In order for his proposal to extend term limits to become law, Michael Bloomberg needs the support of 26 members of the City Council. At the moment, only 14 members are on record saying they will vote in favor of the bill. Five of the undecideds—Alan Gerson, Jessica Lappin, James Oddo, Helen Sears, and Peter Read More
Council members Simcha Felder and Peter Vallone Jr. are circulating a letter in support of re-instating the commuter tax.
The letter, sent to other council members, argues that reinstating the commuter tax and closing costly loophole in the state pension law are crucial to the city's budget. "[T]he alternative," the letter says, is "further cuts Read More
Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler released a list today of Michael Bloomberg’s member items -- the City Council members’ projects that the mayor funded directly from 2003 to 2008.The request came amid closer scrutiny of discretionary member-item allocation, which is being investigated by a U.S. prosecutor after fake names were found to have been inserted into Read More
Christine Quinn took a shot at Albany lawmakers (none by name) for passing a bill she says will weaken the city’s soon-to-be enacted law requiring stores to recycle their plastic bags.“Yet again, it’s Albany taking away our power,” Quinn said in a brief chat with reporters in City Hall. “I fail to understand why Read More
Here's a nifty example of extra-campaign profile-boosting for a couple of local office-seekers, in the form of an ad for the family law firm Vallone & Vallone, from the Queens Gazette. For the record, that's Peter Vallone, Jr. on the left, who's running for Queens borough president; his brother Paul Vallone on Read More
In this clip, Peter Vallone, Jr., speaking at the hearing, connects the two.
UPDATE: Bloomberg spokesman John Gallagher responds: "Essential city services cost money and the rate hike will cover rental Read More
Here’s Peter Vallone Jr. describing a yelling match he had with Michael Bloomberg outside City Hall just now over Bloomberg’s plan to open another power plant in Astoria.“I said, 'What happened to your fair-share doctrine? When it came to waste transfer stations, everybody was responsible for their own garbage.”
Councilman Leroy Comrie is taking a hard line against the police officers and officials involved in the Sean Bell shooting. Speaking to reporters after a press conference in Jamaica, Comrie said the Police Department should “remove the lieutenant, the commanding officer, the head of the division. They all need to be, I think, fired."Later, he Read More
Comrie will need the money to compete with better-funded rivals like Peter Vallone, Jr. (who held one of his fund-raisers in the mayor’s home).
Sharp-eyed readers will notice Assemblyman Read More
Peter Vallone, Jr., who said his colleagues “universally panned” Christine Quinn’s proposed budget reform, is welcoming the new vetting process for member items announced earlier today by Bill Thompson.In a telephone interview just now, Vallone said, “We’re working to reform the system on our end. And I’m glad the mayor and comptroller are Read More
After the meeting last night between Council members and Christine Quinn, Peter Vallone, Jr. told me that he supports reforms, but not some of the specific ones that Quinn proposed last week. If she takes the advice of the council, Vallone says, “We won’t be giving up any power to the executive branch."Quinn did not Read More
The only thing that has gotten City Council members more angry than when they found out Christine Quinn’s staff hid millions of dollars in the city budget by assigning it to phony organizations are the reforms she proposed last week to prevent the same thing from happening again.Quinn proposed Friday to give the Read More
Here’s part of the invitation for City Councilman Leroy Comrie’s April 19 fund-raiser, geared to female supporters. Comie is considered a likely candidate for Queens borough president.Comrie is trying to close a fund-raising gap with the fund-raising leader in that race, Peter Vallone, Jr. (who got help from Michael Bloomberg). He's also hoping Read More
During Michael Bloomberg's weekly radio appearance on 77 WABC, host John Gambling asked him about Peter Vallone, Jr.'s most recent effort to have New York City secede from New York State and form the 51st state. Vallone's reasoning is mainly economic--the city should stop giving money to the state because it isn't getting enough Read More
The Department of Education faces another lawsuit, this one over racial exclusion in schools. [New York Times]A report ordered by Ray Kelly shows racial discrepancy among those stopped by police. [City Room]Rudy Giuliani is winning over young voters with his moderate social views, according to Ben Adler. [Politico]9/11 Firefighters and Families is Read More
