NYC

Documents sought would allow public to know whether and how the Police Department has changed the way it handles applications for permits needed to hold political demonstrations, but NYPD has kept the records hidden for almost 11 months. A clear violation of the Freedom of Information Law.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was ecstatic last week, announcing that the city’s population had swollen to an all-time high. Unfortunately, the mayor remains completely dissociated from the many negative consequences already arising from the city’s population “boom.”

In part 2 of our story on New York’s failure to get a full build-out of the Second Avenue subway, we focus on the area’s politicians — especially those who claim to be advocates of mass transit. Most hid from our questioning; some accepted the idea that key infrastructure needs will not be met; a few insisted that the decision to shortchange the Second Avenue subway was indefensible.

A fully realized Second Avenue subway would replace service lost decades ago, help meet ever growing transit demand, and provide a wide range of economic and environmental benefits to New York City and its residents. Even though the entire line could be built at one time, and even though delay is more costly than action, all that has been funded is a less-than-two-mile stub.

A devastating article about the devastating storm leaves no doubt that the two officials have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to upgrading New York’s infrastructure to meet the threat of “rising sea levels, more frequent flood and extreme weather patterns.”

The New York Times just documented the continuing existence of an intense level of racial segregation in schools in New York City. But scant attention was paid to the still-entrenched pattern of housing segregation that afflicts New York and many other metropolitan areas, a pattern that is a critical driver of segregation in schools.

Lots of anecdotes to show that the City Council Speaker is down to earth, but little of substance. When you leave out the fact that Quinn runs the Council undemocratically, thwarts the will of voters, and serves the interests of the one percent, you don't have much of a profile.

Wouldn't facility by facility information on operating costs, staffing, and level of use help New York City's Parks Dept. and outside observers assess whether there is equity in funding between and among parks as well as the related question of whether and to what extent to rely on private as opposed to public funding? Good luck getting the data.