Tag Archives: New York City Charter

Charter Revision: No Lauder?

Posted on March 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

Elizabeth Benjamin reports that billionaire businessman Ron Lauder, principal sponsor of the 1990s referendums that restricted NYC elected officials to two 4-year terms, has declined to serve on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anticipated 2010 charter revision commission. If confirmed, Lauder’s withdrawal may mean that he expects the Bloomberg commission to seek to ratify last year’s City Council legislation that extended the limits to three consecutive terms—or maybe even to try to eliminate term limits entirely.

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Charter Commission to be Named

Posted on February 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s long-awaited New York City Charter Revision Commission is expected to be named on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. According to a highly-placed source, the commission will be chaired by CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein.

Goldstein, a graduate of City College and former president of Baruch College, Adelphi University, and the Research Foundation of CUNY, was first mentioned as the leading 2010 charter chair candidate by Adam Lisberg, Daily News City Hall Bureau Chief, on February 9. Lisberg’s story cited some insiders’ concerns about Goldstein’s ability to remain free of Mayor Bloomberg’s control, while other sources dismissed this, predicting Goldstein’s independence.

As we’ve said before, a lot depends on who heads the commission’s staff as executive director. More to come after the mayor’s announcement.

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In Staten Island, Hope Stays Alive

Posted on February 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

Tom Wrobleski reports on Staten Island’s push for full representation on Mayor Bloomberg’s anticipated 2010 charter revision commission.  Wrobleski’s piece in the Advance features leaders who focus on whether Staten Island will get enough seats on the commission to ensure that it will “look at shifting some decision-making away from City Hall and giving the borough more local control, especially over land-use and traffic issues.” Continue reading →

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Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize

Posted on February 12, 2010 | 1 comment

Several days ago, CityPragmatist observed that former Bloomberg charter revision commission chair Ester Fuchs seemed ideally positioned to play a role at this year’s charter revision commission. A day later, the Daily News floated the name of CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein as Bloomberg’s pick for 2010 chair. The next day, silive.com, the news blog of the Staten Island Advance, floated the name of Billionaire Ron Lauder as Bloomberg’s pick. Then, someone called to our attention yet another chair designation: Anthony Crowell, a Bloomberg senior counselor, reported by Edward-Isaac Dovere of City Hall News. What’s going on here? Continue reading →

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Bloomberg’s Wealth and Charter Revision

Posted on February 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

Adam Lisberg, Daily News City Hall Bureau Chief, reports that Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor of CUNY, could be Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s choice as chair of a 2010 charter revision commission. To us, the real meat of the DN story isn’t who might head the commission, it’s how the charter process could be affected by Michael Bloomberg’s personal wealth. Lisberg goes there in his last paragraph, where he comments on Bloomberg’s failed 2003 charter attempt to institute non-partisan elections:

In 2003…, Bloomberg spent $7 million of his own money – and $462,000 in city funds – on the nonpartisan election push. Voters rejected the plan 70% to 30%, which Bloomberg still fumes about.

Those of us who tried to influence the 1989 charter revision process remember how hard it was to counter the public relations juggernaut driven by the commission’s professional staff, which was headed by Hofstra University law professor Eric Lane. Continue reading →

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Charter Revision Hearing Rescheduled

Posted on February 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

We just received word that the Assembly Standing Committee on Cities public hearing on city charter modification has been rescheduled to Friday, Mar. 5. The hearing, chaired by James Brennan, will be held at 250 Broadway, at 10:30 a.m.

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Does Big Business Understand that NYC Has Five Boroughs?

Posted on February 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

Ester R. Fuchs

Many New Yorkers, including the folks at the Center for an Urban Future, believe that the city’s economy must diversify geographically and industrially for its middle class —and the city — to survive. Whether this happens will depend on whether local political power reflects a five-borough perspective. The current relationship between the mayor and the City Council does not suggest that this will occur soon; nor does a recent move by Professor Ester R. Fuchs to the Partnership for New York City. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision, The Mayor, The Middle Class

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The Art of War – NYC Style

Posted on January 28, 2010 | 1 comment

The NY Daily News confirmed yesterday that Mayor Michael Bloomberg “is expected to appoint a charter revision panel in the coming weeks. Among other issues, the panel will examine and possibly reduce or eliminate the roles of borough presidents and community boards.”

Genuine threat, or feint? Those who remember the 1989 charter revision know that the media can be used to divert attention from a charter panel’s true agenda. A threat to eliminate the BPs and the CBs is just one possible tactic a 2010 commission could use. Others are even more Machiavellian. Continue reading →

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Posted in 1989 NYC Charter, 2010 NYC Charter Revision, The Mayor, Uncategorized

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Mayors Are Made, Not Born

Posted on January 25, 2010 | 4 comments

Everything about Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is extreme: zero smoking in restaurants, 200 miles of new bike lanes, a million new trees, a hundred million bucks to get re-elected, a 180-degree turnaround on term limits, a 50-state gun control agenda, sharp reductions in parental control over 1,600 schools…. The list goes on and on.

But if you think about it, you’ll realize that Bloomberg’s predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, also was a man of extremes, albeit less creative, more abrasive, and — we think — less convinced of his own omniscience. But he, too, did things in a big way. Continue reading →

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Posted in 1989 NYC Charter, 2010 NYC Charter Revision, The Mayor

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