The Quotidian New York Civic

Q

The Quotidian
New York Civic

No. 61
Friday, July 1, 2005

We assume you know by now that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has retired, and that
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will accompany Mayor Bloomberg to Singapore.

This report is devoted to less cosmic issues. We hope you find it pleasing.

Today is Getaway Day for many New Yorkers leaving for the July 4th weekend. The subway was much less crowded this morning, and some offices are closed. Although city agencies are open, many offices are underpopulated. It makes one wonder whether every single person on the municipal payroll is necessary. But why let such small thoughts intrude.

We decided to write a Q, which consists primarily of links to news articles, in part because so many of you may not see today's newspapers. We will send it to everyone on our lists, except Ws who have opted for one communication per week. If you are not on the Q list and would like to be, please indicate that by writing Q on the subject bar and sending it back to us. We try to accommodate our gracious readers by offering options, so they can choose the level of frequency of our reports with which they are most comfortable.

We are somewhat conflicted because, on the one hand, we want to let our readers know what is going on in our subject areas: Efficiency, Ethics, Education, Environment, Expenditures and Elections. We try to collect and present different viewpoints on these issues. On the other hand, we do not want to bore people or overwhelm them with information. One thing we have learned by writing articles is that the most important matters are often not the most interesting.

In case you do not finish this Q, we now we wish you all a happy 4th of July weekend, and remember that its original purpose was to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is the birthday of the United States of America. Monday we will be 229.


Who steals my purse steals trash;
'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his...
--Shakespeare

Council Speaker Gifford Miller was distressed and embarrassed when he found he could not round up 34 members to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of the Council's waste management plan. So he chose the 'nuclear option' available to the Council majority and slashed budget items that were earmarked for the home districts of the dissenters. These funds generally go to non-profits, who are properly grateful to the Councilmember who secured them. Without funding, some of the programs would have to be discontinued.

Should non-combatants be punished for their councilmember's vote on a public issue? Well, if a member receives extra funds for his district as a reward for good behavior, why shouldn't he be punished for bad behavior (disloyalty to the Speaker)? The receivers of this pork may or may not have deserved the money in the first place. Just because a group is non-profit or high-minded does not necessarily mean that it is providing essential services to anyone but its own executives and employees. It is possible that the Speaker's 'massive retaliation' may have saved the city from some boondoggles. But that is unlikely, since a grateful mayor can usually restore any cuts that have been made, one way or another.

Coverage of the clash of wills began yesterday: The Post, Frankie Edozien, MAD GIFF TRA$HES GARBAGE TRAITORS. Newsday's, Dan Janison and Bryan Virssami, "SPEAKER TO GET THE LAST LAUGH? Tensions are high in City Council as advocates of the mayor's trash-policy bill brace themselves for fallout." Daily News: CAN HE FOR-GIFF AND FORGET? asks Frank Lombardi.

Today's accounts keep the teapot boiling. The most interesting story is in the Times, B3, where Mike McIntire writes a comprehensive account of the he-said, she-said, under the head, COUNCIL SPEAKER IS ACCUSED OF RETALIATORY BUDGET CUTS. The lead: "In an unseemly open and personal display of anger, a handful of City Council members yesterday accused Speaker Gifford Miller of cutting their budget requests in retaliation for their decision not to support his fight against the mayor's citywide trash plan."

The Times' story includes Miller's vigorous defense of the Council's budget decisions:. "In every budget, you never make everybody happy. But this is a budget that reflects the needs and priorities of all New Yorkers, and we looked at how to address those needs through one lens, what is in the best interests of the people of the city of New York." If you believe that...

In the story, Councilmembers Provenzano, Baez, Avella and Felder were critical of the Speaker, while Councilmembers Koppell and Liu defended him. Their positions on retaliation generally conform with their choices for the mayoralty. A number of Democratic councilmembers are expected to endorse Mayor Bloomberg for re-election, whereas Koppell and Liu are supporters of Speaker Miller.

The News' Frank Lombardi's account today, CITY BUDGET OK'D, GIFF TARGETS FOES, quotes Madeline Provenzano, "I personally think it's quite immature and immoral of the speaker to punish my constituents because I voted my conscience." And, on the other side, John Liu, "'Every year there's bound to be a few crybabies', he smirked. 'And I've ordered a bag of lollipops. It will be in the members' lounge.'"


Do Not Die in Brooklyn -- or Anywhere Else -- Without Leaving a Will

Yesterday, we reported the removal of Brooklyn Surrogate Michael Feinberg by the New York State Court of Appeals, and the State Legislature's creation of a second Surrogate, so timed that the Democratic County organization will fill the vacancy without a primary election.

Today, look at the Daily News, BIG MESS IN B'KLYN COURT FOR ESTATES, by Nancie L. Katz. Read this: "A day after a powerful Brooklyn judge was booted for lining a pal's pockets with the money of the dead, a city report said the system the judge presided over was rife with sloppy bookkeeping. City Comptroller Bill Thompson called the files on estates of people who died in Brooklyn without a will 'disorganized collections of documentation."

We have the Comptroller's findings: "Audit Report on the Estate Management Practices of the Kings County Public Administrator." Marietta Small was the administrator at this time; the counsel to the public administrator was Louis Rosenthal, who pocketed nearly nine million dollars in fees approved by his good buddy, former Surrogate Feinberg. Rosenthal charged one-third more than the normal rate, and never submitted any documentation of his time or expenses for the estates he handled.

The News also carries a rather personal column by Errol Louis, On Politics, ALUMS MAKE & BREAK LAW. "Having graduated from Brooklyn Law School a month ago, I couldn't help noticing that Michael Feinberg, the former Kings County Surrogate Judge who got kicked off the bench this week by unanimous vote of New York's highest state court, is a fellow alumnus..."


MTA Defers Action on Unpopular Rules Changes,
Editorials, Letters Decry 'Nanny State' Proposals,
Fining Passengers $75 for Moving to the Next Car

At its Wednesday meeting, the MTA Board, chaired by Peter Kalikow, postponed for a month a decision on whether to impose a series of restrictions on passenger behavior, including a ban on changing cars. Some of the proposals make sense, others are oppressive and confining. We testified on this at a Monday committee hearing and wrote about it Tuesday. Wednesday, we received 30 e-mails in opposition to the rule, and none in favor. There is no question that some of the new rules were not well received by the public.

We missed a strong editorial in Tuesday's Sun, PRISONERS OF THE MTA, which you might enjoy reading. It begins: "The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is going from the outrageous to the ridiculous by trying to pass a rule that would ban subway riders from moving between cars." It concludes: "The ban against panhandling on the subway is routinely violated, yet no doubt if this rule change goes forward, it will be enforced against thousands of innocent New Yorkers who are willing to take a reasonable risk with their lives to find a tolerable or safe car to ride in." The Sun editorial, a true cri de coeur, is well worth reading.

Wednesday's Post ran an editorial, ORDER UNDERGROUND, supporting some new rules but opposing the rule banning passengers from changing cars. "Quality of life and safety are certainly legitimate reasons to enforce subway decorum. But there's no need to create ticketing opportunities for essentially nonexistent problems," the Post concludes.

In today's Times, master columnist Clyde Haberman's column, READING THIS OVER COFFEE? ALL ABOARD!, treats the proposal with the humor and skepticism for which he is noted. It is worth reading over the weekend.


But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.
--Shakespeare


Today's Post, by Susan Edelman, SHAMED HONCHO TO SUE: Hits City in Sex Flap. "John Murphy was forced to retire as chief of the city's largest pension system because he promoted his married lover to a top job -- and now he's suing the city for $10 million, the Post has learned." He alleges that the publication of his personal issues made him unemployable and subjected him to great emotional distress.

The News also learned it, and David Saltonstall's account; BOSS MAY SUE CITY IN SEX FUROR, reports the situation. Murphy has not yet sued, but he has filed a notice of claim. If you want to sue the city, you must file a notice of claim with the comptroller within 120 days of the origin of the cause of action.


Welfare rolls continue to decline, are lowest since Mayor Wagner's time.

APPLE'S WELFARE ROLLS AT NEW LOW: In the Post, by David Seifman, in the Post. The caseload has been shrinking steadily; in May 2005 it was down to 413,838. It peaked at 1,160,593 in the mid '90s. Most of the decline took place in the Giuliani administration, which put welfare recipients to work for their benefits.

Time limits on welfare were imposed by Congress at President Clinton's request in the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996," which was intended "to end welfare as we know it." When Mayor Bloomberg took office in January 2002, the rolls stood at 459,159, so the additional reduction in this administration has now reached 45,321. The significant reduction in crime during the Giuliani years has also continued for the last three and one half years.




Henry J. Stern
starquest@nycivic.org
New York Civic
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