Editorials | The New York Observer

Majoring in Science

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:02:19 -0500

It wasn’t so long ago that critics were predicting the death of the City University of New York. The mayor at the time, Rudolph Giuliani, was insisting on high standards for admission to the system’s senior colleges, outraging some faculty and advocates of higher education’s equivalent of social promotion.

City University did not collapse. Instead, it has prospered in the years since the Giuliani-era reforms. And now the university is preparing to expand its mission...

The Terror Trial

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:00:19 -0500

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is no ordinary criminal. He is a bloodthirsty terrorist who happily took responsibility for the deaths of more than 2,700 people, and who surely is disappointed that the death toll wasn’t higher.

The Obama administration has decided to bring Mohammed to New York to stand trial, a move that many New Yorkers, including Governor Paterson and former mayor Rudolph Giuliani, have criticized. The governor believes...

No Free Pass

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:43:09 -0500

During his reelection campaign, Mayor Bloomberg talked a lot about allowing bus riders to board crosstown buses for free. Now that the voters have spoken and the campaign is over, the newly reelected mayor is counseling patience as would-be riders begin to demand their free transportation from east to west and west to east.

Mr. Bloomberg is right to suggest that this lovely sounding plan cannot be implemented right away. In fact, given the fiscal...

Mind Your Manners

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:41:18 -0500

The incoming city comptroller, John Liu, clearly is a busy man. He’s so busy, in fact, that he couldn’t make time to meet with Mayor Bloomberg for a post-election sit-down last week.

The mayor was surprisingly gracious about Mr. Liu’s scheduling priorities, saying that Mr. Liu had a lot on his plate and perhaps was simply overextended. That might well be, but the spin from Mr. Liu’s camp suggests that the comptroller-elect is having second...

Bloomberg for Mayor

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:00:58 -0400

Forty years ago this fall, Mayor John V. Lindsay’s reelection campaign coined a memorable slogan designed to win the sympathy of skeptical voters. Referring to the mayoralty, Lindsay’s bumper stickers and other campaign material bore the phrase: “It’s the second-toughest job in America.” The slogan was designed almost as an apology for the strikes and disorder of Lindsay’s first term. The job of running New York was so hard, the campaign suggested,...

A Slow Pace at Aqueduct

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:28:01 -0400

Plans to install video-lottery machines—some dare call them slots—at Aqueduct Race Track are mired in the mud of Albany politics. It’s time for Governor Paterson to put the much-needed plan on the fast track.

The plan to install VLTs at Aqueduct has been kicking around since the Pataki administration. While some venues, like Yonkers Raceway, have converted their facilities, the plan to revitalize Aqueduct has languished for no good reason. In the meantime, Pennsylvania has...

Rangel's Ways and Means

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:26:33 -0400

At one level, it was absurd for House Republicans to charge in a resolution that Representative Charles Rangel of Harlem has “held the House up to public ridicule.” The very people who wrote and voted for that resolution have inspired no shortage of public ridicule themselves.

That said, there is little question that Mr. Rangel’s financial and ethical lapses have prompted public scorn and cynicism. For that reason, he should seize the high ground by...

Health Care for Hospitals?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:35:28 -0400

Our colleagues at the Daily News have been investigating conditions in city-run hospitals, where, the reports indicate, mistakes have been covered up and records tampered with to deceive regulators.

Now comes word that officials at Bellevue Hospital may have been tipped off about a surprise inspection. The News reported last week that the hospital cleaned up its act when administrators learned that independent investigators might be on their way. Among other measures, hospital officials encouraged...

All Eyes on Midtown

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:34:12 -0400

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced last week that the city will expand its video surveillance program from downtown to midtown. That’s welcome news for New Yorkers, who were reminded last month that terrorists remain intent on striking the city again.

City Hall’s announcement had nothing to do with the alleged plot by Najibullah Zazi to detonate homemade bombs in the city. And yet, of course, it had everything to do with...

A Sobering Reminder

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:04:12 -0400

The charges filed against suspected terrorist Najibullah Zazi and the still unfolding details of a possible plot to bomb city subways remind us that the fanatics who murdered 3,000 people in downtown Manhattan eight years ago remain determined to strike again. New York City, to nobody’s surprise, remains their most coveted target, for the city and its people represent so much of what the terrorists despise about the modern world.

New York’s elected officials, especially...

Stick to Health Care, Mr. President

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:17:19 -0400

President Obama’s concerns about New York politics are understandable. If his fellow Democrats lose gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey in the fall, as seems possible, Mr. Obama’s party will be on the defensive just in time for two key campaigns for statewide office in New York—the looming contests for governor and U.S. senator. What’s more, a reeling Democratic Party might lose control of the State Senate on the eve of re-districting, which...

Treasury Gets It Right

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:16:05 -0400

Last week, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department announced changes to tax regulations that will make it easier for holders of distressed property to modify the terms of loans that were later packaged by Wall Street firms and sold to back securities.

This change is a step in the right direction in combating what is undoubtedly the biggest looming problem in the real estate world, the sector of the economy that will have...

No. 1, Derek Jeter

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:36:32 -0400

Far too often, the sports pages of most daily newspapers read like crime blotters, with reports of athletes behaving badly overshadowing triumphs and championships. Drug use, psychotic outbursts and even violent crime have cause more than a few fans to wonder what happened to the idea of athletes as role models.

And then there’s Derek Jeter, the captain of the Yankees and, as of last week, the most prolific hitter in the storied history of...

Amtrak Belongs at Moynihan

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:32:55 -0400

The long, maddening process of converting the old Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue into a world-class rail station may yet have a happy ending. Amtrak announced earlier this week that it will move into the proposed new station rather than remain in that hellish pit known as Penn Station.

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who first proposed the new station 15 years ago, believed that New York deserved a gorgeous, inspiring rail gateway...

The Observer Endorses...

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:27:16 -0400

Cyrus Vance Jr. For Manhattan District Attorney

This year marks the end of an era at Hogan Plaza, where Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has been prosecuting criminals for more than 30 years. Mr. Morgenthau has chosen to retire at the age of 90; Manhattan’s Democratic voters will choose the living legend’s successor on Tuesday.

The pending vacancy has attracted three well-qualified candidates, Richard Aborn, Cyrus Vance Jr. and former judge Leslie Crocker...

Shame of the Senate

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:42:59 -0400

You would have hoped that Albany’s lawmakers would have learned something from the debacle of a few weeks ago, when business in the State Capitol came to a halt while state senators acted like schoolchildren in a food fight. It’s clear, however, that this crowd seems incapable of understanding its own hubris.

The son of Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. recently beat a hasty retreat from a $120,000-a-year job as the Senate’s deputy director...

Union Blues

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:40:40 -0400

The city’s largest public employee union, District Council 37, has decided to try its luck with Democratic mayoral candidate William Thompson rather than the incumbent, Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The politically powerful union’s endorsement has been interpreted as a blow to Mr. Bloomberg’s bid for a third term, but it’s hard to figure out how this should be seen as anything but good news for New York City taxpayers. Mr. Bloomberg is going to have...

A Dangerous Corridor

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:49:34 -0400

Last week’s deadly collision between a small plane and a helicopter offered a terrible but potentially important insight into the way in which low-altitude traffic over the Hudson River is monitored.

It isn’t.

No air-traffic controllers assist pilots flying at less than 1,000 feet over the Hudson River corridor. Anyone who has spent time watching air traffic from Riverside Park or Battery Park City knows just how congested the airspace over the Hudson has become in...

The Plane Truth

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:47:36 -0400

Remember when members of Congress were ready to declare class war against some of the nation’s top executives for the high crime of using a private jet? The CEOs of the nation’s auto companies became poster boys for supposed private-sector indifference to public sentiment and good taste last year when they flew company jets from Michigan to Washington, D.C., for a Congressional hearing.

Oh, the politicians on Capitol Hill screamed and hollered! High-flying executives were...

A Sure Bet at Aqueduct

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:55:41 -0400

It has taken a while—far too long, in fact—but a plan to install slot machines and other entertainment at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens is nearing reality. The state is considering several proposals to convert the track into what’s known as a “racino,” that is, a combination casino and racetrack.

The state would be smart to choose a homegrown firm, SL Green, to develop the site. There’s no need to bring in carpetbaggers who have...

A Vast Wasteland

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:36:48 -0400

Last week’s arrests of dozens of political figures in New Jersey have raised anew the question that has baffled pundits, academics and civic do-gooders for generations. Why does New Jersey seem such a hospitable place for two-bit crooks posing as public servants?

First of all, let it be said that New Jersey is home to more than 400 towns, most of them with elected councils, boards of education, government administrators, civil servants and assorted other...

DiNapoli's Gutsy Move

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:54:25 -0400

The absurdities in Albany have gone beyond the outrageous. Now they’re costing towns and cities money. For example, the city has been unable to collect an extra half-cent in sales tax revenue because the State Senate hasn’t gotten around to passing required legislation. If this goes on too much longer, the city may have to reopen its budget.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has decided that the senators will not collect paychecks until they put asides...

NYPD Blues

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:51:34 -0400

Everybody knows about New York’s remarkable success in fighting crime over the past 15 years. The reasons for that success are equally well known: Strong leadership, and smart cops. Lots and lots of smart cops.

The city has not exhausted its ability to produce first-class leaders who understand the importance of public safety. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has improved on the Giuliani administration’s astonishing accomplishments over the past eight years. Crime continues to drop, and...

A Silver Lining

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:20:52 -0400

While the State Senate dithers, the State Assembly passes, and among the bits of legislation approved in the lower house in recent days was a bill that would extend mayoral control over the city’s public schools. Credit Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of the Lower East Side for recognizing the importance of this measure and not pandering to critics who apparently pine for a return to the bad old days of Fortress Education at 110...

Give 'Em Hell, David

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:19:31 -0400

You don’t often read the names of David Paterson and Harry Truman in the same sentence, and for good reason. New York’s governor has developed a reputation as something of a passive, low-key figure since taking the reins in Albany; the man from Independence, Mo., was known for his feisty, in-your-face style of populist politics.

But the crisis in the State Senate apparently has inspired Mr. Paterson to put aside political niceties...

A Rare Win for Taxpayers

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:34:12 -0400

Governor Paterson showed some leadership the other day, and the state’s public-employee unions demonstrated welcome flexibility. That’s a good combination for New York’s taxpayers.

The governor and the unions agreed on a plan that cut expensive pension benefits for new members of the Public Employees Federation and the Civil Service Employees Association outside of the five boroughs. In return, the governor agreed to drop his plan to lay off nearly 9,000 workers. The state will...

The Albany Rebels

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:33:17 -0400

Make no mistake about it: The astonishing Republican coup in the State Senate has vast implications for the future. If the party manages to hold on to the Senate through next year, it will have a say in the redistricting process that will follow the 2010 census. That means Democrats will not be able to have their way in drawing up New York’s Congressional and legislative districts.

And that may not be so terrible. Things...

A Bronx Tale

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:07:31 -0400

Much has been made of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s biography and personal narrative. She would be, after all, the first Latina on the U.S. Supreme Court, and only the third woman to serve as an associate justice. But let’s not forget another important piece of her identity: She is a New Yorker, through and through.

Judge Sotomayor’s journey from the Bronxdale Houses to the top of the nation’s legal system is an extraordinary story, encompassing narratives...

Life's a Beach? Not on Broadway

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:06:42 -0400

If the Bloomberg administration wanted media attention and buzz, they got it when the mayor and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan decided to close several blocks of Broadway near Times Square and Herald Square and turn the space into public plazas, complete with a bunch of chairs, tables and benches strewn around for tired tourists looking for a place to smoke or New Yorkers looking for a place to sun-tan. What the “experiment” may have...

NYPD Blues

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:58:38 -0400

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has done a decent job of protecting vital city services while looking for places to cut spending in light of an enormous budget deficit. He and the City Council need to be careful that cuts to the Police Department do not result in a respite for those who would disrupt public safety.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly recently told the City Council that he will have to lay off nearly 400 civilian workers...

Paterson's Pitch on Ethics

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:56:37 -0400

Wisely, Governor David Paterson has never promised to change the way Albany goes about its business. Such promises do nothing to win friends and influence people, and, in any case, inevitably lead to disappointment. But the governor’s new campaign to change the makeup and even the name of the state’s Commission on Public Integrity could lead voters to believe that real change is possible in Albany.

Governors have long promised to make state government more...

Income Tax Hikes Won't Work

Wed, 20 May 2009 11:37:13 -0400

As the City Council pores through Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget, it seems safe to say that some council members will be unable to resist the urge to demand more tax revenue from the city’s wealthiest residents. This will make for a fine photo op and a fiery press release, but probably no more than that. If there’s one thing most responsible people can agree on, it’s the proven fact that punitive tax hikes in...

New York's Loss, Nation's Gain

Wed, 20 May 2009 11:35:05 -0400

President Barack Obama made a superb choice in selecting Dr. Thomas Frieden as the new director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the highly respected but demoralized public health agency. Dr. Frieden led the city’s Health Department for seven memorable years under Mayor Michael Bloomberg—and if he can do for the C.D.C. what he did for the Health Department, the nation will be very lucky indeed.

Dr. Frieden will take over the C.D.C....

A Fare Solution? Not Yet

Tue, 12 May 2009 19:24:14 -0400

A whiff of celebration filled the air when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced last week that subway and bus fares would climb to $2.25, rather than the expected $2.50, and without the drastic service cuts that had been looming. While the State Legislature and Governor David Paterson deserve credit for reaching a deal to provide new financing for the M.T.A., this is no time to lapse into self-congratulation. There is still a serious need...

Mayoral Control Is Working

Tue, 12 May 2009 19:21:34 -0400

Having nearly botched a bailout package for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, state legislators now turn their attention to continued mayoral control of New York City’s public schools. Wish the city’s 1.1 million public schoolchildren luck—they’re going to need it.

The legislation that abolished the old Board of Education and gave the mayor absolute control over the city’s schools is due to expire next month. Reauthorization seems highly likely, and with good reason. City schools are...

Bloomberg Tips Tax

Tue, 05 May 2009 18:47:19 -0400

Resisting the “tax the rich” pleas from several Democrats and union officials, Michael Bloomberg has again shown he’s a mayor who understands how a major urban economy works, by proposing a slight, though nevertheless historic, increase in the city sales tax rather than supporting an income-tax increase on New York’s wealthiest residents.

The mayor wants to raise the city’s portion of the sales tax by 0.5 percent—which, when combined with the state and transit portions,...

Obama’s Supreme Moment

Tue, 05 May 2009 18:45:24 -0400

As Barack Obama begins his search to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, he should keep in mind one simple formula: The next justice should be younger than the president of the United States.

Of course, this is the criterion that dare not speak its name. It would hardly do for the president to be hauled into court in an age-discrimination suit. But shrewd politicians know how to communicate their wishes without actually expressing...

Show Some Leadership, Senator

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:44:24 -0400

The M.T.A. bailout remains in limbo as the new majority leader, Malcolm Smith, searches for enough votes to get the aid package on the books. Thus far, those votes have proved maddeningly elusive, as several of Senator Smith’s fellow Democrats continue to withhold their support. Meanwhile, the city’s three Republican state senators continue to show little interest in bailing out Mr. Smith. If they decided to buck their party’s leadership by supporting the M.T.A....

Leading the Way on Health

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:42:52 -0400

New York’s rapid response to the swine flu outbreak should serve as a reminder that the city has regained its reputation as a global leader in public health. Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city’s health commissioner, has done for public health what a series of police commissioners has done for crime-fighting—he has implemented programs and innovations that have captured the interest of colleagues around the world.

The city’s response to the swine flu outbreak at...

Ever Hear of Photoshop?

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:41:24 -0400

The Obama administration prides itself on its technological savvy, but it’s clear that the folks in the White House public relations office are in urgent need of a tutorial in basic computer skills. Forget photo op. This crowd needs to learn Photoshop.

The same administration that has demonized what it sees as private-sector excesses dispatched the presidential airplane, with accompanying fighter jets, to New York on Monday for the sole purpose of photographing Air Force...

A Global Disgrace

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:02:40 -0400

It was billed as a United Nations conference on racism, but few thoughtful people were fooled by the packaging. What’s going on in Geneva this week is nothing less than a forum for Israel’s enemies, who soil the noble efforts of legitimate anti-racists with their hated-filled screeds.

It goes without saying that the United States was right to boycott this celebration of bigotry, this parade of strutting dictators, misogynists, thieves and liars. It is comforting...

City Council Puppets

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:45:48 -0400

How dumb does the teachers’ union think the City Council is? Plenty dumb, it seems, judging from the fact that, as the New York Post reported, a teachers’ union lackey slipped cue cards to council members before a hearing last week on public notification of new charter schools. Given that several of the council members proceeded, like programmed robots, to read the questions printed on the cards—questions that naturally took the United Federation of...

The Real Wall Street

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:44:16 -0400

At a time when legitimate businesses and financial services firms are subjected to ridicule and contempt on a daily basis, it’s worth noting that the private sector is living up to its financial commitment to the 9/11 memorial under way at ground zero.

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum received pledges of $55 million from four financial giants more than a year ago. That sum represented a significant portion of the $355 million that...

A Season Like No Other

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:49:35 -0400

It is April and the baseball season is upon us. It is the season for optimism, when the slate is blank and all things are possible. For the Mets and Yankees, 2009 figures to be a memorable year, and not simply because both teams figure to be playing serious baseball in October.

In just a few days, both teams will christen their new ballparks. The Mets open Citi Field for real on April 13...

Albany’s Big Spenders

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:48:17 -0400

New York State has passed a budget whose terms leads us to believe that Albany must be getting its financial news from places other than Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, BBC, PBS, Reuters or the AP. Maybe they’ve been tuning in to the Cartoon Network? How else to explain that the Legislature’s $131 billion budget represents a spending increase of 9 percent over last...

The G.O.P. Dating Game

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:10:24 -0400

Michael Bloomberg is seeking to run for reelection on the Republican Party line in New York City. But while the G.O.P dawdles, members of the Independence Party are ready to endorse the mayor despite their anger over his attempt to install an ally as the party’s chairman last year. This ought to be an object lesson for Republicans, who still hold a grudge against Mr. Bloomberg for opting out of the party....

Finally: New York Repeals Rockefeller Drug Laws

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:09:06 -0400

Most of the news coming out of Albany has been of the unwelcome variety, but let it be noted that the Legislature and Governor David Paterson managed to provide some great news as well. Finally, after years of agitation and argument, the Rockefeller-era drug laws have been relegated to history. This is a momentous change for the better.

The Rockefeller laws were passed in the early 1970s and were named for the man who...

Stop Demonizing Business

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:32:35 -0400

To be sure, this is the season of knee-jerk reactions. Suddenly, corporate America can do nothing right—in fact, everything from executive compensation to promotional budgets has been denounced as a waste of taxpayer funds. What a shame that so few elected political leaders understand the real world. The irony became stronger in recent days as the government rolled out its plan to deal with toxic assets. Clearly, some government officials have begun to realize...

Cuomo Mishandles Anger Over AIG

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:31:30 -0400

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has done a first-rate job as the state’s chief law enforcement official. With good reason, political insiders believe Mr. Cuomo could be an attractive candidate for governor next year. He has been out front, early and often, on issues ranging from student-loan scams to the financial services meltdown.

That said, his campaign against bonuses paid to executives at American International Group has gone too far, and...

A+ for New York: Merryl Tisch

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:20:49 -0400

In further good news for New York students, Merryl Tisch has been elected the new chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents. The state’s three million school kids could not have found a better friend than Ms. Tisch, a gutsy reformer who gets things done while others are still clearing their throats.

Ms. Tisch is that all too rare New York dynamo who gets involved in good causes, gives 110 percent...