Battle For Control Of PS 122 Astoria

Dept of Ed Announces Big Changes & Few Details

Public Education Could Be Defining Issue Of NYC Mayoral Race

March 17, 2013 / Queens Borough / NYC Public Schools / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The Department of Education announced its intention to make sweeping changes to PS 122 on February 28, 2013 to the PTA of the school. We were told of the general gist of these changes by PS 122 PTA members and parents.  We then followed up with the Department of Education, to be sure we understood the Department of Education's announcement correctly.

Before we discuss the general gist of the Department of Education plans for PS 122, it helps to have a bit of background to better understand what appears to be happening. 

There are several important elements that seem to be at the core of the issue: 1) the Department of Education's plans to reconfigure one of the most successful public elementary / intermediate schools in Queens and the NYC school system, 2) the Department of Education's sudden interest in providing the school children of PS 122 grades K through 5 with the opportunity to continue matriculation within the same school [building] throughout all eight grades [6 - 8], and 3) Success Academy Charter Schools announcement that they plan to open a new charter school in Queens school district 30 in August of 2014. 

Scroll down to read the beginning of our DRAFT report about the Department of Education Plans to reconfigure PS 122 in Astoria which we thus far haven't gotten around to completing [and may never].  Be advised that there is a Community Board One Meeting March 19, Tuesday evening beginning at 6.30 pm at the Astoria World Manor at 25-22 Astoria Blvd in Astoria, Queens and a PEP Meeting on March 20th in Brooklyn. The large top photo above was published with permission by Nigel McKenna and the second photo was taken by Queens Buzz of NYC Comptroller and possible Mayoral candidate John Liu listening to concerned PS 122 parents at a United Community Civic Association meeting in Astoria.

 

Astoria Moms Defend Children's Rights

Madmen: Bloomberg Dept of Education Does A Don Draper

Continued two days later / March 19, 2013 / Queens Buzz / News Analysis & Opinion. 

 

I attended a Community Board One Meeting Tuesday evening, following up on the concerns of Astoria parents, regarding the proposed changes to PS 122, which were recently announced by the Department of Education [DOE].

 

Having spent a week in pursuit of information from the DOE about the proposed changes - statements regarding the difficulty in obtaining information from them - rang true. 

 

In the photo above, Anastasia Cunningham and her son talk about how the Dept of Ed hasn't put anything in writing, hasn't conducted any impact study, and she talked about how the changes could possibly destroy the learning environment that contributes to the success of PS 122 in Astoria.

 

Click here to read the rest of our report including news analysis & opinion regarding the Community Board One Meeting regarding the Bloomberg Department of Education proposed changes to Public School 122 in Astoria, Queens NYC.

Astoria Moms Defend Children's Rights

Madmen: Bloomberg Dept of Education Does A Don Draper

March 19, 2013 / Queens Borough / NYC Public Schools / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

The terse repetitive DOE responses we received about the planned changes, brought to mind an episode of the popular television series - Madmen - where philandering Don Draper is accused of sleeping with another woman.  Don repeatedly denies it, saying absolutely as little as possible. 

The DOE's response to our inquiry about the possible connection between these proposed changes and the recent public announcement of a charter school company targeting this district [30], consisted of the following statement:  "The suggestion that this plan is about making room for a charter school is, simply, a total myth."

These parents find the Department of Education's proposal disrespectful.  Many of them find it highly coincidental that the Department of Education has suddenly become so very concerned with reconfiguring PS 122, after decades in its current configuration, particularly in light of its great academic success which includes the past six consecutive years of A performance.

They also find that this new DOE initiative seems to neatly coincide with Success Academy Charter School's recent public announcement that they would like to open a new charter school in District 30. In the photo above, Claudia Lieto-McKenna, Co President of the PS 122 PTA, speaks on behalf of 2,200 concerned petition signers, 350 of whom have written letters to the Department of Education.

Coincidence?  Maybe yes ... but maybe not.  Instead of dismantling one of the most successful public schools in Queens & NYC, perhaps the DOE should be trying to emulate PS 122 by attempting to replicate it.

Based on what we know today, the proposed changes don't seem to make any academic or organizational sense, they don't appear to be in the best interests of the school children at PS 122 and surrounding schools, and they don't appear to be in the best interests of the Astoria Queens neighborhood.

This Bloomberg Department of Education episode reminded us of one of the story lines in Madmen. In our analogy the Department of Education is Don Draper, the Success Academy Charter Schools is the other woman, and the PS 122 PTA is Betty Draper.  Mind you that this is the OPINION portion of our report and an ANALOGY, and that these are organizations, not individual people.

So that said, Betty Draper [PS 122] suspects Don [the DOE] of sleeping with the other woman [Success Academy]. She asks why Don needs to leave her / his family to go into the office on a holiday weekend [why forsake / dismantle PS122 when it is one of NYC's most successful public schools while opening the door to a new charter school in the same area].  In the Madmen episode it's an interesting coincidence that Jimmy's wife, the other woman, is working that same weekend [eg. the timing of Success Academy's planned move into Queens School District 30 coincides neatly with the DOE's plans to dismantle PS122].

It's worth mentioning that PS 122 is performing at the top of the hierarchy, with six years of grade A performance, which is comparable to noting that Don's wife Betty is a smart, beautiful and alluring woman. This begs the question as to why the Bloomberg Department of Education is trying to abandon [take this school apart] instead of emulating it.

Just as one might ask the question as to why would Don abandons his wife Betty and his family for a sleep-around woman like Jimmy's wife. Maybe the Bloomberg Department of Education should be using this school as a model instead of attempting to destroy it. Just as one might suggest that perhaps Don Draper should spend more time with his wife Betty, instead of destroying their family by chasing other women. So we're left to conclude that perhaps the Bloomberg Department Of Education [aka Don] isn't telling us everything, because their actions don't make sense based on what we know.

Please note that there's a PEP [Panel for Educational Policy] Meeting at Brooklyn Tech High School, Wednesday, March 20th at 6 pm at 29 Fort Greene Place in Brooklyn about the proposed changes.

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Is Picking One of Two NYC Republican Billionaires Who Govern for the 1% Really a Choice?

Democrats Should Take a Hard Look at the Billionaire Republican Bloomberg's Record Before Casting Their Votes

Any American with Half a Brain should Know that Relying Soley on an Ad for all the Information You use to make a Decision is Not a Good Idea

Cleaned up March 17, 2020 from 2/21/2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / National Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Bloomberg's Ads Talk About his Recent Donations - NOT About his Record as Mayor

If you watch Bloomberg's commercials closely you'll notice that he doesn't talk much about his record as NYC Mayor, but rather talks mostly about the donations he has made over the past two or three years.

Most of these donations were made AFTER the Donald won the presidency, and showing Bloomberg - the other NYC Republican Billionaire seeking the presidency - that it's possible that super rich people can fool enough of the electorate to vote for someone who has little to no idea what it's really like living in the middle class or working class - let alone the poor.

Bloomberg's donations include addressing gun control or lack thereof, addressing climate change and donations to women's groups. Bloomberg's donations, while very laudable, also appear to be very politically calculated.

 

Bloomberg Donations to Republican Senators Help McConnell Keep a Majority

Bloomberg has given to a number of Democratic candidates over the past few years, even though Bloomberg governed as NYC Mayor mostly while calling himself a Republican. But it's important to note that the former NYC Mayor also gave to Republican candidates, including senators who supported the Trump / Mitch McConnell agenda, such as South Carolina Republican Lindsay Graham [$250,000] and Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey [$11,700,000].

According to a November 26, 2019 report in the New York Times,

"... The former mayor of New York poured in $11.7 million to help re-elect the Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Toomey ... Federal records show that political committees funded by Mr. Bloomberg have spent more than $86 million since 2012 -- the bulk devoted to promoting Democrats. Yet more than $17 million went to boost Republicans. In addition, Mr. Bloomberg has personally donated another $950,000 to Republican campaigns and political action committees ... "

Bloomberg claimed he supported Pennsylvanian Pro Lifer Toomey for Senator because he was an advocate for gun control. But according to NY Magazine, so was the Democratic challenger, Kate McGinty. McGinty was also an environmental policy expert, while Toomey was also a Pro Life advocate. Sources for this paragraph are NYT 11/26/2019 and NY Mag 2/18/2020.

Another political donation the former NYC Republican billionaire made was in 2014 when he supported the gubernatorial campaign of former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder with a $3 million contribution. According to a February 18, 2020 report in NY Magazine,

"In 2014, Bloomberg gave $3 million to Michigan governor Rick Snyder, the conservative Republican who presided over the mass poisoning of Flint's water supply. The supposedly "socially liberal" billionaire's rationale for backing a self-described "pro-life, pro-Second Amendment" Republican? Snyder was, in Bloomberg's words, a guy "who took on the unions to get Detroit and Michigan going in the right direction. And he was re-elected despite being attacked by the unions.""

 

How Many Voters Can Billionaires & Mass Media Deceive?

Are Billionaires Corrupting the One Man / One Vote Promise of Our Democracy?

Bloomberg said he spent this money to "get it done", essentially claiming he can buy his way into the democratic process. Americans need to take note, because when they relinquish their votes to the siren call of the billionaires, they are relinquishing their role in what has been the American democratic process.

Voters have come to the fork in the road where they must choose between that which is easy and that which is right. Voters can make a difference by donating small sums of money over the internet, and if they can't do that. they can do a search for candidates or government officials they like and help them make calls or sign up voters or canvass neighborhood getting the word out the old fashioned way - the human way.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on whether Michael Bloomberg, former billionaire Mayor of NYC, is buying his way to the White House?

Is Picking Between Two NYC Republican Billionaires Who Govern for the 1% Really a Choice?

Democrats Should Take a Hard Look at the Billionaire Republican Bloomberg's Record Before Casting Their Votes

Any American with Half a Brain should Know that Relying Soley on an Ad for all the Information You use to make a Decision is Not a Good Idea

Cleaned Up March 17, 2020 from 2/21/2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / National Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

Republicans Posing as Democrats

In New York State voters know what pols / government officials who run as Democrats, but who govern like Republicans, look like, as in the 2019 NYS election cycle about a half dozen Democrats in the Legislature, who had periodically or regulary enough voted with Republicans, were thrown out of office. Click here to read a report about the IDC or Independent Democrats which were essentially NYS Republicans running as Democrats.

Just because someone claims they are a Democrat - like Mike Bloomberg is now doing - doesn't mean they really are one. If I've learned nothing else these past four years, the one thing I have learned is that billionaires like Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump and Mike Bloomberg narrate distorted versions of the truth in order to serve their own interests aka get what they want. That's likely one of the reasons they're billionaires. They tailor the stories they tell, to convince their audience of their version of the truth, in order to obtain something from the audience ... like their votes and all of the money, influence and power that comes with it.

The Bloomberg Smoke Screen

A Closer look at What Bloomberg Purchased by Supporting 2018 Democrats

As you may have heard, the company Mike Bloomberg founded has a history of alleged sexism in the workplace. Alleged mistreatment of women is one of the issues - as is the racist Stop N' Frisk policy Bloomberg championed as NYC Mayor - that have received some fair measure of media attention. But addressing voters concerns in those two areas appears to be the calculated mission driving Bloomberg's philanthropic efforts, as well as his donations to various Democrats, and their campaigns.

Bloomberg seems to have a bit of a problem with the female gender based on court filings, ongoing NDA's, and at least one booklet about the former NYC Mayor's misogynist comments, reportedly made while he was at the helm of the multi-billion dollar empire he founded. The booklet was made by an employee in 1990, and Bloomberg dismisses it as a joke.

According a February 20, 2020 ABC News report, Bloomberg and his company are alleged on numerous occasions, to have fostered a culture that has mistreated women. They report,

"Court records reviewed by ABC News indicate that at least 17 women have taken legal action against the company over the past three decades, with three of the cases specifically naming Bloomberg for his role in the company's culture. None of the cases made it to trial - four were either dismissed or withdrawn, while five were settled out of court. Three cases remain active."

So, in an effort that appears intended to mitigate Bloomberg's issues with both race and gender, Bloomberg donated generously to a number of female and African American congressional and mayoral candidates in the 2018 election. He donated $11 million to 24 Democratic candidates in 2018. Let's take a closer look.

 

Buying Endorsements from Female, Ethnic and Establishment Candidates?

How Much do Democratic Congressional & Mayoral Endorsements Cost?

A February 20, 2020 ABC News report states,

"The idea that a billionaire gives money to a candidate and doesn't expect something return is a fallacy. That's the problem with Mike Bloomberg entering this race," said Yvette Simpson, an ABC News political contributor and the progressive political action committee, Democracy for America CEO. "It's not just that Bloomberg has a lot of money. It's that he can use his money to influence people - and has."

"..."When candidates have a serious vulnerability, endorsements can be helpful to deflect attacks," said Matthew Dowd, an ABC News political contributor. "For Michael Bloomberg, the endorsements he's getting from African American leaders, women and prominent Democrats may very well bolster him."

 

Follow the Money?

Bloomberg Picks up a Number of Endorsements from Congressional Candidates & Over 100 Mayors

One of the Bloomberg donation recipients, Democratic Georgia Congresswoman Lucy McBath, endorsed Bloomberg without - as far as I know - any full disclosure of her receipt of the $4.3 million in funding that her campaign received from the Bloomberg founded Everytown Gun Safety PAC in 2018.

But the dishonesty of omission isn't new in politics. And there appeared to be a slew of others as well.

That same February 20, 2020 ABC News report stated that another Bloomberg non-profit, named Independence USA PAC donated 1) $2.2 million to help elect Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, 2) $2.2 million to Haley Stevens Congresswoman of Michigan, 3) $4.5 million to Harley Rouda Congressman of California, 4) $5 million to a Stacey Abrams linked group [Abrams narrowly lost the Georgia governorship by about 55,000 votes in the 2018 election] and 5) over $11 million to various Democratic PACs.

Sherrill, Stevens and Rouda also endorsed Bloomberg, and like McBath - as far as I know - didn't disclose with that endorsement that Bloomberg had indirectly funded them.

Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost the Georgia gubernatorial election in 2018, defended Bloomberg's massive spending effort to buy the 2020 presidential election - but as of this writing she hadn't yet endorsed him.

So four endorsements from three key female and one key male congressional representatives and a solid defense of Bloomberg's purchase of the election is what Bloomberg has reaped so far from his Congressional race spending of $43 million [the $86 million in 2018 includes other races].

 

Are Bloomberg Philanthropies a Foil for Buying Political Endorsements?

Did Bloomberg Use his Phlianthropies - like Trump Used his - to Buy Influence?

According to a February 15, 2020 NY Times report Bloomberg has given about $6 million in total over the years to Emily's List. Certainly the generous donations by Bloomberg's philanthropy helped him procure a speaking engagement in front of the members of this prominent women's group in September of 2018, in spite of Bloomberg and his company's alleged questionable treatment of women. At the September 2018 Emily's List event, Bloomberg he promised to donate $80 million to Democratic - primarily female - candidates.

Various Bloomberg philanthropies seem to have essentially courted America's mayors with cash. According to a February 17, 2020 report by the Washington Examiner, the Bloomberg philanthropies reached some 200 mayors in America's cities.

But like the Trump charities, there seems an ulterior motive - or as Kelly Anne Conway likes to say, an "alternate fact". The Washington Examiner report went to say,

"...Mayor Svante Myrick of Ithaca, New York, said Bloomberg's campaign reached out shortly after he announced his candidacy to ask for an endorsement. The city had previously received $100,000 in funding for a supervised injection facility. Myrick, who has yet to endorse a candidate, said it did not initially occur to him that Bloomberg's charitable donations could be linked to the endorsements."

The following six cases below were sourced, in part, from an ABC News report published on February 20, 2020.

A number of America's mayors ended up with grants from Bloomberg philanthropies and as the ones noted below all endorsed Bloomberg's run for president without - as far as I know - telling people during their endorsement that they had been recipients of Bloomberg funding.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is an example, having graduated from a joint Bloomberg / Harvard University program for mayors in 2019, whose city has been a recipient of Bloomberg millions. According to an ABC News report Bloomberg has,

"... invested millions in San Francisco's arts, innovation and management program in recent years ..."

Another participant in the Bloomberg Mayor's program was Charlotte, North Carolina Mayor Vi Lyles who ABC News reports,

"... won his [Bloomberg's] American Cities Climate Challenge in 2018 ... [and is] set to receive financial assistance and training for city staffers -- all paid for by Bloomberg."

Out of seven mayors in Bloomberg's What Works Cities Certification, three of them - the mayors of Washington, D.C., Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee - all endorsed Bloomberg.

Like so many other politicians accepting these donations that now seem to look a bit like political influence 'bribes', Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser didn't mention the Bloomberg money, saying this instead,

"... I think Mike spoke very directly to the mistakes he made as mayor, but also spoke to the vision he has for helping young men, especially those who suffered during that time ... [Mike] is gaining a lot of traction with African American communities. One thing we know is that as a mayor, especially of the largest most complex cities in the country, gets it -- that's why over 100 mayors have endorsed him. I think the American people are focused on beating Donald Trump and Mike Bloomberg is best positioned to do that, ..."

In addition to funds received through that Bloomberg program, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also received $4.3 million from a Bloomberg Philanthropy for public education in 2015.

It's worth noting that what's omitted from a statement, is oftentimes as important or more important than what is said.

The Washington Examiner report noted above says this about the Louisville mayor,

"...Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville, Kentucky, has worked with Bloomberg's team since 2011. Since then, his city has received $4.7 million in grants, and Fischer is now helping Bloomberg reach out to other cities strapped for financial resources. Louisville was one of five cities to receive funding from Bloomberg's foundation for early childhood learning programs last year."

Bloomberg Associates helped Houston respond to Hurricane Harvey and, according to the ABC News report noted above, is also,

"... now working with Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston Health Department to advance the goals of My Brother's Keeper: improving early childhood education, building skills to contribute to the workforce, and reducing crime and violence... "

The Washington Examiner report of February 17, 2020 states,

"Bloomberg [appears] has used the grants to guide his campaign travel. One of his first campaign events was in Jackson, Mississippi, which received a $1 million grant as the winner of the foundation's public art challenge and whose mayor attended Bloomberg's Harvard program. He later visited Augusta, Georgia, to announce the endorsement of the city's mayor, who also benefited from Bloomberg's initiatives."

The Washington Examiner report also informs us,

"Stu Loeser, a Bloomberg spokesman, said the billionaire businessman had made the donations "with no expectations of anything in return."

Bloomberg managed to reportedly get the endorsement of some 100 American mayors, of which his philanthropy programs reached out to 200 of them. That's a 50% return on investment, which is pretty good for "Mike Getting it Done".

 

The Bottom Line - What's the ROI on Campaign Spending for the NYC Mayoralty or the U.S. Presidency?

Under Bloomberg, New York City sold choice public lands worth hundreds of millions or more to a friend of Mike Bloomberg for literally a dollar apiece. And Bloomberg sweetened the public largess by adding billions in infrastructure improvements to accommodate and subsequently enrich the real estate developments erected upon those lands.

One real estate developer, Stephen Ross, and one company [his] Related Companies, appeared to be the primary beneficiaries of the Bloomberg Administration's development and infrastructure investments. Ross is reportedly a good friend of a Bloomberg Administration top official, as well as Bloomberg himself.

So Mike did get it done - but not for New Yorkers - so much as for one special New Yorker. CLICK here to read our report on The Bloomberg Record: NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg & Stephen Ross - the American Oligarchs & possible corruption.

Related is our series on Rupert Murdoch who appears to have gutted the Australian and British democracies - not by buying them per se - but by what seems mass media manipulation of voters and extortion of those nation's conservative parties. Click here for - Is Fox Fake News the First Fake News, the Biggest Fake News?

 

Bloomberg's Returns on his Mayoral Campaign Spending Appear to have had the Same High Return as Lobbyist Investments

Bloomberg's wealth is estimated to be about $60 billion, making him one of the richest people in the world. So while these are big numbers for you and me, they're almost peanuts to the former NYC Republican billionaire Mayor. In the past year alone, Bloomberg is reported to have donated $3.3 billion to various causes, which was more than the prior five years combined, according to a February 24, 2020 report in the NY Times.

The graphs in the NY Times report seemed to inflate his giving / donations as they depicted the CUMULATIVE spending each year - rather than the spending for that year alone.

Bloomberg's campaign spending and philanthropic efforts seem very much like Bloomberg's 'philanthropy' donations to NYC arts, cultural and educational institutions prior to his run for NYC Mayor. This kind of giving has a tendency to mute - if not silence - the groups most likely to identify and report the truth or potential downside of various candidates.

All in all, according to Wikipedia, Mike Bloomberg spent $74 million on his 2001 campaign to get himself 'elected' NYC Mayor. Bloomberg went on to spend an additional $78 million in 2005 to get himself 'elected', and Mike Bloomberg spent $103 million according to a November 28, 2009 New York Times report to get himself 'elected' in 2009. All in all Mike Bloomberg holds three of the top three records for spending on a campaign to get elected NYC Mayor. The NY Times reported that Bloomberg paid $174 per vote.

Bloomberg is Responsible in Part for a Republican Senate Majority Starting 2014

According to a November 26, 2019 NYT report,

In 2014, several vulnerable Democratic senators in conservative leaning states were defeated - enabling Republicans to take control of the Senate for the first time since 2006. Some party leaders believed Mr. Bloomberg made an inhospitable political climate even worse. He wrote a letter to some of the wealthiest contributors in the Democratic Party in New York, urging them not to donate to four Democrats who voted to block gun background check legislation. And his donations allegedly helped pay for ads that attacked them.

 

Bloomberg Appears to Defeat Key Democratic Senators Handing the Majority Over to Mitch McConnell

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, funded by Mr. Bloomberg, pushed attack ads against Democratic senators in key states. Three of the four [senators] -- Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Begich of Alaska and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- eventually lost their seats. The fourth, Max Baucus of Montana, chose not to seek re-election and became President Barack Obama's ambassador to China.

In an interview with The New York Times in 2013, Mr. Bloomberg explained his logic, saying that if Democrats could not get senators on board with something as popular with the public as background checks, they should pay a political price. In that interview he said,

"What I would suggest is that they have all of their members vote for things that the public wants ... And if they don't do that, the voters should elect different senators who will listen to them.''

Bloomberg has other philanthropies that he used heavily in the last election to tilt the balance away from Republicans - who the billionaire Republican had supported in the past. In the 2018 election cycle Bloomberg's PAC and related charitable organizations spent heavily to support female congressional candidates - some of whom have endorsed his presidential bid in return as reported above.

Chapter & Verse on Bloomberg Donations to Mayors & Congress[wo]men

Is 'Buying' Endorsements the same as Buying the Presidency?

Bloomberg also gave quite a bit of money to cities to spend, which may help people better understand why a number of mayors have endorsed him. The most prominent is the Washington D.C. mayor who received millions for a pet project of hers in Washington D.C. I'm not sure whether or not he also donated to her campaign - but time permitting - when I determine that one way or the other, I'll report back here.

So when people accuse Bloomberg of trying to buy the presidency, they certainly seem to have a number of very strong data sets supporting that theory. We saw this in NYC as Bloomberg made a bid for Mayor, where he spent $267 million in donations to non-profits who might have opposed him but remained quiet, as well as spending heavily with the media who also seemed to give him a 'pass' in terms of really reporting what was going on.

Click here to read our report on the Bloomberg record as NYC Mayor.

This seems to be happening again, but this time on a national scale. In addition to buying heavily into the Democratic party last election cycle and buying what seems to be endorsements through his philanthropies, Bloomberg also seems to have bought an incredible amount of omission reporting, shallow or propagandistic reporting, and / or biased reporting from the national TV networks and possibly from some of the other media.

If you want to know how Bloomberg really governed you have to look for it, as it seems so many of the major media outlets have not reported it, or at best shallowly reported it.

The following is primarily a recap of the Bloomberg Record, with some additions.

 

Mike Bloomberg's Apparent Disdain for Democracy While NYC Mayor

 

Bloomberg Doesn't Seem to Respect Free Speech - Locks up Protesters at 2004 Republican Convention in NYC

In 2004, the Republicans held their Presidential Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York City. At the time Michael Bloomberg was claiming to be a Republican. Toward the end of his three-term administration, former Mayor Bloomberg claimed to be an independent. And today Michael Bloomberg is claiming to be a Democrat. You'll see why this matters in a minute.

As such, during the first day of the Convention there were a wide number of protests, which former Mayor Bloomberg quashed by arresting people, seemingly randomly, to snuff out these people's rights to free speech to protest the re-election Convention of a President [George W. Bush Jr.] who had taken America in to two wars - one of which was hyped using the pretense of fake news [Iraq and WMD - weapons of mass destruction] blared by the propaganda machine of Australian born and bred multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch.

Here are a few excerpts from a follow up report on how former Mayor Michael Bloomberg handled hosting the Convention by the New York Times on December 23, 2013. Bear in mind that the New York Police Department Chief reports directly to the NYC Mayor.

"More than 1,800 people were arrested the week of the convention, mostly for minor violations ... many were put in a temporary detention center at a Hudson River pier ... they slept on floors covered by soot and grease, and some said they left with rashes or respiratory problems. Some were held for two days or more before seeing a judge -- exceeding the 24-hour limit set by the courts."

"The city had previously paid $2.1 million to settle 112 claims connected to the convention, according to the comptroller's office. A spokeswoman for the Law Department said the city had spent $16 million in lawyers' fees and expenses defending cases from the convention, which was held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, 2004."

"Last year, a Federal District Court judge ruled that the police had wrongly surrounded and arrested more than 200 marchers on a sidewalk in Lower Manhattan during the convention."

"Of those, about 400 cases were dismissed based on videotape evidence that contradicted the original charges."

So former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was governing like a law and order Republican in 2004, by essentially taking away these people's rights to protest the Convention and a Republican President with whom they disagreed.

 

Bloomberg's Apparent Disdain for Democracy - Overturning a Plebiscite Limiting the Mayor to Two Terms

In 2008, just a year before former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was about to be term limited out of the Mayor's Office, he convinced the NYC City Council to essentially repeal the plebiscite term limiting the Mayor. And thus Michael Bloomberg sought and won a third term which he essentially bought by shelling out nearly $100 million of his own money to defeat an relatively unknown candidate, retiring City Comptroller Bill Thompson, who was not given much support by the Democratic Party. The final vote was 50.7% for Bloomberg and 46.3% for Thompson.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn obliged the Mayor's request to extend term limits, possibly believing that by facilitating the billionaire's request, he might endorse her candidacy when he stepped down, and maybe even help fund her campaign [she was a suckered as he did neither]. In my mind that vote, to overturn the plebiscite, was a telling one for all those who participated in that roll call. Here's the roll call vote per the New York Times on October 23, 2008.

"Roll Call, 4:35 p.m., on Introduction 845-A, to extend term limits for New York City elected officials to three terms from two: 29 yes, 22 no.

Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. of Queens, no; Maria del Carmen Arroyo of the Bronx, yes; Tony Avella of Queens, no; Maria Baez of the Bronx, yes; Charles Barron of Brooklyn, no; Gale A. Brewer of Manhattan, no; Anthony Como of Queens, no; Leroy G. Comrie Jr. of Queens, yes; Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn, no; Inez E. Dickens of Manhattan, yes; Erik Martin Dilan of Brooklyn, yes; Mathieu Eugene of Brooklyn, no; Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, yes; Lewis A. Fidler of Brooklyn, yes; Helen D. Foster of the Bronx, yes; Daniel R. Garodnick of Manhattan, no; James F. Gennaro of Queens, no; Vincent J. Gentile of Brooklyn, no; Alan J. Gerson of Manhattan, yes; Eric N. Gioia of Queens, no; Sara M. Gonzalez of Brooklyn, yes; Vincent M. Ignizio of Staten Island, no; Robert Jackson of Manhattan, yes; Letitia James of Brooklyn, no; Melinda R. Katz of Queens, yes; G. Oliver Koppell of the Bronx, yes; Jessica S. Lappin of Manhattan, no; John C. Liu of Queens, no; Melissa Mark-Viverito of Manhattan, no; Miguel Martinez of Manhattan, yes; Michael E. McMahon of Staten Island, no; Darlene Mealy of Brooklyn, yes; Rosie Mendez of Manhattan, no; Hiram Monserrate of Queens, no; Michael C. Nelson of Brooklyn, yes; James S. Oddo of Staten Island, no; Annabel Palma of the Bronx, no; Christine C. Quinn of Manhattan; yes; Domenic M. Recchia Jr. of Brooklyn, yes; Diana Reyna of Brooklyn, yes; Joel Rivera of the Bronx, yes; James Sanders Jr. of Queens, yes; Larry B. Seabrook of the Bronx, yes; Helen Sears of Queens, yes; Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn, yes; James Vacca of the Bronx, yes; Peter F. Vallone Jr. of Queens, yes; Albert Vann of Brooklyn, yes; David I. Weprin of Queens, no; Thomas White Jr. of Queens, yes; David Yassky of Brooklyn, yes.

The city councilmembers who voted no, can be proud of this vote until the day they die. The City Councilmember who voted yes can spin it any which way they want, but it seems a clear vote in favor of their own career, in defiance of the will of the people. These are the people who don't represent you, the voter, but rather they represent themselves and their own interests. And Michael Bloomberg was clearly one of them, as he was the instigator of the vote. You'll see why he wanted a third term in a minute.

1. Billionaire Foreign Policy - Bloomberg Appears to Muzzle his own Media Organization and like Trump - Seems Willing to Accommodate Dictators

See recent story by a wife of a former Bloomberg employee in China / Hong Kong who talks about how Bloomberg deals with dictators, such as in China. Bloomberg seemed to accommodate the Chinese 'president', like Trump seems to accommodate other dictators around the world.

A February 18, 2020 Intercept report discusses claims made by the wife of a Bloomberg reporter. It states,

" ... Soon after Bloomberg published the article on Xi's family wealth in June 2012, my husband received death threats conveyed by a woman who told him she represented a relative of Xi. The woman conveying the threats specifically mentioned the danger to our whole family; our two children were 6 and 8 years old at the time. The New Yorker's Evan Osnos reports a similar encounter in his award-winning book, "Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China," when the same woman told Osnos's wife: "He [Forsythe] and his family can't stay in China. It's no longer safe," she said. "Something will happen. It will look like an accident. Nobody will know what happened. He'll just be found dead ..."

" ... The experience was especially terrifying because it came just months after the murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood, who was poisoned by the wife of a senior Chinese leader, Bo Xilai, according to Chinese state media. His body was reportedly discovered in a hotel in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing..."

Her husband was working on another story about Chinese President Xi's family alleged corruption. The Intercept report states,

"... Then Bloomberg killed the story at the last minute, and the company fired my husband in November after comments by Bloomberg News editor-in-chief Matt Winkler were leaked. "If we run the story, we'll be kicked out of China," Winkler reportedly said on a company call ..."

The report continues,

" ... Mike Bloomberg, then New York City mayor and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, was asked on November 12, 2013, about reports that his company had self-censored out of fear of offending the Chinese government and he dismissed the question. "Nobody thinks that we're wusses and not willing to stand up and write stories that are of interest to the public and that are factually correct," Bloomberg told a press conference."

" ... Yet, days after Bloomberg made those comments to reporters in New York, Bloomberg lawyers in Hong Kong threatened to devastate my family financially by forcing us to repay the company for our relocation fees to Hong Kong from Beijing and the advance on my husband's salary that we took out, leave us with no health insurance or income, and take me to court if I did not sign a nondisclosure agreement -- even though I had never been a Bloomberg employee..."

And she ends by explaining her reasons for coming forward now.

" ... I never wanted to seek publicity about Bloomberg's threatening behavior and was genuinely terrified of financial ruin, so in spite of preserving my freedom of speech, I have never written about my experience before. I am speaking out now because unlike so many other women, I am not bound by a nondisclosure agreement ... "

2. Doesn't Seem to Respect the Working Class - Against Minimum Wage Increases

Bloomberg is on record as opposing any increase in minimum wage. On July 29, 2015 he said the following on Bloomberg TV,

"... I, for example, am not in favor, have never been in favor of raising the minimum wage..."

That said, PolitiFact notes that in 2012, as his three term Mayoralty was winding down he supported raising the minimum wage from $7.15 / hour to $8.25 / hour. On December 31, 2019, long after Bloomberg left office, minimum wage earners were given a raise to $15 / hour.

3. Doesn't Respect Unions - Didn't Sign Even One Major Contract in 12 Years as NYC Mayor

Bloomberg didn't sign a single major union contract while mayor. Click here to read our full report of Bloomberg's record as NYC Mayor.

4. Doesn't Seem to Care About Poor People - NYC Homelessness Doubles to NYC Records & Includes Over 20,000 School Age Children

Under Bloomberg NYC Homelessness nearly doubled, inching up to new records almost every year of his Mayoralty. The other Democratic candidates should ask Bloomberg how he explains using public land, lending public money and using public money in infrastructure to build affordable housing units which were indexed to income so that some of them rented for as much as $48,000 per year when the median household income was about $55,000. The Bloomberg Administration sold this to the public as affordable housing while the NYC media seemed to turn a blind eye. Click here to read about the Hunters Point South real estate development - home of the $48,000 rental affordable housing unit of the Bloomberg Administration.

5. Doesn't Care About Women?

Bloomberg & / or Company reportedly have been sued 17 times for unfair treatment of women in the workplace. See reports and sources in the earlier part of this report.

 

6. Doesn't Care About Minorities?

Bloomberg championed stop n' frisk under his watch, which a court ruled racist policing program. According to an August 12, 2013 New York Times report,

" ... A federal judge ruled on Monday that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department violated the constitutional rights of minorities in the city, repudiating a major element in the Bloomberg administration's crime-fighting legacy ..."

" ... Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg after a news conference Monday ... said the city did not get "a fair trial" in the stop-and-frisk case ..."

 

7. Used Public Power to Wrest Away Private Property which Went to Friends

See our return on Campaign Spending section above or click here to read more about Bloomberg's record on public lands and public infrastructure spending giveaway / privatization of public wealth. It seems Mike learned a lesson from the Russian Oligarchs - that it's not that hard to steal from the public when you're in control of the government apparatus.

 

8. Used Public Money and the NYC Public School System to Enrich Friends

Click here to read more about Bloomberg's record vis a vis public schools spending giveaway / privatization of public wealth - in this case to Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy.

 

9. Billionaire Pols of Either Party Can't Seem to Take their Greedy Hands off the Cash Box

Why would Democrats elect a nominee who has a record of racism, who founded a company that has an alleged [NDA covered] record of ill treatment of women, has a solid anti-union record as Mayor, has a record of privatizing public schools which seem to have a strategy of privatizing the profits by recruiting the best students out of the public run schools [rather than a record of doing a superior job of educating them - there's a big difference between non-profit and for profit charters], who has a history of suppression of free speech, and what seems an aversion to the democratic process as he repealed the plebiscite on term limits, which enabled him to serve a third term.

 

10. Why Would Democrats Want to Choose Between Two NYC Republican Billionaires who don't Represent their Values?

If we end up with having to choose between two NYC Republican Billionaires who appear to govern for the 1% in November, I think it's safe to say that our democracy has been lost.

Australian born and bred billionaire Rupert Murdoch appears to have already taken control of the democracies in Australia and Britain, where he has overwhelming shares of media which provide the voters with the information they use to make their voting decisions. That's why his media outlets and Pinocchio propagandists say "let the voters decide" because the voters are deciding using Murdoch's corrupt information.

If Bloomberg wins the Democratic nomination the voters will have a choice not unlike the choice they had in 2016 - between two unsavory candidates - neither of whom represent anywhere near the majority of us.

The real social fault lines aren't about men vs women, or black vs white - it is and always has been rich vs everyone else because they're scarfing up more than their fair share of resources, leaving little for the rest of us. These two billionaires - regardless of which party they say they represent - don't represent the majority of Americans. And I hope, We The People, will see through that.

The Perceived Electability Issue

Perceived Identity Versus Huge Dollar Spending on Mass Media

Conventional wisdom holds that in an ultra-high-visibility presidential election, campaign spending eventually hits a point of diminishing returns. A point worth noting is that Hillary Clinton greatly outspent Donald Trump in 2016. Clinton's campaign outspent Trump's campaign by $768 million to $398 million.

The report above does not take into account the undocumented hundreds of millions - if not billions - in free infomercials provided by Australian born and bred billionaire Rupert Murdoch's Fox Fake News propaganda machine in favor of Donald Trump. Murdoch's powerful propaganda machine seems to include the Wall St Journal and NY Post and other outlets. So these tallies should be considered within this context, for the reader / voter to truly understand what happened in 2016.

It seems to me it was billionaire propagandist Rupert Murdoch - not the Russians - who swayed the 2016 election.

 

Added Reading - Donald Trump & the Personalization of Power

Click here to view a story on despot wannabe Donald Trump and the Personalization of America's Governmental Power.

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Hunters Point South Opens Spring 2015

'Affordable' Housing Applications Set To Begin Mid October

September 29, 2014 / Queens Real Estate / News & Analysis / Gotham Buzz NYC. 

On Monday evening I headed over to Sunnyside Community Services Center to attend the Hunters Point South Affordable Housing meeting. Several years ago the Hunters Point South development was approved by Community Board 2 and subsequently approved by the New York City Council and former Mayor Bloomberg. Click the link above to read the earlier report.

The site has been under construction for years, and according to a Related Companies spokesperson at the meeting, the two towers containing affordable housing are to open to residents in the Spring of 2015. Naturally this assumes that all goes according to plan.

Hence on Monday evening, Related Companies representatives in tandem with Community Board Chairman Joe Conley, NY CCM Jimmy Van Bramer, NYS Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan [and NYS Senator Michael Gianaris was scheduled to appear but did not make it] - began the outreach to the community regarding the application process for the low income and affordable housing units in the two buildings.

Attendance and interest by the community was very high and folks who arrived late were turned away as the Sunnyside Community Service Center was filled to capacity. That said there are two more of these outreach programs scheduled, the details of which you can find in our Things To Do calendar in the Business section. Click these links to gain a broader perspective of the Long Island City Neighborhood in which these units reside, as well as of the LIC real estate market for apts and condos or the Long Island City real estate market in general.

Full Report Contains Slides & Info On Qualification & Application Process For Hunters Point South Affordable Housing Units In LIC & Evaluation Of Affordability Versus Income & Apt Rents In LIC

Click here to read the rest of our report, including a photo slide show of the presentation of Affordable Housing in Hunters Point South in LIC Queens. I left out most of the presentation that dealt with how to set up a Housing Connect Profile and how to fill out the online application as it seemed pretty straightforward and you can also call the NYC Housing Authority [aka NYCHA] if you need help.

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Hunters Point South To Open Spring 2015

'Affordable' Housing Applications Set To Begin Mid October

September 29, 2014 / Queens Real Estate / News & Analysis / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

NY City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, NYS Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and Community Board Chairman Joseph Conley all kept their remarks brief in order to let the representatives from the Related Companies and the NYC Housing Authority [aka NYCHA] tell the audience about the buildings and apartments that were to be leased and how to go about applying for them. We have included photos of the Related Companies slide presentation as well as a few from the presentation given by NYCHA, but we recommend you contact the Related Companies, NYCHA or NYC Coucilmember Van Bramer or NYS Assemblywoman Nolan to be sure you have complete information.

Hunters Point South Real Estate Development - Affordable Housing Apts

The Related Companies talked about the two towers in which the Affordable and Low Income housing would be placed: Hunters Point South Commons and Hunters Point South Crossing. The Hunters Point South Commons is the larger building rising 37 stories high with 619 units of affordable and low income housing and the Hunters Point South Crossing rising 32 stories high with 306 units of affordable and low income housing. Of the 619 units in the HPS Commons, 124 of them will consist of low income housing, while the remainder will be moderate income housing. Of the 306 units in the HPS Crossing, 82 of them will consist of low income housing while the remainder will be moderate income housing.

They told us the buildings are 60% to 70% completed and are on schedule to be completed in Spring of 2015. And that a Hunters Point South team [I believe of Related Companies] would be handling the applications. Hunters Point South was developed by Related Companies in collaboration with Phipps Houses, a non profit housing organization run by Adam Weinstein.

Related Companies specializes in developing luxury / affordable housing in large metro areas across the nation. Related Company Founder Stephen M. Ross got his start in the 1970's by seeking real estate tax breaks and incentives - first for clients and then for himself - eventually founding the Related Companies.

Hunters Point South Affordable Housing In LIC - Building Amenties

The Hunters Point South buildings will have 24 / 7 doormen. Pets are welcomed, but are limited to weight of 75 lbs or less. There are 250 parking spots in Hunters Point Commons which will be leased on a first come - first serve basis. Heat and hot water are included with the rent. Both buildings are non-smoking. Both buildings include hurricane-resistant measures such as back up generators and the housing of the infrastructure components on higher floors [versus in the basements].

Low Income Metrics For Queens Housing Based On NYC Income Measures - $18,000 - $49,000

The incomes required to qualify for the low and moderate income housing are based on percentages of the AMI or Average Median Income for NYC as a whole - not Queens. The qualifying HOUSEHOLD income for Low Income Housing units are calculated at 40% and 50% of AMI [Average Median Income for NYC]. These incomes range from about $18,000 to $38,000 for the 40% of AMI to about $24,000 to $49,000 for the 50% of AMI units.

Moderate Income Metrics For NYC & Queens Housing - $55,000 - $222,000

The moderate incomes required to qualify for affordable housing are set at 130% of AMI, 141% to 150% of AMI, and from 165% to 205% of AMI based on the charts provided in the handouts. What happens to those who fall in between the gaps in these percentages currently eludes me, but I'm checking. The qualifying income ranges for the three categories named above are [respectively]: 1) about $55,000 to $162,000, 2) about $60,000 to $160,000, and 3) about $70,000 to $222,000.

U.S. Census - Income Distribution - Top 5% U.S. Income Earners Eligible For Affordable Housing Units

I found it interesting to note that anyone making over $196,000 per year [among the top 5% of income earners in the nation] are eligible to compete for affordable housing. One might want to ask former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other government officials about the public policy value of helping households in the top 5% income bracket [according to the 2013 U.S. Census and who earn hundreds of thousands of dollars each year] qualify for affordable housing.

Low Income & Affordable Housing Rents At Hunters Point South

The rents for the low income units are as follows: a) Studios go for between $494 - $640, b) 1 BR goes for between $533 - $689, c) 2 BR goes for $648 - $835 and d) 3 BR goes for $743 - $959.

The rents for the moderate income units are as follows: a) Studios go for between $1561 - $1997, b) 1 BR goes for between $1965 - $2509, c) 2 BR goes for $2366 - $3300 and d) 3 BR goes for $2729 - $4346.

They also set a limit on the number of people which are that studios house only one person, 1 BR house up to 2 people, 2 BR up to 4 people and 3 BR up to 6 people.

Queens Residents' Median Household Income - $58,000 Per U.S. Census In 2013

I thought it might be of some value to cross reference the annual Hunters Point South rents for the low income and affordable housing units relative to the annual household income of Queens. The U.S. Census reported that the median annual household income for Queens was just under $58,000.

How Affordable Is Hunters Point South 'Low Income' 'Affordable' Housing?

Hence the low income units of Hunters Point South are great value at about a bit over $7,000 per annum for a studio and a bit under $12,000 per annum for a three bedroom. These units appear to be very affordable.

Homelessness In NYC At All-Time High: 60,000 Of Which More Than 23,000 Are Children

According to the Coalition For The Homeless, in January of 2014 there were nearly 54,000 homeless, of which nearly 23,000 were children. This was another all-time high record. I attended a housing seminar in September 2014 where they provided an update of these numbers which had climbed to 57,000 homeless in NYC shelters and they estimated there were another 3,000 living on the streets.

The homelessness rise grew aggressively during the course of former Mayor Bloomberg's terms - more than doubling from the low 20,000's to the 54,000 tally when he left office. Bloomberg began to address the issue by incenting developers to build 'affordable' high rise luxury housing. Mayor de Blasio ran for Mayor on a theme of The Tale Of Two Cities - talking about how the richer got richer as the poor became poorer.

NYC Housing Crisis Challenges - Balancing Profitable Enterprise & Equal Opportunity

One of the challenges in meeting NYC's housing needs is to balance the need by private enterprise to make money and careful management of taxpayer funds with social and moral obligation to live up to the American dream of providing all humans with Equal Opportunity. For those 23,000 children currently living in homeless shelters during the formative years of their lives, equal opportunity is but a dream. It would be hard to concentrate and get a good education when their family life is so unstable.

Government solutions to the problem of providing housing to the poor have a questionable track record at best. One of the solutions was to build large government-owned buildings and to rent them to the poor. In past decades these became the front lines to the drug wars and centers of racial strife. But a lot of that has begun to fade into the past. Because the public perception of public housing was established during the drug wars, one of the challenges facing public housing is that it carries a historical stigma. The intelligent aspect of creating public housing was that it addressed the housing supply shortage in order to balance the supply and demand scales of capitalism in favor of providing ample supply which in turn helps keep prices down.

Another solution was to provide tenants with government subsidies. This actually worsens the problem as it artificially increases the demand and subsequent prices for housing.

And a third solution was rent control. Rent control is established whereby the government sets a limit on the amount [percent] of increase that a landlord is allowed to raise rents. The problem with this solution is that it discourages investment in housing supply as real estate investors want to be able to set their own prices.

The Bloomberg solution was to incent private real estate developers to build high rise luxury buildings that include some allocation of low income and moderate income 'affordable' housing. Like public housing this approach addresses the supply side of the capitalist equation of supply and demand. De Blasio appears to be following the same line of thought in pursuing a solution to the housing shortage in NYC, by expanding private developers investment opportunity in exchange for 'affordable' housing.

One other approach to addressing NYC's housing shortage has been to allow landlords to rent subterranean units [basements] which are currently illegal as there are issues with escaping fires and the air quality because renters would be living with the building infrastructure such as sewage / plumbing and furnaces.

Affordable In Name Only: Is Paying 33% to 91% Of Median Household Income Affordable?

One can fairly ask how NYC government officials arrived at the moderate income rental valuations which run from a low of about $19,000 per annum for a Studio to about $53,000 per annum for a three bedroom apartment in LIC.

Given that half of the households in Queens earn less than $58,000 per annum, the three bedroom apartments are completely unaffordable. Once the tenant pays their annual rent, they would have $4,000 left for all other living expenses for the entire year. And this is an example of someone in the middle of the household income pack with four to six people in the household.

Historically between 25% and 30% of income was considered a 'fair' amount of one's income to allocate to rent. Yet the Hunters Point South moderate income affordable housing appears to be 'affordable' in name only, as the rent allocations range from a low of 33% to 91% of the Queens borough median income. Given these percentages were calculated using the income at the top of the lower half of household income in the borough - these rents do not appear to reflect moderate or affordable to Queens residents.

Hunters Point South Appears To Be Largely Financed By The Government

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg negotiated the deal, which also included city funded development of Hunters Point South Park [5 acres of waterfront park], city funded underlying infrastructure such as roads and sewage, a generous terms lease for the NYC Housing Preservation and Development lands upon which the development resides, along with other tax incentives and tax breaks.

Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized Bloomberg's deals with NYC real estate developers during his 2013 campaign for Mayor saying that Mayor Bloomberg had not negotiated very hard for the interests of NYC citizens.

In 2009 NYC bought the 30 acres upon which Hunters Point South resides for $100 million from Empire State Development Corporation [NYS] and the Port Authority of NY / NJ. HDC issued $236 million in tax exempt bonds and HPD providing $68 million in subsidy, while the developer contributed $27 million in equity.

Separate but 'Related': Former Mayor Bloomberg Gives 23 Acres To Related Companies & Sterling Equities For One Dollar - A Deal Approved By Queens City Council Delegation In Nov 2013

The Related Companies has a second Bloomberg affordable housing development underway at CitiField. There are two pieces to it. One segment is a mega shopping mall being developed in tandem with the Sterling Equities [owned by Wilpons who own the Mets]. And the second segment is a mixed housing, retail, school and office space development. The joint venture is called Queens Development Group.

In the latter deal, former Mayor Bloomberg essentially gave the Queens Development Group [owned by Stephen M. Ross & Fred Wilpon] a 23 acre site next to CitiField at Willets Point for $1 which in November of 2013 the Queens delegation of the NYC Council approved. NYC also approved $43 million in tax breaks to the Queens Development Group.

The real estate development will be built on what is technically the public parkland of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. In this case former Mayor Bloomberg used imminent domain to forcibly remove the landowners from their property in order to pave the way for the mixed use development which will include affordable housing [likely structured along the same lines as done at Hunters Point South], as well as a hotel, retail space, a school, parking and office space.

There were several legal skirmishes in the process of concluding this deal which included the illegal execution of imminent domain by the Bloomberg Administration to remove landowners. The Bloomberg Administration also conducted illegal lobbying efforts - wherein NYC funds were used to fund the lobbying of NYC on this project - by a local economic development group lead by former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman. Click here to read a bit more about the Flushing real estate development by the Related Companies.

On August 20, 2014 New York State Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez decided that a lawsuit citing that NYC broke the law by not properly executing the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure [ULURP] was invalid.

How Competitive Is Hunters Point South 'Moderate Income' 'Affordable' Housing?

I went online to review the current market rates for apartments comparable to the new Hunters Point South buildings to see at what prices they were leasing. Generally the affordable housing rents were leasing at discounts of between 10% to 53% versus the market rates I found in a online. *Editor's Note: I spent only a couple minutes looking up these rents, so I'm pretty sure you could find better open market rents than I did by looking harder and / or negotiating.

Studios & 1 Bedrooms LIC. I found Studios along the East River waterfront going for about $2,200. And 1 Bedroom / 1 Baths in LIC along the waterfront going for between $2,500 and $3,000. This compares with the Related Companies Hunters Point South affordable housing rates for moderate income earners rent of between $1,600 to $2,000 for a studio in LIC and between $2,500 and $3,200 for a 1 bedroom / 1 bath in LIC. The Hunters Point South Moderate Income Affordable Housing provides a discount of 10% to 27%.*

2 Bedrooms LIC. I found plenty of 2 Bedroom / 2 Baths along the East River in high rise buildings going for about $3,900. This compares with between $2,400 to $3,300 for the 2 Bedrooms cited by Hunters Point South - but they did not claim to provide more than one bathroom either. The Hunters Point South Moderate Income Affordable Housing provides provides a discount of about 20% to 38%.*

2 Bedrooms LIC. And I found plenty of 3 Bedroom / 3 Bathrooms in LIC along the waterfront going for about $5,800, while the Hunters Point South affordable housing leases for between $2,700 and $4,400 - but again without the specification of more than one bathroom. The Hunters Point South Moderate Income Affordable Housing provides a discount of a bit less than 25% to 53%.*

NYC Affordable Housing Preferences - Allocations For Local Residents

There's a preference built into the application process that favors local residents. Specifically this means people who already live in the area served by Community Board Two [see map] which serves Sunnyside, and parts of LIC, Woodside and Maspeth. If you're unsure whether you live in the district, you can contact the Community Board 2 in Queens by emailing them at qn02 @ cb.nyc.gov or contacting the offices of NYS Senator Gianaris, CCM Van Bramer or NYS Assemblywoman Nolan.

So preferences are given as follows: 1) 7% of the units for visual, hearing or mobile impaired, 2) 5% of units for NYC employees, 3) 50% for those who live in Queens Community Board 2 District, and 4) 38% have no preference bias. There are a total of 924 apartments allocated, of which 186 apartments are allocated as low income housing and 738 apartments are allocated as moderate income housing.

New York City Housing Authority - NYCHA

A spokesperson for NYCHA was present to guide the audience through the affordable / low income housing application process that starts in the middle of October. You can approach the application process via mail, in which case I'm going to refer you to the Related Companies or CB2 - using contact info in the slide show below.

Or you can set up a profile in NYC Housing Connect and apply for affordable housing there. You can set up the profile at any time. And then monitor housing openings via the search section, which is where the Hunters Point South affordable housing units will be shown when the application process begins.

They took us through the process, which includes setting up the profile, supplying them with income / tax information, including all income from the household and being careful to check the application before submitting it. Those will be received and after the beginning of the year they will begin the interview process where you willbe asked to bring the info and come prepared to answer questions as they will beverifying the information contained in your submission. Background checks in including credit and criminal records willbe included in the process.

I believe they said they are planning to place the units on the Housing Connect system on October 15th, 2014. You'll see it in the Housing Connect search section when it opens.

Photos of the Hunters Point South Affordable Housing Meeting in Sunnyside

The following slide show contains photos Hunters Point South Affordable Housing Meeting in Sunnyside.

Click here to go directly into the photo album containing Hunters Point South Affordable Housing Meeting in Sunnyside.

Special Thanks To Organizers Of The Session

Special thanks to Community Board 2, Chairman Conley, NYCCM Van Bramer, NYS Assemblywoman Nolan and absent but supportive NYS Senator Gianaris for organizing these public information meetings. There are two more sessions [10/1 and 10/8 at different locales - see the business section of things to do in Queens calendar for time / locale details.

 

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Sunnyside Neighborhood / LIC Neighborhood Links

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Several years ago the Hunters Point South development was approved by Community Board 2 and subsequently approved by the New York City Council and Mayor Bloomberg. Click the link above to read the earlier report.

Click these links to gain a broader perspective of the Long Island City Neighborhood in which these units reside.

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Real Estate In Flushing - Willets Point

April 14, 2011 / Flushing Neighborhood / Queens Buzz / Gotham Buzz NYC.

 

This winter I attended the State of the Borough Address given by Queens Borough president Helen Marshall and a month later I attended a speech given by NYC deputy mayor of economic development, Robert K. Steel. This report captures their brief comments about Willets Point condominium and retail development project, as well as a considerable amount of research I did following those two presentations.

 

In the following report we provide you with a history of the effort to transform the Willets Point area and an outline of the proposed plans and including a detailing of some of the issues associated with the proposed development. A graphical depiction of the Willets Point development is shown above.

Click here to read more about Sterling Equities, Saul Katz & Fred Wilpon, Stephen Ross, Related Companies, Mayor Bloomberg use eminent domain on Willets Point real estate development project - controversy in Flushing Queens.

Real Estate In Flushing - Willets Point

April 14, 2011 / Flushing Neighborhood / Queens Buzz / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

 

Willets Point Real Estate Developement Assessment

In 2002 city planners started working with local community groups to re-develop Willets Point. Over the course of the next few years it was decided that the neighborhood would have to be developed in toto versus a parcel by parcel approach because of some of the environmental conditions surrounding the neighborhood.

Some of the issues cited by city planners were widespread contamination from prior land use including ash deposits dating back a century and illegal dumping and oil spills from this century. They also cite that the area has a high water table [its adjacent to the Flushing Harbor / Long Island Sound] and that it lies within a 100 year flood plain.

In order to bring the neighborhood within FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] guidelines a significant investment would be required to raise sections of the neighborhood by as much as six feet. The neighborhood is also in need of upgrades to its sewage system. All of this lead them to the conclusion that the neighborhood should be transformed all at once. A March 2011 photo of perhaps the best known street in Willets Point is shown to your right.

 

Willets Point Real Estate Development Plan

Willets Point re-development has long been on city government's to do list. Between 2002 and 2006 information was gathered, discussions held and a plan began to emerge. From 2006 to 2008 the city started selling the plan to the various interested constituencies, and by the end of 2008 had sought and received approval to rezone the neighborhood for its plan. A graphical depiction of the new zoning codes is shown in the photo to your left.

The city proposal is to plow the current Willets Point neighborhood completely under and begin anew. The proposal calls for a 400,000 square foot convention center [Jacob Javits is 675,000 square feet], 1,700,000 square feet of retail space, 500,000 square feet of office space, about 350,000 square feet of open space, 150,000 square feet of community space, 700 hotel rooms, 5,500 units of housing [about 20% of it affordable housing], 6,700 parking spaces and a school with 850 seats.

 

Willets Point Development Benefits

One of the primary purposes of the Willets Point Development is to clean up what many consider an urban blight, and its associated environmental / FEMA issues. City planners also estimate the first non-Manhattan NYC convention center would generate 5,300 additional jobs. City planners would also like to make many of the buildings LEED [Leadership Engineering Efficiency Design] certified, which means they would be energy efficient.

Willets Point Issues - Congestion

Experts estimate that the Willets Point development will generate an additional 80,000 vehicle trips per day. To help ease congestion associated with such a significant increase in vehicular traffic in the area, city officials pledged to obtain federal and state approvals to add two ramps to the Van Wyck Expressway. As of this report they have not obtained either governing body approval. The graphic depiction to your right shows the proposed changes to the Van Wyck Expressway to accommodate the increase in traffic expected from the Willets Point development project.

 

And, like the Flushing Commons development, this development would increase the burden on the number 7 subway line which is already running at capacity during peak times and for which no further expansion is planned at this time.

 

Willets Point Real Estate Development Controversy

The Willets Point controversy appears to have arisen out of the desire of many Willets Point business owners to stay where they are, and to continue owning their own property and running their own businesses. In what has historically been a rarely used government action - the use of eminent domain - city government threatened to force landowners off their property against their will.

Currently there are still dozens of small landowners and one resident from Willets Point who continue to resist the city's re-development effort. The city has already acquired 90% of the land and they have already begun to work the site. The photo to your left was taken in March of 2011 and shows signs that the city has already begun to clean up the proposed Willets Point development site.

The group of owners, through their lawyer, challenged the city in the courts stating that the use of eminent domain requires demonstration of a public use. Since no developer has signed on to the plan outlined above, and won't sign up without the city paying many millions for all of the clean up and the new infrastructure, the group claims it's just a plan - not a public use.

 

Willets Point Real Estate Development - Flushing

A fire broke out the first week of April 2011 at Willets Point and a building of one of the holdouts was severely damaged. Approximately 140 firemen responded to extinguish the blaze - one of whom suffered minor injuries.

The city said it will use eminent domain to seize the remaining properties in 2012 if necessary. In an eminent domain seizure, a fair value payment is required to seize the land.

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Airport Expansion – Queens Construction Projects

LaGuardia Airport opened its new control tower in January of 2011. It replaces the LaGuardia Airport control tower installed in anticipation of traffic for the 1964 World’s Fair.

Throgs Neck Bridge – Queens Construction Projects

The Throgs Neck Bridge connects Queens and the Bronx and turned 50 this year [erected 1961]. Approximately 114,000 people cross the bridge every day. Many inbound drivers come through the Kew Gardens interchange which will undergo some renovation this coming year. Watch for summer traffic.

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Queens Real Estate - Related Stories

City Withdraws Plans To Use Eminent Domain

May 11, 2012 / Flushing / Queens Buzz. The Bloomberg Administration withdrew its threat to use eminent domain to condem the properties of the remaining Willets Point property-owners who did not want to sell their land. This statement was issued just prior to the beginning of court proceedings by the remaining holdouts, contesting the city's use of eminent domain.

The city had planned to remove the final holdouts and clear the way for a large new development that would include residential, commercial and office space, and parking. The city now owns 90% of the land in Willets Point, having bought out most of the prior owners.

Click here for a subsequent report about the Willets Point development in Flushing - eminent domain Sterling Companies Wilpon Katz Related Companies Steven Ross.

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Queens Realtors, Queens Insurance & Banking - Links

Click here to go to the home page of TBD realtors.

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Real Estate In Queens - Related Info

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Sterling Equities & Related Companies Lose A Court Battle

Plans to Build Shopping Mall on Flushing Meadows Corona Park Land Reversed on Appeal, but Legal Wrangling will Continue

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Mayor Invited for Cocktails at Steinway Mansion

Vallone Invites Mayor To Visit Mansion Before Making Decision

October 7, 2010 / Astoria / NYC Neighborhoods & History NYC / Steinway Mansion History & Steinway Hall NYC / Gotham Buzz NYC.

What an evening! It started with an interesting journey through some of the Steinway & Sons history by local historian Bob Singleton and was followed by a rousing speech by City Council Member Peter Vallone. Then the mansion was opened up to some 70 or 80 people who had been invited to ‘Help Save The Steinway Mansion’. The photo to your left shows Peter Vallone and historian Bob Singleton standing on the steps of the Steinway mansion talking to community members who wish to preserve the Steinway mansion.

It's been said that President Grover Cleveland visited this historic treasure in the 1880’s as a guest of Henry Steinway. And Mayor Ed Koch made a visit to the Steinway Mansion as guest of Michael Halberian. Click here to read more about Mayor Bloomberg’s invitation to the Steinway Mansion in Astoria later this month.

Mayor Invited To Steinway Mansion

Mayor Asked To View Astoria Queens Mansion Before Deciding On Vallone Request

October 7, 2010 / Astoria / NYC Neighborhoods & History NYC / Steinway Mansion History & Steinway Hall NYC / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

 

It was a dry, clear October evening as some 80 guests of Michael Halberian and Peter Vallone casually toured the Steinway Mansion in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. During this time I conversed with several members of the audience who were, like me, pretty much awestruck as they soaked up the mansion’s innate charm, ambiance, and some good old fashioned 19th century Americana.

 

The photo above shows Bob Singleton [left] speaking from the porch of the Steinway Mansion, while Peter Vallone [right] looks on.

 

Steinway Mansion - Mansion Among Mansions

One member of the audience compared the Steinway Mansion to the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York. While another audience member compared it to the Brady Mansion near Manhasset on Long Island [the Brady Mansion was subsequently converted to a Jesuit retreat, now called Inisfada].

 

Both men explained that some of the analogy might not hold, given the rural surroundings of the analogous estates, while the Steinway Mansion is only 20 minutes away from Grand Central Station NYC. We also determined that the Steinway Mansion predates these two mansions by some 40 and 60 years respectively. In the photo to your right is Kim Parshley, one of the realtors working on the sale, standing in the entrance of the main foyer of the Steinway Mansion.

 

Peter Vallone - Save The Steinway Mansion

I had an opportunity to ask Peter Vallone what progress had been made in the three weeks since he had sent a request urging the city to purchase the mansion. Peter explained that getting the city to buy the mansion outright would be challenging, given the lean economic times and city budget constraints.

 

Undaunted, Peter said he was exploring various options to facilitate the transaction and he brandished a sheet of paper containing a list of about ten different parties with whom he’d already made contact. “And at least two of these parties are here tonite”, he informed me. He also noted that fellow City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer had also sent the mayor a similar request in a show of support for the measure.

 

“What about Queens Borough President Helen Marshall?” I inquired. He responded, “I believe that she is generally supportive of the measure, given the recent statements she’d made in the Daily News.” In the photo above Peter Vallone is shown speaking to a televison news reporter.

 

Steinway Mansion Media Coverage

It’s worth noting that in addition to the reports published by the Daily News - Crain's NY Business, the Queens Gazette, the Queens Chronicle and the Woodside Herald have either published reports or run letters to the editor regarding the Steinway Mansion sale.

 

 

It’s also worth asking why The New York Times has been so conspicuously silent on the Steinway Mansion story, particularly given the fact that two NYC city council members have asked the city to purchase it.

 

 

 

Michael Halberian - Consummate Host & Historian

Michael Halberian played the consummate host. He was charming, informative and tireless. I learned that he had owned and managed the restaurant Knickers on 49th Street near 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, where he had had sixteen years [1969 to 1985] of interacting with large public audiences like the one here tonite.

 

Michael took the press members who lingered, for a verbal tour of his history of associations with the Vallone family while Peter was still in attendance. Jack Halberian [Michael’s father] and Judge Charles Vallone [Peter’s grandfather] both lived in Astoria about 100 years ago and both men were avid pinochle players. Michael also told us about how he sought Peter Vallone Sr's [Peter's father] counsel shortly after Peter Sr. had graduated from law school about 40 or 50 years ago. Michael spoke highly of Peter Sr. as well as his bride, who Michael described as ‘an angel’. Near the end of the evening, Peter informed us that he’d just heard some of these stories himself, during his first visit to the Steinway Mansion back in September. In the photo above, Peter Vallone hears Michael Halberian tell a story about his family.

 

The Mayor Is Invited

Before we departed Peter and Michael made mention of a private cocktail party that is being thrown to generate additional publicity and to solicit different approaches to secure the means to buy and operate the Steinway Mansion as a museum / cultural center for Queens. The photo to your left shows one of the living rooms, complete with marble fireplace and floor to ceiling windows, at the Steinway mansion in Astoria Queens.

 

When asked, if the mayor would be invited and whether it would it be ok to post a public copy of the invitation on our website, they replied in the affirmative.

 

So, dear Mayor, we encourage you to accept the following invitation:

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Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

You’re cordially invited to a private cocktail party at the Steinway Mansion on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 from 6.30 to 8.30 pm.

Cocktail attire required, but we will make an exception for you.

Michael Halberian & Peter Vallone

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Will The Mayor Attend?

After having visited Michael Halberian at the Steinway Mansion for the second time, I can pretty much guarantee that the evening will be charming, that the mayor will learn things about Queens and New York's past that he never knew, and that he may even have a good time. Just ask Ed Koch.

 

The photo to your right shows Michael Halberian greeting Mayor Ed Koch at the Steinway Mansion in Astoria Queens. The inset photo of Grover Cleveland was found at the Steinway Mansion in a storage room on the third floor, but to date we haven't been able to cross reference the visit.

 

We'll follow up with the next installment of this story following the cocktail party on October 20th unless there's breaking news in between. You can help by calling 311 to register your interest in having the city preserve the Steinway mansion.

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Steinway Mansion & Steinways History

Click here to read our first story on the Steinway Mansion. This story has photos of the mansion as well as information about the history of the Steinway Mansion, the Steinways and about Astoria Queens in the 19th & early 20th centuries.

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NYC Neighborhoods & History - Queens Borough Links

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Stephen Ross - Real Estate Developer Paid $1 for Acres of Public Land, Multiple Times, Purchased from NYC While Bloomberg was Mayor, as Billionaire TV News Generally Failed to Report this; Recently Ross has Reportedly Short Circuited Legal Processes to Acquire Rights to NYCHA Property in Chelsea from NYC while the Allegedly Corrupt Eric Adams was Mayor. Adams Convinced Tenants to Sign onto What Seems a Bad Deal & Some Tenants have Subsequently been Evicted

This Report Contains our Reporting on Billionaire Real Estate Developer Stephen Ross of Related Companies who Lives in Florida, so he Doesn't have to Pay NYC nor NYS Income Taxes; Two [now] Former Mayors gave him so much City & State Property for next to Nothing, along with Cheap to Free Financing, Luxurious Tax Breaks, While Billionaire TV News Failed New Yorkers Because they're too busy covering the Nonsense News Stories found in the Police blotter, Citizen App posted Accidents, Sports and Celebrity Gossip, to be bothered with Reporting to the Electorate the Real News, the Failure of which is Costing New York Taxpayers Tens to Hundreds of Billions over the Years

March 12, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

This section contains the reporting we have done and will continue to do on Stephen Ross of Related Companies who appears to be the man who has been running NYC ever since Bloomberg took office in 2001. A side story to this is that Ronald Lauder, who funded the NYC referendum to impose term limits on the NYC Mayor and NYC Council, famously help fund a reversal of that same referendum in 2008, in order to enable Michael Bloomberg to take a third term. It appeared the third term was needed to complete all sorts of questionable real estate deals and transit developments that favored Stephen Ross and Related Companies, among others.

 

CLICK here to read our reporting on billionaire Stephen Ross of Related Companies who has been the recipients of such huge, almost free transfers of public lands, to him by former Mayors Adams and Bloomberg, that they appear corrupt.

 

CHANGE LINK BECUZ URL CHGD 3.19.26

 

Steve Cohen - Founder of SAC Capital Black Edge Insider Trading, Soon-to-be Casino Operator in Flushing, & Real Estate Developer who lives in Connecticut

This Report Contains our Reporting on Steve Cohen who also Owns the NY Mets

March 12, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

This section contains the reporting we have done and will do on Steve Cohen who founded SAC Capital [Steve A. Cohen Capital]. Cohen and SAC Capital were caught up in one of the largest insider trading scandals on Wall Street involving a hedge fund. After wriggling out of that one, while paying billion(s) in fines, he bought the Mets which included some rights to exploit the park land underneath CitiField stadium. Cohen then filed an application to run a casino. It's worth noting that Cohen appears to be a compulsive cheater, as after wriggling out of the insider trading scandal, and purchasing the Mets, the Mets started getting caught cheating within a year or two of Cohen's acquisition. And just as seemed to happen at SAC Capital, Cohen's Mets appeared to take on players with 'reputations' [and not the Jack Nicklaus gentlemanly 1969 Ryder Cup kind]. Reportedly, Cohen took on traders with 'reputations' for questionable trading practices before SAC Capital became the target of an insider trading investigation.

Is the NYS Gaming Commission so corrupt, misguided, ill-informed or just plain stupid - that they would allow someone with Cohen's reputation to own and operate a casino in NYC?

Apparently.

 

CLICK here to read our reporting on Steve Cohen, of SAC Capital Black Edge Insider Trading, who recently won [December 2025] a license to operate a casino on Flushing Meadows Corona park land.