Many New Yorkers are skeptical of the city’s direction under Mayor de Blasio. According to an NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll only 44 percent of city residents approve of Mr. de Blasio’s actions as mayor (which is, admittedly, up from 39 percent a year ago) and 49 percent think the city is moving in the wrong direction—last year only 42 percent of people were so pessimistic. Only 17 percent of residents thought the city’s quality of life had gotten better over the past year, compared to 56 percent who thought it had gotten worse or stayed the same. Fifty-nine percent of voters thought Mr. de Blasio cared about the average person, down from 65 percent last year, and 53 percent said he was a good leader for New York City, also down from 58 percent a year ago. (NBC)
The corruption charges against Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are having ripple effects in New York real estate. Mr. Skelos allegedly pressured developers to buy title insurance from his son Adam, and said he would punish those who did not cooperate. He also helped the younger Mr. Skelos get a consulting job and win government contracts. Mr. Silver, on the other hand, is accused of steering developers to a law firm that gave the Speaker hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees. The real estate industry wields mass influence in the state capital—it has been able to win reductions in rent regulations and deregulation for apartments, along with supporting the 421-a tax abatement for new construction. (New York Times)
The Port Authority’s police union is suing the agency, charging that nine probationary officers’ cell phones were illegally hacked after a raucous graduation party at a bar in Hoboken, N.J. Investigators allegedly demanded that the first year officers grant access to their personal cell phones, including unlocking iPhones and opening group texting apps. The cops were told that if they did not cooperate, they would be fired. The lawsuit argues that this command violated the officers’ constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure. The Port Authority opened the investigation after officers allegedly engaged in theft, trespass and sexual assault at the bar gathering. (New York Times)
A man who was hit in the head by an exploding manhole cover while walking his dog is suing Con Edison—and he’s also listed the dog as a complainant. Salvatore Grillo, 71, suffered serious injuries, and his black Lab named Abby also sustained psychological damage and physical wounds, such as singed fur and paws and bloody nails. The dog was so scared by the noise that she ran into Prospect Park and was lost for an hour. Mr. Grillo alleges that Con Ed was negligent for not installing manhole covers that wouldn’t explode and not warning the public of the potential threat. The manhole fire that injured Mr. Grillo and Abby was one of hundreds that erupted on city streets last winter, when salt in melting snow seeped underground and damaged wires. (DNAinfo)
