Koch ‘Feelin’ Groovy’ about Queensboro Bridge name change
Ed Koch knows exactly what he’s going to do now that the Queensboro Bridge has been renamed after him.
“Every night I’m going to go down there and touch it,” he said laughing. “To make sure that no one does anything to it.”
The City Council voted overwhelmingly to rename the Queensboro Bridge after the former mayor yesterday. The bridge will now be called the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.
“To have it done while you are alive is wonderful and I didn’t lobby for it,” the 86-year-old said. “They would either have done or not done it. Either way, I thought, I am not going to jump off the bridge about it.”
Abortion Foes Fail to Kill Lappin Bill
Despite strong opposition by anti-abortion centers, bill is born into law
The City Council voted March 2 in favor of a bill that would require so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers to be more transparent about the services that it provides.
East Side Council Member Jessica Lappin penned the legislation that would require the centers to put signs in their waiting rooms or entrances stating that they don’t provide contraceptives, referrals or abortions.
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Two For Man’s Best Friend
It is not often that we get a chance to thank local legislators for their concern for non-voters. In this case, the City Council recently passed two pieces of important legislation that protect animals and public safety at the same time.
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Let Free Market Work in City
The last time we checked, we live in a free-market, democratic society where political gain and false arguments cannot supersede the will of the people and fair competition.
So that is why we find it hard to believe that our political leaders in the City Council would even consider impeding Walmart’s entry into the New York market.
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An Animated City Council
An old saying about politics is that it is Hollywood for ugly people. But Lauri Apple, a Chicago-based artist and political writer, believes politics—or, at least, the New York City Council—is more like high school. Read more
ES POL BACKS SCHNEIDERMAN
By Dan Rivoli
East Side Council Member Dan Garodnick threw his support to fellow Manhattanite Eric Schneiderman, the state senator running for attorney general. Read more
Competing Views of Land Use Process at Charter Revision Meeting
By Dan Rivoli
The commission charged with updating the city charter recently heard suggestions on changing the public land use process.
A five-member panel of experts representing city government, community planners and the real estate industry gathered at the Queens Public Library in Flushing June 24 to testify in front of the Charter Revision Commission. Read more
Decision ’09: Republican Challengers
Your mailbox may not be as full of campaign “literature” as it was prior to the primary election, but there are still a number of candidates looking to court voters ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Though they all do not have the same amount of money to spend as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the independent running on the GOP line, Republicans are challenging several incumbent Democrats, and vying for open citywide seats for comptroller and public advocate. Read more
A BRIGHT IDEA?
The City Council held hearings Nov. 6 on a bill that would require the city to switch to LED street lamps. The bill, authored by Council Member Jessica Lappin, would make the city ditch halogen bulbs used in traffic lights for energy-efficient LED lights.
At the committee meeting, the upfront costs of the plan and technological impediments were sticking points for the city’s Department of Transportation, according to testimony from David Woloch, the agency’s deputy commissioner for external affairs.
“LEDs as a light source are still in the developmental phase and to mandate their use citywide within a year is not prudent,” Woloch said in the testimony. “The costs to implement it would far outweigh any benefits.”
Lappin, however, said she would compromise with a provision that would gradually install LED lights in street lamps when the bulbs stop working.
“I’m looking to delay and defray upfront capital cost,” Lappin said in an interview after the hearing. “We can do this in a way so that, as existing street lights are being replaced as part of the natural cycle, we can replace them with LED.”
G&T PROGRAMS
Two City Council members have penned a letter to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein criticizing Department of Education policies that they argue have decreased the diversity of the city’s gifted and talented (G&T) programs.
“Despite being forewarned by academics, parents, advocates and other stakeholders that the proposed changes would not have the desired effect, DOE proceeded to implement the ill-advised modifications,” wrote Council members Robert Jackson, chair of the Education Committee, and Lewis Fidler in the letter.
Part of the problem, they argue, is the department’s admission process for entry level G&T programs, which is based on the weighted average of two standardized tests.
The department defended the “rigorous” two-test admissions process and criticized Jackson and Fidler’s proposals to increase equity and representation within G&T programs. The Council members proposed, among other ideas, setting aside 10 percent of this year’s kindergarten seats in each school district for G&T programs next year.
“The council members propose to dilute standards in favor of a system where large numbers of students who score below the 10th percentile on a national scale would be admitted to gifted programs, and where the accident of a student’s address might determine whether she qualifies as gifted,” said spokesperson Marge Feinberg in a statement. “We won’t allow our teachers to face unwelcome pressure from parents who want their child to be classified as ‘gifted.’”
