By Kim Velsey 9/19/12 11:32am

Pet Peeves

Sad puppy. (utterlycute.com)

Pet Politics: City Council Considers Animal Abuser Registry

Some might say it’s only puppy love, but councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is counting on a deep reserve of animal love to pass a City Council bill that would create an animal abuse registry—making New York City the largest jurisdiction in the country with such a database.

“It’s modeled after the sex offender registry,” Mr. Vallone said. “If you’re on the registry, you would not be able to adopt or buy a pet in the city. This list would be provided electronically to all animals stores, shelters and law enforcement agencies.”

Mr. Vallone introduced the bill—co-sponsored by council members Vincent Gentile and Elizabeth Crowley—to the council this month, saying that he had been inspired after a case last year in Astoria in which “a punk on Steinway Street threw a little dog out the window to its death.”

“It really outraged the community and got us to think what we could do,” the Queens councilman said. Read More

By Drew Grant 10/04/11 6:15pm

Occupy New York

City Councilmen Dan Halloran and Ydanis Rodriguez visit Occupy Wall Street HQ

City Councilmen Break Out In Spontaneous Debate in Liberty Plaza

Normally we’d say that there is no way New York City Republican Councilman Dan Halloran just happened to be at the Occupy Wall Street protests today, and just happened to run into his Democratic coworker Ydanis Rodriguez, and those two just happened to break out with an impromptu civil argument about taxes. But that’s what both of these elected officials” spokespeople are saying to Capital New York, so who are we to argue that this was a pre-planned event? Read More

By Cora Lewis 7/06/10 10:09pm

Arts Editorial

The Arts Are Safe—For the Moment

New Yorkers seeking refuge in cool museum halls, botanic gardens and library reading rooms can stop sweating-the arts are safe, for now.

The City Council capitulated to reason and restored $20 million of arts funding in the city budget, putting back in most of a proposed $30 million cut that had threatened 33 of Read More

By Eliot Brown 5/19/09 10:31pm

For Related Companies, the City Planning Department Acts Promptly

If there was a race to get large development projects started in the city’s lengthy land-use review process, Stephen Ross and his Related Companies would be the clear winners.

On Monday, May 18, the Department of City Planning launched a long list of projects and initiatives into the seven-month-plus public approval process, two of them—the Read More

By Eliot Brown 5/19/09 10:30pm

For Related Companies, the City Planning Department Acts Promptly

If there was a race to get large development projects started in the city’s lengthy land-use review process, Stephen Ross and his Related Companies would be the clear winners.
On Monday, May 18, the Department of City Planning launched a long list of projects and initiatives into the seven-month-plus public approval process, two of Read More

By Glenna Goldis 10/28/08 2:03pm

Teachers Against Bloomberg: Notes From the Rubber Room

Before the New York City Council decided last week to vote in favor of Michael Bloomberg’s plan to extend term limits, attorneys were already challenging the new law in court.

Reports after the Council voted made note of two lawsuits, one filed by members of the Council who opposed the majority and the other, Read More

By Josh Benson 10/19/08 11:44pm

Term-Limits Hearings: Thompson Thunders, Velazquez Jokes

More from intern Glenna Goldis at the Council term-limits hearings:

The second set of testimony on term limits today included Comptroller Bill Thompson, who yesterday said he would run for mayor even if it meant challenging Bloomberg. Several times, the audience began to clap but then stifled itself to avoid censure from the chair. Read More

By Josh Benson 10/17/08 4:59pm

Term-Limits Hearings: Thompson Thunders, Velazquez Jokes

More from intern Glenna Goldis at the Council term-limits hearings: The second set of testimony on term limits today included Comptroller Bill Thompson, who yesterday said he would run for mayor even if it meant challenging Bloomberg. Several times, the audience began to clap but then stifled itself to avoid censure from the chair. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 5/20/08 2:25pm

Quinn on Her Legacy

At a Crain‘s business breakfast in Midtown this morning, Christine Quinn said she doesn’t think her career as City Council speaker will be "defined" by the "problem" the council has in the slush fund scandal.

Quinn said she, and others, will be judged by the solutions they propose to problems as they arise. Read More