new low in "urban decay."

That which Robert Moses was not able to do to Lower Manhattan (demolishing the special social fabric of neighborhoods to construct a cross-borough highway), Christine Quinn will do (demolishing the special social fabric of neighborhoods to let NYU carry out this reckless expansion plan). Jane Jacobs advocated for that special "secret sauce" to successful large cities, whereas Mike Bloomberg, John Sexton, and Christine Quinn call for more indiscriminate zone-busting urban development.

Political Poster Fines Benefit Quinn

Is Mayor Bloomberg deliberately trying to drain the campaign funds of the competitors that are challenging Christine Quinn for the 2013 mayoral Democratic primary ?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems to be engaged in a public relations campaign to turn public opinion against, and to drain the campaign funds (aka clear the primaries) of, the leading primary challengers that are competing with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to be the Democratic Party's candidate in next year's mayoral election. * "Mayor Bloomberg Friday blasted mayoral candidate John Liu as a hypocrite for grumbling about companies that owe the city money — while failing to pay his own city debts." (NY Daily News) * Now that he has finally collected $444,000 in public matching funds from his 2009 campaign, Bill Thompson should return the money to the city to help cover the fines he owes for illegal posters, Mayor Bloomberg suggested yesterday. (NYPost)

NYPD Arrest OWS Activists at Gracie Mansion

At a protest outside Gracie Mansion, over 50 activists from Occupy Wall Street participated in a demonstration late yesterday afternoon against Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Members of the #OWS Disability Caucus and #Queering OWS joined in this demonstration. Activists denounced Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "1% policies, which continue to marginalize New Yorkers of all backgrounds." According to reports on Facebook, NYPD disrupted the peaceful protest.

Protesters yelled "Shame !" to the police officers. "One of our members was arrested without warning for apparently not moving fast enough crossing the street," one of the activists posted on Facebook.

"Unlawful arrests are still happening." In a subsequent update, the same activists wrote, "They were demanding the mayor uphold the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) instead of ignoring it. People were also there demanding more wheelchair accessible cabs from Bloomberg. 7 or 8 were arrested in total. 3 or 4 protesters early on and after an almost hourlong standoff with police in the street, 4 protesters in wheelchairs . The 4 in wheelchairs were taken away in Access-A-Ride vans. There were livestreamers there ..."

La Cuccaracha es Carlos Slim !

Cerca de 100 activistas realizaron una protesta frente a la tienda Saks Fifth Avenue en Nueva York. Los activistas denunciaron los beneficios del monopolio de telefonía de Carlos Slim. El gordo es dueño de una gran parte de la empresa Saks Fifth Avenue.

#OccupySaks Fifth Avenue - Protest Against Carlos Slim #OWS

Carlos Slim is the world's richest man, the largest stakeholder in Saks Fifth Avenue, and has been accused of overcharging impoverished Mexicans by over $129 billion as owner of Mexico's largest phone company. Activists from Occupy Wall Street demonstrated outside the fancy and expensive retailer, before they snuck inside in a direct action against each of Mr. Slim and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Updated : Javier Soriano, a prominent freelance photographer and journalist, was shut out of the Monday's “Two Countries One Voice” press conference.

Stu Loeser Quits Bloomberg Administration

Stu Loeser has been Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s press secretary for over six years. Now, Mr. Loeser is quitting the Bloomberg administration next month, reports The New York Times. Mr. Loeser has had a lot of work to do, to keep the karmically-challenged mayor out of trouble. “It’s almost like an old married couple at this point,” Bradley Tusk, who managed Mr. Bloomberg’s 2009 mayoral campaign, told The NYTimes.

Espaillat-Rangel BOE Documents

New York City Board of Elections : What would Mayor Michael Bloomberg do ? Oh, that's right : he would hire ballot security political operatives through money funneled to the Independence Party.

Too bad nobody can count on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to lead the charge on electoral system reform. He's too busy recovering from having had to provide trial testimony against his formerly-paid "campaign volunteer," John Haggerty, Jr.

NYC BOE Regarding Unofficial Election Results

Here are the two relevant documents (above and below) regarding only the most recent Board of Election scandal, this time involving Adriano Espaillat and Charles Rangel.

Espaillat v BOE Et Al OSC - No 103155 - 6292012_00000

John Haggerty Motions Ruling

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ronald Zweibel's decision on John Haggerty's motion to dismiss charges.

Decision on Haggerty motions

Make a pledge today to support Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn on Kickstarter.

Mike Bloomberg Is Best Friends With Bill Rudin

At NYUFASP book launch, Fran Lebowitz slammed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill Rudin.

On July 15, 2012, Fran Lebowitz spoke out against the zone-busting over development that is destroying the special social fabric of New York City. The purpose of her speech was the book launch of 'While We Were Sleeping : NYU and the Destruction of New York' at McNally Jackson bookstore in SoHo.

"No one earns a billion dollars, you steal a billion dollars," said Fran Lebowitz about Mayor Bloomberg's self-made billions.

At 10:53, Ms. Lebowitz begins to speak about the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital. She describes Bill Rudin as one of the mayor's best friends.

Ms. Lebowitz goes on to mention about the countless hospital closings that have taken place in New York City.

Make a pledge today to support Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn on Kickstarter.

Michael Bloomberg John Haggerty Transcripts

Flashback Rewind : Trial testimony provided by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the Mayor's shady 2009 campaign finance crimes trial involving GOP operative John Haggerty.

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HAGGERTY 100311 TK2

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Christine Quinn Kickstarter Project

The activist and blogger Louis Flores has created a Kickstarter project to raise funds to publish his forthcoming book about the politics and ethics of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Make a pledge by visiting the Kickstarter link: Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn

“I am writing a book that will take a behind the scenes look at Christine Quinn's politics and ethics. I aim to show you how a politician, who claims to be transparent and ethical, has demonstrated herself to be just the opposite,” said Louis Flores.

Mexico Protests ; Media Blackout

According to YouTube videos and bloggers, there are as many as 15 million Mexicans, who have been participating protests in different cities around Mexico. Critics of the Mexican government charge that there is a deliberate media blackout of the protests. Activists and protesters are tired of the corruption with government officials, organized crime, drug trafficking, gun violence, and taxation, among other crimes.

HHC Plans To Privatize Dialysis Services : At Huge Risk To Patients -- All Thanks To The City Budget Deal Approved By Bloomberg, Quinn

Join us in opposing New York City's Health and Hospital Corporation's 4 Year Plan of Healthcare Cuts

URGENT: Call to action : Tell Alan Aviles, President of the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation to stop putting profits before patient care.

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) wants to sell off in-patient and outpatient dialysis services to a private company to operate at nine HHC facilities.

PATIENTS WILL SUFFER. By cutting corners to make profits for their shareholders, for profit dialysis centers unnecessarily putting the lives of our loved ones at risk.

WORKING PEOPLE WILL SUFFER. The for-profit company that takes over dialysis services will likely hire non-union workers at lower salaries and with less benefits.

THIS CONTRACT IS CLEARLY NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF HHC PATIENTS OR NEW YORK CITY. HHC claims that it will save $178.5 million. Yet it has not taken the time to assess the impact on patient care of the dialysis services recently contracted out at Bellevue Hospital prior to this new initiative.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY. HHC can work with the affected unions to come up with alternatives to contracting out the renal dialysis services at the affected nine HHC hospitals and continue to provide the care using dedicated public employees with public dollars.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Click here to sign a petition calling the city to stop putting profits before patient care.

BOE Misconduct : Election Fraud ?

Troubling actions by Board of Elex members :
Rangel-Espaillat vote-count odyssey continues

''Troubling signs have now emerged that some officials at the board crossed the line in an all-out effort by the Democratic Party establishment to ensure a Rangel victory, and that the board’s staff wrongly disqualified hundreds of paper ballots,'' reported Juan Gonzalez in The New York Daily News.

Gary Tilzer, on his blog True News From Change NYC, wrote that :

Those who benefit from the BOE want the Rangel race over that is why they were counting until late into Friday evening. They hope questions raised by the election like other major corruption stories about the board are lost in the media's limited attention span and unwillingness to follow up on corruption stories. The question unanswered include: Why were 79 district recorded as zero on election night. The result of those zeros was an election night blow out of Espaillat has turned into a 2% squeaker? Why did BOE deputy chief Tim Gay meet with team Rangel and the district leaders that were supporting the congressman? Were Dominican poll workers and translators prevented from working in the primary to help Rangel? Ballot fixing by the former head of the BOE and Bribery by the HANC representative on the board involving the purchase of new voting machines are long forgotten.

Does Quinn Use NYPD To Thwart Protesters ?

Stop and Frisk ; Hypocrisy and Kiss

One week after Christine Quinn marches in protest against Mayor Michael Bloomberg, she kisses both his cheeks (twice). No surprise.

Yesterday, "Mr. Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, surrounded by many members of the council, sealed the deal with a traditional handshake and four kisses at a news conference at City Hall," reported The Wall Street Journal.

It was only last week, though, that Mayor Bloomberg was the target of a massive protest, which called out the billionaire mayor for defending a racist police policy known as ''stop and frisk,'' which targets Black and Hispanic men.

All the way in the U.K., The Guardian newspaper published a major news report, which embarrassed Mayor Bloomberg.

One week, Speaker Quinn will march against the mayor for supporting a racist police policy, which ruins the lives of Black and Hispanic men who are innocent, and, in the very next week, Speaker Quinn is shaking the mayor's hands, smiling for the obligatory photo-op, and kissing the mayor four times.

If Speaker Quinn really wanted to do something about ending ''stop and frisk,'' she would subpoena the NYPD to disclose the annual cost of the police department's controversial racist police, and then she would cut the NYPD's budget by that amount. But only a political leader, who really cared about solving social issues, would take on a practical strategy. Instead, we have Speaker Quinn going along to get along.

This is what situational ethics looks like.