- gothamist.com Dockworkers at Port of NY and NJ go on strike for first time since 1977
If the strike carries on it could have a profound impact on the region's economy.
Dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey walked off the job after midnight Tuesday; part of a strike that could have a profound impact on the region’s economy and is the largest the industry has seen in almost 50 years.
Demanding better wages and a promise that their jobs won’t be taken over by automation, about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association stopped work at ports from Maine to Texas as their contract with the United States Maritime Alliance expired. The biggest port on the East Coast is New York and New Jersey and the strike — the first since 1977 — could potentially drive up already inflated prices of goods and food.
At least 35 ships on their way to the region will have to anchor offshore, supervised by the U.S. Coast Guard, while the union tries to reach a deal, according to Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.
The longer they sit, the more chance there is for fresh produce to start going bad, according to industry experts. Other imported goods like wine and spirits won’t be able to reach store shelves or restaurant bars.
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- www.thecity.nyc Who Will Pay Mayor Eric Adams’ Legal Bills?
The mayor has raised $1.7 million through a legal defense fund that, in theory, should cover the costs of his federal corruption defense. But questions remain.
*A reader of THE CITY, Lynn B., asked our newsroom, “Eric Adams is represented by top legal talent. Who is paying them? Are NYC taxpayers picking up the bill for his defense?”
Here is our answer:*
As Mayor Eric Adams contends with his indictment and court case, it’s unlikely taxpayers would cover his legal bills. That’s because payment to the attorneys representing him should, in theory, come from what’s known as the Eric Adams Legal Defense Trust.
The mayor set up that trust — and installed its trustee, his longtime ally Peter Aschkenasy — last November as news emerged about the federal corruption probe of his 2021 campaign.
A legal defense trust is an organization monitored by the city’s Conflict of Interests Board that allows a public servant to raise money to pay for certain types of legal expenses. Through the trust, Adams can accept contributions up to $5,000 per donor. But the fund can’t solicit or accept donations from people with city contracts or business before the city.
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- slate.com He’s Been America’s Weirdest Politician for Years. You Don’t Know the Half of It.
Come for the rat bucket, stay for the fake photo of a cop he claimed he had long carried in his wallet.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams—who truly believes that God put him in that job—was indicted this week on five federal charges related to bribery, wire fraud, and accepting straw donations from foreign officials. The acts detailed in the nearly 60-page indictment from the Southern District of New York span a full decade of Adams’ political career, dating back to his tenure as Brooklyn borough president and extending up through his current mayoral reelection campaign. (He pleaded not guilty to the counts on Friday.)
Despite being the only mayor in NYC history to be charged during his tenure, Adams is still doing what he does best: refusing to budge an inch and clumsily making his case before a city that’s long tired of his shenanigans. “From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city,” he declared during a rainy Thursday morning press conference, sheltering under a pavilion with members of the city’s Black clergy. “My day-to-day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.”
It was another wild moment from a mayor who is perhaps best recognized outside the city for having a long history of wild moments. You know, like claiming his favorite concert experience was the 1990 Brooklyn live show where Curtis Mayfield was paralyzed, or downing two beers at a Midtown Irish pub before noon on St. Patrick’s Day and deeming himself “Eric O’Adams,” or wearing a lettered bracelet sporting the word HUSTLE while visiting holy sites in Israel.
Since he entered Gracie Mansion in 2022, Hizzoner has invited mass vitriol for slashing municipal public services while coddling the brutal, corrupt police department and demonizing the city’s immigrants. But now, with the feds pursuing several probes into his inner circle and spurring some of his highest-ranking lieutenants to step down … well, let’s just say it’s difficult to imagine how even a mayor as defiant as this one manages to last in the political realm.
We’ll probably learn a lot over the coming months about just how closely intertwined Adams was with Turkey’s government, which will surely provide us with much more fodder in evaluating the man’s legacy. But in the interim, let’s enjoy a trek down memory lane with a highlight reel of his most ridiculous moments.
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- www.thecity.nyc MTA Board Approves $68B Plan Despite Hochul’s Congestion Pricing Pause
The transit agency’s next five-year capital budget got the green light, but board members and transit advocates are imploring Albany to figure out where the funding will come from.
The MTA board on Wednesday approved a $68.4 billion blueprint for big-ticket upgrades in the transit agency’s new five-year capital program — even as billions of dollars in funding remain unaccounted for in the current plan and the next one.
The MTA board had until October 1 to submit the 2025-2029 plan for system upkeep and expansion to the state’s Capital Program Review Board, which has 30 days to review and approve it.
MTA board members signed off unanimously even though Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing pause in June left a $16.5 billion gap in the transit agency’s capital budget. The vehicle-tolling initiative is legally mandated under a 2019 state law that aimed to raise billions for transit upgrades in the 2020-2024 plan.
“It’s the costliest plan yet, with the biggest funding question mark,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
Hochul’s indefinite delay forced the MTA to scale the plan back, slowing subway signal replacement projects, while also deferring the purchase of electric buses and legally binding accessibility upgrades at 23 stations.
And that’s before the MTA faces a projected $33 billion funding gap in the new plan.
“This is all on Governor Hochul — she made the mess, she has to fix it, yet she has brought no solutions to the table,” Jennifer Van Dyck, a member of the Elevator Action Group, which advocates for increased accessibility, said during the meeting’s public comments. “And you seem to be relying on Hochhul’s word, which we all can attest to, counts for nothing.”
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- www.washingtonpost.com Staffers took family Disney trip with money meant for homeless students, report says
Money to fund educational trips for students without permanent homes was instead used by New York City schools staffers on personal family trips, a report said.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19889325
> Money that was supposed to fund educational trips for children without homes instead paid for vacations that New York schools staffers took with their families around the country, including a visit to Disney World, according to a recently released investigative report. > > Investigators recommended firing employees after finding that the head of the Queens Students in Temporary Housing (STH) program, meant to reward hardworking unhoused students with educational excursions, was telling her staff they could bring their families instead. (Temporary housing status is for students living in shelters, cars, parks or abandoned buildings, according to the New York City Public Schools website.) > > Staff families weren’t joining the trips under a misunderstanding of the rules, independent investigators wrote. In one instance, STH Queens regional manager Linda Wilson allegedly told her staff: “What happens here stays with us.” She denies saying it. > ...
- theintercept.com The NYPD Is Illegally Leaking Sealed Records About Children to Tabloids
NYPD illegally discloses sealed juvenile arrest records to prosecutors and even right-wing media, a lawsuit says.
Last spring, New York City police officers stopped a 19-year-old on the subway during her commute. She was eligible for a free transfer from the bus to the subway, but the transfer failed to register at the turnstile, so she and a friend entered through the platform emergency exit door.
Police stopped them, took their names, and let her friend go. Officers told the 19-year-old she had a prior arrest — from 2018, when she was in her early teens — and began to question her.
The cops should not have known about that past arrest. A New York state law protects juvenile records in cases without any finding of guilt from access by anyone, including law enforcement, without a court order.
The young woman is one of three plaintiffs who filed a class-action suit in July against the city and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban for what they said was a practice of illegally accessing, using, and leaking sealed youth records. The suit, which was unsealed Thursday, alleges that officials routinely share those sealed records with prosecutors and the media — specifically with pro-cop tabloids that regularly publish juvenile arrest information sourced from police.
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NY Gov. Hochul Seems Set on Watered-Down Congestion Pricing
nymag.com Hochul Seems Set on Watered-Down Congestion PricingMonths after her shock decision to pause the program, Hochul said she may propose a new plan later this year.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18960282
> In June, Governor Kathy Hochul made the bombshell announcement that she had ordered the MTA to indefinitely pause New York City’s congestion-pricing program, just weeks before it was set to begin. The governor had once been a major proponent of the first-in-the-nation plan to charge fees to drivers traveling at or below 60th Street, but when she announced the pause, she cited concerns about the $15 toll being too much of a financial burden for everyday New Yorkers. This week, Hochul is indicating that a replacement plan could soon be on the horizon. > > The New York Post reported on Sunday that Hochul is mulling significant changes to congestion pricing, including a lower toll and potentially adding new exemptions to the fee. A source told the outlet that the governor is considering excluding teachers, police officers, and firefighters who commute from paying the toll. In July, the New York Times reported that state lawmakers, who would have to sign off on a new plan, were pushing for Hochul to consider a lower toll > > ...
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NYC Council approved a rezoning plan near four new MetroNorth Stations that will produce nearly 7,000 housing units in the East Bronx
NYC Council approved a rezoning plan near four new MetroNorth Stations that will produce nearly 7,000 housing units in the East Bronx
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NYC Launches "Ur in Luck," a new effort to expand New Yorkers’ access to public restrooms across all five boroughs, including in Flushing. A new Google Maps layer is also being added that New Yorkers
NYC Launches "Ur in Luck," a new effort to expand New Yorkers’ access to public restrooms across all five boroughs, including in Flushing. A new Google Maps layer is also being added that New Yorkers can activate on their phones to easily find the locations of every public restroom.
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New Renderings Revealed For 'The Coney': a casino, hotel, and entertainment complex proposed for Coney Island
New Renderings Revealed For 'The Coney': a casino, hotel, and entertainment complex proposed for Coney Island
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The NYPD's Public Relations Staff has More Than Doubled in the Past Two Years
nysfocus.com Meet the Cops Running the NYPD’s 86-Member PR TeamDCPI has more than doubled in size in the past two years. Some of its recent hires have histories of dishonesty and misconduct.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15642866
> >In a statement, Brooklyn Councilmember Lincoln Restler pointed to the contrast between the dcpi’s staffing surge and Mayor Eric Adams’s cuts to other city services, including hundreds of layoffs in the Department of Buildings. “It’s stunning to see the nypd Communications Department more than double to 86 staff while so many of our City agencies are struggling to fulfill their mandates without workers.” > > Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240521114200/https://nysfocus.com/2024/05/14/nypd-dcpi-tarik-sheppard-protests-pr
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MTA Reports Details of Nearly $300 Million in Capital Savings
MTA Reports Details of Nearly $300 Million in Capital Savings
https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-reports-details-of-nearly-300-million-capital-savings
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Everything is Everything: Reviews of bagel shops all around NYC
everythingiseverything.nyc Everything is Everything'Everything is Everything' is the ultimate guide to bagels in NYC. Over 200 bagels reviewed in all five boroughs, with photos, interactive maps and advanced metrics. Presented by Highley Varlet.
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New York State’s largest solar + storage carport breaks ground at JFK airport
New York State’s largest solar + storage carport breaks ground at JFK airport
https://electrek.co/2024/04/24/new-york-state-largest-solar-storage-carport-jfk-airport/
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City Council Approves "Willets Point" Development, Bringing Largest All-Affordable Housing Project in 40 Years, As Well As City's First Soccer-Specific Stadium for NYCFC
City Council Approves "Willets Point" Development, Bringing Largest All-Affordable Housing Project in 40 Years, As Well As City's First Soccer-Specific Stadium for NYCFC
https://www.6sqft.com/council-approves-nycs-first-ever-pro-soccer-stadium-in-queens/
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BIG unveils a 4 tower megaproject next to the UN. 2 of the towers will be residential, with 40% of units designated as income-restricted units. The other 2 connected towers will be hotels, retail, res
BIG unveils a 4 tower megaproject next to the UN. 2 of the towers will be residential, with 40% of units designated as income-restricted units. The other 2 connected towers will be hotels, retail, restaurants, and a ground level casino.
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The before and after of NYC's upcoming overhaul of the Port Authority Bus Terminal
The before and after of NYC's upcoming overhaul of the Port Authority Bus Terminal
- www.nytimes.com Subway Train Derails in Brooklyn in 2nd Such Episode in a Week
The train, a Manhattan-bound F, went off the tracks in Coney Island on Wednesday afternoon. No injuries were immediately reported.
- www.thecity.nyc NYPD Imposes No Discipline on Cops Who Drove SUVs into Protesters
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban cleared officers Andrey Samusev and Daniel Alvarez of misconduct charges sought by the Civilian Complaint Review Board for improper use of force at a 2020 George Floyd protest.
Two NYPD officers who drove their SUVs into a crowd of protesters blocking a Brooklyn street at the height of the George Floyd protests in late May 2020 have been cleared of wrongdoing by police commissioner Edward Caban, Civilian Complaint Review Board officials confirmed Friday.
Caban endorsed an NYPD administrative trial judge’s recommendation that officer Andrey Samusev be found not guilty of multiple charges of improper use of force with a vehicle and reversed the same judge’s recommended finding of guilt against officer Daniel Alvarez.
The outcomes were posted early Friday on the website 50-a.org, which combs through public law enforcement databases for information on police disciplinary cases.
The charges were brought by the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) after an internal NYPD probe exonerated both officers of wrongdoing stemming from the incident on May 30, 2020 in Prospect Heights.
During an administrative trial in December 2022, CCRB prosecutors had sought termination for Samusev and a one-year probation for Alvarez, during which any additional infraction could prompt termination, along with other penalties.
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SPARC Kips Bay Project, Future Anchor of NYC Life Sciences Industry
edc.nyc Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul Release Details for First-of-its-Kind Job and Education Hub for Growing Health SectorNew Master Plan and Design RFP Advance SPARC Kips Bay Project, Future Anchor of NYC Life Sciences IndustryProject Will Create More Than 15,000 Jobs, G
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cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/9271617
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White House announces $16.4 billion in new funding for 25 passenger rail projects on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor
www.whitehouse.gov FACT SHEET: President Biden Advances Vision for World Class Passenger Rail by Delivering Billions in New Funding | The White House$16.4 Billion from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Repair and Replace Critical Rail Infrastructure Along Northeast Corridor to Provide Faster and More Reliable Passenger Rail Experience, Create More than One Hundred Thousand Construction Jobs Bidenomics and President Biden’s Investing in America ag...
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Crane collapses after catching fire in Hudson Yard
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NY Governor Hochul Announces Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 Moving Forward With Solicitation for First Contract
www.governor.ny.gov Governor Hochul Announces Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 Moving Forward With Solicitation for First ContractGovernor Hochul announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is advancing on Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway with the solicitation of the first contract for construction of the future extension of the Second Avenue Subway to 125th Street in Harlem.
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NYC’s latest casino bid calls for two 46-story skyscrapers across from the Javits Center
www.6sqft.com NYC's latest casino bid calls for two 46-story skyscrapers across from the Javits Center | 6sqftThe proposed project includes two 46-story towers with a luxury hotel, a top-floor performance hall, affordable housing, and an eight-story casino at the base.