The untimely and gruesome death of anyone should give us pause, but when it involves a firefighter crashing through burning doors to rescue a stranger in a Bronx firetrap, we cringe, fixate ourselves on the headlines for a day or two and show our proper respect. We put on the grand display of an official Read More
In March 1956, as the baseball Dodgers and Giants planned their abandonment of the city that had given them sustenance for half a century, Manhattan Borough President Hulan Jack suggested that a domed stadium be built on stilts over rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan, a place where both teams could play.
The Read More
My comrades were all atwitter on Nov. 3, predicting Armageddon and worse after John Kerry conceded defeat. One retired friend said he was so “depressed” that he was locking his doors and staying home for a few days.
But how bad was it really? So a pro-war Democrat who tap-danced his way around issues like Read More
The Greek philosopher Zeno of Cittium hasn’t been seen in about 2,300 years, but rumor has it that the real reason for Mayor Bloomberg’s recent trip to Athens was to unearth—pardon the pun—a relative of the man who was the founder of Stoicism, in order to place him on next year’s $75 million Mayoral re-election-campaign Read More
A security company criticized in a state audit last year has a $3.6 million annual contract with the city to work on the troubled Staten Island Ferry, even though its contract with the state Office of General Services was terminated last year when it didn’t supply the state with proof that employees were qualified.
State Read More
Administrators at the City University of New York announced recently that they would open a graduate program of journalism some time next year. That’s good news for aspiring journalists who can’t afford pricey degrees from places like Columbia University, where they offer instruction in not giving offense.
Officials described the program as a one-year “boot Read More
Thirty years ago, eight city officials-the Mayor, the Comptroller, the City Council president and the five borough presidents-would sit around a solid oak table on the second floor of City Hall every other Thursday, deciding how to spend tens of millions of dollars on city services.
The table was in the hearing room of Read More
Anyone who wants to know what’s wrong with the Republican Party these days need only listen to George W. Bush talk about blocking Haitian refugees from reaching our shores. He has dishonored our national heritage, with nary a whisper of complaint from Governor George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg or any G.O.P. member of Congress from Read More
There is scant reason to look for good news when a 19-year-old is killed in a tragic accident. But at least we can be relieved that a grand jury in Brooklyn has decided not to indict a police officer in the young man’s death. The grand jury took only 35 minutes to reach its decision. Read More
With the imminent release of a $700,000 safety study of Staten Island ferry operations, New Yorkers are still waiting to find out what really happened on Oct. 15, when a crash killed 11 ferry passengers and injured more than 70.
The ferry mystery, and the way City Hall has handled it, stands in stark contrast Read More
