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☆ New York City Is Closer to Getting Its First Soccer Stadium
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( David Waldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The New York City Council voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve construction of a 25,000-seat, privately financed soccer stadium at Willets Point in Queens, to house the New York City Football Club. The proposed stadium would be built across Seaver Way from Citi Field, where the New York Mets play. In the first phase of redevelopment, the site would include approximately 1,400 units of “permanently affordable housing,” a hotel and 80,000 square feet of retail space, according to the legislation approved Thursday. It would also include 2.8 acres of publicly accessible open space. Under the proposal, the city would retain the land, which has for decades been known as the “Iron Triangle” for its ramshackle collection of automobile repair facilities, and lease it to the club, similar to agreements with other stadiums in New York.

Organizations: New, New York City Football Club, Citi Field, New York Mets Locations: New York, Queens, Seaver

☆ GOP leaders pursue new lawsuits over 2024 election rules – including attacking methods of voting they want supporters to use
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“What he has said is that we would like ultimately there to only be voting on Election Day. Republican attorneys have filed an assortment of lawsuits across the county that vary in both what types of election rules they target and how seriously election law experts believe the case should be taken. The legal fight against mail voting has taken GOP lawyers to states beyond the typical presidential battlegrounds. In addition to the case targeting Mississippi’s post-election day mail ballot receipt deadline, Republicans filed a lawsuit challenging the major expansion of mail voting enacted by New York lawmakers last year. To arrive at the claim that the states’ voter rolls are bloated, Republicans are using a formula that has previously been rebuked in federal court.

Persons: Donald Trump, baselessly, Trump, Mike Johnson, “, ” Michael Whatley, that’s, ” Whatley, Whatley –, –, Rick Hasen, don’t, ” Hasen, Derek Muller, ” Muller, litigators don’t, ”, Justin Levitt, Muller, CNN’s Ariel Edwards, Levy, David Wright Organizations: CNN, Republican, Republican National Committee, Mississippi Republican Party, Magnolia, GOP, Republicans, Democrats, Trump, Trump’s, Fox News, Republican Party, RNC, University of Notre Dame, Fox, New, National Conference of State Legislatures, Pew Research Center, Democratic, Pew, The New, The New York City Council, Vermont, Loyola Law School, Biden White Locations: Magnolia State, Pennsylvania, Ohio , Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, “, California, Colorado, Hawaii , Nevada , Oregon , Utah , Vermont, Washington, Mississippi, New York, Michigan , Wisconsin , Ohio, Arizona, New York City, United States, The New York, – Nevada, Michigan, Nevada

☆ Voting rule changes: Republicans push ballot measures in key battleground states
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Republican lawmakers and activists in several presidential battlegrounds are pushing ballot measures to change how elections are run in their states. And in Arizona, a so-called ballot referral moving through the Republican-controlled Legislature would upend the state’s widely used, no-excuse vote-by-mail system. Constitutional amendments in Wisconsin and ballot referenda in Arizona are not subject to the approval of governors in those states. “Wisconsin’s status as a swing state makes election integrity measures important locally, nationally and internationally.”If approved, the Wisconsin measures would be in effect for this year’s elections. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a raft of legislation – ranging from efforts to get rid of red-light cameras to prohibiting ranked-choice voting in the state’s elections.

Persons: ”, Jay Heck, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Sen, Eric Wimberger, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg, Tony Evers, Will Flanders, –, who’s, Debra Cronmiller, Katie Hobbs, Hobbs ’, Alex Gulotta, “, Wendy Rogers, Rogers, Wisconsin’s, noncitizens Organizations: CNN, Republican, GOP, Silver State, Tuesday ., White House, Center for Tech, Republicans, Democratic, National Conference of State Legislatures, Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty, Badger State, League of Women Voters of, Phoenix New Times, Phoenix, Clark County Republican Party, Wisconsin, New, New York City Locations: Wisconsin, Nevada, Silver, Arizona, Tuesday . Arizona, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Maricopa County, ” Arizona, Clark, New York City, York, New York

☆ New York City Mayor Is Sued Over Refusal to Comply With New Rental-Assistance Laws
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Jonathan AllenNEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers representing New Yorkers facing eviction and living in shelters sued New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday to try to force him to comply with new local laws expanding access to rental assistance. The lawsuit by the Legal Aid Society comes after the mayor unsuccessfully vetoed the new laws expanding access to vouchers for low-income New Yorkers. The New York City Council, which had voted to override the mayor's veto last July, will soon join Legal Aid in suing the mayor after making the unusual move last week. More than 36,000 households already receive housing vouchers from the city, according to Adams' office. A spokesperson for the mayor said his office was reviewing the lawsuit and that his administration would focus on working with the city council to build more affordable housing across the city.

Persons: Jonathan Allen, Eric Adams, Adams, ”, Robert Desir, Donna Bryson, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Jonathan Allen NEW YORK, New, New York City, Legal Aid Society, The New, The New York City Council, City Fighting, New York State, Aid Society, Legal, Manhattan Supreme, Coalition, Homeless Locations: The New York, Manhattan, Bronx

☆ New York Reimagined Subsidized Housing. What Happened?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Michael Kimmelman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This story is from Headway, an initiative from The New York Times exploring the world’s challenges through the lens of progress. “A beacon.”That was how Shaun Donovan, former commissioner of New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, heralded Via Verde, the South Bronx development, in 2011. Construction was nearly done at the time, and I chose Via Verde for the subject of my first column as The New York Times’s architecture critic. Most important, its goal was larger than itself: to reimagine subsidized housing for a new century. Engineers, solar experts, community groups, architectural organizations as well as the New York City Council pulled in unison.

Persons: what’s, Shaun Donovan Organizations: The New York Times, New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation, Via Verde, Guggenheim, Bloomberg, . Engineers, New, New York City Council Locations: New, Via Verde, Bronx, York, Paris, New York, grumbled

☆ Mayor Adams Is Braced for Defeat on 2 Criminal Justice Bills
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | Dana Rubinstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The New York City Council is expected to override Mayor Eric Adams’s veto of two criminal justice bills on Tuesday, delivering what would be a major defeat to Mr. Adams and his administration’s emphasis on strengthening law enforcement efforts. The bills, which would force police officers to document more of their interactions with the public and would end solitary confinement in city jails, have opened a bitter rift between Mr. Adams and Democratic leaders in the City Council. Mr. Adams, a Democrat who ran for office on a public safety message, has warned that the bills would make the city and its jails more dangerous. He vowed to fight the override until the last moment and encouraged moderate council members to support him. “Crime is down, and New York remains the safest big city in America,” Mr. Adams said in a statement, adding that the bill to document police stops would “undermine that progress and make our city less safe.”

Persons: Eric Adams’s, Adams, ” Mr Organizations: New, Democratic, City Council, Democrat Locations: New York, City, America

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Council Member Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated group of men known as the Central Park Five, says he was stopped and pulled over by police without being given an explanation. But after Salaam identifies himself as a council member, the officer quickly withdraws without providing further explanation for the stop. Police later said in a statement that Salaam was stopped for driving with a dark tint beyond legal limits. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesThe police officer conducted himself professionally and respectfully, the NYPD said in the statement, adding that he used discretion to allow the council member to complete his official duties. Salaam won a seat on the New York City Council in November and represents a central Harlem district.

Persons: Member Yusef Salaam, Eric Adams, —, New York Police Department —, Salaam Organizations: —, Member, Central, City Council, Salaam, New York Police Department, Police, NYPD, New, New York City Council Locations: — New York, New York City, Central Park, New York, Harlem

☆ Mayor Adams Vetoes Police Transparency and Solitary Confinement Bills
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jeffery C. Mays | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a failed and unusually protracted effort to convince the New York City Council to rescind a bill requiring the police to document more of their interactions with the public, Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the legislation Friday, arguing that it would harm public safety. “We cannot handcuff the police,” Mr. Adams said at a news conference at City Hall, where he was surrounded by community supporters and police officials. “We want to handcuff bad people for violence.”Hours later, the mayor also vetoed a bill that would ban solitary confinement in the city’s jails. That Mr. Adams, a former police captain who ran for mayor on a platform of public safety, would oppose the bills is not surprising. The mayor said on Friday that he had conversations with numerous Council members about the bills, suggesting that he may have persuaded some to oppose the policing legislation, in particular.

Persons: Eric Adams, ” Mr, Adams, Mr, — Organizations: New, New York City Council, City Hall Locations: New York

☆ One of the exonerated 'Central Park Five' wins New York City Council seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Yusef Salaam, one of the wrongly convicted "Central Park Five", gestures while praising god following a news conference announcing the payout for the case at City Hall in New York June 27, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 8 (Reuters) - Yusef Salaam, one of five Black and Latino men wrongly imprisoned as teenagers in the notorious Central Park jogger rape case in 1989, won a seat on the New York City council in Tuesday's elections, according to unofficial results from the city's elections board. His city council victory came 20 years after he and the other four men, known as the "Central Park Five," sued New York City for wrongful conviction and violation of their civil rights, eventually winning a $41 settlement in 2014. Salaam invoked his nightmarish ordeal in his bid for city council. Salaam and the other four men were between 14 and 16 years old when investment banker Trisha Meili, who was white, was raped and almost killed in Central Park in 1989.

Persons: Yusef Salaam, Carlo Allegri, Salaam, Trisha Meili, Donald Trump, Trump, Julia Harte, Bill Berkrot Organizations: City Hall, REUTERS, New, Democratic, New York, Netflix, New York Times, Thomson Locations: New York, New York City, Tuesday's, June's, Manhattan's Harlem, U.S, Central Park

☆ NYC passes bill to make pandemic-era outdoor dining program permanent, with more specific guidelines
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Jessica Xing | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The New York City Council approved a bill Thursday to make the pandemic-era outdoor dining program a permanent part of the city, with some restrictions, according to the Office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The city instituted the outdoor dining program in 2020 under the administration of Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio, to assist the struggling restaurant industry during the height of the pandemic. Under the new bill, however, roadway dining structures such as outdoor sheds will need to be removed during the winter. Sidewalk dining will be allowed with a permit all year-round, according to a statement from the city council. People eat dinner in an outdoor sidewalk shed at a restaurant on Bedford Street in Greenwich Village on December 17, 2021 in New York City.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, Bill de Blasio, Gary Hershorn, Councilwoman Marjorie Velazquez, ” Adams, ” Velazquez, “ Organizations: CNN, The New, New, New York City, Corbis, Department, Transportation, NYC Council Locations: The New York, New York, Bedford, Greenwich Village, New York City, York

☆ Chipotle wants you to think composting before burrito bowl becomes trash
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Composting has been a key part of that for Chipotle, and the fast-casual restaurant chain is expanding that focus this year. In 2023, Chipotle has set a goal to institute composting programs in at least 23% more restaurants, or approximately 234 additional locations. In certain jurisdictions, compostable products have to be fiber-based, while in others plant-based compostable products are accepted. Infrastructure is key for Chipotle, Shibata said, as there are many Chipotle restaurants in areas where there is no facility that can compost certain items. She sees more jurisdictions pushing in the direction of more composting, and said that a focus from companies like Chipotle on composting will help generate momentum.

Persons: Brandon Bell, Chipotle, Brian Niccol, Laurie Schalow, Lisa Shibata, Shibata, We've, Frank Franciosi, Franciosi, Schalow Organizations: Mexican Grill, Getty, composted, Companies, New, New York City, Seattle Locations: Mexican, Austin , Texas, Chipotle, U.S, New York, West Coast, San Francisco

☆ Bill Perkins, Defender of His Harlem Constituents, Dies at 74
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Sam Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Perkins, who for 24 years as a legislator from Harlem championed his community — by, among other things, challenging Donald J. Trump’s aggressive demand for the death penalty when five teenagers, who were later exonerated, were arrested in connection with a rape in Central Park in 1989 — died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. His death was announced by his wife, Pamela Green Perkins. She did not give a cause, but Mr. Perkins had undergone treatment for colon cancer and, according to Richard Fife, a family spokesman, had developed dementia. In 1989, when five Black and Hispanic teenagers were charged with the rape of a white jogger in Central Park, Mr. Perkins was among the first Black civic leaders to publicly raise questions about the evidence and to suggest that there had been a rush to judgment. At the time he was president of the tenants’ association of Schomburg Plaza, the Manhattan apartment complex where several of the defendants lived.

Just 14% say they have a great deal or "quite a lot" of confidence in the criminal justice system, half the level of a decade ago. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case is the first of several involving Trump as the country braces for a 2024 presidential election in which Trump is the leading Republican candidate. Trump himself has over the years complained that law enforcement was targeting him for political purposes, and his rhetoric has heightened since the New York case surfaced. On Wednesday, Trump called on his fellow Republicans in Congress to slash funding for the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI. "It's obvious the criminal legal system can punch down - it's proven that, and oppressively so," Ali said.

☆ NYC appears poised to pass a bill banning size discrimination — making height and weight a protected class. Some states are also looking into the issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The New York City Council appears prepared to pass a bill banning weight and height discrimination. The bill would apply to employment opportunities, housing, and public accommodations. Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, and New York state might enact similar policies, per The Washington Post. "This was long overdue as a civil rights issue," Abreu told The Washington Post. If someone looks a certain way, if someone is of a different body size or has higher weight, who cares?"

☆ Fact Check-Video shows illegal dirt bikes bulldozed in New York in June 2022, not motorcycles destroyed by Nigeria’s Tinubu in Lagos
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video showing illegal dirt bikes crushed under a bulldozer in New York in June 2022 has been shared by social media users who have falsely claimed it shows an incident carried out in Lagos under the orders of Nigerian presidential candidate Bola Tinubu. “This is how Tinubu and his boys destroyed motorcycles owned by northerners in Lagos, time for payback is here. On June 21, 2022, the New York Police Department bulldozed illegal dirt bikes it had confiscated in New York City. The New York City Council enacted a bill in 2017 which “prohibits the operation of all-terrain vehicles [ATVs], including dirt bikes in New York City, unless given consent by the property owner” (here). Footage shows illegal dirt bikes destroyed in New York, not Lagos, Nigeria.

Last year, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, labeled 2021 the “worst year” for LGBTQ rights in modern U.S. history, citing a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country. “The LGBTQ+ community is really under siege right now,” said Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas. One bill that was successfully implemented, and gained national headlines for months, was Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. Those losses came after some conservative groups ramped up misleading or inflammatory campaign ads targeting transgender rights.

☆ New York City's pay-transparency law is coming. Wall Street's big paydays will stay secret, but other changes could shake up finance.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Danielle Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

With so much Wall Street pay linked to bonuses, the law has less bite for financial-services firms. A new salary-transparency law is about to take effect in New York City, the nation's financial capital. Will law firms take advantage of the ambiguities of the law?" "I think banks have unique problems because they have so many administrative employees. 'No way to post bonuses up front'In April, the group and chambers of commerce for the city's five boroughs sent a joint letter to the New York City Council.

☆ Why companies like UPS and Disney are allowing workers to show their tattoos
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Companies including Disney, UPS and Virgin Atlantic have relaxed their dress and style codes to allow employees to show their tattoos in the workplace. Shifting views on tattoos at workBartlett said after that policy was well received, UPS began looking at changes to its tattoo policy. Previously, the company barred employees from showing any visible tattoos — workers with tattoos had to cover them with long sleeves or pants, or skin-colored coverings. According to the Disney cast member handbook, visible tattoos that are no larger than an extended hand are permitted except for any on the face, head, or neck. That carried over into corporate culture, where hiring managers would stereotype applicants with visible tattoos, or where employers would worry that employing someone with tattoos would turn off customers.

☆ Drastic pay inequities persist for Black and Latino NYC workers, especially women
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A new pay equity report from the New York City Council shows “persistent, large pay gaps” in the city’s municipal workforce, particularly among Black, Latino and white employees — a divide that gets worse when comparing men and women workers. Black city employees make just 71 cents on average for every dollar made by their white counterparts, according to the report, which was released Thursday. For Black women and Latinas, the gap is even larger, dropping to 69 cents for every dollar made by white male employees. On the whole, female city employees make 73 cents for every male dollar. Pay equity reports are mandated by a New York City law passed in 2019 that aimed to “find and eliminate” wage gaps in public employment.

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