City Hall - January 1, 2008

Two candidates emerge looking to topple Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, below, (Page 4),

other Asian candidates look to follow John Liu (Page 16) and Rep. Steve Israel, above, digs in to his Power Lunch (Page 20).

Vol. 2, No. 8

January 2008

www.cityhallnews.com

What About

Betsy?

Gotbaum ready to end her political career—unless Bloomberg White House bid makes her mayor

BY EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE

“

etsy, you’re unstoppable!” The public advocate’s young aide shouts upward, already most of a flight behind the 68-year-old woman bounding up the stairs of the Lucille Murray Day Care Center in the South Bronx. The Administration of Children’s

B

Services has announced plans to close the center mid-year because of a $600,000 bill to fix a leaky roof.

Gotbaum has just finished leading a press conference to protest the decision, complete with follow-up interviews in fluent Spanish. Now she wants to see the roof, but the elevator was taking too

( See page 33)

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

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JAN UARY 2008

CITY HALL

At 6’4”, Eye-to-Eye with the 5’6” Mayor Promotion in wake of Doctoroff departure makes Skyler Bloomberg’s No. 3 24-7 environment where you never really know what’s happening, you have to be on your toes and every secD S KYLER SAYS THERE IS NOTHING ond of the day something can go pretty horribly wrong,” supernatural about his ability to oversee and he said, sitting at a long oak table in City Hall’s press manage over 15 massive city agencies. offices with his Blackberry resting silently in his lap.

“I’m not in some magical room with all these differ“The pressure you’re under as a deputy mayor,” he ent buttons,” said Skyler, who recently was promoted said, “it’s less compressed.” to deputy mayor of operations following the resignaWilliam Cunningham, who was the communication of Dan Doctoroff as deputy mayor of economic tions director for Bloomberg’s 2001 campaign and development. “It really is more sort of an oversight first term, said that Skyler’s steady rise was a reflecjob to make sure the agencies are performing up to tion of his ambition, dedication and reluctance to let the mayor’s expectations.” himself be held back by his youth.

There is a lot of oversight to do. With the restruc“You can disagree with Ed, you could argue with turing of the administration, which followed Ed,” Cunningham said, “but he never let his age get in Doctoroff’s announced departure, Skyler now directthe way of giving you his honest opinion.” ly oversees the departments of Transportation, In addition to the many departments he charged Environmental Protection and Buildings, the Taxi and Skyler with overseeing, Bloomberg also gave Skyler Limousine Commission and the Mayor’s Office of management of his prized PlaNYC when Doctoroff Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. He will conleft, rather than assigning it to Doctoroff’s successor, tinue to manage the Police Department, Fire Robert Lieber.

Department and offices of Emergency Management, Skyler said that those responsibilities fit well with Management and Budget and Labor Relations, and to the rest of his portfolio. directly oversee the departments of Sanitation and “The mayor recognizes it’s a citywide effort that Citywide Administrative Services, Office of Contract touches every agency,” Skyler said of PlaNYC. Services, the Criminal Justice Coordinator and the “Centralizing it where a lot of other core functions are Office of Special Enforcement. centralized makes sense because it’s part of everyAt 34, the native Manhattanite is the youngest senone’s agenda.” ior member of the administration and the youngest He has also been charged with the sensitive task of ever to hold the title of deputy mayor. But to him, that recovering remains at Ground Zero, which he said has is just a reflection of his tireless work ethic over eight slowed down since rebuilding has begun in earnest. years coming into his own professionally under the He is working with the City Council to develop a new wing of Michael Bloomberg. But he does not like to emergency notification plan in the wake of the be called a wunderkind.

Deutsch Bank fire. He assisted the mayor in develop“People know that I’m here because I earned it,” he ing a plan to reduce the number of parking permits said in a recent interview at City Hall. “I don’t think issued to city employees. And he is overseeing the I’ve gotten this amazing job because I plotted it out 12 consolidation of 911 systems for all the city’s emeryears ago.” gency services.

Skyler’s rapid rise in city government began in “That encompasses technology issues, labor 1995, working for legendary Parks Department issues, budget issues, coordination issues, space Commissioner Henry Stern. issues, real estate,” he said of the 911 consolidation.

“This is a guy who started at the bottom in an entry “There’s a lot going on.” level position,” said Stern, “and he worked his way up He is also said to be a key player in formulating and received six promotions.” strategy for Bloomberg’s rumored third-party presiFour years later—and after Stern had blessed him Ed Skyler, the youngest deputy mayor in history, dential campaign, which Skyler and other aides with the nickname “Young Skylark”—Skyler was has increased his portfolio significantly. adamantly deny exists. appointed deputy press secretary to then-Mayor With the city and state budgets coming out soon, Rudolph Giuliani (R). Two years later, he left to join cor- kin in another’s face and allegedly intimidated a union legislation to negotiate with City Council members and porate communications at Bloomberg LP, the future worker who questioned the mayor at a press conference the mayor’s solid waste management plan to finalize, mayor’s financial media company. A year later, he was about a ticket his wife received.

Skyler says he has better things to do than work on a the campaign’s press secretary, shepherding the firstThat was a long time ago. After Bloomberg won re- presidential campaign. time candidate through a rollercoaster election and the election in 2005, Skyler, who was by then communica“You can’t afford to take your eye off the ball for anyaftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. When Bloomberg won, tions director, was promoted to deputy mayor. “Beneath thing,” he said. “And the more responsibilities you have, he made Skyler his press secretary. the radar, Ed is the smartest and most important person the more eyes you need to keep on the ball.”

In that job, he quickly earned the reputation among in city government,” said Kevin Sheekey, deputy mayor Skyler has no time to worry about his future after reporters as the mayor’s pit bull. Standing, he is well of governmental operations.

Bloomberg leaves office in 2009, but Sheekey said he may defy everyone’s expectations.

“He probably will do something radically different,” Sheekey said. “He might even go into the movie business.”

At meetings with the mayor and the other deputies, Skyler said he does not shrink from offering his unfettered opinion.

But when he and Bloomberg do not see eye-to-eye, Skyler said he always defers to over six feet tall, thin but intimidating with thick eyeThough he is the third-ranking member of the admin- the mayor’s authority. brows and a stern, unflinching expression. He would lit- istration these days, Skyler says his current job allows “There’s no room for personal agendas,” he said. “My erally run interference for the 5’6” Bloomberg. him to take a more measured, relaxed approach. agenda is his agenda.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com He cursed out one reporter on camera, threw a nap“The pressure of being press secretary, you’re in this

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

E

In addition to the many departments he charged Skyler with overseeing, Bloomberg also gave Skyler management of his prized PlaNYC when Doctoroff left, rather than assigning it to Doctoroff’s successor, Robert Lieber.

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JANUARY 2008

CITY HALL

The If and When Race

BY EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE JULY 31, 2009, ROBERT Morgenthau will turn 90 years old. On Sept. 8, 2009, he is planning to run in and win the Democratic primary in search of his 10th term as Manhattan district attorney.

That, at least, is what those close to him insist, batting down an early retirement rumor which appeared in December on “Page Six” as a misinterpreted sighting of Morgenthau having lunch with Cyrus Vance Jr. But whether he runs again or not, Leslie Crocker Snyder and Richard Davis confirmed that they plan to seek the office he holds next year.

Most prospective candidates either revere Morgenthau or are aware of how many others revere Morgenthau to even consider running against him. Snyder, a former prosecutor and former Manhattan Supreme Court judge, is not among them.

“Regarding Bob Morgenthau, I have heard from many that he has expressed outrage that anyone would have the temerity to run against him,” Snyder explained. “That is unfortunate but irrelevant.”

Her take on the 2009 race was simple.

“I am planning to run for Manhattan district attorney regardless of who may run,” she wrote in an email.

Davis, who is chair of Citizens Union, has experience as an assistant Treasury secretary for enforcement and operations. He also served on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force and in the United States Attorney’s Office. He is currently an attorney in private practice.

He said he plans to make a final decision about running in the next few weeks.

“I know Bob Morgenthau and I have a high regard for him, but if I decide to run, I will run even if he decides to seek reelection,” Davis said. “I just think at this stage, it’s time that somebody else stepped up to that position. If I decide to do this, I will have concluded that I can do the job and continue that tradition.”

Davis said he has been having discussions with many in the legal, civic and government communities as he mulls a run.

They may face Morgenthau. But if the retirement rumors prove true—and

O

N

Morgenthau and those around him have been laboring to put them to rest— Snyder and Davis may face an appointed incumbent or an open race. Any race without Morgenthau, however, seems set to be crowded.

Vance, the son of the former secretary of state and himself a former assistant district attorney under Morgenthau, is a trial attorney in private practice and a member of the state sentencing commission. He said there is no deal in the works for Morgenthau to retire early in order to have Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) appoint him to fill out Morgenthau’s term. Spitzer, another former Morgenthau assistant district attorney, remains close to his former boss and mentor.

Vance said he is considering a run for whenever Morgenthau is not in the race.

“I am actively exploring running for the district attorney’s office at that point that the district attorney is not running,” he said. “At this point, I’m talking to people and getting advice from people, and I’m going to make a decision in the first quarter of 2008.”

Like Vance, most interested candidates expect to defer to Morgenthau. But a race without Morgenthau—the first in 35 years—could quickly become very crowded, with many expecting a field that could feature Vance, Catherine Abate, Eric Schneiderman, Dan Castelman, Davis and Snyder, among others.

Abate, a former city corrections commissioner and chair of the State Crime Victim’s Board, gave up her state senate seat from Lower Manhattan to run in the 1998 Democratic attorney general primary, placing second. She currently serves as the president and CEO of the Community Health Care Network.

Abate said that she felt her professional background and her previous experience campaigning and fundraising would serve her well were she to enter a race without Morgenthau. But the uncertainty surrounding Morgenthau’s future, she admitted, created a predicament for anyone who might try preparing a campaign.

“That is something I really have to come to terms with: how do I plan for the seat not knowing when and if it becomes open?” she said.

Schneiderman, whose State Senate district runs from the Upper West Side up

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Snyder and Davis would challenge “90 in ’09,” others consider their options

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau seems intent to seek a 10th term in 2009.

through the Bronx, said he has considered the race but is not currently focused on electing a Democratic majority in the State Senate.

Notably, if this happens, Schneiderman would likely become chair of the codes committee, making him a preeminent voice on Rockefeller drug law reform and other things which could help provide a platform for a district attorney run. He is also the only candidate being discussed who is currently in office—and, other than Abate, the only one who has ever even run before—giving him a base of support and database of potential donors to call on if he enters the race. And because the city elections are never the same year as state legislature elections, Schneiderman could run without sacrificing his State Senate seat.

Dan Castleman, Morgenthau’s longtime chief of investigations, is also widely discussed as a potential candidate. He said he would not run against Morgenthau.

But asked whether he is interested in running in a race which did not include Morgenthau—whether in 2009, 2013 or at any point—Castleman said he “couldn’t answer that unless the occasion were to arise.”

Some feel that he, not Vance, would be Morgenthau’s favored choice for a successor, a rumor Castleman addressed only by noting that he expected Morgenthau to seek re-election.

“I will be guided by what the boss decides to do,” he said. “As far as I know he is planning to run again. I hope to be here with him.”

In 2005, when Snyder gave Morgenthau his first challenge in 20 years, she ran on her record and on the idea that the time had come for a change in the office. But when the votes were counted, she won

just 41 percent to Morgenthau’s 59.

Asked if the concerns that Morgenthau had been around too long would be even greater in 2009, making him more vulnerable than in his last race, political consultant Jerry Skurnik was torn.

“On the one hand, yeah,” he said. “On the other hand, I think Snyder sort of snuck up on him. He didn’t take her for granted, but the fact that she probably did better than expected, that might get his campaign to prepare and work harder and maybe go negative on her.”

At this point, observers say Morgenthau seems more inclined to die in office than to retire, no matter how many terms that may take him. He may own a chicken farm upstate, but those close to him say that the prospect of him spending his last years spreading feed or playing shuffleboard in Florida seems unlikely. If he were not actually planning to run, goes the thinking, he would spend his time fundraising for the philanthropic causes which are so dear to him—he is chairman of the Police Athletic League and of the Museum of Jewish Heritage— and not for his own campaign committee.

Eben Bronfman, Morgenthau’s 2005 campaign manager and currently an informal advisor, said that the district attorney was feeling very confident about his 2009 chances. Bronfman cited the continuing decline in homicides and other crimes in the borough and successful white collar crime prosecutions as easy rationale for voters to re-elect Morgenthau.

And he said they would definitely get the chance.

“He’s definitely running,” Bronfman said.

“If his health is at the same point it is now, he will be running.” eidovere@cityhallnews.com

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Queens GOP Pins Hopes on an Elephant Stampede Plan to run candidates in every district faces obstacles, criticism

BY ADAM PINCUS

T

HE LEADERS OF THE BATTERED

Queens Republican Party are pinning their hopes on a strategy of running candidates in nearly every district in the next two election cycles as a means of recovering the organization.

Robert Hornak, the chairman of the party’s candidate recruitment and development committee, said the borough GOP must look beyond just retaining the one City Council and two state Senate seats it has.

“The party has got to grow. We can’t just be insulated and protect a toehold in the short term. What we want to do is get people out there. I don’t care if it is two to one, three to one or 10 to one” Democrats to Republicans in a district, he said.

Skeptics believe the political environment for expanding the GOP is bleak, as its only City Council member, Dennis Gallagher, faces indictment on rape charges and its incumbent senators, Serphin Maltese and Frank Padavan, grow older. At the same time, local party activists are divided and national politics are trending Democratic.

Adding national pressure, some fear a loss of either of its two state Senate seats could precipitate a generational loss for the GOP in Queens because of the decennial redistricting that will redraw electoral maps for 2012.

“This is all about redistricting. If we don’t keep the Senate majority in 2008 and 2010 then they re-cut the lines forever and we become a Massachusetts, which is one party,” said Vincent Tabone, executive vice chairman of the party.

The Queens GOP is currently making an effort to recruit candidates in a number of ways, including a forum Jan. 23

and outreach to many—but not all—of the borough’s party activists and political clubs.

Tabone said he would like to have the 2008 candidates in place by April, noting an assembly candidate needs to raise upward of $75,000 to be competitive, and a senatorial candidate $500,000.

The party itself hopes to raise $200,000 to $300,000 per year to pay for office and get-out-the-vote expenses, he said.

The party had few potential candidates lined up so far, despite the upcoming deadlines.

One was Anthony Nunziato, a floral shop entrepreneur and executive board member of the influential Juniper Park Civic Assoc., whom the party wants to run against Assembly Member Margaret Markey (D).

“He is a bona fide community activist fighting important quality of life fights,” Tabone said.

Nunziato said he was considering a run for the 30th Council seat, as well.

That seat is currently held by Gallagher, who, regardless of his current legal troubles, will be forced from office by term limits in 2009.

The only other person Tabone would name as a likely 2008 candidate was drug-store entrepreneur Peter Koo, whom the party ran unsuccessfully in September for district leader in Flushing against incumbent Oliver Tan, the son of longtime district leader Meilin Tan, in the 22nd Assembly District.

Tan said she would consider supporting Koo if asked, though noted that “we haven’t received any notice to any functions or any meetings,” since the elections.

Tabone said he is in conversations CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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Queens GOP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

with several Latino attorneys whom he would like to see challenge Assembly Member Ivan Lafayette (D) or Sen. John Sabini (D). He is also in conversations with two candidates who are eyeing the seats held by Assembly members Audrey Pheffer (D) and Andrew Hevesi (D), but he said it was too early to name them.

Other Republicans considering a run, but who do not currently have party backing, include Peter Boudouvas, who was the GOP challenger to Council Member Tony Avella in 2005. Boudouvas said he was considering a 2008 race or another run for the Council.

A borough oddity is 15-term Assembly Member Anthony Seminerio, who ran on the Democratic and Republican lines (as

the seat currently held by City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. (D).

22-year-old Eric Ulrich, newly elected district leader from Ozone Park, has already formally launched a campaign and raised $18,500 for the seat held by Council member Joseph Addabbo (D).

Anthony Como, GOP commissioner for the Queens Board of Elections, said recently he was going to run for the seat Gallagher occupies. Gallagher has pleaded not-guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault in connection with an incident in his campaign office July 6.

Other Republicans eyeing Council seats are Nassau County attorney Dennis Saffran in the 19th, who lost to Avella by fewer than 400 votes in 2001, and attorney Gabriel Tapalaga, who is eying Gallagher’s district. Thomas Ognibene, who preceded Gallagher on the Council and was the 2005 Conservative candidate for mayor, is also considering getting into the race.

Ognibene, who views the county party as weak, did not favor running many candidates.

“That is not a successful strategy for reinvigorating the party,” he said.

Queens College political science Professor Michael Krasner did not think this was an auspicious year to mount a borough-wide effort, either.

“If I were the Republican strategist for Queens I would adopt the concentrated strategy,” he wrote via e-mail. “I can’t see that there’s much of an opportunity for the Republicans, given the generally antiRepublican national mood.”

Democratic strategist Evan Stavisky dismissed the Republican efforts as doomed to fail. “Within five years, there will not be a Republican elected in Queens,” he predicted. pincus_a@yahoo.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com

“What we want to do is get people out there. I don’t care if it is two to one, three to one or 10 to one.” —Robert Hornak well as the Independence and Conservative) in 2004 and 2006. He said he would be “honored” to run again on the GOP line, but that he was waiting for the Republicans to call. The Queens GOP, meanwhile, said they were waiting for him to call.

Although farther in the future, the party sees more opportunity to pick up seats in the City Council in 2009 because all but one of the incumbents are termlimited out of office.

Hornak, the deputy director of the city office for Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Saratoga), has a fundraising committee set up for a run at

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JAN UARY 2008

Council Members to Push for Imminent Change of State Eminent Domain Laws

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Columbia expansion approval called a warning sign and call to action

BY EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE planning to begin an effort to get legislators in Albany to change the state’s eminent domain laws in the wake of the Council’s Dec. 19 decision to approve Columbia University’s expansion into Harlem.

“I think it’s a priority,” said Council Member Letitia James (D-Brooklyn), who voted against the Columbia expansion, and has been an ardent opponent of the use of eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards project, which sits in her district.

“We are opening up the door wider and wider to the abuse of eminent domain by private businesses, which is really nothing more than a transfer of private property from one who has less means to one who has more means,” she said.

Eminent domain, the process by which governments can seize property from private owners if a greater economic good can be justified, became a hot-button issue nationally in 2005. The Supreme Court ruled then that eminent domain could be used for governments to seize property from one private owner and transfer it to another private owner, if the transfer can be shown to provide sufficient economic development. The ramifications of the decision quickly reverberated throughout the country.

S

EVERAL

ODDS&Ends Old Vegas bookmakers have been trumped by new technology, and dozens of websites exist to bet on the outcome of all sorts of things, including who will be the next person to measure drapes in the Oval Office. Intrade lets people buy shares in the candidates’ futures.

Ladbrokes gives odds to bet against.

Here are this month’s standings, with last month’s included for comparison.

A flier distributed at the City Council by protestors of Columbia’s expansion into Harlem.

James believes that the use of eminent domain and the threat of the use of eminent domain to encourage owners to sell is diverting the city from following the 197a process.

Among other changes James would like to see the Legislature consider are creating a clearer process for individuals whose properties are condemned to follow, a new way of estimating the value of a home and an extension of the time period during which owners can challenge seizures. She would also like to see the Legislature change or eliminate “blight” as a term which can be applied to neighborhoods by people looking to use eminent domain.

“What the State Legislature views as blight may be my home, which in my eyes is a mansion,” she said.

As the chair of the Assembly’s corpora-

tions, authorities and commissions committee, Assembly Member Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) has spent time considering changes to the eminent domain laws. Though he calls himself a “great believer” in eminent domain, he is concerned about the private-to-private transfers, and said there are several ways he thinks the law should be changed, including creating a system to give compensation above market value for property seized by a government to do private-toprivate transfers.

Brodsky also believes blight should be removed as a term that can enable eminent domain use.

“Blight means that you can use this power in poor neighborhoods but not in wealthy neighborhoods,” he said.

But Brodsky said the fate of any efforts to change the laws is uncertain, since restricting eminent domain is supported by several usually divergent groups, including some environmental advocates, community groups and libertarians, and other conservatives in government usually associated with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

“When you’ve got a coalition of ecogreen activists and Scalia, the politics are not easily predicted,” Brodsky said.

Nonetheless, James and several others are hoping Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) will put changing eminent domain laws at the top of the agenda when the Council appeals to state lawmakers.

In a statement, Quinn said she believes eminent domain “should be used carefully and cautiously and it should only be used when there is an overriding greater good in the interest of the city.” The statement did not include any comment about how or if she would press on the issue in Albany.

Neither is Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Unaff.) planning to take up the issue.

“Changing state eminent domain laws is not currently on our Albany agenda,” explained Bloomberg spokesman John

*** PRESIDENTIAL*** ***ODDS ***

-------------------LAST MONTH----------CURRENTLY ----CURRENTLY LAST MONTH PRICE ON ODDS ON PRICE ON ODDS ON DECLARED REPUBLICANS INTRADE LADBROKES INTRADE PRICE ON ODDS ON PRICE ON LADBROKES ODDS ON DECLARED ----------------------------------------------------------INTRADE LADBROKES INTRADE LADBROKES REPUBLICANS JOHN MCCAIN

15.7

Rudolph Giuliani 27.9 RUDOLPH GIULIANI 25.0 Mike TOMMY Huckabee THOMPSON 18 0.4 DUNCAN HUNTER N/A 0.2 Duncan Hunter ROMNEY 36.9 23.3 John MITT McCain SAM BROWNBACK 2.1 0.8 Ron Paul PAUL Mitt RON Romney 11.53.0 MIKE HUCKABEE 2.0 Fred JIM Thompson 2 0.1 GILMORE

TOM TANCREDO

0.4

7 TO 1

9 to 7 TO42 3 toN/A 1 66 TO 1 N/A 610 toTO41 33 to1 TO 1 25 40 TO 8 to 11 33 TO 1 33 to N/A1

N/A

4.9

43.9 38.0 13.7 0.3 0.3 N/A 16.0 7.2 0.5 5.2 2.9 24.7 1.4 5.3 0.1

0.6

12 TO 1 even 9 TO 2 8N/A to 1 6666 TO 1to 1 1016 TO 1to 1 33 TO 1 1 6 to 50 TO 1 2 to 1 33 TO 1 10 N/Ato 1 N/A

Gallagher.

But Council Member Helen Sears (DQueens) believes those on the Council who would like to see changes to eminent domain can press the issue themselves.

Sears voted for the Columbia expansion.

While she did not specify the changes she might want to see to eminent domain law, she called for the Council to have hearings on proposed changes with the goal of sending a resolution to Albany.

“We can’t pass a law on eminent domain. But we can certainly open it up,” she said.

She believes some of the Council’s nonbinding resolutions have been effective in getting other government bodies to move, arguing that the Council’s resolutions on human trafficking and some of those in education prompted others to act.

“Our resolutions are effective, depending on what the issue is,” she said. “The Council is a voice.”

Council Member Tony Avella (DQueens), chair of the zoning and franchises subcommittee, voted against the Columbia plan, warning at the time that the Council’s support of the university’s application set a dangerous precedent.

“This is the first application that we have approved where the use of eminent domain can be used down the line,” he said, noting that this could have ramifications for the Atlantic Yards project as well as the proposed redevelopment of Willets Point.

He wants to see additional controls put on eminent domain which would force a clearer enumeration of economic development benefits for private-to-private employers.

He is unsure, however, how far his colleagues on the Council may actually be willing to push the issue.

“A number of us have been talking about this,” Avella said, “but it would be interesting to see how many of the Council members who brought this up would be ready and willing to do something.” eidovere@cityhallnews.com

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CURRENTLY LAST MONTH -------------------LAST MONTH----------CURRENTLY ----PRICE ON ODDS ON PRICE ON PRICE ON ODDS ON PRICE ON ODDSODDS ON ON DECLARED DECLARED INTRADE LADBROKES LADBROKES INTRADE INTRADELADBROKES LADBROKES DEMOCRATS DEMOCRATS INTRADE -----------------------------------------------------------

Hillary Clinton 58.9 HILLARY CLINTON 52.0 54TOto 4 6 John Edwards 1.6 BARACK OBAMA 27.8 66 4 TOto 1 1 JOHN EDWARDS 7.3 7 TO 1 Mike Gravel 0.1 N/A BILL RICHARDSON 2.6 28 TO 1 Dennis Kucinich 0.1 N/A CHRIS DODD 0.3 11N/A Barack Obama 40.8 to 10

JOSEPH BIDEN 0.6 33 TO 1 DENNIS KUCINICH 0.1 N/A PRICE ODDS POTENTIAL MIKE GRAVEL 0.1ON LADBROKES N/A ON INTRADE ENTRIES Michael Bloomberg 2.4

16 to 1

67.9 5 TO14 to 5 43.6 5.8 4 TO16 39.4 1 to 1 5.3 1 to 1 0.1 10 TO 100 1.9 1 to 1 0.1 28 TO80 0.5 N/A 21.9 9 to 2 0.6 33 TO 1 0.1 N/A PRICE 0.2 ON N/AODDS ON INTRADE LADBROKES 0.6

N/A

-------------------LAST ----------CURRENTLY ----Al Gore 1 MONTHN/A 3.7 N/A PRICE ON ODDS ON PRICE ON ODDS ON POTENTIAL ENTRIES LADBROKES INTRADE LADBROKES **DATA ASINTRADE OF JANUARY 10, 2008** -----------------------------------------------------------

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ANDREW SCHWARTZ

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Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan has been praised by advocates and observers for assembling a “Dream Team” of sustainability experts to carry out PlaNYC’s transportation goals.

The Wheels Are in Motion With her “dream team” fully in place, Sadik-Khan predicts transit revolution

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

T

HE LUNATICS ARE RUNNING THE

asylum. That’s the sort of reaction City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan has been getting to what she calls her newly assembled sustainability “dream team.”

Sadik-Khan is not the only one abuzz.

With being new in the job and her new staff culled from experts in the transportation community, there is a growing sense of excitement among advocates and experts about what they see as a fundamental shift in the Department of Transportation (DOT).

“The planets are aligned,” said Robert “Buzz” Paaswell, director of the University Transportation Research Center at CUNY. “I think she will achieve more than most people think.”

“She’s assembled a team to deliver the sustainability plan,” said Michael Horodniceanu, chairman and CEO of Urbitran, an engineering, architecture and planning firm. “They get good marks from me on that.”

Transportation advocates echo those sentiments.

“For the first time maybe ever we have an activist DOT,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “It’s a perfect storm.”

Prior to becoming commissioner, Sadik-Khan was a vice president at a lead-

ing planning firm, Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Her selection and its timing—Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Unaff.) appointed her in April, seven days after unveiling PlaNYC 2030—indicated to many that a change was coming from Iris Weinshall’s approach to transportation planning, which was often criticized for sustaining a “cars first” status quo.

“The team I put together for sustainability weren’t just transportation advocates before they came to work for the administration,” Sadik-Khan said. “They were experts in understanding the dynamism of our transport network and seeing opportunities where some may have seen unmanageable problems.”

She said the key was to be revolutionary. “It’s a vision for the future that’s not dictated by how things have been done in the past,” she said.

Under Sadik-Khan, DOT has added a division of planning and sustainability, which oversees the department’s office of freight mobility, public space planning, bus rapid transit, congestion pricing, urban design, clean fuels and studies of congested corridors.

To head the division, Sadik-Khan hired Bruce Schaller, a transportation consultant and a notable expert on congestion pricing. Schaller took on the daunting task of overseeing the implementation of PlaNYC’s transportation component, which includes improving the transit

infrastructure, overseeing congestion pricing (if and when approved) and bringing the streets into a state of good repair.

“When I had the opportunity to join the administration and work on the implementation of [PlaNYC] 2030, it was something I could hardly say no to,” Schaller said.

Next, Sadik-Khan plucked Andrew Wiley-Schwartz from his position as vice president of Project for Public Spaces, an urban planning and design nonprofit. At

DOT, his responsibilities will include making PlaNYC’s public space initiatives a reality.

Jon Orcutt, a 13-year veteran of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, was brought on in June to serve as SadikKhan’s policy advisor.

But the hire that has generated the most buzz was Jan Gehl, the noted Danish urbanist, who was brought on to consult on PlaNYC implementation.

“In Jan we’ve engaged one of the best public space strategists in the world,” Sadik-Khan said. “And it’s always helpful to have someone from the outside help articulate that vision, to help speed the plow toward getting things done.”

Looking to the future, advocates and experts say the department will be judged based on how well they implement congestion pricing. The plan, which is expected to be given a final look by the State Legislature this March, will be the legacy of Sadik-Khan and her team.

Sadik-Khan will also have to develop innovative parking strategies, improve pedestrian safety and orchestrate traffic movement outside the congestion zone after pricing comes into effect, said Paaswell.

A strategic plan is in the works, said Sadik-Khan, which will articulate the need for more resources for additional traffic enforcement agents and bus rapid transit lines. More bicycle lanes will also be created—which she may end up using on the many days she bikes to work from her home on the Upper West Side.

Council Transportation Committee Chair John Liu (D-Queens), a frequent critic of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and various inadequacies in the transportation system, said he is very optimistic about what Sadik-Khan will be able to do in the two-plus years left in the Bloomberg administration.

“I’m very happy to see the extra energy and thinking outside the box that she’s brought with her,” he said. “Janette’s the perfect example of the need for new blood every so often.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

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JAN UARY 2008

CITY HALL

ON/OFF THE RECORD BREAKFAST

Quinn Discusses “Changing the City Council and New York” ity Council Speaker Christine Quinn (DManhattan) was the featured speaker at the City Hall On/Off the Record Breakfast on Dec. 6, held at the Commerce Bank flagship location on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue. The topic: “Changing the City Council and New York.”

An invite-only crowd heard Quinn discuss her take on the changes she has brought thus far to the Council in her two years as speaker, the issue she feels she has been able to move the Bloomberg administration on, what the specter of term limits is doing to change how the current Council members approach their jobs and what her own future may hold.

Some excerpts from the on the record portion of Quinn’s interview:

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Q: Is the different approach to the budget the most important change to the way the Council does business that has come under your leadership, in your view?

A: Well, I think all of the things we’ve done are important in a collective sense. So I think that the way we’ve changed doing the budget in the way it relates to ending the budget dance is important. And equally important is our internal change. You know, we’ve put some real structure in the budget on the Council’s side. So you just can’t say “Oh, I want $5 million to fight this, I want $10 million to fight this.” And it gets on a list that’s considered by the budget negotiating team. You have to—and this is going to sound ridiculous that this is a step forward—but you have to write your proposal down. And if it’s with working with a non-profit, you have to actually get that non-profit to say to us “We want that money, and we want to work with you.” ’Cause in the past that had happened, we had given money to non-profits and nobody had ever asked them. You have to get your col-

Q: As so many of those in the Council look to what they might be doing after term limits force them from office in 2009, is leading the Council getting hard?

A: No, it isn’t getting hard. It’s getting exciting and in some ways more active, do you know what I mean? But it isn’t getting difficult. You know, you have people who might be running for something so they’re excited about getting their legislation passed. So they’re coming in with memos about why this bill would be good and this bill should be moved up, but that’s terrific.

Q: Are you concerned that as 2009 draws closer and people will obviously be spending more time fundraising, campaigning outside of the building and campaigning against each other?

A: My concern isn’t that. My concern is that come January of this year we’ll only have two years left. So, there’s less time than there was at the beginning or after the first year to get everything done. So I’m not worried about that, I’m worried, you know, whenever you’re with the mayor he has this clock in his office that counts the days, it announces the exact number of days and minutes he has left which is remarkably anxiety producing.

Because it means you have less time to do the things that you want to get done. So that’s what I think about.

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Q: The topic this morning is “Changing the City Council and New York.” Obviously, some of the biggest changes to the structure of Council came with the charter reforms of 20 years ago. So as a way of kicking off the discussion: if you could pick one change to the structure of city government to do by charter revision, what would it be?

A: That’s really, at the end of the day, in my opinion, not the issue, as it relates to how government works or the relevance of the Council. Because, in great part, the vast majority of the powers that the Board of Estimate had were given to the City Council. And whether there could be a little more here or a little more there really isn’t the issue. The issue is the Council going into the building everyday and saying “We are a full partner in government.” And as a full partner in government, we’re going to act as such and be such. So would it be better if we had a different, than a just yes or no power on the budget modification? Sure, that might be fairer, but that’s not really the point. The point is, for example on the budget, what I’ve tried to do for two years, to get the Council to step to the plate and say “The budget process is serious. It’s not a game, and the days of having this budget dance, where we all play around these little edges of the budget, doesn’t serve New Yorkers well.” Now whether exactly what you want to change and the way you want to change it is in the power that the charter gives you is irrelevant, because you are a full partner in government, and you pass the budget with the mayor. And if we want to make the budget really a document of long-term planning, really a document that seeks to really respect the tax dollar, and we want to be stewards of the taxpayer dollar, we just should do that.

food stamps, to get people who were hungry and obese nutritional information and nutritional foods.

leagues to sponsor your budget proposal. You have to get Council members from at least three boroughs to sponsor your budget proposal, and each member has limited number of signatures of their own to sponsor their colleague’s proposals. Now we’ve done this for two years, every time members have disliked it. And they’ve come in to me and said “I don’t like this. I only have two signatures left, and I am having to choose between the initiative for seniors and the initiative on health care.”

And I’ve said “that’s right. That’s the essence of the budget—it’s about choice.” There will never, even in the best years, be enough money to do everything. And we in the Council need to embrace that responsibility at the very, very beginning.

Q: You have had a good working relationship with the mayor and supported many of his initiatives.

But is there something you think he and his administration have missed, or have not done enough about, when you look out at the city?

A: Well, one of the things that I really wanted to focus on, and we are focusing on, and we talked about it in the first major address that I gave in my first year, is the issue of hunger in the City of New York. Now hunger and obesity are very linked. They are two sides of the same coin, and clearly the Bloomberg administration had done a tremendous amount of work around the issue of obesity and health care. I felt that the connection to hunger hadn’t been as clearly articulated by the administration as it needed to be. Not that they didn’t care, but that there were missed opportunities to make the connection of the two. So we began speaking to the mayor’s office about that, and they thought we made valid points, and a lot of reform has happened because of that. You know there’s something like over 20 city agencies that interact with food in the City of New York. Up until very recently, they never talked to each other. So there’re all these missed opportunities to get people who are hungry onto

Q: Of those often discussed as top mayoral contenders, yourself included, no one has the level of business/CEO experience that Michael Bloomberg brought to the role of mayor. Do you think that having that executive experience is one of the things that people will be focusing on?

A: I think New Yorkers want in all of the positions in all of the positions that are important to them, whether that’s their mayor, their comptroller, their Assembly member, their Council member, their state senator, they want people they believe are going to work hard and do a good job and be honest with them and really work to solve problems. … I believe the question people ask themselves is “Can this person make my life better? Will this person go to work everyday and put me first and foremost?” There are lots of ways that you get to yes in that question. If you’re a voter, you might know somebody’s experience as a neighborhood activist, you might see their effectiveness in running a business, they might have been an accomplished academic who has a deep understanding of a critical issue.

Q: Your background is in some ways in advocacy.

Another office that will be open in 2009 is public advocate. Is that something that would be interesting to you?

A: That’s a good twist of the question, I haven’t gotten that yet. I’m impressed, I’ve got to give you an A for effort on that. You know, I’ll give you the same answer: I’m really focused on figuring out how to have the most aggressive agenda we can in the next two years.

Q: Your old mentor Tom Duane went from the Council to Albany. Would you ever think about running for a position in state government?

A: I love New York City, and I love the opportunity to serve New York City. And right now, I have an unbelievable position from which to do that, and I’m going to try to find every way I can to maximize this position and not really think a tremendous amount about other things.

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JAN UARY 2008

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Liu’s Building Blocs Optimism is high for Asian political potential in 2009 with Liu running citywide

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS LIU REMEMBERS RIDING THE subway home to Queens one night in 1989 and seeing an ad in the newspaper inviting the civically minded to run for their local school board.

“So I went downtown to pick up the application and put in my name,” Liu said, recalling that he barely hesitated.

Ellen Young, already then a political activist in the Asian-American community, contacted Liu to offer him guidance and expertise. But after losing a bid for school board herself three years earlier, she was not optimistic.

“I told him that it’s very hard and I don’t think he could be elected,” she said, referring to the almost total lack of Asian-Americans in local elected office anywhere at the time. “But I told him I’d love to help him because of his John Liu is looking to build a base of support in many Asian communities for his expected 2009 citywide guts and because of his determination.”

Liu lost that election. When he ran for race, and some say he has built a foundation for other candidates as well.

Council 12 years later, he won, and became But questions remain as to whether New York’s becoming the first Asian-American elected to a citywide the first Asian-American legislator in New York.

Three years later, Jimmy Meng was elected to the office. He is rumored to be eyeing city comptroller or Asian-American community has politically come of age Assembly. Young, who served as Liu’s Council district public advocate—though thought to be leaning toward a yet. About one in 10 New Yorkers is Asian-American, yet administrator, won Meng’s seat in 2006 after he retired. comptroller bid. With almost $2 million in the bank, he there are only two elected officials and a handful of civil and criminal court judges.

Now Liu is looking to demolish another barrier by is among the top-financed candidates for 2009.

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SCOTT WILLIAMS

OHN

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Voter registration is not high among AsianAmericans. With almost 400,000 residents, Queens is New York’s largest Asian enclave. Yet, according to Voter Contact Service, an independent polling firm, only about 20 percent of Asians in Queens are registered to vote. A similar percentage of Asians in Chinatown are registered. By comparison, almost 30 percent of Latinos in Queens are registered.

“The Asian-American community is unique because, from the railroad builder 160 years ago to today, it did take us a longer time” to become more politically active, Young said.

But that, Young believes, will not last long.

“We’re the underrepresented,” she said. “But the white power structure is changing.”

The story of Asian participation in New York politics stretches back almost 25 years, when those who arrived during the post-1965 immigration wave began to dabble in grassroots politics—school boards, labor unions and community voting organizations—said Madhulika Khandelwal, director of the Asian/American Center at Queens College. There were also several Council runs, she said.

JAN UARY 2008

Even following Liu’s historic election, AsianAmerican candidates have not had an easy time in the rough-and-tumble world of New York politics.

Margaret Chan, an immigration lawyer, was elected as a civil court judge in Manhattan’s Second District in a slim victory in 2006. The race was marred by accusations of voter fraud, intimidation and violence.

But even before the votes were cast, Chan said she had difficulty building support in the Asian-American community.

“When I was running, I ran into problems with the petitions because people do not generally want to sign things when they do not know what they’re signing,” Chan said. “They’ll say, ‘We’ll vote for you, but do we really need to sign this?’”

Liu has had no trouble getting political support or huge campaign contributions from the AsianAmerican community. Practically all of the 70 donors making maximum individual contributions of $4,950 to Liu’s 2009 campaign as of the July 2007 filing are Asian, as are many of the smaller contributors who have helped him build what was already then a $2million war chest.

While Liu generally tries to cast himself as above the racial politics fray, he acknowledged the special appeal of his prospective candidacy as he fundraises.

“The approach is always going to be shaped by the personal background and identity of the particular elected official,” he said.

But he said race plays no role in his fundraising. “I don’t ask people whether they’re Asian or black or Hispanic or white when I accept their campaign contributions,” he said.

Despite this voiced blindness to race, he said he feels he has played an important role as the Council’s only Asian member, speaking for a citywide collection of communities that can sometimes be misunderstood.

“Sometimes it’s not as easy for people who don’t have Asian-American perspectives to take on these kinds of issues,” he said.

Liu, who came to the city from Taiwan at age five but does not speak Mandarin, said he has occasionally felt the need to defend Asian-Americans across New York from discrimination.

“When I hear ‘chink’ I go ballistic,” he said. “I can’t control myself, nor do I want to.”

Anticipation is high for 2009, for Liu’s citywide campaign and for those of new candidates emerging from the city’s Asian-American communities.

“John’s really broken the mold,” said Chung Seto, a political consultant who has worked with Liu for years. “It’s probably easier now to train and orient Asian-Americans to run for office.”

Liu is looking even further ahead, to a time when race is completely removed from electoral politics.

But, he said he will never neglect his roots.

“I am Asian-American—I’ve been for my whole life,” he said wryly. “I don’t forget who I am or what I am.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

“We’re the underrepresented,” said Assembly Member Ellen Young. “But the white power structure is changing.”

“There was no successful campaign, so no one broke through the barrier,” Khandelwal said. “But there was activity.”

Asian-Americans are often seen as an isolated community, removed from and unconcerned with American society, she added.

“There’s this kind of divide,” she said. “They’re seen as ‘eternal foreigners.’”

In 2001, the same year Liu was first elected, there was a spirited attempt to elect an Asian-American to the Council seat representing Chinatown. The three candidates—Margaret Chin, Rocky Chin and Kwong Hui—each got between 12 and 15 percent of the vote in the primary, far short of the almost 50 percent which made Alan Gerson the nominee.

The district, which also includes the whiter, more affluent neighborhoods of Wall Street and Battery Park City, is drawn in a way that disadvantages Asian voters, said Margaret Fung, executive director of the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).

Chin, a civil rights attorney who won 14 percent of the District 1 vote in 2001, said the political parties, especially the Democratic party, has not done enough to empower Asian-Americans to vote. Four out of five Asian-American voters support Democratic candidates, according to an AALDEF survey.

Chin said he would consider a future run, and he anticipates a higher Asian turnout in 2009. But he believes there is still a lot to be done regardless.

“We still have a ways to go,” Chin said. “A long ways to go.”

New Energy Policy Critical in 2008

By Arthur (Jerry) Kremer

As chairman of the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee for 12 years and a member of the state legislature for 23, I have been personally involved in many of our state’s energy issues.

While a newcomer to Albany on the Committee on Utilities, I was asked to co-author a power plant siting bill, Article X, to serve as a model for our state.

The result was a sound law that met the needs of New York’s business, labor and citizens, while protecting the environment.

Today as Chairman of the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (New York AREA), I devote significant time and effort working to highlight our state’s need for a clean, affordable, reliable electricity supply to assure New York’s economic future.

Following the 2003 blackout, New York AREA was chartered by 29 founding members. Today we can boast 150 members of the state’s most significant business and labor organizations, chambers of commerce, community and environmental advocates. We see 2008 as a pivotal year for energy policy in New York, and we must seize the opportunity at the current legislative session to make sure we put the wheels of prudent energy policy in motion.

New York depends on a reliable energy supply for the well being of its populace, economy and environment. With so much at stake we must not permit legislative gridlock to stifle the passage of a new Article X, and ensure that we have sufficient electricity supply to meet tomorrow’s needs.

There is no silver bullet answer for our energy and environmental goals. We must keep all options open to make sure we have the necessary generation and infrastructure.

Since New York AREA was founded, we have worked hard to raise awareness of New York’s energy challenges, educate the public about energy needs, and provide opportunities for leaders to discuss the energy policies that will keep New York State the best place in the world to live. Throughout 2008 our members will advocate for a sound and meaningful energy future.

Arthur (Jerry) Kremer is Chairman of the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance.

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CITY HALL

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Can Bloomberg Save Wall Street?

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

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WENTY YEARS AGO, WITH HIS PATENTED

terminal and worldwide news service, Michael Bloomberg changed Wall Street forever. Now, with fears of a recession deepening, many are looking to him to save it.

“As mayor, he can be a force for articulating what the

SCOTT WILLIAMS

In face of recession, the CEO mayor looks to keep New York the world financial capital issues are and advocating for change,” said Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City. “But in terms of what he can do himself, it’s very limited.”

Despite Bloomberg’s expertise in the world of business and finance, the problem is larger than the CEO mayor may be able to tackle, said Bob Greifeld, president and CEO of NASDAQ. “The subprime issues reach well beyond New York

and can not be reversed by any one individual or administration,” Greifeld wrote in an email.

The problem, said Wylde, is that the most serious economic issues facing New York are national and global, not local.

The financial sector represents between 15 and 25 percent of the city’s gross domestic product, second only to real estate, an industry which has been hit hard

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JAN UARY 2008

Recession Could Buoy Bloomberg ’08 rom a housing slump to record high oil prices, the economy and a looming recession are edging out all other issues on the presidential trail these days, even Iraq.

At town hall meetings and during debates, the candidates are being asked how they would handle a serious economic downturn.

Voters regularly say they want to hear more about candidates’ approaches to handling the economy.

The Republican candidates say they would cut spending to preserve President George W. Bush’s tax cuts as a way to stave off a recession. The Democrats, not surprisingly, have followed a slightly different tack: Sen. Hillary Clinton unveiled an economic strategy that includes billions in spending and billions in tax rebates, and Sen. Barack Obama would cut taxes for middle and lower income families.

But Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose presi-

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by the subprime mortgage crisis. And as it suffers, evidence is emerging that New York’s status as the world financial capital is starting to slip as the city begins to lose its competitive edge to London, Dubai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

After five years of economic growth, the city’s fiscal outlook is grim, according to the latest report from the Independent Budget Office, which projects a budget gap of $3.1 billion in 2009, or roughly $360 million more than Bloomberg’s October estimate.

Bloomberg has always tied the city’s economic fate directly to Wall Street’s.

“We are still very sensitive to Wall Street profits,” Bloomberg said at a recent press conference.

“There’s no question revenues will go down as Wall

dential prospects are reaching a fever pitch as the Super Tuesday primaries get closer, arguably has more business and financial expertise than all the other candidates combined.

As a partner at Salomon Brothers and the head of financial services giant Bloomberg LP, the mayor accrued not only billions in personal wealth but years of experience tracking the ups and downs of Wall Street.

A recession could amount to an ace-in-the-hole for Bloomberg’s presidential platform, provided he presented a plan of action.

“I haven’t heard Bloomberg articulate an economic plan for the country,” said James Parrott, chief economist at the Fiscal Policy Institute.

“Conceivably, he would have some credibility.

But you have to start with a compelling economic program.”

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—AH ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

JP Morgan Chase to build a 42-story skyscraper near Ground Zero and to Goldman Sachs, which received $650 million in subsidies in 2005 to build its headquarters in Battery Park City.

Even these tax breaks may not be enough to keep the city competitive in the face of overly restrictive visa policies, Wylde said.

“The more barriers the U.S. erects, the more difficult it is to attract people here,” she said.

But Bloomberg’s most powerful tool may well prove his ability to bend ears in Washington, where policy fixes can take place, said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute think tank. But whether he has been as adamant as he should be over the last year is hard to say, she said.

“As mayor, he can be a force for articulating what the issues are and advocating for change,” said Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City. “But in terms of what he can do himself, it’s very limited.”

Street profits go down. So that’s not good.”

Last year, Bloomberg released a joint report with Sen. Charles Schumer (D) full of dire warnings about the city’s precarious economic position. The postEnron regulatory environment is too restrictive for New York to remain competitive and economically viable in the face of global competition, Bloomberg and Schumer concluded.

Wall Street observers say that though the problem is much bigger than New York, there are still several things that Bloomberg and his administration can do to prop up the local financial industry.

Charles Geisst, a professor of finance at Manhattan College and author of Wall Street: A History, believes Bloomberg could offer financial incentives in the form of tax abatements to brokerage firms, hedge funds and other financial groups to convince them to keep their businesses in New York.

“But once he’s laid out the red carpet, he can’t just keep standing there in the uniform, greeting people at the door. Because it’s not necessary,” Geisst said.

Very important may be deals to keep financial firms in Manhattan, such as the ones that went to

Gelinas said Bloomberg could go a step further by cutting income taxes across the board, which would encourage job growth on Wall Street as well as work toward diversifying the city’s economy.

The Bloomberg-Schumer report also recommended a joint venture between city and state officials and local business and financial interests to oversee efforts to strengthen Wall Street in the face of the twin crises of subprime mortgages and overseas competition.

To that end, last spring, Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) created the New York State Commission to Modernize the Regulation of Financial Services, which includes representatives from the worlds of insurance, securities, banking, business and government.

Most of all, though, Bloomberg’s power may come down to his persona. His standing as an international business and media figure gives him the credibility to speak forcefully about economic issues, Wylde said.

And that would only be helped if, as many expect, he wades into the presidential campaign.

“If he entered the race,” Wylde said, “this would become a critically important issue.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

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Energy Key to New York’s Competitiveness

By Kathryn Wylde

From Fortune 500 corporations to fledgling entrepreneurs working from home, virtually every New York-based business now competes globally, relying on electricity to power our economy, jobs and way of life.

New York’s key industries — financial and professional services, media, information technology, health and real estate — all depend on the reliable availability of huge amounts of power. Our strong and redundant power supply system has long been a competitive advantage for attracting and keeping jobs in New York City. Confidence in our system was reinforced by the incredibly fast recovery from the 9/11 terrorist attack that took out a huge section of the Manhattan power grid.

Unfortunately, our highly competitive power system is in jeopardy today because of political deadlock over the state process for approving new power generation facilities. As a result, the business community is seriously concerned that demand will soon exceed the supply of electrical power. According to Con Ed, in 2007 New York City and Westchester used 62,591 gigawatt hours of electricity. That eclipsed previous records and surpassed 1997's usage by more than 23%. Without a realistic state energy strategy in place, there may not be enough power to run our economy in the future.

In his State of the State address on January 9, Governor Spitzer reiterated his intention to secure legislation that would expedite the siting and building of additional power plants. Industry, government and environmental interests must come together to support a siting law that insures New York's ability to power continued economic growth. And it is time to cease the calls for closing the Indian Point nuclear power plant that the city depends on because there is no way to replace it as an energy source.

It is well known that great cities grow or die. They don’t stand still. New York needs to act now to guarantee a sufficient energy supply that, along with significant conservation efforts, will insure our continued economic vitality.

Kathryn Wylde is President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City and a Advisory Board Member of the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance.

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JAN UARY 2008

CITY HALL

Cashew Chicken and Egg Rolls with Steve Israel ver wonder what happened to Rick Lazio Republicans?

They voted for a Democrat, Steve Israel, who won the seat Lazio vacated to try his luck in the 2000 Senate race against Hillary Clinton. Voters have returned Israel to the House three times since.

Israel recently sat down with City Hall over Chinese food to discuss harmful Long Island stereotypes, his post-Congressional career and a sure-fire way to bring political parties together. What follows are edited excerpts from the interview.

City Hall: So you’re a Chinese food fan?

Steve Israel: I’m a Chinese food fanatic, actually. For me, it’s spare ribs, fried rice, an egg roll—your Chinese food basics. I can eat Chinese food several times a week, with no problem whatsoever.

CH: Chinese food is sometimes not the healthiest option SI: If I feel that health is becoming an issue, I’ll just work out a little longer. I will not give up on the Chinese food.

[Orders cashew chicken lunch special with hot and sour soup, egg roll, white rice and a Diet Coke] CH: Is there a certain Long Island stereotype that really gets your goat?

SI: The assumption that Long Islanders are “Long Guylanders.” I spent a lot of time with Southern Members of Congress and there’s nothing more jarring than listening to a Southern Member of Congress do a Long Island accent. You got things going on there that just are unnatural.

CH: I’m surprised they know that there is a Long Island accent.

SI: They think they do. I used to be in the House Blue Dogs, which is a group of very Southern Democrats, and we have these meetings where every one of my colleagues would speak in slow and very Southern elocution. And then there’d be Steve Israel from New York, you know, fast talkin’, throwin’ lots of verbs in there, unable to put a “g” at the end of any word. So we would have occasional communication difficulties at those meetings.

Actually, I do hate another Long Island stereotype.

Many of my colleagues believe that if you live on Long Island, you’re living in the Hamptons. There’s a sense that Long Islanders should not receive any help from the federal government because we’re all rich. And that’s why I love taking members to my district where they can actually see the extremes. That’s a serious stereotype that actually has some significant policy implications.

CH: You formed the Center Aisle Caucus, bringing together Democrats and Republicans. Were you the peacemaker on the playground, too?

SI: As the guy who used to get beaten up on the playground, I thought it was important to be the peacemaker once I went to Congress. No, I kind of grew up as a bit of a policy nerd. I was elected to high school student body president on the promise of getting a student lounge. I did deliver the student lounge, I’m happy to say. Some would say that to this day, it’s my proudest achievement.

CH: If you weren’t in politics, what would you be doing?

SI: I’d be writing. I love writing. I just published a book, working on another one now. Ultimately, I like to try to

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

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the 29 House Members are Democrats. We believe that we have a good opportunity to win the remaining six districts. And in this environment, there’s no shortage of candidates who want to run.

Part of my job is to actually talk them through the personal stuff, tell them what it’s like to be on the run at the airport, hoping to get home.

CH: How do you vet these people and figure out who’s going to make the most sense as a candidate?

SI: That’s not up to us. That’s up to the voters.

CH: But you guys support— SI: Well, we don’t. When they call, we tell them, “Raise money, build your team, get out into the community.” If Rep. Steve Israel likes his energy green and his rice white. there’s no primary and the district is winnable, we’ll provide—resources will be balance my time in politics with time spent writing. provided, CH: You want to regulate and legalize Internet gam- [Israel’s cell phone rings] bling. Have you ever participated in an office bet- SI: Now, it’s my daughter, and the only person I do this for is…, Hi! ting pool? Super Bowl, Final Four?

SI: No, I have not, because I’m a passionate Mets fan. [Talks on the phone] For me, I don’t care whether you’re Republican or SI: Now, you can deal with an $8-trillion debt and a $2.9Democrat—you better be a Mets fan. When it comes to trillion budget, but that was my daughter telling me that other sports, I’m much less engaged and involved. I she needs another $50 this month in college. obsess about the Mets. My worst day—it was the equivalent of losing an election—was when the Mets lost [out CH: Do you cook at home? on a spot in the playoffs this past season]. I will confess SI: Never cooked. I’m in charge of cooking a bagel in the when I read the paper in the morning, I start from the morning, which some people would say is putting it in back and see if there’s anything pertaining to the Mets the toaster. and then work my way back to the serious issues.

CH: You’ve been behind a lot of green efforts. What do you do at home?

CH: What are your favorite Chinese places?

SI: In Washington, there are two Chinese restaurants on SI: Gov. Spitzer and I have put together this green the Hill. When we meet on Monday nights, one of the schools initiative, and I spend about 80 percent of my few things Democrats and Republicans can agree on is time on energy issues. You can’t just pass legislation Chinese food. Everybody loves Chinese food. But the and give speeches. You’ve got to live this. So I drive a controversy is which of the two Chinese restaurants on hybrid, I’m looking into retrofitting my house. I’ve tried to become the first Congressional office in New Capitol Hill do we go to?

York to be carbon neutral, but we had a hard time CH: Is one more red and one more blue?

SI: No. It’s completely ambiance, not a red-blue thing. measuring our carbon output. Our landlord can’t figAnd since I pay for the dinners, I feel I have a right to ure out how to do it. choose. It is amazing how getting off the floor, getting out of committee rooms, getting off the Hill and going to [The table is cleared and fortune cookies are delivered.] a Chinese restaurant does bring humanity back into the setting—like we can deal with each other as people CH: What’s your fortune? sharing Chinese food instead of banging chairs over SI: This is so perfect. “The heart of a relationship is all in the appreciation.” [To staffer] I appreciate you! each others’ heads. Chinese food is the great unifier.

CH: I got a good one: “Your hard work will pay off CH: You help recruit up and coming Members of today.” That’s great for a Monday. ceichna@manhattanmedia.com Congress.

SI: One of my favorite things to do.

To find out what Steve CH: How do you find people who are willing to give up a life, never have time to take a vacation?

Israel orders when he’s in SI: It’s not hard to find them. They find us. My job is to a wild kind of mood, and support them and serve as their liaison to the how he wound up on a “Wall of Evil,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. This is visit www.cityhallnews.com. a very exciting time to be a Democrat. In New York, 23 of

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Home to Roost

Absent New Power, Construction Outlook Dims

As other politicians respond to sub-prime crisis, Lew Fidler explains why he saw it first

BY ELIE MYSTAL FIDLER (D-BROOKLYN), THE COUNCIL member who is also the general counsel for 1800-LAW CASH, sees two reasons to keep the Council officially part-time.

The first is practicality.

“The idea that people are going to come into a termlimited office, give up their vocation for eight years, give it their all, still pay college tuition and all that stuff, and then go back to the farm? It is just not realistic,” he said.

But just as important, Fidler says, is avoiding isolation in what he calls the ivory tower of the government world to better serve constituents. Fidler credits his private legal practice in Brooklyn as the reason he predicted the collapse in the sub-prime lending market two years ago, long before market analysts and government officials from Wall Street to Washington caught on to the problem themselves.

Fidler estimates that 85 percent of the real estate closings he participated in before he got to the City Council involved some type of sub-prime or balloon rate loan.

L

EWIS

By Edward J. Malloy

Program, which matches at-risk homeowners with legal and financial counseling services. That program and others were precursors to the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, the $5.3-million program recently announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Unaffil.), Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) and Fidler.

The center is geared toward enhancing the city’s financial educational and counseling services.

Many proposed remedies, such as stiffer penalties for predatory lenders or an adjustable rate freeze, are beyond the purview of city government. But Fidler is not content to simply wait for a market correction.

“I’m a Democrat, I believe this is a government problem,” he said.

Fidler hopes that the national politicians now paying attention to the sub-prime market remember that local communities have been suffering from the foreclosure crisis for years.

And he also would not mind if his colleagues in government remembered his long-standing advocacy on the issue.

“It is funny to watch when Rev. [Jesse] Jackson

It is funny to watch when Rev. Jackson comes to New York. I see my colleagues crowding around him as he gives the same speech I gave two years ago.

It’s like they all found religion.

In the next two decades, New York City will add one million new residents – equal to the populations of Miami and Boston combined. At a minimum, it will take 65-70 million new square feet of residential, commercial and retail space to accommodate our population and economic growth.

With this expansion will come a need for greater energy infrastructure. Investments in electricity generation and distribution to power the homes and offices of tomorrow will be critical.

Without the reliable ability to do things as simple as turning on the lights or running computers and air conditioners, new development cannot advance. A building boom and job creation to match what we now enjoy could be seriously compromised.

Each year we consume more electricity without any thought of where the next megawatt will come from.

Some predictions say that within a few years New York City’s peak electricity demand may outstrip supply.

What’s more, it takes five years to site and build the average power plant. But the state law to site power plants expired more than five years ago, effectively stalling the development of the increased energy supply we desperately need.

Additionally, New York is home to some of the highest electricity rates in the nation. Stagnant electricity supply levels, combined with ever increasing demand for this scarce commodity have resulted in rates that are 60% above the national average.

Working with groups like New York AREA, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York is committed to siting and building necessary power generation to meet New York City’s goals for growth while maintaining all current forms of electricity generation that our region depends on.

Clean, affordable electricity and its reliable delivery is not a luxury today, it is a necessity. Without a reliable supply in place, bold plans for the future may be beyond our grasp.

Edward J. Malloy is president of the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, representing 100,000 working men and women.

“We were encouraging people to do it,” he said.

Later, Fidler represented some of those same clients at foreclosure proceedings.

“I saw the beginning, I saw the process, I saw the end, and I think I saw reality setting in,” he said.

In 2005, Fidler joined with Council Member Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) in an attempt to get publicity for what he was already calling a looming crisis, but they could not obtain government funding to help affected homeowners.

As the foreclosure crisis deepened—especially in his home turf of Canarsie, which Fidler called “ground zero” for the mortgage foreclosure crisis— he started passing out fliers to other Council members with a block of text explaining the problem and his head superimposed on a movie poster from the Disney film Chicken Little. That caught his colleagues’ attention.

Fidler was able to secure $1 million for the Mortgage Foreclosure Emergency Prevention

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comes to New York. I see my colleagues crowding around him as he gives the same speech I gave two years ago,” Fidler said. “It’s like they all found religion.”

Fidler will be term limited out of his Council seat in 2009. But though he is interested in continuing in politics, he says he has made no decisions about what he might run for next. “I’m not running for anything in particular, and I am not retiring,” he said.

But even if he had already been in higher office, Fidler pointed out, he would not necessarily have been able to do more to stop sub-prime lending and avert the current crisis. Just trying to convince his fellow Council members was trouble enough, he said.

“I don’t think I would have been able to get that accomplished,” Fidler said. “If I had to sell 150 colleagues in Albany, or 435 colleagues in Washington on passing legislation to end sub-prime lending, I think they would have taken me out to the loony bin.” emystal@manhattanmedia.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com.

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SPECIAL SPONSORED SECTION

To learn more about New York AREA advocacy, educational programs, events, membership or sponsorship opportunities, contact Laurent Lawrence at 212-682-1203, lawrence@area-alliance.org or visit us at www.area-alliance.org.

W W W. A R E A - A L L I A N C E . O R G

JAN UARY 2008

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What Ab

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long to arrive.

Arriving at the top well ahead of the pack of reporters and parents, she is already being briefed on the condition of the roof tiles by the time most of them arrive.

She stands with her arms folded but no coat in the frigid air, shaking her head.

The repairs to this roof should not cost $600,000, she decides. When she is told the landlord has offered to undertake the repairs himself, she shakes her head again.

“There’s something else going on here,” she announces, almost to herself.

She walks to one side and peers toward one edge, then circles back and peers at the other.

“There’s something else going on here,” she says again.

She turns around and heads back down the stairs, just as most of the photographers have caught their breaths and started shooting what would have likely made a strong photo-op.

A hidden policy decision, a bureaucratic error, an issue of oversight— Gotbaum is ready to accept many explanations for the closing of the center, but

she feels she has learned enough about how city government functions to be confident that she has not yet heard the full story about the Children’s Services’ decision. In her minute-and-a-half speech during the press conference she led— enough to draw the cameras but put the spotlight on the parents and community activists—she called on Children’s Services to reconsider, then said she

f Betsy Gotbaum decides to run for anything—whether in an open race for mayor or comptroller, or for reelection as interim mayor—those who have campaigned with and against her agree that she could be a very formida-

would have ever anticipated.

“In the debates, I didn’t think she did very well. She very often had cards that she would read from and she would clutch on to them,” Siegel recalled. “I always in my own world said if people need to read from cards, voters will pick that up. But voters did not.”

That appeal, coupled with her last name, her ability to draw female voters and the ease with which she is able to raise massive amounts of money, could prove difficult to overcome again, Siegel warned.

“People underestimate her,” he said.

If she runs for mayor, Gotbaum said she would root the campaign in the idea that moving to Gracie Mansion would be a natural next step for a woman with her extensive résumé of positions in and out

“For obvious reasons, I can’t mount a campaign right now,” Gotbaum said.

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would actually just call Children’s Services Commissioner John Mattingly and ask him to reconsider. She was optimistic that this might get the center, one of the city’s largest, reopened.

Though this fight continues, Gotbaum, now halfway through her second term, speaks proudly about the victories she claims in fights like these over her six years as public advocate. It is the kind of record, she thinks—especially coupled with her history of winning twice citywide, being a prodigious fundraiser and spending 35 years in and out of city government—that would make her a very

A Formidable Candidate, If She Runs ANDREW SCHWARTZ PHOTOS

22

ble candidate, even with a late start.

Norman Siegel, whom Gotbaum beat twice for public advocate and is now seeking the office a third time, said her prospective opponents should be very careful not to dismiss her, noting that in 2001 and 2005 she proved a more appealing presence than he

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bout

strong candidate for another citywide office next year.

Her interest in being mayor is sincere.

The rumors of her weighing a comptroller bid are true. But she is resolved to almost certainly skip both. Betsy Gotbaum is ready to accept that 2009 looks like the end of her political career.

The question is not winning. She believes she could beat the expected Democratic fields for mayor and comptroller. But that does not matter. Based on a very different calculation, she is neither planning nor preparing to run for anything else.

“Right now,” she said, “I’m not.” ne of Gotbaum’s great political assets, most agree, is her husband Victor, whose political advice and revered last name clearly helped her get elected to the city’s second-highest office in 2001, then re-elected in 2005, despite a spirited primary.

Though two decades have passed since he was at the helm of powerhouse union DC 37, he remains a well-known and beloved character to many New Yorkers, directly and indirectly influencing his wife’s political appeal.

More than anyone else, Victor has been promoting his wife as a candidate

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of city government.

“Look at my career, starting with my first stint in city government with John Lindsay,” she said. “Of course I’m ready.

I think I could handle it extremely well.”

She is also keeping the comptroller’s race open as an option, citing her seat on one of the city pension boards as experience that could strengthen a campaign to be the city’s bookkeeper. Her management skills could help her run the office. Her background studying agencies as public advocate could provide the foundation for overseeing audits, she believes. And her negotiating skills could help her sway the pension board trustees to her point of view.

Plus, she said, at this point she knows city government better than almost anyone. She also points out the week she spent in Philadelphia in 2006, attending the Wharton School’s Executive Education Program on Pension Fund

www.cityhallnews.com for mayor, talking up the idea to her and everyone else he can. More than anyone else, though, she makes clear, Victor seems to have emerged as the single obstacle to her making the race.

“It’s very hard,” she said.

In and out of hospitals the past two years, Victor, now 86, suffers from a range of serious physical and mental problems which prevent him from being able to be left alone. With the Gotbaums living on her government salary and his pension—no small amount certainly, but hardly great riches—there is no aroundthe-clock care. She spends most nights at home with him.

Gotbaum is a woman with a reputation for frankness, just as likely to call Bloomberg sexist for not inviting her to more sporting events as she is to brag that the blue-striped Calvin Klein suit she is wearing only cost her $100 at Filene’s Basement. But her discussion of Victor’s health remains vague, referred to only as “my personal situation.”

But absent this looming factor, she says, she would be a more active presence at civic events around the city, building up her profile, if only for the sake of gathering political capital for a future campaign.

“My problem goes back to the issue of most of the events are at night,” she said.

“I have to figure out with them how I run my personal life at the same time that I do these things.”

Gone too is her taste for campaign fundraising, often cited as her greatest political asset. She has put together some money for her Fund for Public Advocacy non-profit and helped several charities and causes, but she expects the $163,000 in campaign donations she filed last July to mark a high point for her for the foreseeable future.

“At this point in my life, it’s just hard for me to raise money for myself, for personal reasons, for a political campaign,”

and Investment Management.

Importantly, the campaign for comptroller, a lower profile office, would be significantly calmer than the mayor’s race, she believes, which might allow her to balance a run with caring for her husband. But even that, she said, would create difficulties.

“It’s the same situation, but a little less poignant,” she said.

But she could be a formidable candidate for comptroller, said Hank Sheinkopf, her consultant for her two public advocate races.

“Being a person who has high citywide identification, good favorables— regardless of what the idiots say— means that she’s immediately a candidate for anything,” he said. “Should she make up her mind to do something, she would be very difficult to beat.”

—EIRD eidovere@cityhallnews.com

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Unless Kevin Sheekey’s dreams come true and Michael Bloomberg runs for and wins the White House this fall.

Then, come Jan. 20, 2009, Betsy Gotbaum will suddenly find herself mayor of New York.

And her campaign to keep that job would start right away. pocket of her purse.

“They needed somebody to help with the real work that was going on,” Gotbaum recalled.

The experience in South America is long behind her, evident, if at all, in her

Defending Her Record and Her Office

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Unless.

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JAN UARY 2008

she said. “It’s hard to explain.”

So while she has no doubt that at this point, she could do just about any job in city government and insists that she would revel in all that another citywide campaign would entail, she says the prospect of having to campaign has made continuing her career in politics impossible.

“The most important reason is the running,” she said, hitting both syllables and stretching the word out.

She wants to continue being involved and relevant. She wants to be mayor. But with the experience of running two citywide campaigns informing her decision, she has concluded that she will not run in 2009 to make that happen.

“For obvious reasons, I can’t mount a campaign right now,” she said.

Unless. Unless Kevin Sheekey’s dreams come true and Michael Bloomberg runs for and wins the White House this fall. Then, come Jan. 20, 2009, Betsy Gotbaum will suddenly find herself mayor of New York. And her campaign to keep that job would start right away.

Forty years ago, Gotbaum was living in Recife, Brazil, under deep cover with the CIA, which trained her and her first husband in Portuguese and set up a life for them on the interior of the country. While her husband, the main agent, set up rural cooperatives through the Catholic priests, Gotbaum—code name: Kate Borgzinner— was responsible for typing documents and occasionally transporting cash in a false

erhaps in order to ensure that no one doubted his candidacy for mayor, perhaps because he was up against the more aggressive Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R), perhaps because of his media-hungry disposition, Mark Green was in the news constantly throughout his two terms. He tangled with a wide range of New Yorkers in and out of government.

Not so for Betsy Gotbaum.

She thinks about her own experiences as parks commissioner for Mayor David Dinkins (D), when elected officials would call her with complaints about broken glass in the grass or problems with playgrounds. The calls most effective on her, she says, were from the people out to work with her instead of embarrass her. So when she calls commissioners and agency heads, she tries her best to appeal to them and collaborate.

Sometimes this works. Sometimes it does not.

The plan, she says, is to issue a report card sometime

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taste for Tabasco sauce dribbled on the low cholesterol omelet she orders for a late breakfast at a Broadway diner. Still, she has enough experience in espionage and in politics to appreciate a good stealth campaign, like the one that Bloomberg is generally seen as at least flirting with for the presidency.

She has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, and would have campaigned in New Hampshire for the senator if not, yet again, for her “personal reasons.” But she admits her interest in seeing a Bloomberg

before the end of her term rating the various commissioners and agency heads on their responsiveness. Like the teacher she once was, she is hoping that getting the word out about the report card might spur some of the delinquents to clean up their acts ahead of time. The point is to make them be more responsive, not to embarrass them, she said. All she wants is for the commissioners to hear a simple message from her: “I am trying to make things better for New Yorkers.

So respond to me!”

She and her staffers claim credit for many changes in the administration of city services over the last six years. Her record with the Administration of Children’s Services is a perfect example, she said, noting the child fatality report issued last June which found a spike in 2005 mistakes the agency made in child fatality cases. Her numbers were all wrong, she was told. Two months later, the city Department of Investigation came to similar conclusions, prompting Children’s Services to announce a plan to increase the num-

for President campaign actually come together, and she says she and her staff have begun to examine exactly what that would mean.

“We’re checking the charter to look at all those things. Of course we’re looking at it,” she said.

If catapulted into office, she said, the Gotbaum ’09 campaign would get a very swift and certain kick start. She would run for re-election as mayor in the special election which would be set for 60 days later (March 20, were Bloomberg to vacate the

mayoralty on Inauguration Day). And she would fight hard to hold onto the job.

“You don’t look at your whole career which leads you to something like being mayor and you are handed it—of course I would run,” she said. “Yes, I would have to do that.”

If she is able to become mayor initially without having to campaign for the job, she is confident she would then be able to win the special election and the November 2009 election for a term of her own. Mayor Gotbaum for 60 days would soon become

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ber of former law enforcement officers who work on investigations with the protection staff from 25 to 125.

Five months after another report from her office on high turnover among Children’s Services attorneys, the agency had hired more attorneys and reduced attrition, and Bloomberg announced a $3.4-million increase to its legal services division. Another report on the dangers of adults rolling over and killing children with whom they are sharing a bed got Children’s Services to launch a $1.5-million “Take Good Care of Your Baby” public education campaign, she said.

All of these results are important, she says, and all of them were achieved only by her quiet, behind-thescenes wheedling and negotiating. She contrasts that to her acknowledged reputation for doing nothing and having no follow-up.

“It’s amusing,” she said.

What she sees as an overwhelmingly positive and effective record, she believes Bloomberg sees as largely a waste of time. The mayor, she believes, would rather see her office abolished entirely.

“I think that he’s dismissive of it,” she said. “I suppose he doesn’t think that a lot of the things we do should be done.”

Part of the trouble, she said, stems from a decision that predates their time in office. They were social friends in the years before they ran, and during the 2001 campaign, she said Bloomberg asked her to endorse him for mayor over Green, by then the Democratic nominee.

Gotbaum declined. She says he then asked for her to make no endorsement in the race, but again Gotbaum declined, citing her Democratic allegiances.

“He has a tremendous thing abut loyalty, and I think he felt that as his friend, I should have stayed neutral,” she said. “I just couldn’t do it.”

The relationship was also hurt when media reports surfaced about information discussed in private meetings Bloomberg held with Gotbaum and Comptroller Bill Thompson (D) early in their terms. Bloomberg was annoyed by the confidentiality breach, and blamed Gotbaum for talking to reporters. She denies that she ever did.

These days, she has little contact with the mayor anymore. The meetings of the citywide officials are a thing of the past.

“I think he probably has them with the comptroller, ’cause he needs the comptroller,” she says.

(In fact, Bloomberg does not have a set regular meeting time with Thompson anymore either, though Thompson’s office notes that the two have no trouble accessing each other or communicating when either has something to discuss.)

Nor does she see Bloomberg socially anymore, which Gotbaum attributes to their mutual busyness, though she notes that Bloomberg’s appearance at the

shiva for her stepdaughter-in-law in October meant a great deal to her.

Bloomberg, who pushed for a 2002 charter change that would have stripped the office of much of its power, is not the only one who has been dismissive of the office. Calls to eliminate the position have continued to appear on editorial pages throughout her tenure, with Gotbaum herself or the inactivity of her office generally cited as the main rationale for abolition. “I’m very sensitive to the fact that people say it, and I just keep saying they’re wrong,” she says.

A perfect example, she says, is last February’s controversy over the mid-year school bus re-routing, conceived of in consultation with a company called Alvarez & Marsal. Though the mayor dismissed her objections, Gotbaum helped lead the successful push to get the administration to reverse course on the decision.

“Should I have had 20 press conferences about that?” she asks rhetorically.

“Yes,” her press secretary answers quickly.

Gotbaum considers this.

“It’s not who I am. It’s definitely not who I am. I’m not going to have more press conferences. I can’t. I just can’t do it,” she says.

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Green has refrained from commenting on his successor, but he has no trouble expressing his frustration that talk of abolishing the office itself persists.

He says the time for debating about whether to have the office should have ended after he took office in of 1994.

“In the immediate eight years following, we had a real world test of whether it should continue,” Green said. “If we look at the scores of laws and reforms, a combination of William Buckley and Bill Clinton couldn’t successfully argue against the actual record we produced.”

He laid claim to a long list of accomplishments, including reducing police abuse and domestic violence, reforming the child welfare system, ending mob control of carting and increasing hospital safety.

New Yorkers got a pretty good deal for an office which he calculates costs 30 cents per taxpayer, Green said.

But though he will not challenge most of Gotbaum’s record, he did note that the past six years have presented more of an opportunity than he had in one area with Giuliani: good government reform.

He believes Gotbaum could have gotten more reforms passed if only she had tried.

But no matter the complaints, he warned people not to judge the office just on the person holding it any given time.

“You cannot base the existence of an institution on its momentary leader—otherwise, you’ll abolish the mayoralty because of some clunkers I can think of, or the presidency because of Bush,” he said.

By the end of her term, Gotbaum hopes to have cleared away any of these questions, through the many personal stories of the individuals she and her office has helped and by providing studies of problems with Children’s Services or other agencies, like the Department of Education, through projects like the Commission on School Governance.

Convened at the request of Assembly Education Committee Chair Cathy Nolan (D-Queens), the 11-member, privately funded group Gotbaum leads is planning to make recommendations on how to tweak the current city school system in time for next year’s scheduled consideration of renewing mayoral control. From the testimony and academic papers the group has commissioned, Gotbaum is starting to determine how to recommend increasing parent involvement, which she says she heard has already convinced 70 legislators to try to bring control back to Albany. Gotbaum supported Bloomberg’s efforts to get control of the school system. With the recommendations done right, she believes she can help keep the next mayor in control of the schools—even if she is not the next mayor herself.

—EIRD eidovere@cityhallnews.com

“Should I have had 20 press conferences about that?” she asks rhetorically.

“Yes,” her press secretary answers quickly.

Gotbaum considers this.

“It’s not who I am. It’s definitely not who I am. I’m not going to have more press conferences. I can’t. I just can’t do it,” she says.

Mayor Gotbaum for nine months, she believes, then for another four years, and perhaps for another four years after that.

She knows she does not have much time to plan. But taking a cue from the man whose own supposed political ambitions may inadvertently make her mayor, Gotbaum says that the normal time frame for laying the groundwork for a campaign might get scrambled.

“Bloomberg has done this brilliantly.

He’s still a player, and everybody doesn’t know what he’s doing,” she said.

Besides, she insists, she was more effective working behind the scenes on the issue than she would have been holding all those press conferences.

“What more was there to say except ‘Get rid of Alvarez & Marsal?’” she says. “And I was pretty good at doing that.”

Nonetheless, she does want to give the office more teeth, she says, perhaps through establishing a fixed budget outside of the mayor’s control, perhaps through convincing the Legislature in Albany to give the public advocate some official oversight over education or creating an independent office of child advocate under its aegis. A change to the City Charter, she has decided, is unlikely.

Though she will probably not have raised much money before then—which, she acknowledges, is the main reason people do not generally consider her a likely candidate, despite her consistently high approval ratings—Gotbaum said she could easily put together a big enough war chest to get re-elected if she becomes the interim mayor.

“If I were in office for 60 days, yes, I could do it. I have no doubt about it,” she said.

Alternatively, she might wade into the

comptroller’s race, but said she would not consider any other office, even if the Manhattan borough presidency were to open in 2009.

But even if next year marks the end of her time in politics, she plans to remain an active and influential force.

“No matter what happens, I am not going away. I’m going to be around to haunt everybody,” she said, a smile creeping across her face. “I’ve worked too hard and it’s been too great a career, and I’ve had a really fabulous time as

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public advocate.”

Nonetheless, she has come to terms with her decisions, though she is reluctant to call anything final.

“These are all issues that can change,” she said, looking ahead to the Super Tuesday presidential primaries that are expected to finalize the major party nominees and prove decisive in determining the fate of Bloomberg’s presidential plans. “All this can change in February.

February 5, isn’t it?” eidovere@cityhallnews.com

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Ground Zero Fire Fight Members of union local at odds with leadership over medical monitoring

ALSO RUNNING

★The Other Presidential Candidates from New York ★

BY ARI PAUL LT. Thomas Carlstrom suffers from asthma, reactive airway disease and other respiratory ailments which have been linked by a worker’s compensation judge to exposure during his weeks working at Ground Zero immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. Now he is one of the uniformed responders eagerly anticipating passage of a landmark federal bill that would bolster World Trade Center medical monitoring and treatment.

But Carlstrom’s union, which includes 65 of the 20,000 rescue and recovery workers who have filed for worker’s compensation due to exposure following the Sept. 11 attacks, is fighting one aspect of the legislation.

Local 3621 president Thomas Eppinger The James Zadroga Act, if enacted, would secure “I agree the resulting data may help identify diseases Federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment for responders to the Sept. 11 attacks sickened or injured as a and common symptoms,” Pizzitola wrote by e-mail. “I do consequence of working at Ground Zero. As a provision of not, however, agree with compelling participation in the the bill, all Fire Department employees—which includes FDNY program for the sake of science.”

David Prezant and Kerry Kelly, chief medical officers for emergency medical service (EMS) members—would be forced to enroll in a department-based medical monitoring the Fire Department, have been very vocal in opposing Eppinger and Pizzitola. In a letter sent to Rep. Carolyn program.

While most of the unions representing fireE OF TH Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens) in November, T they cautioned against taking Eppinger and fighters and emergency medical responders A Pizzitola seriously, explaining that the Fire support this provision, the leadership of Department program, in fact, protects patient EMS officer’s union Local 3621 of District confidentiality.

Council 37 has vowed to fight it to the end, Politically, the fight over this aspect of the even without the support of members Zadroga Act is intensifying the acrimonious such as Carlstrom. In testimony and offirelationship between Local 3621 and many of cial letters sent to many local members of the other unions in the Fire Department. Among Congress, Local 3621 president Thomas the local’s opponents is Steve Cassidy, president of Eppinger and pension consultant Marianne Pizzitola have appealed to city and federal lawmakers, the Uniformed Firefighters Association. Often an outspoarguing that forcing employees to be medically monitored ken critic of the Fire Department’s current administration, by their employers is fundamentally unjust. Confidentiality Cassidy is vigorously defending his members’ employer in was a chief concern, they said, especially for their female this instance.

The members of the state’s congressional delegation members, whom the unions said might be forced to submit to breast exams and other testing they could find invasive sponsoring the Zadroga Act have not agreed to meet with Eppinger or Pizzitola to discuss this aspect of the bill. of their privacy.

As he continues to deal with his health problems, Also driving their argument is frustration with the delays they see EMS responders with Ground Zero-related illness Carlstrom hopes to convince his leadership to call off the have had in getting workers’ compensation payments from fight. Though he has had problems with the Law the city Law Department. Pizzitola believes the Fire Department not paying his medical bills, and said he continues to support Local 3621’s efforts to rework the workDepartment is part of the problem.

“The Fire Department never sends any documents to ers’ compensation system, he wants to convince its leader[the Law Department] to help you establish your workers’ ship to call off the fight against Fire Department medical monitoring. compensation,” she said.

He is concerned about how the proposed decentralizaBut other leaders of the fire and EMS unions, along with the Fire Department’s own chief medical officers, say that tion of monitoring could impact the research which he Eppinger and Pizzitola were not seeing the forest for the hopes will result in better treatments and more legislation to help him get that treatment. trees.

“It’s not going to be as extensive, and they’re going to not Patrick Bahnken, president of Local 2507 of District Council 37, represents EMS technicians and paramedics. find things that are really happening to us,” he said. “That He believes the Fire Department’s ability to keep patients in scares me, because I want to be taken care of.”

He said he had no complaints from his own participaan in-house program for medical research was essential for sick Ground Zero workers. He feared especially that if the tion in the program so far.

“I am being taken care of,” Carlstrom said. “I could only EMS officers’ union had its way with the Zadroga Act, the chances for more federal funding would shrink drastically talk about my own experiences, and there’s nothing I could because, without a central medical monitoring program, say that is negative about the program.”

Pizzitola continues to believe a balance of concerns could the research driving emergency responder legislation be found, if legislators and the unions talked about how to would become less complete.

“You’re talking about scattering the control group to the ensure that other monitoring programs conducted research wind,” Bahnken said. “You have to be a moron to not be that would meet the requirements to get federal support.

“Allowing our members the freedom to choose the cenable to figure that out on your own.”

But Pizzitola, who is also the president of the Uniformed ter of excellence that provides their care,” she said, “should Fire Department EMS Retirees Association, said she is con- not jeopardize 9/11 medical programs and funding.” fident that research conducted by programs outside the ari.paul@gmail.com Fire Department could be just as effective.

Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com.

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MICHAEL SKOK

From: Cheektowaga, N.Y. Party: Democratic Job experience: Data entry, maintenance at Wonder Bread factory. #1 campaign promise: Making the country independent from foreign energy.

Wonder Bread Factory Worker Aims to Add Christian Values to Democratic Mix Aside from meeting constitutional age and birth requirements, Michael Skok admits that there is nothing about his life that qualifies him to win the presidency, much less the Democratic nomination.

In addition to having no experience outside of his job doing maintenance at a Wonder Bread factory, Skok does not share most traditional Democratic Party positions. He is for banning all forms of abortion, wants to hold a Constitutional convention to make the United States a Christian nation and thinks that Muslims want to turn America into an Islamic country.

“I think we should choose Christ before we lose to Islam,” he said.

Underlying his anti-Islamic rhetoric is a desire to free America from foreign oil, which he believes helps Islam flourish in the Western world. This Islamic influence, he said, has implications larger than damaging America’s economy.

“Some of these things happening in our country are fulfilling Biblical prophecies,” Skok, 58, said. “I want to call people’s attention to these problems.”

Though his political ideology falls more in line with the anti-Catholic immigrant Know Nothing Party of the 1850s, Skok remains a registered Democrat out of tradition. His parents voted for Democrats and were active in labor unions. Skok’s father, he said, was in the AFL-CIO oil chemical workers union. Skok’s two brothers and their families are also Democrats involved in labor.

Though Skok is anti-choice, anti-Muslim and rarely votes for Democratic candidates, he does, however, support Democrats on foreign trade and labor. He said there is a place for him in the party.

“There’s still quite a few Democrats with Christian values,” he said.

In Skok’s second bid (he also ran in 2000), he spent a weekend campaigning in New Hampshire. In December, the soft-spoken Skok attended a “lesserknown candidates” debate in Manchester. He also walked around the local malls handing out business cards.

Skok said his funds are limited, and he is relying solely on his website to inform people of his positions.

He financed December’s weekend campaign with money he saved by living off of his Social Security.

Skok paid for his motel and living expenses with a donation from his 98-year-old mother. That donation, however, was not given happily.

“She doesn’t agree with my campaign,” he said.

“She told me not to use it on campaigning.”

—Dan Rivoli danrivoli@gmail.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com.

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Rep. Steve Israel

Up and Coming: Southern Tier Spotlighting five elected officials to watch.

digs in to his

Page 22

Power Lunch Page 26

• Tom DiNapoli on reasserting the comptroller’s office and planning for 2010

Mr. Nice Guy

www.nycapitolnews.com

GOP May Skip StewartCousins

No Rudy, no Spano—and no back-up in place

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS or former State Sen. Nick Spano (R-Westchester), the new year may be a good year to run again.

But Spano said his decision to challenge Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D), who unseated him in 2006, will depend on the residents of Westchester County.

Having former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as the Republican presidential nominee wouldn’t hurt either.

“I do miss the action,” said Spano, who has recently set up a website to gauge public support for his candidacy. “I do miss the competition. And I do miss making things happen.”

But if Giuliani does not get the GOP presidential nomination, then Spano may not even seek the nomination for his old State Senate seat.

Westchester Republicans, meanwhile, seem hesitant to start considering other potential contenders until Spano has made his decision.

The seat is being closely watched by the state GOP, for which the prime concern is maintaining the slim Senate majority. A high-profile and recognizable candidate to oppose Stewart-Cousins may mean the difference between a Republican and Democratic State Senate.

Spano said all of his former

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JANUARY 2008

• The scramble to find an opponent for top GOP target Andrea Stewart-Cousins • Diagnoses for Spitzer’s health care proposal • Inside the Senate Racing and

To reshape the comptroller’s office, Tom DiNapoli says his personal connections will once again make all the difference

Gaming Committee

BY EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE annah Montana was playing in Albany Jan. 9, but the biggest cheer of the day probably went to Tom DiNapoli (D). Though legislators had gathered to hear Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) give his second State of the State address, the person they seemed happiest to see was DiNapoli, their friend and former colleague, introduced for the first time as comptroller to a joint session to take his seat on the podium.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) took in his own warm welcome moments earlier by blowing kisses to the crowd. DiNapoli took in his by hugging nearly everyone in sight, throwing up his arms in big, broad waves. Assembly

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

INSIDE: Dick Gottfried and Spitzer Push Mary Lou Rath May Draw for Health Care Changes 2 Primary Challenge 8

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

VOL. 1, NO. 1

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Leading the Revolution on Clinton’s Home Turf Perkins rallies support for Illinois senator, dismissing potential backlash

BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

A

S

THE

RESULTS

FROM

THE

New Hampshire primary rolled in, City Council Member Albert Vann (D-Brooklyn) sat quietly in a far corner of the Riviera Café and Sports Bar in the West Village, sipping a Coke and watching the results on TV. “He’s the man of the hour,” Vann said proudly of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D), whose presidential candidacy he was there to support. “He’s the one.”

On the other side of the café, hundreds of Obama supporters milled about in nervous excitement. After Obama’s victory in Iowa, there was an increasing hope that he could take every state, even Sen. Hillary Clinton’s home state of New York.

But even though Clinton eventually triumphed in New Hampshire, New York politicians supporting Obama are undeterred in their quest.

“While it’s not a victory of the type we were looking for, it nevertheless shows that there is a lot of support for him,” said State Sen. Bill Perkins (DManhattan), the highest profile politician to break from the Clinton pack and support Obama.

“People are not deflated, they’re actually excited,” he said the day after the primary.

Perkins has long been building a coalition of support for Obama that includes persuading elected officials who have publicly supported Clinton to switch sides. He declined to reveal any names, but he said more important than convincing those politicians to jump ship was earning the support of their constituencies.

“Even if they decided to go someplace else, their constituencies are already decided,” Perkins said. “The socalled machinery that presumably has a lock on the vote may not necessarily have that lock as one might expect.”

The odds are certainly against Perkins and other Obama supporters in New York. With 281 delegates at stake of the 2,025 needed to win the nomination, the Empire State is a major electoral prize, and though a December Quinnipiac poll put Clinton 38 points ahead of Obama in New York, Perkins believes that the results in Iowa and New Hampshire have given Obama a bump.

Clinton outpaces Obama in New York in fundraising and campaign appearances. By most accounts she is expected to win the state’s primary on Feb. 5. But Perkins stressed how a strong showing by Obama in specific areas in the city would have an enormous influence.

“Places like Harlem and Brooklyn

and East Harlem, you know, there are various communities in our area that have been cheering him on,” he said, “and you can assume that with the appropriate amount of work and cultivation he can make a difference.”

Among the most vocal democrats supporting Obama are Brooklyn State senators Eric Adams, Kevin Parker and

John Sampson, State Assembly members Michael Benjamin (Bronx), Karim Camara (Brooklyn) and Hakeem Jeffries (Brooklyn) and City Council members Charles Barron (Brooklyn), Helen Foster (Bronx) and James Sanders Jr. (Queens), all of whom are black.

Perkins said he is unconcerned about a possible backlash from Clinton sup-

porters in the state Legislature or in other political circles.

“If there’s any backlash from them, so be it,” he said, laughing. “If I did my work worrying about what my colleagues would do in terms of political backlash, then I would be a captive of them and not a leader of my constituency.” ahawkins@cityhallnews.com

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CITY HALL

www.cityhallnews.com

JAN UARY 2008

ISSUE FORUM: ENERGY

Warming up to Bioheat for a Greener NYC

BY COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES GENNARO HIS WINTER, MORE THAN

1 million New York City households are using heating oil to stay warm. They are each burning an average of 640 gallons a year. Thousands more power plants, and commercial and industrial buildings also use heating oil. The problem is that heating oil is distilled from petroleum, a fossil fuel that contains sulfur, particulate matter, carbon dioxide and other pollutants that have been linked to asthma and contribute to global warming.

But heating oil, which is needed to balance New York City’s demand for energy, isn’t going away anytime soon. So the question is how do we make it greener, cleaner and more domestically produced?

Bioheat, a hybrid fuel that blends biodiesel—a 100-percent renewable, energy-grade vegetable oil—with home heating oil, can reduce pollutants by up to 20 percent and eventually more. It’s made from soybeans farmed right here in the United States, and from other renewable agricultural sources—even recycled restaurant grease. In most cases, buildings can accept bioheat blends without any modifications to their existing heating system—just as most

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trucks can use biodiesel blends.

The benefits are just astounding. In addition to fighting asthma and global warming, biodiesel is a renewable energy source—unlike petroleum and natural gas—and the more biodiesel we use in our heating oil, the less dependent we become on foreign oil. Biodiesel is refreshingly energy efficient as well. According to a 1998 joint study by the U.S. Departments

of Agriculture and Energy, biodiesel yields 3.2 units of fuel product for every unit of fossil fuel energy consumed—compared to 0.843 energy yield for petrodiesel and 1.34 energy yield for bioethanol.

So let’s do it. On Jan. 24, the City Council Committee on Environmental Protection will hear my legislation that will create a cleaner standard for all heating oil sold in New York City, starting with cityowned buildings. New York City’s heating oil would be the gold standard. Almost immediately, city-owned buildings would be required to switch to bioheat, and, over the course of the next few years, all number 2, number 4 and number 6 heating oil will contain 20 percent biodiesel, as well as lower sulfur levels.

Sure, there are hurdles, but there is nothing that we can’t overcome with a sensible, determined approach. For one, bioheat costs several cents more per gallon than home heating oil. The New York State Clean Heating Fuel Credit, which provided a penny-per-gallon tax credit for up to 20 cents per gallon of bioheat consumed, had been working. More than 8,000 homeowners in the Bronx and Westchester were using B20 bioheat (20 percent biodiesel) as a direct result of that credit. Unfortunately,

in August 2007, the Governor vetoed the bill that would have renewed this credit for another four years because it was passed outside of the budget process. It is important that the governor and the Legislature do everything possible to restore the credit. The vast benefit to public health and our environment is well worth the modest cost of this program.

Fortunately, New York City already benefits from a number of entrepreneurs in and outside the heating oil industry who are investing in biodiesel processing, blending and distribution plants. We have a growth industry emerging in Brooklyn, the Bronx and throughout the city, which will mean more supply and a lower cost product. We should be encouraging this movement toward a cleaner heating oil—and reaping the practical and economic benefits of a New York-based green industry.

Bioheat is one of the most promising, efficient and practical renewable fuels available and it’s perfectly suited for New York City. If we don’t take the lead, who will?

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James Gennaro is a Democrat representing parts of Queens in the City Council. He is chair of the Environmental Protection Committee.

The Steps Needed to Lower Fuel Costs for New Yorkers

BY REP. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

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ECORD - HIGH

PRICES

FOR

gasoline and home heating fuel are hitting New Yorkers extremely hard. These are merely the most recent and obvious effects of our national addiction to oil, our long reliance on coal for much of our electricity and the energy-wasteful lifestyle we have come to expect as our birthright.

This is a clear indication that things must change. There must be a transition to a more sustainable energy economy.

Michael DiNunzio, director of special projects for an association that promotes the future of new energy, has listed ways to switch to a more efficient and effective means of obtaining and using energy.

First, plug the leaks. Any sailor knows the first step in damage control is to plug the leaks. That same wisdom can be applied to the management of our current energy crisis. Such home energy saving measures as adding insulation, caulking, storm windows and using compact fluorescent light bulbs costs about 2.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity saved. This is significantly less than the cost of that kWh in the marketplace, so efficiency makes good economic sense, and should be the first tactic used in the fight to reduce our energy consumption.

Those at the North Country Energy Smart Program for the New York State

Energy Research and Development Authority estimate that by taking relatively easy, inexpensive steps, electrical efficiency in the home can be improved by about 30 percent. We could quickly save nearly $100 million in the region.

The next step would be to build it better. All new construction should meet a certain minimum standard of energy efficiency and steps should be taken to ensure that this requirement is made an integral part of this country’s project permitting system. This is where the assistance of the United States Congress is needed. It is not unrealistic for those of us who sit on the U. S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee to hold hearings and introduce legislation that will require new federal projects meet a certain standard of energy efficiency. As a matter of fact, it does not make economic or ecological sense to do otherwise. It is more cost effective to use energy efficient boilers, air conditioning units, windows, and insulation in new construction than it is to retrofit existing buildings. For example, new homes and businesses that meet the standards of New York’s Energy Star label outperform conventional buildings by at least 30 percent.

Step three would be the time for transition. If we really want to reduce air pollution, slow the process of global warming, lessen our dependence on foreign and domestic oil, as well as strengthen

our economies, we must switch from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.

This cannot be done overnight, and it will once again require the support of Congress and incentive programs.

Step four, eliminate the carbons. The big three in Detroit—General Motors, Ford and Chrysler—have been fighting this step for a long time. Despite our best efforts to use efficient, renewable sources of energy in our homes, businesses and automobiles, we will still produce a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing to the problem of global warming.

What is probably the most efficient way for home and business owners to

offset remaining carbon emissions is to produce some of their own renewable, environmentally benign electricity from solar panels or small-scale wind turbines.

Alternatively, New Yorkers can pay a bit more for their commercial electricity to so-called green service providers, thereby helping to support cleaner sources of power that produce less environmental impact.

In the end, the current crisis at the gas pump and with home heating fuels and barrels of oil hovering at $100 is driving the outcry for a fuel tax abatement, repeal of the ethanol import duties and even drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife refuge. But these are all short-term, quick-fix solutions that will not really move us away from our dependence on fossil fuels and toward the use of renewables and carbon-neutral practices. In order for New Yorkers to be able to move quickly and relatively painlessly into the postcarbon age, the support of Congress is needed in the form of legislation that will create incentives and disincentives.

We need to begin thinking now about the best ways to prepare for the transition from the age of oil, instead of meeting it later with panic and despair.

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Edolphus Towns is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn in Congress.

He is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

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JAN UARY 2008

CITY HALL

ISSUE FORUM: ENERGY

With EEPS, a Careful and Collaborative Approach to Energy is Coming

BY ASSEMBLY MEMBER ANDREW HEVESI YORK STATE’S STRATEGIC energy policy is about to be changed for decades to come.

The New York State Public Service Commission and other expert parties are in the process of deliberating and creating New York State’s Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS). As a member of the New York State Assembly’s Committee on Energy, I support their efforts and encourage all interested parties to join together and help make New York a national and global leader in energy efficiency.

In the last 10 years, after decades of debate, the scientific community has accepted the merits of global warming and climate change and its link to human activity. It has become clear that calculated efforts to achieve reductions in carbon emissions and decrease energy demand are imperative for the sustainability of future generations. As a result, policy makers in New York State are reacting to this emerging consensus by seeking to reduce the demand for energy in our city and state.

While the impetus for change is a positive and welcome development, we are

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now faced with the uncertain prospect of individual entities making isolated decisions about ways to reduce energy demand. These decisions have the potential to impede our overall progress and run the risk of duplicative efforts, inefficient programs and unnecessary costs to our constituents. Recently, for example, Con Edison has asked the Public Service Commission to raise the rates in its service area to pay for demand side management (DSM) programs intended to

reduce per-capita consumption among its customers. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a variety of demand reduction initiatives in New York City. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is employing a variety of nationally renowned DSM programs, while numerous other entities around the state, including the New York Power Authority and other utilities, have their own programs.

As policy makers, it is crucial that we demand that all involved parties in New York resist the temptation to make judgments in a vacuum. On behalf of all of the residents and ratepayers we represent, we must encourage participation in a deliberate and collaborative effort. The EEPS, now being created by the Public Service Commission, represents exactly that type of careful and collaborative approach.

The effort to create EEPS resulted from the April 19, 2007 announcement by the governor that New York State would pursue the aggressive goal of decreasing energy consumption by 15 percent from forecast levels by 2015. This “15 x 15” initiative sets the most challenging target in the nation and places New York where it should be, as a national and global leader

in the effort to reduce energy consumption.

Currently, four working groups of the most knowledgeable and expert talent that the state of New York has on energy efficiency issues are working to create a structure to achieve the goals set forth in 15 x 15. They are charged with recommending the types of programs that are appropriate for New York’s vastly different communities, the proper administration of those programs by various entities, the measurement and verification of program goals and achievements, the use of appropriate incentives and the impact individual programs will have on our overall goal.

I encourage our elected officials, leaders in the energy field and other interested parties to not only participate in this process but also to help ensure the uniform adoption of the completed EEPS. Working together through this process will be the only way to guarantee that the energy demand reduction goals we have set for our future come to fruition.

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Andrew Hevesi is a Democrat representing parts of Queens in the Assembly. He is a member of the Renewable Energy Subcommittee.

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CITY HALL

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JAN UARY 2008

ISSUE FORUM: ENERGY

The University CUNY Joins Statewide Solar Effort to Promote Research, Economic Development & Jobs

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he City University of New York has joined The Solar Energy Consortium to create a new research and economic development partnership between solar energy companies and academic institutions across the state, in order to dramatically advance the solar industry in New York.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., helped to organize the consortium, a not-for-profit organization which aims to identify the challenges facing the solar industry for New York’s scientists, engineers and business researchers to collaboratively address, and to deliver turnkey, economical photovoltaic systems large and small.

CUNY joins participating educational institutions including Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Clarkson University, Binghamton University and The State University of New York at New Paltz.

The congressman–whose upstate district includes Ulster, Sullivan and parts of Tompkins, Tioga, Broome, Delaware, Orange, and Dutchess counties–said CUNY and the consortium, known as TSEC, will create new opportunities for solar energy products and devices that are researched and manufactured upstate, to be used and become more common in New York City.

“With a pressing need to shift away from greenhouse gas-producing forms of energy, New York City, which is a U.S. Department of Energy Solar America Initiative city, is an ideal market for the use of solar products, “Rep. Hinchey said. “By adding CUNY as a TSEC partner, we now have a direct link to New York City as we expand the consortium’s reach into a critical market for solar energy products and devices. TSEC is truly becoming a statewide initiative that is drawing on the talented minds at CUNY and other universities across New York to help solar manufacturers at TSEC develop premier solar products.”

“CUNY’s researchers from several of our campuses will be part of the solution to creating a robust solar market in New York State,” said Iris Weinshall, CUNY’s vice chancellor for facilities, construction planning and design. ” The goals of this consortium are just what New York needs to capture the power of sunlight, our greatest untapped resource, leading the way to energy independence, a healthier environment and increasing the number of green collar jobs.

“This historic collaboration among New York’s universities exemplifies CUNY’s commitment to fulfill the recommendations of the NYS Commission on Higher Education to partner among public and independent institutions and stakeholders for the public well-being,” she added.

The CUNY Economic Development Corp., created to link academic research, workforce development and economic development, recently partnered with the Center for Sustainable Energy at CUNY’s Bronx Community College to develop a

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January 9th, 2008

new Sustainable Energy and Technology business incubator on the Bronx campus, said said Frederick Schaffer, CUNY’s senior vice chancellor for legal affairs and the economic development corporation’s chairman. The incubator “will provide a springboard for businesses that will be generated as a result of today’s collaboration,” Schaffer said.

“The crucial role that the Center for Sustainable Energy plays is to take vision, policy, initiatives, and turn them into implementation strategies, and make them work.” said Tria Case, the Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy.

“That means supporting the advancement and commercialization of emerging technologies, training the green collar workforce, and fostering sustainable businesses with our new incubator.

Through the TSEC partnership, CSE and CUNY will help create a viable path from the lab to the roof top.”

The announcement of this new collaboration was made on the campus of Bronx Community College, which serves as home campus for the center. President Carolyn Williams, who co-hosted the event, noted that the college is especially proud to be in the vanguard of CUNY’s efforts to encourage solar alternatives and promote sustainable energy.

President Williams said, “The Center for Sustainable Energy’s ability to bring everyone to the table, to work together, is a prime example of what is needed to make our sustainable future a reality.

Foresight, collaboration and implementation. We are proud of the work that the Center for Sustainable Energy has been doing and the recognition gained for its role in furthering sustainable initiatives, instruction, and training on the BCC campus, and for expanding it to other University campuses. The Center’s efforts to bring clarity and understanding to the importance of sustainability has also helped lead to the active engagement of the entire university as well as New York City. “ During the past decade, CUNY has taken a strong lead in fostering the use of alternative energy, particularly solar, within New York City. The Center for Sustainable Energy has played a key role in the effort. Established with the support of Rep. José E. Serrano, D-Bronx, the Center promotes the use of renewable and efficient energy technologies in urban communities through education, training, workforce development, research and project facilitation. The Center supports clean energy development and conservation as the means to protect the environment, enhance public health, and position New York City to capture emerging economic development opportunities in the energy sector.

Learn Energy Independence

by Greening New York Schools

BY REP. STEVE ISRAEL HREE DECADES AGO, OUR NATION

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recognized that we were in the midst of an energy crisis. Our initial response was lackluster, and it hasn’t improved much since. In Hollywood terms, our response is parallel to remaking Planet of the Apes—and the remake wasn’t good the first time.

It’s been the same script, same scenery and same plot since we vowed to break our dependence on fossil fuels—we’ve just had different actors.

But the plot has finally twisted with the passage of landmark energy legislation that will make America more energy independent, cut energy costs and grow our economy through the creation of hundreds and thousands of new “green” jobs.

Now that we’ve made a national commitment to changing the “players” by creating the next generation of green thinkers, New York should lead the way in transforming the “set” where these players are educated by making a statewide commitment to the greening of our schools.

I recently read a book called “Smart Kids, Smart Schools” by Edward Fiske.

Fiske explains that because of the rapid industrialization of the late 1800s, schools were actually modeled after factories— ideologically and structurally. These educational factories were complete with teachers as factory workers, children as raw material and the bell sounding for a change or break in the everyday assembly line of basic skills and knowledge. The emphasis was on standardization, uniformity and efficiency, because public schools were the first line of defense against rebellion and anarchy.

When our school buildings were constructed, we did not anticipate that we’d one day be struggling with a dependence on foreign oil that is a threat to our economy, our national security and our future.

The energy bills for schools in my district and around the state have skyrocketed over the past few years. This is unacceptable. The legacy of our factory schools has left us with an aging infrastructure that is quite literally blowing our tax dollars out its windows.

Updating or replacing school structures can reduce energy use and save taxpayer money. Schools around the state can go green by assessing their potential to generate on-site renewable energy using technologies like solar, wind, geothermal and biomass, entering into green energy contracts to purchase renewable energy offsite and retrofitting buildings using the most efficient technologies.

According to the Green Building Council, green schools on average use 33 percent less energy, save 32 percent more water and reduce solid waste by 74 percent when compared to traditional school buildings. These energy savings extend to school budgets, with the typical green school saving an average of $100,000 per year on energy costs or $4.2 million over the life of the school.

New York is already taking the lead in encouraging schools to go green. Last year, the State Education Department and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced new guidelines to encourage the use of energy efficient design and technology when building and renovating schools. These voluntary guidelines, known as the “Collaborative for High Performance Schools,” will help schools develop and maintain learning environments that contribute to improved academic achievement while reducing operating costs and protecting and conserving our natural resources.

After these standards were announced, Governor Spitzer and I joined NYSERDA and the Long Island Power Authority to host the first “Green School Summit” for New York. At the summit, held at SUNY Farmingdale, we shared best practices so that area superintendents, principals, school board officials and managers of school buildings, grounds and fleets could learn how to reduce their energy consumption and employ advanced energy technology and building improvements.

But these improvements are expensive, and schools can’t be expected to make them on their own. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation in Congress that would provide matching funds to schools when they make investments to reduce their dependence on oil, whether that means energy-efficient lighting or solar panels for their roofs. My legislation provides federal matching funds—up to 50 percent of a project’s total cost—to school districts implementing state guidelines through investment in energy efficiency upgrades and technology.

By incentivizing schools to retrofit with energy-efficient technologies and renewable resources, we can save tax dollars, create new energy markets and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

And New York schools can take the leading role.

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Steve Israel is a Democrat representing parts of Suffolk County in Congress.

He leads the Next Generation Energy Security Task Force.

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The area was razed and the school built as part of an urban aid initiative called Model Cities, launched by Pres.

Lyndon Johnson (D) in 1966. Part of Johnson’s War on Poverty, Model Cities often used eminent domain to take private property for public service. The program was eventually abandoned under heavy criticism, but the effect on the neighborhood was permanent, Vann said.

“A lot of things began to change,” he said, “and in retrospect, it was not a good thing to do.”

In particular, the two blocks along Fulton Street where the school now sits was a center of economic activity in the neighborhood, Vann said. There were restaurants, a barber shop, a pool hall, and a bar. Vann’s mother owned a small grocery store around the corner.

JAN UARY 2008

11 years old,” Vann said. “I’ve never known a time when I didn’t have to work. We didn’t really know we were poor, because everybody was poor. There was no comparison.”

Despite the work, there was always time for stick ball, punch ball, stoop ball and marbles. Even the street games were not completely diversions, though.

“We’d play different teams from different blocks,” Vann remembered. “You know, make a little bit of money.”

His first love growing up was basketball. Vann began playing in Middle School and went on to attend Toledo University on a basketball scholarship. After graduating and returning to Brooklyn to work as a teacher at Junior High School 35, which he had attended, he played in a community league called the St. John’s Flashers, named after the recreation center where the team practiced.

“I was pretty good in my day,” he recalled.

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“Supportive is the best way I can describe it,” he said of growing up in the area. “It had a real community feel, where everybody knew everybody, and the adults all had a responsibility to help raise the kids.”

Today, those qualities have disintegrated drastically, he said, a shift that looms larger than any physical changes the area has seen.

He first started to notice the neighborhood changing in the mid-’60s, when heroin began to seep into the community, then cocaine and crack. The drug wave had a permanent and debilitating effect on the social fabric of the neighborhood, Vann said, although only in retrospect did he realize the extent of the damage.

“You began to see deterioration in the basic traditional family values that are a part of our culture,” he said. “You’re not

THE STREETS

A trip back to the old block with Al Vann

WHERE THEY LIVED

BY JAMES CALDWELL

“

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Y HOUSE WAS RIGHT

about here somewhere,” Council Member Al Vann (D-Brooklyn) said recently as he stood in a parking lot in BedfordStuyvesant on a cold, gray morning. Motioning with his hands toward the pavement, he tried to map out what used to be 626 Herkimer St. “This is Herkimer Street,” he went on. “Or, it was Herkimer Street.”

Today, where once was Vann’s front door is now a parking lot behind Boys and Girls High School, a nondescript concrete building Al Vann’s yearbook page from his taking up two blocks along senior year at Toledo University, Fulton Street. Behind the 1959. school, asphalt and playing fields stretch south to Atlantic Avenue.

“All the businesses on The second youngest of five broth- this block were black-owned,” he added. ers, his mother and grandmother raised “This was a very important block.”

Vann in various homes in and around 2 the area now occupied by the school Growing up, Vann worked constantly. grounds. First there was 635 Herkimer During World War II, at the age of 10, he St., then a house at Utica Avenue and scavenged the neighborhood for scrap Pacific Street, then 1746 Atlantic Ave., iron and newspapers to sell to junkyards. and finally 626 Herkimer. None of these He delivered groceries for stores on Fulton remain.

Street and shined shoes on Eastern “It’s odd, because my entire youth I Parkway for a nickel per pair, then eventulived within just a two-block radius,” ally a dime. Later, he moved up to a shoeVann said. “My whole growing up was shine parlor on Fulton Street, where he right in this little area. Incredible, when worked weekends. you think about it.”

“I’ve been working ever since I was 10 or

Vann standing in the parking lot where his front door once was. really aware of it as it happens. You don’t have an appreciation of the impact that it’s making. You look back at things and say, ‘When did things begin to go wrong? How did they change from the way they were to the way they are now?’”

2 2 When Vann walks his old neighborhood today, little from his youth remains.

“It’s altogether different now,” he said.

“You can’t imagine. There’s nothing to remind you.”

Indeed, when Vann describes the neighborhood of a half century ago, a picture of a bygone era emerges—of jazz records playing in the shoe parlors and people diligently going to church each Sunday. Above all, he said, a close sense of family and community pervaded life in the old neighborhood.

Vann represented his old neighborhood in the Assembly from 1974-2001.

Today, he said, he was focused on using his City Council seat to rebuild a sense of community in the area, which he recognized was a challenge.

“Some of us are trying,” he said. “You have high unemployment, which doesn’t help. You have schools that are not doing well, which doesn’t help. But you try to find the fundamental things that will empower the community.” jamespcaldwell@gmail.com Direct letters to the editor to editor@cityhallnews.com.

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ow we start a new year, full of optimism and hope and new beginnings.

Unfortunately for the members of the City Council, they must make this fresh start in a chamber that is falling apart.

Literally. Chunks of paint and plaster have already peeled. Newly dislodged bits hang ever lower at several points along the ceiling.

This is more than just an image problem: there is also the simple fact, shock-

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ingly ignored, that even to the naked eye, the state of the ceiling is plainly dangerous. Will a Council member or staffer or protester need to get whacked with raining roof before anything gets done? What will it take for the city to prioritize at least basic repairs?

The condition of the ceiling is ridiculous.

But it is also unquestionably shameful.

There is something refreshing, even strangely reassuring, about imagining that all 51 Council members are so focused on proceedings during stated meetings and committee hearings that they have not let their eyes wander upward—because how else could they not notice? Because how, if they did notice, would they not demand immediate action?

Enough is enough. The time has come to do something about this, and quickly.

Various proposals have been considered over the years for how to address the renovation and reconstruction. Plans have been put forward, budgets com-

posed, alternative meeting places for the Council considered.

Even as the mayor knocked down walls to make his bullpen in 2002 and the executive side of City Hall was rewired over the summer, the Council chamber has fallen into a sorrier and sorrier state. New highrises have joined the skyline while the chamber ceiling has drooped even lower.

There are a lot of problems in this city, many of them affecting more lives than a crumbling ceiling. But if the Council cannot mind its own house, cannot finally make progress on an issue that has so long been batted around, New Yorkers could rightly see this as a statement about the body’s abilities in general.

In addition to the speaker, the Council has a majority leader, an assistant majority leader, a majority whip, two deputy majority leaders and 35 committee chairs, some of whom could rightfully claim ceiling renovation as something within their jurisdictions.

In 2008, at least one of these people should step forward to spearhead an appropriate, cost-effective and complete plan to finally begin the renovations.

Every Objection to HAVA Counts

BY COUNCIL MEMBER SIMCHA FELDER AND NEAL ROSENSTEIN oltaire said that the perfect is the enemy of the good.

Voltaire wasn’t trying to select a secure system of voting machines. The integrity of our election results is a clear case where “good” just isn’t “good enough.”

With regards to the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), we have seen the disastrous become the enemy of the franchise—the disastrous being a series of uncertifiable voting machines that the United States Department of Justice is prepared to force on the State of New York.

New York is the only state in the union that is not compliant with HAVA. The result: New York has been spared the nightmares of some other states that rushed into electronic voting, using their millions of federal dollars to buy computerized machines only to see their elections compromised and equipment decertified, replaced or retrofit at an enormous cost.

Some suggest that the state’s lethargic response-time to HAVA is indicative of some inherent shrewdness that we have as New Yorkers, that somehow escapes our brothers and sisters in other states throughout the union. In truth, Albany’s inability to act on HAVA in a timely manner simply caused New York State to miss the boat. But in doing so, we were fortunate to see the boat sink from the shore. The Department of Justice wants us to get on it anyway.

In late December, a federal judge, Gary Sharpe, stated that HAVA machine

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selection could be wrested away from the State Board of Elections during the September 2008 and November 2008 primary and general elections, respectively.

Even if there existed a voting machine secure enough for New York’s standards, to force the replacement of the state’s lever voting machines with new, unfamiliar technology in a high-turnout presidential election year does not make sense. In the City of New York, even the slightest growing pain implementing a new system could result in a massive case of voter disenfranchisement.

But the point is moot because there doesn’t even exist a machine that is fit for implementation. HAVA provides funding and a framework for states to modernize elections, but it leaves the certification of machines and the guidelines thereof to states to determine. To do this, New York passed the Election Reform and Modernization Act in 2005 with the benefit of the experience of states that stumbled following their own implementation of HAVA. In turn, New York has the toughest standards to date. We should now allow vendors the opportunity to submit and have voting systems certified to that level.

The Department of Justice isn’t interested in New York’s standards, only that New York isn’t in compliance with a Federal law. Sharpe has made it clear that he has the authority to toss the commissioners of the State Board of Elections into jail for its continued failure to comply with HAVA. Here’s a better idea: Rather than refuse to grant New York State the bene-

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fit of its earlier inaction, the Department of Justice should continue to work with the state to come up with a better interim plan to accommodate voters with disabilities. It tried in 2006, but the state’s interim plan then fell short and must be revisited. The State Board of Elections has agreed to place ballot-marking devices for voters with disabilities at every poll site for the September and November 2008 elections. Under the strong arm of the Department of Justice, it also agreed to set aside New York State’s voting system standards. With the court holding a heavy hammer on HAVA, what vendor would feel compelled now or ever to make a serious attempt to holistically meet state standards?

HAVA implementation has turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Despite its noble intentions—modern elections and inclusive enfranchisement for voters with disabilities—it has become a feeding frenzy for vendors to score lucrative government contracts selling equipment that by and large does not do what it is supposed to do: provide secure, transparent and verifiable elections. The Justice Department’s assertion that New York should somehow settle for this equipment anyway is a wolf in wolf’s clothing.

And nobody’s fooled.

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Simcha Felder is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn in the City Council. He is chair of the committee on governmental operations.

Neal Rosenstein is the government reform coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group.

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JAN UARY 2008

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OP-ED

Stop Hijacking the Education System with Hijinks Teachers looking for respect from politicians need to run for office themselves

BY FRANK MCCOURT t what point in American history did politicians hijack public education? They think nothing of barging into classrooms across the country, shunting teachers aside and reading to children who wonder who they are in the first place, wonder who is this person boring us to death with his prose drone?

We all remember former Vice President Dan Quayle’s foray into spelling when, campaigning for a second term, he told a class of elementary school kids that potato was spelled potatoe. We remember how President George W. Bush read a story about a goat to children in Florida while the World Trade Center burned.

Imagine a politician daring to enter the professional space of doctors, lawyers, engineers, dentists, interior decorators. Imagine.

The kids are primed well in advance, told this person coming here tomorrow is very, very important, that they better behave themselves and show respect to this very important person who will be reading to them, this person taking time

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out from a hectic schedule to show his/her interest in education.

But teachers are fair game. Here come the press people, the camera operators, the advance men or women and, hold it right there outside the classroom for the big smile and the apt comment on the state of the schools, the solon himself, today’s captivating reader, the one who will show the teacher how it’s done.

Politician enters room, acknowledges existence of teacher, limp handshake, faint smile, head nod.

Some teachers are flattered, of course.

They’ll be right up there on TV tonight, and tomorrow the kids will rush in all excited after seeing themselves and their teacher on the news.

Oh, wow!

There’s Joey. There’s Sandra. Yeah, and there’s a glimpse of teacher being recognized by politician. (Teacher has the sickly smile of one aware she is being used. But don’t be like that, Teacher Lady. After all, you were singled out, checked out, background looked into, political affiliation determined before this politician was invited to invade your

domain. You are going to be on TV, recognized, however briefly, before politician sits warily on three-legged stool to bore your kids to death with a story he never heard of before today.)

So, there’s the teacher, there’s the politician, there are the children. And we know where the power is. We know that whatever happens in the classroom, however effective the teacher, however accomplished or failing the kids are, it is the politician who controls the purse strings of education. We know when you sit on the pot of gold you can dictate what should be taught, how it should be taught, and who should teach it.

We are talking, of course, about the United States of America. It may be different in other countries where there is respect for teachers, where, in the matter of teaching and learning, they are heeded.

What do we hear in public education about the pursuit of wisdom? Nothing. In the land of the free and the home of the brave, we have decided the way to improve the schools is through testing, testing, testing. Unless they test well we don’t like our children. We brag to neigh-

Underutilized Waterways Should Be Included in Congestion Pricing Discussion

BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER VINCENT GENTILE magine a commute free of gridlock and unscheduled delays. Now imagine the sun on your back, flat screen televisions in front of you, and a clear view of Manhattan’s world famous skyline looming before you. That prospect makes going to work early in the morning a lot more bearable.

Did I mention that this trip would take only 20 minutes?

I recently took a ferry ride with local elected officials and concerned citizens on a mock commute from 69th St in Brooklyn to Pier 11 on Wall Street. Our goal was to show the city that returning ferry service to Bay Ridge is not only a desirable and easy way to commute, but it is also a key component of any sensible comprehensive plan to relieve New York City’s choking traffic congestion.

As the debate over congestion pricing intensifies, it is disheartening to see the city ignore a tested solution that would bypass gridlocked roads, relieve the burden on overwhelmed express buses, and reduce overall gas emissions. When Council Member David Yassky and I secured a halfmillion dollars in fiscal year ’04 to make the 69th St. pier safe and “ferry-friendly,” we had no idea that four years later the money

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would still sit unused while commuting conditions deteriorated. It boggles my mind to this day that the city would hold hostage this investment in the well-being of our mass transit network.

In southwest Brooklyn, non-drivers have very few transportation options.

Express buses are plagued by congestion and bunching, especially during the evening rush hours. One of our local bus routes, the B63, was recently identified by the Straphangers Campaign as the slowest in New York City outside of Manhattan.

The R and N subway lines, dubbed “Rarely and Never” by unsympathetic straphangers, are also unreliable, performing well below system-wide standards for on-time performance and breakdown rates. And years of bare-bones maintenance means that not a single one of the 19 subway stations in my district is rated by the MTA as being in a state of “good repair.”

I want the administration to know that the return of ferry service to the 69th Street pier is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

These boats are quiet, quick, green friendly and able to accommodate commuters during peak rush hours. The alternative is to leave commuters to either drive into the city or spend upwards of an hour on subways or buses.

With the city’s recent commitment to bring service to Far Rockaway, all neces-

sary ingredients are in place for ferries to return to Bay Ridge as well. But even as the city makes infrastructure improvements, it has yet to take the steps that would truly integrate ferries into our regional transportation network. Private owners should be guaranteed fare subsidies and allowed to lease city-owned boats. The imminent fare hike imposes an additional burden on commuters who already pay a higher percentage of mass transit operating costs than residents of any other city in the country. It is time for the local and state government to chip in.

Just as important, we need to bring fare integration to ferries: commuters should be able to ride the ferries using the same convenient Metrocards to which they have become accustomed.

I demand that the city at least explore the return of this once vibrant mode of public transportation before I sign off on any legislation approving the Mayor’s congestion pricing proposal. We need to ensure that ferry service is a cornerstone of New York City’s transportation plan, not a footnote. In a city with 578 miles of waterfront, ferry service should be a citywide priority, not just a local solution.

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Vincent Gentile is a Democrat representing the Council’s 43rd District, encompassing Bay Ridge in Brooklyn.

bors and other parents that our Jonathan scored way up there on that No Child Left Behind test and if all the children scored way up there we’d get more money from Washington. And what rightminded citizen wouldn’t want that?

Politicians from different states and localities are over the moon when “their” kids score high on this test and that test.

Then there are the teachers. Oh, well.

Those silly people in public schools went into the profession thinking they’d teach, you know, excite the kids. Forget the test, the quiz, the exam.

Politicians bark: Hold it right there, Teacher Lady. We don’t care what you do in the classroom as long as it can be measured and tested. We want results.

Understand? Results. I mean, you’re not Socrates blathering away under a tree. If we’re doling out funds, we wanna know what you people are up to in the classroom.

So … back to the drawing board, teacher. Think results. Teach to the test because if you don’t, your representatives downtown, upstate and in D.C. will sit on the pot of gold ’til you come to your senses. Principals and bureaucrats in general will question your professionalism and you know what that means, teacher. To have your professionalism questioned by people who long ago fled the classroom is a serious matter. You might lose your good job, teacher. What would happen to the children?

Oh, the children. Don’t worry about them. Teachers will soon be replaced with robots capable of administering tests. Everything will be multiple choice and robots certainly know how to handle that. Curiosity will be discouraged and there will be no departure from the testdriven curriculum.

And you, teacher? What will you do with yourself?

Try politics. That way you can re-enter the classroom and, get this: you’ll be respected. You can read to the kids a story about a woman who wanted to be a teacher but was replaced by a robot because politicians wanted results and the politicians got their way because they know more about education than the teacher in the classroom, don’t they?

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Frank McCourt won the Pulitzer Prize for “Angela’s Ashes.” The author and memoirist is a former New York City teacher. welcomes submissions to the op-ed page. A piece should be maximum 650 words long, accompanied by the name and address of the author, and submitted via email to cityhall@manhattanmedia.com to be considered.

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CITY HALL

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JAN UARY 2008

Inc. is giving New Yorkers the opportunity to pay more money for the same water that comes out of their taps.

Selling water bottled from a spring on Vly Mountain, the same region where city water originates, New York Spring Water promises to capture the same famed New York City taste available from taps throughout Gotham.

The company offers an environmentally friendly 300 ml “cup-a-water” for 50 cents, free of contamination from local plumbing systems that New Yorkers have endured for 150 years.

The city recently earmarked $1 billion to maintain and improve it’s watershed in the Catskill Mountains. Last April, the Environmental Protection Agency once again waived its water filtration requirement, preserving the city’s standing as one of four major metropolises to enjoy unfiltered tap water.

Kids’ Council Schumer Says Edwards Finished, Spitzer Not Zeus

up power,” he said. “You cannot stand on a mountain and throw out thunderbolts and expect to get things done.”

Pataki’s Absence May Have Cost Him Park Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) made no mention in his State of the State address of a reported plan to name Hudson River Park after his predecessor, Gov. George Pataki (R), who signed the legislation creating the park. The move was inter-

ANDREW SCHWARTZ PHOTOS

There are still three Democrats seeking their party’s presidential nomination, but by the time votes were counted in the New Hampshire primary, Sen. Charles Schumer (D), an avid supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, was ready to call it a twoway race between her and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Schumer said, should realize his race is over.

“He’s waged a long, hard race,” Schumer said. “But it’s awfully hard to see how he breaks through.”

Either Democrat, though, he thinks will be enough to scare Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Unaff.) out of making a presidential run of his own.

Schumer also weighed in with his analysis of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s (D) more conciliatory tone in this year’s State of the State address. Spitzer seemed to have learned a valuable lesson since last year, Schumer explained.

“The Constitution of the state divides

Former Mayor Ed Koch lunched alone on brisket smothered in gravy at the reopened Second Avenue Deli. Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg hosted a lunch for new mayors from across the tri-state area in December, leading to talk of the legacy he is looking to build by promoting a new approach to the job of mayor.

preted as an attempted gesture across the aisle to Republicans, with whom Spitzer sparred throughout last year.

The governor did announce his plan to rename the Triborough Bridge the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge.

“The Triborough Bridge connects Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx—connecting some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the state to some of the poorest,” he said, explaining the logic. “Kennedy, our great former senator, was a man whose life was dedicated to building a figurative bridge so that the poorest among us could one day cross into economic security and prosperity.”

Ethel Kennedy, Kathleen KennedyTownsend, Kerry Kennedy (ex-wife of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (rumored to be looking at a future run for attorney general

or Senate himself) were all in the balcony of the Assembly when the decision was announced. But Pataki was not. His absence, some speculated, explained why the park renaming did not make the speech’s final version.

Next Generation of Bronx Dynasty?

City Council Member Joel Rivera (DBronx) and Valerie Vasquez, spokesperson for the city Board of Elections, are expecting their first child July 22, just a week after their second wedding anniversary. The couple does not yet know whether the new Rivera will be a boy or girl--though Vasquez is eager to know, Rivera is intent on making sure they get surprised in July.

Free Water, at a Price At their last meeting of 2007, the Council avoided an 18-percent tax hike on water. Now New York Spring Water

A group of high school students recently participated in a mock City Council debate over an actual bill passed by the Council.

Intro. 351-A makes it illegal for a school to demand that students leave cell phones at home. The students are members of the City University of New York’s Edward T. Rogowski Internship Program in Government and Public Affairs.

The event was held at the New York City Council Chamber at City Hall, and before the debate select City Council members, including Gale Brewer, Melissa Mark Viverito and Dan Garodnick, were honored with the CUNY Leadership Award for their support of higher education. While the actual City Council passed the bill almost unanimously, 46-2, the high school students passed the bill by a much narrower margin of 24-23.

Supporters argued that cell phones are a lifeline between parents and children, and schools should not have the authority to interfere. Detractors said that cell phones in schools are a distraction and another way for students to cheat.

“It was a very contested debate on the floor,” said Anthony Maniscalco, director of the internship program.

He said he was also surprised that the students were so divided on the issue, assuming that many more of them would have voted for the bill.

“We trained them and tried to sensitize them to the arguments made by the other side,” Maniscalco said. “They really stepped outside of their own shoes and were at least temporarily persuaded that there was another position outside their own.”

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:Host of Issues n his daily WNYC radio show, Brian Lehrer presides over one of New York’s main forums of discussion of politics and culture. But though he has spent the past 20 years hosting the show, and was already a veteran of radio reporting before that, Lehrer has not restricted himself to the studio. He hosts “Brian Lehrer Live” on CUNY-TV, regularly appears as a commentator in various outlets and is known for his role helping moderate many local political debates.

The beginning of the year is a busy time for Lehrer, who amid extra duties hosting political specials pegged to the presidential primaries is preparing for the annual event he hosts in honor of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. (this year scheduled for Jan. 20 at the Brooklyn Museum, discussing “Dr. King’s More Provocative Views and Their Relevance to Social Issues Today”). Recently, Lehrer sat down to reflect on how the web has affected his show on radio, the mission he sees for himself on the air, the one guest who walked out on him and what he thinks will be the main political stories ahead for 2008.

What follows is an edited transcript.

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City Hall: Is it a challenge to make sure radio stays relevant?

Brian Lehrer: Radio seems to have persistent relevance because of the way people need it. You can’t always be sitting down and watching something. So there are times, like when you’re driving or when you’re getting ready to go to work in the morning where the audio environment has a use. The demise of radio has been predicted many times over the years, starting probably when movies came in. The advent of television predicted the demise of radio. And it hasn’t happened. And the web presents us with a challenge because people don’t always listen the same way that they did, but also with an opportunity because things can be archived, things can be organized in interesting ways—like we have a Vote 2008 page that has all my candidate interviews and a whole bunch of other stuff.

CH: How have the podcasts changed the show?

BL: Not really at all, the podcasts per se. The podcast is a way for people to subscribe to the show who may or may not be able to listen to it live at 10 o’clock, but it’s basically the same show. Here’s an example of how the podcast gives us an opportunity to do something that we couldn’t do before: we’ve started a weekly politics podcast that’s every week, Andrea Bernstein, our political director, and me sit down over lunch and we have a 15-minute political chat. And that goes out every Friday. It’s called “Digesting Politics.” We thought “Digesting Politics,” well that’s boring—let’s do it over lunch and call it “Digesting Politics,” at the risk of being borderline gross.

CH: Your show is on from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Is that a tough time slot, since most people are at work?

BL: It would be tougher if we were anywhere but New York. But New York, as you know, is a 24-hour city and so there are all kinds of people in all kinds of creative industries—people in entertainment, people in the arts, working musicians, whatever. There are always plenty

of unemployed people. And somehow, people get to listen. It hasn’t held Rush Limbaugh down, either. He’s on in the workday, too, and he’s the biggest thing in radio.

CH: You have a role that is part-moderator, partcommentator. Is there a line in your mind about how far you can go in stating your opinion?

BL: When I state my opinion on the air, it’s more a matter of disclosure than persuasion. Rush Limbaugh will go on his show, and he’s half joking and half not, and say, “This show is not about what you think, it’s about what I think!”

That’s an actual line that I’ve heard him use. Well, this show really is about what everybody thinks, people sharing ideas and having open minds to others’ ideas. I’ll say what I think if I feel strongly about something, or if I think I have an informed opinion about something, but I’ll do that as a matter of disclosure. … It might make somebody who disagrees with me feel more comfortable for me to express my opinion if I’m doing it in this way that says “Okay, here’s who I am, let’s all talk.” It would be one thing if this were the PBS “News Hour.” But on a talk show, people want to get a sense of the humanity of the host.

CH: But you have not done one of your commentary pieces in a little while. Why not?

BL: I’ve been slowing up on those only because I’ve been doing so many other things for the station. We keep doing a lot of special coverage of things. It feels like I’m on all the time. This month alone, I’m doing Iowa Caucuses at night, New Hampshire Primary at night, at least Super Tuesday, and we may add Florida if it turns out to be major. And the Martin Luther King event we’re doing out at the Brooklyn Museum Jan. 20. So it’s just a matter of triaging my time.

CH: How does the process for the radio show differ from that for the TV show?

BL: The TV show inhabits its own separate universe. ...

We’re trolling the web for issue-oriented video, and we’re using tons of video every week and then building conversation around selected ones. … To incorporate the video makes it a very different animal: where here the heart and soul of it really is the conversation, there the heart and soul of it is what’s happening in citizen journalism on the web.

CH: You have one of the most fervent fan bases around. Do people approach you on the street all the time?

BL: In radio, I have that sort of perfect level of fame,

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where I can be anonymous when I want to or I can pull it out and use it if I want to. The more I’m on television, the more people are recognizing my face. ... I’ve had the experience of driving into a gas station and saying “Fill ’er up,” and the person looks up and says “Brian Lehrer!”

CH: The callers are a big part of the program, adding an air of unpredictability. How does that play into the show?

BL: It’s the reason for being for the show. If I had to say that we had missions it’s good information, honest debate and community building. And the last two things have to do with the interactive nature of it, and so does the third, because good information is built by a community of listeners, many of whom will know more about a given topic than I do or any of the guests. … So when Bhutto was assassinated, two days in a row we had call-ins from Pakistanis, both giving them an opportunity to express their opinions and an opportunity to explain things to non-Pakistanis “What is the context of this?” Explain to your fellow New Yorkers.

We’ve done Haitian callers when Aristide was deposed. When the Dubai port controversy was taking place I asked for anyone who’s ever worked at the ports to call in and talk about who owns all that stuff. I don’t know. We got a stevedore in Newark, I think it was, we got a truck driver in Arkansas who carries stuff to Louisiana, giving us their various takes on it.

CH: Has anyone ever walked out on the show?

BL: I’ve had politicians bite my head off for one reason or another. It seemed to happen more in the ’90s than it does now. Alfonse D’Amato, Liz Holtzman, Steven Solarz—usually after the fact. [Former Sen. Robert] Torricelli [(D-NJ)] did it. I’ve only had a guest walk out once. It was a phone guest, so it wasn’t literally walking out. It was Larry Kramer, the AIDS activist, who didn’t like the tone that a caller was taking with him, or the content. And he said, “Brian, if you don’t hang up on this caller, I’m going to hang up on you in five seconds. Four, three, two, one.” I said to the caller, whom I also thought was a boor from my own perspective, “Look, I don’t agree with most of what you’re saying, but I wasn’t going to let any guest intimidate you out of having your free speech. So we chatted for a while, and then we hung up, and I had no idea what I was going to do next, but there was Larry Kramer on the line, and he said, “I didn’t say I was going to hang up for the whole segment.”

CH: Other than the presidential election, what do you think will be the biggest local political stories in 2008?

BL: I guess it’s going to be a make or break few months for Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan, I think that’s defining in terms of what the city might be like in terms of its transportation and environmental policy. Of course, nothing is make or break forever, but at the moment there is this actual deadline of March in effect, both for federal funding and the Legislature has to decide what to do for this year, so I think that’s really big, that’s got tremendous implications. Whether [Gov. Eliot] Spitzer [(D)] recovers from his unexpected fall from grace, which has tremendous policy ramifications.

I think that we in the media need to keep the focus on the policy implications of this, and not just the minutiae of Troopergate. And so one thing that might mean is that while pressure comes to bear on Spitzer for ways that he may be covering up, pressure needs to also come to bear on [Sen. Majority Leader Joe] Bruno [(RRensselear)] if he’s being an obstructionist against the reforms that people elected Spitzer to carry out. So I’m not sure we’ve always done such a good job at that as a collective media.

—Edward-Isaac Dovere eidovere@cityhallnews.com

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