For decades, Brooke Astor’s duplex at 778 Park was the pinnacle of New York City living. This had much to do with the society queen and her courtiers, who hosted lavish parties there, but also with the 16-room home, boasting six terraces and a renowned red-lacquered library. That was before the wallpaper began to peel Read More
Park Slope Council Member Brad Lander held a hastily-arranged news conference on the steps of City Hall today to refute charges laid out in a lawsuit that seeks the removal of a bike lane in a tony neighborhood in Brooklyn.
The suit made the front page of The New York Times today, and the Read More
Not since Terry Malloy and Johnny Friendly menaced the docks of Red Hook has there been such a to-do on the waterfront.
While the mayor announced at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens today that the city enjoyed (read:loathed) a record number of tourists in 2010, a group of local pols gathered in Red Hook to Read More
The Journal had an interesting story today about the slower-than expected development of Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, which was rezoned in 2003 with great hopes for creating “Brooklyn’s Park Avenue.”
While much of the article is a by-the-numbers status report on what’s built and what’s stalled, there is an undercurrent emphasizing Read More
Tensions are rising over living wage.
The Bloomberg administration’s plan to study the effects of living wage laws came under attack today from a set of Council members and City Comptroller John Liu, who called the effort a “sham.”
The issue came under fire as the city-controlled Industrial Development Authority authorized $1 million to fund Read More
Members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus dismissed Michael Bloomberg’s opposition to plugging the budget by taxing wealthier New Yorkers.
Lawmakers said that when the mayor presented his budget to them this morning, he focused on slashing city spending and laying off workers, including teachers. Not included in the budget, they said, were any new Read More
Former Governor Hugh Carey endorsed John Heyer in the race for the City Council seat being vacated by Bill de Blasio in brownstone Brooklyn.
The campaign noted that Heyer went to school with Carey’s granddaughter, which may explain why he’s getting involved in a local City Council race.
Heyer did note that as Read More
Brad Lander is calling for an investigation into how an advertisement purportedly from his campaign denouncing gay rights got published in a Yiddish newspaper.
“[O]ur campaign did not request, see, authorize, approve, or pay for this advertisement. It contains false and misleading statements that are inconsistent with, and harmful to, our campaign,” Lander’s Read More
On Saturday night, Josh Skaller’s campaign sent out an email from the candidate’s wife defending the couple’s decision to send one of their children to private school.
The Skaller email, titled “Protecting Our Son Wolf,” was sent by Josh’s wife, Kelly, and says the issue was being raised by one candidate in the race, Brad Read More
At an endorsement ceremony for City Council candidate Josh Skaller in Park Slope this morning, former presidential front-runner Howard Dean admitted he got himself into a little bit of trouble in the Democratic primary in the 39th District.
After a rousing introduction and brief speeches by Dean and Skaller, the first question was, surprisingly, about Read More
