“If you fail to produce these records by September 7th, 2017, I will ask that the Council issue a subpoena … compelling their disclosure. It is shocking that chokeholds remain in use three decades after their ban by NYPD, and after the tragic death of Eric Garner in 2014.”
Councilman Rory Lancman in a letter to the NYPD demanding records from a recent case where the police commissioner overturned an internal verdict against an officer who used a banned chokehold
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De Blasio’s Search for Jails Chief Appears to Stall as Rikers Pressure Builds
PoliticoNY “While Mayor Bill de Blasio fends off criticism over his timeline to close Rikers Island, his administration appears no closer to finding a new corrections chief, with some critics worrying he will push the decision until after the November election. The mayor has been under pressure to find a new commissioner since May, when then-Commissioner Joseph Ponte announced he would resign, weeks after an investigation revealed several high-ranking officials, including Ponte, had abused city-issued car vehicle privileges.”
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Why Upstate Lawmakers Have Large Role Over City Subways
The New York Times “The future of the nation’s busiest subway system, which has become engulfed in crisis, could well depend on New York State lawmakers like [Robert] Ortt and [Joseph] Griffo, who live hundreds of miles from the city and do not have day-to-day familiarity with its dilapidated transit infrastructure. But since they have a say over the finances of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subway, they can influence the lives of millions of subway riders.”
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Race for Bronx Seat Revolves Around Name but Other Issues Abound
WNYC/City Limits “There’s an open seat in District 18, which includes Soundview and Castle Hill in the Bronx. The outgoing council member is Annabel Palma, one of just 13 women on the Council. Vying for the job is State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., the Bronx borough president’s father and former councilman. Diaz has been criticized for his anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage views, and in a recent interview with City Limits he said his religion and politics go hand in hand.”

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Assemblymembers Running for Council Use Mailing Privileges to Their Advantage
Gotham Gazette “In at least three City Council races where sitting state Assemblymembers are candidates, separate complaints have been filed with the city Campaign Finance Board alleging that each of them has violated prohibitions against using government-funded mass mailers within a mandated 90-day communication blackout period before the September 12 primary. ”
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ICYMI: City Pays Big Bucks for Private-School Security
Village Voice “For an annual tuition of over $46,000, the Dalton School on the Upper East Side serves up about the best education money can buy. It offers advanced robotics programs, Broadway-worthy theater productions, and library facilities rivaling those of many colleges. It’s a far cry from the city’s public schools, plagued as they are by inequities and often struggling to provide extras beyond a basic education. But despite its advantages, Dalton is also among the private schools that have cumulatively received $2.2 million in public funds so far this year, and are slated to receive millions more, as part of a controversial program enacted by the City Council in 2015.”