By The Editors 3/27/12 6:59pm

opinion

A Step Back in the City

It is unrealistic to expect that the march of reform will proceed without incident. Yes, both the state and the city have come a long way in recent years on a host of issues, ranging from tax policy to education reform. Mayors and governors understand that it is no longer acceptable to rely on tax hikes to pay for wasteful spending practices. That’s all good.

Every now and again, though, we’re reminded of the kinds of policies that earned the city and state a deserved reputation as a difficult place to do business.

The City Council this week is expected to pass a bill that will require developers to pay higher labor costs on projects that receive more than $1 million in subsidies. Read More

By The Editors 7/26/11 7:35pm

opinion

Mayor Bloomberg Chalks Up Another Win For Reform

Poor performing schools, relics of 20th-century neglect, ought to close. Charter schools, beacons of hope in many poor neighborhoods, should be encouraged.

This may seem like common sense. But for the teachers union and, regrettably, for the New York chapter of the NAACP, these ideas are heresy. That’s why they joined forces to sue the Read More

By David Freedlander 7/26/10 8:15pm

Kruger Challenger: I’ll Be Back

Igor Oberman, who  failed to submit signatures in his race against powerful state Senator Carl Kruger, said today that the political world has not heard the last of him.

Oberman said that he thought that the decennial reapportionment could mean new opportunities for Russian-American pols.

“There is redistricting coming up, hopefully in a couple of Read More

By Jimmy Vielkind 1/23/09 8:52pm

Feds Explain Indictment of Bruno, Albany

ALBANY—After Joe Bruno proclaimed his innocence of a federal indictment handed up this afternoon, federal prosecutors and investigators laid out their case against him, and presented another conclusion from their three-year investigation of the former majority leader of the State Senate: the legislative process is "Byzantine."

"The ability to understand the legislative process is Read More

By Steve Cohen 12/08/08 5:38am

A Competently Managed Federal Program to Revive the Economy

The economy lost 533,000 jobs in November, raising the official US unemployment rate to 6.7%. When you add to that the number of people who have given up their job searches or are working part time when they would rather work full time, our real unemployment rate is probably closer to 12.5%. Over the last Read More