Monthly Archives: June 2010

Matthew Goldstein: NYC Needs Real Estate Development

Posted on June 28, 2010 | 1 comment

Matthew Goldstein

Chairman Matthew Goldstein used a discussion about community benefits agreements (CBAs) at the charter revision commission’s June 24 Land Use forum in Queens to voice his conviction that real estate development and growth are essential to New York City’s economic future. He did not use the session to reveal which issues his commission will place on November’s ballot.

CBAs are “side deals” by which a real estate developer may agree to provide a public benefit to a community group, e.g., jobs, loans, unrelated contracts, in return for its support of a project. They are unregulated private agreements, negotiated by private parties outside of the ULURP framework, and can substantially increase a project’s cost. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, Anthony Crowell, bloomberg charter, CBAs, charter revision, Christopher Collins, Citywide Statement of Needs, community benefits agreements, David Karnovsky, Development, Eddie Bautista, Fair Share, Frank Morano, Hope Cohen, Kingsbridge Armory Mall, land use, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC Government, Paul D. Selver, Ronald Lauder, Tom Angotti, Vishaan Chakrabarti

Charter Revision: Hints of What’s to Come

Posted on June 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Matthew Goldstein

Past practice suggests that charter revision chair Matthew Goldstein will use the commission’s June 24 forum on Land Use to signal what his panel will focus on as it moves into summer.

We — and others — have criticized the NYC Charter Revision Commission’s calendar, which delays publication of land use proposals until July. This is too late for most community boards to draw residents to public hearings to comment on any proposed changes. The commission must submit its final proposals to the City Clerk by Labor Day to get them on November’s ballot. Continue reading →

Community Boards: A Vicious Circle

Posted on June 19, 2010 | 1 comment

Ira B. Harkavy

Ira Harkavy, Florence Nathanson, Esther Lopato and Helen Henkin were community board members back in the day when board membership meant more than echoing the mayor’s priorities or being ignored.

The three women are gone; Harkavy, who quit as chairman of Brooklyn Community Board 14 to run for the bench, is retired from a long and respected judicial career during which he inspired a Hollywood film by sentencing a landlord to live in his own tenement.

All of them were “plugged in” (Harkavy, for example, concurrently led CB14, the Madison Jewish Center, the Brooklyn College campus foundation and alumni association, the Brooklyn College Hillel House, and the Midwood Development Corporation); all adhered to the highest ethical standards; all commanded respect and all used their formidable intellectual and moral powers to ensure that City Hall paid attention to the needs of Flatbush and Midwood, the neighborhoods their board comprised. Continue reading →

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Posted in Community Boards, NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, Borough Presidents, Brad Hoylman, charter revision, Citizens Union, Common Cause, Community Boards, Development, Doris Ortiz, Gerry Esposito, Ira B. Harkavy, land use, League of Women Voters, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC Government, NYPIRG, Scott Stringer, Susan Lerner

Brad Hoylman Responds

Posted on June 14, 2010 | 2 comments

Brad Hoylman

Brad Hoylman took the time to phone us to explain his June 10 Charter Revision Commission invited testimony. He asked why we oppose his proposal — indistinguishable from that of Manhattan BP Scott Stringer — to force each community board to hire a planner to provide technical support on land use, transportation, liquor license, or sidewalk café issues.

Hoylman said having such a planner on staff would give community boards “teeth” — in our view, an overstatement — and would help boards “inhibit new development” as well as support it. Taking his assertions at face value, we tried to explain our concerns. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, Brad Hoylman, charter revision, Community Boards, Development, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, NYC City Council, NYC Government

Who is Brad Hoylman?

Posted on June 11, 2010 | 6 comments

Brad Hoylman

The strongest push to hobble NYC’s community boards by forcing them to hire dedicated planners and revert to a narrower “planning board” role (an idea we strongly oppose) came not from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, but from the former chairman of Manhattan Community Board 2, Brad Hoylman, who was one of five invited “experts” who spoke at the Charter Revision Commission’s June 10 session on Government Structure in Staten Island. Why the commission chose Hoylman as a featured guest became evident upon examination of his credentials. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, Angela Mariana Freyre, bloomberg charter, Brad Hoylman, Carlo Scissura, charter revision, Christine Quinn, Community Boards, Douglas Muzzio, Eric Lane, Father Joseph McShane, Gale Brewer, Gerald Benjamin, Marc Shaw, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC City Council, NYC Government

How to Restructure City Government

Posted on June 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio

Does it really make sense to cast separate ballots for a mayor and the official who succeeds him in event of mayoral disability (right now, the public advocate)? Or should the charter be revised so voters can cast a single ballot for a team, as they do for President and Vice-President, or for New York State’s governor and lieutenant governor?

One female Democratic district leader in Brooklyn who asked to remain unidentified thinks the team idea makes sense: “Two peas in a pod works fine for 60 days. Right now, it’s the public advocate until the special election, and if he doesn’t know what’s going on with the mayor, you have chaos.” Continue reading →

Charter Revision: Speaking Truth to Power

Posted on June 3, 2010 | 5 comments

Father Richard Gorman

It took four hours until anyone — expert witnesses, charter commission members, or one of the evening’s 21 informal speakers — finally zeroed in on why voter participation has plummeted in NYC over the last two decades:

“Maybe the reason why people don’t vote is they don’t think it’s worth the trouble of going to vote for a government that increasingly shuts them out.”

The speaker was Father Richard Gorman, chairman of Community Board 12 in The Bronx. Unfortunately, by the time he spoke, at 10:05 PM, the panelists, half the commissioners, and almost all the main-stream press, had deserted the Lehman College auditorium. The few audience members who lingered were mayoral aides or one-issue advocates for non-partisan elections. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, Anthony Perez Cassino, bloomberg charter, Borough Presidents, charter revision, Community Boards, David R. Jones, Father Richard Gorman, Harry Kresky, J. Phillip Thompson, Jerry H. Goldfeder, Lorraine C. Minnite, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, non-partisan elections, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC City Council, NYC Government, Roxanne Delgado, voter participation

Voter Participation Takes the Spotlight

Posted on June 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

John Banks and Matthew Goldstein

This week’s charter revision commission forum on Voter Participation will take place at Lehman College in The Bronx at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, June 2. With live webcasting in place, it’s a fair bet that relatively few residents of Brooklyn or Staten Island will make the journey to personally attend —- except for members of the Independence Party and its youth affiliate, the All Stars Project.

The Independence Party — now New York State’s third largest — perennially pushes for non-partisan elections: a voting change that in NYC would weaken the dominant Democratic Party and make it easier for well-funded media campaigns to trump grass-roots voter organizing at the polls. Continue reading →

Monthly Archives: June 2010

Charter Revision: Hints of What’s to Come

Community Boards: A Vicious Circle

Brad Hoylman Responds

Who is Brad Hoylman?

How to Restructure City Government

Charter Revision: Speaking Truth to Power

Voter Participation Takes the Spotlight

NYC Community Boards

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