A new book argues that the popular image of Mike Bloomberg as a post-ideological mayor misses the profound way he has reshaped New York for the benefit of the corporate elite.
The Monroe Lady Mustangs won the national junior college championship last weekend.
The following story appeared in this week’s issue of the Norwood News.By Jeanmarie EvellyA number of local elected officials are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to renew and strengthen rent regulation laws, in favor of renters, as part of his budget negotiations with the legislature this month.Last week, about 90 lawmakers signed a letter to the governor pressing the issue, which requested that he not only renew the existing Emergency Tenant Protection Act that expires this spring but that he include provisions to repeal vacancy decontrol — the law that lets landlords hike rents of stabilized apartments once tenants vacate them, essentially deregulating the city’s housing market.State Senator Jeffrey Klein Every Bronx state representative put his or her name on the letter with the exception of one: State Sen. Jeff Klein, whose district covers parts of the Bronx and Westchester. Klein, who recently formed a four-member Independent Caucus among centrist Senate Democrats, has been a target of housing advocates’ campaigns in the past, criticized for his inaction on pro-tenant legislation and for receiving substantial campaign contributions from landlord and real estate groups.“Jeff Klein is an operative for the real estate lobby,” said Michael McKee, of the Tenants Political Action Committee. “He works behind the scenes to make sure that pro-tenant legislation does not pass.”Klein’s camp, however, said that the senator was never given the letter to sign.“We don’t have a record of receiving the letter,” said spokesman Rich Azzopardi.When asked where Klein stood on the issue of vacancy decontrol, Azzopardi said the senator would support the legislation if it came up for a vote.“We’re not opposed to having these issues in the budget,” he said. “If the bills come to the floor, he’ll vote for them.”But housing advocates say Klein’s history indicates otherwise. In 2008, his name was absent from another letter of support signed by Senate Democrats at the time to push for the repeal of vacancy decontrol, according to an article in the New York Times.“He has not really been a strong advocate of tenants,” said Mary Tek, of the advocacy group Tenants & Neighbors.
I’m so glad it’s going to be both sunny and chilly this weekend, because that’s my favorite weather for cooking. It’s the perfect weather to make stews or soups that need to sit on the stove for a while without the whole apartment getting hot and stuffy.Here’s a good recipe that I made for dinner recently. Now, I’m not claiming that my recipe is authentic in any way. (Even though I’m Latina, and have eaten my fair share, I’m not an enchilada expert.) It’s just a fun dish that I put together one evening using ingredients that I found at my local grocery store or that I already had in my kitchen. And that’s what we’ve tried to focus on with Bronx Foodie.
Weather: Sunny, but still, sadly, cold. That goes for the whole weekend. Story of the Day: The Holy Grail – A High-Class Bronx HotelDuring his February state of the borough speech at Clinton High School, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. dared mention the Holy Grail of Bronx BPs – the creation of a high-class hotel in our fair borough. Adolfo Carrion and Freddy Ferrer both tried to prioritize a new hotel to no avail. But Diaz believes he’s recognized a simple solution this time: use one of the failing new Yankee Stadium parking garages that are “going belly up,” Diaz says in an article in the Daily News.
Joseph Strasburg, the head of the Rent Stabilization Assocation, a landlord lobbying group, praised former Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. for saving his industry at this event a couple of nights ago. Comments starts at 0:19 in after the tenant protest.
A state court ruled that landlords can impose extra charges on tenants paying under $1,000 a month rent. Landlords say it’s fair because the low rents don’t cover their costs.The Legal Aid Society had brought the suit on behalf of affected tenants and call the charges a “poor tax.”For more about this from the Times, click here.
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