Shortly after city lawmakers voted to rename a bridge after former Mayor Ed Koch, they received an email from the City Comptroller, complaining of a “double standard.”
“I’m unable to hold back,” City Comptroller John Liu wrote in a 5:31 a.m. email addressed to City Council members.
In the email, Liu recalls a “tongue-lashing” Read More
The unofficial street renaming for black nationalist Sonny Carson is going forward in Brooklyn this Saturday at 4 p.m., according to a City Hall source. And leading the unofficial event will be Charles Barron.
The fact that the City Council already rejected this plan isn't stopping supporters. In fact, I’m guessing this Read More
Councilman Alan Gerson of Lower Manhattan was among a handful of lawmakers absent when the City Council voted on whether to co-name four blocks of Gates Avenue after the black nationalist activist Sonny Carson.
I called Gerson's office to ask how he would have voted.
No, according to an aide. And to Read More
Yesterday at City Hall, I ran into Councilman Tom White of Queens, one of the Council members who was absent the day of the emotionally charged vote over whether to rename a stretch of street for black nationalist Sonny Carson.
I asked him how he would have voted if he was there. Read More
Here’s a picture of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly staying late after a town hall meeting on West 125th Street in Harlem last night featuring the mayor and some top commissioners.
Most of the questions directed at Bloomberg at the event were about zoning, housing, police relations and job development. No one asked about the Read More
For the record, here’s the exact breakdown of who voted for, against, abstained or was absent for a proposal yesterday to reinsert the name of black activist Sonny Carson into an omnibus street renaming bill.
Affirmative: 15
Negative: 25
Abstentions: 7
Absent 4:
Notably, John Liu, the only Asian-American in the Council, Read More
The City Council has voted down a proposal to co-name four blocks of a street in Brooklyn after black nationalist Sonny Carson. The vote was 15 for and 25 against, with seven abstentions. Notable votes: Bill De Blasio, who worked on David Dinkins' mayoral campaign with Carson, voted no. Oliver Koppell, who voted no, said Read More
It's been a while since Al Jolson was in the news this much, I'm guessing, but… Christine Quinn today defended her support for a street renaming for Jolson, who, for you youngsters out there, famously performed in blackface in The Jazz Singer. Critics have asserted that it is hypocritical of Quinn to Read More
Here’s one unusual perspective on the argument for naming a small piece of New York City after black nationalist Sonny Carson:
“My quandary is made easier because I actually knew Sonny Carson and knew that in his last days and knew that he rued some of the stuff that he did,” Councilman James Read More
