Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Jo Hamilton, ex-official involved in St. Vincent's Hospital condo conversion, fined for ethics violations

Jo Hamilton was on the take

Jo Hamilton, former member of Manhattan Community Board 2, which rubber-stamped and fast-tracked the demolition and luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, was on the take.

From the Demand a Hospital listserv :

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: Demand A Hospital
To: Demand A Hospital
Subject: Jo Hamilton was on the take
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 04:41:25 -0500

Dear All :

For a decade, Jo Hamilton was receiving free gifts from an entity that had business before Community Board 2. Please read the following reports :

    (i)    http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/community-board-member-fined-free-soho-house-membership-blog-entry-1.2022053

    (ii)    http://nypost.com/2014/11/25/board-member-fined-10k-over-free-soho-house-membership/

    (iii)    http://gothamist.com/2014/11/24/soho_house_2.php

    (iv)    http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20141124/meatpacking-district/community-board-2-member-fined-for-accepting-free-soho-house-membership

    (v)    http://www.scribd.com/doc/248068157/COIB-Disposition-CB

How many other members of Community Board 2 were on the take ?

What did the former chairs of CB2 and the former subcommittee chairs know about Jo Hamilton being on the take -- and when did they know it ?

How many lobbyists paid for entertainment, meals, and other gifts for members of CB2 that were never reported or may have crossed the line to be inappropriate or illegal ?

Never give up.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Tell Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals. Call 311 for the mayor and 1 (518) 474-8390 for the governor.

You can also tweet your concerns to : @BilldeBlasio -and- @NYGovCuomo

Sunday, November 16, 2014

"Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo" Flyer resurfaces

This mailer is reportedly from the 1982 gubernatorial campaign, but the discriminatory slogan actually dates back to the 1977 Democratic Party primary race for New York City mayor

For all of former Mayor Koch's internalised self-loathing as a closeted gay man, how much of former Mayor Koch's slow HIV/AIDS response should be attributable to the Cuomo campaign's fear-baiting tactics against former Mayor Koch ?

From Progress Queens :

A photograph was posted to Twitter of a flyer from the 1982 New York gubernatorial race bearing the slogan, "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo," triggering remembrances and questions about the controversial campaign efforts by Andrew Cuomo to smear Ed Koch.

The offensive slogan originally dates back to the Democratic Party primary in the 1977 New York City mayoral race when the two were political rivals running for the same office, but the Cuomo camp used the slogan again during the lingering whisper campaign five years later, in the 1982 New York gubernatorial race, as evidenced by the photo of the handbill.

RELATED


Three decades later, "Vote For Cuomo, Not The Homo" mailer resurfaces (Progress Queens)

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Communities United for Police Reform replaces BerlinRosen as public relations firm as CPR ramps up NYPD criticism of de Blasio

BerlinRosen is closely linked to the de Blasio administration. It's lobbyists regularly counsel Mayor de Blasio. BerlinRosen even represents Mayor de Blasio's own lobbying outfit, the Campaign for One New York.

BerlinRosen's close ties to de Blasio meant that CPR couldn't make aggressive demands for NYPD reform, because BerlinRosen wouldn't allow Mayor de Blasio to be outflanked or embarrassed by police reform activists.

In a move that may spell political trouble for Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City), the police reform group, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), has hired a new public relations firm, Progressive Cities, to replace BerlinRosen. Dan Morris at Progressive Cities will replace Daniel Levitan at BerlinRosen as CPR's spokesperson.

When BerlinRosen was supervising CPR's external communications, City Hall was in a better position to keep CPR in check. For example, CPR effectively sided with Mayor de Blasio's regressive appointment of William Bratton as commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD). Mr. Bratton is known for his support of policing tactics that unfairly target Blacks and Latinos ; nevertheless, many Latino elected officials issued statements of support to the press in a campaign some government reform activists said echoed the hallmarks of lobbyist-generated synchronicity for the convenient packaging of Latino elected officials' approvals. Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Harlem) and Senator José Peralta (D-Queens) were joined by U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn), Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. (D-The Bronx), Assemblymember Luis Sepulveda (D-The Bronx), and Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan) in supporting the Bratton appointment, even though grassroots police reform activists were protesting the appointment out of concern for Commissioner Bratton's reliance on a racial policing theory known as "Broken Windows."

Yesterday, the online news publication Progress Queens sent an e-mail request to Mr. Levitan, asking if BerlinRosen worked on pre-swearing in public relations work for Mayor de Blasio, and, if so, asking how BerlinRosen was being paid. However, Mr. Levitan did not answer the request. A few hours later, news broke that BerlinRosen was being replaced by Progressive Cities as CPR's public relations firm.

In the time since Mayor de Blasio was sworn into office, BerlinRosen has regularly courted controversy.

BerlinRosen has advised City Hall's non-profit, lobbying arm, the Campaign for One New York, which relies on funding from the mayor's political supporters. Through the Campaign for One New York, Mayor de Blasio is actively engaged in a non-stop campaign of lobbying other government officials using private monies, subverting government work into the hands of public relations officials, lobbyists, and private donors. BerlinRosen was also the mastermind behind a controversial "dark money" mailer that sought to quell voter anger in the time leading up to the closure of Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Brooklyn. (The thin-skinned mayor and his political operatives were trying to deflect voter anger at Mayor de Blasio's betrayal on the LICH closure.) In an exposé published by The New York Post, it was revealed that Mayor de Blasio seeks counsel from lobbyists, including those at BerlinRosen, comprising the integrity of government work at City Hall. BerlinRosen also positioned itself itself in the middle of a $1.5 billion, zone-busting real estate development deal for the old Domino Sugar refinery in Brooklyn, that may have duplicitous implications for impropriety, since BerlinRosen led discussions between the real estate developer and the same de Blasio administration its firm regularly counsels. Eventually, City Hall approved the waterfront development deal.

Mr. Morris, the Progressive Cities chief, formerly worked at the campaign consulting firm Red Horse, before founding Progressive Cities, according to a report in The New York Observer. Red Horse is closely associated with Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Mark-Viverito. Police reform activists were hoping that the change in the public relations firm advising CPR would lead to aggressive demands for police reforms. However, the close political ties to City Hall and City Council may make Mr. Morris another administration flack, perhaps less than Mr. Levitan. Whilst it is known that CPR plans to publicly challenge Commissioner Bratton's "Broken Windows" theory of policing, which the mayor and the First Lady have supported, it is not known if CPR will call for Commissioner Bratton's resignation, as have grassroots police reform activists.

RELATED


Liberals growing frustrated with Bill de Blasio (The New York Times)

Leading police reform group pushing NYPD for major changes (The New York Daily News)

Mayor de Blasio has failed to end racial policing in New York City (Progress Queens)

Mayor Criticized for Not Moving Faster on Marijuana Policy (The Wall Street Journal)

Amid reports of friction, de Blasio and Bratton assail the media (Capital New York)


Flatiron Massage | Massage Therapist NYC

Michael Hayes, LMT, has practiced massage for more than 20 years as a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

Friday, November 7, 2014

El Diario : Activists call for a commission to investigate NYPD corruption, including at Internal Affairs

Five governmental offices with jurisdiction over NYPD are asked to create a new commission, modeled after Knapp and Mollen

"Activists say the CCRB is negligent and that the City needs another panel to address complaints made against police"

On Columbus Day, a small group of protesters walked to five government offices, demanding that as a result of "negligence" by the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the government should appoint a commission to be responsible for investigating corruption at the New York Police Department. The five stops on the walking protest tours were : the Mayor's Office, the main headquarters of the NYPD, the District Attorney of Manhattan, the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, and the FBI headquarters in New York.

RELATED


Exigen crear nueva comisión que investigue quejas contra NYPD (El Diario)

Written demand to Mayor de Blasio to appoint a new commission to investigate NYPD corruption, including at IAB (Scribd)


Flatiron Massage | Massage Therapist NYC

Michael Hayes, LMT, has practiced massage for more than 20 years as a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Progress Queens issues endorsements in New York governor race, ballot proposals

Hawkins is endorsed over Cuomo

On ballot proposals, voting no on fake redistricting reform

Progress Queens has endorsed Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate, for governor of New York. The endorsement praises Hawkins's plans "to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, to roll out a single-payer health care program for all New Yorkers, and to support a clean energy plan that would create new jobs in a clean energy system, amongst other proposals." Progress Queens also applauds Hawkins' unconditional opposition to hydrofracking.

On Proposal One, regarding redistricting, Progress Queens recommends a vote of NO. On Proposal Two, regarding electronic distribution of legislative bills, Progress Queens recommends a vote of YES. On Progress Three, the debt financing of computer equipment for schools, Progress Queens recommends a vote of NO.

RELATED


For Governor of New York, Progress Queens endorses Howie Hawkins (Progress Queens)

On New York Ballot Proposals One, Two, and Three, the Progress Queens endorsements (Progress Queens)


Flatiron Massage | Massage Therapist NYC

Michael Hayes, LMT, has practiced massage for more than 20 years as a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

In spite of legal troubles, Lawrence Schwartz still at Governor Cuomo's side

Lawrence Schwartz remains at governor’s side, in spite, or perhaps because, of legal problems with AEG and Moreland

Lawrence Schwartz and Gov. Andrew Cuomo photo lawrence-schwartz-andrew-cuomo_zps99d34174.jpg

Lawrence Schwartz survived Paterson's AEG scandal ; will he survive Cuomo's Moreland scandal ?

Years before Cuomo aide Lawrence Schwartz became implicated in the waves of controversies that have engulfed the Moreland Commission, Mr. Schwartz was at the center of yet another Albany political controversy : the Aqueduct Entertainment Group bid to operate a racino at a Queens racetrack.

“Schwartz further incredulously claimed to not recall myriad meetings he organized and attended, various e-mail correspondence between himself and other individuals, and numerous conversations in which he engaged, and claimed unawareness of the Governor’s selection of AEG despite personally engaging the Governor’s press office in a colloquy about the very subject.”
-- Inspector General's report

RELATED


Lawrence Schwartz remains at governor’s side, in spite, or perhaps because, of legal problems with AEG and Moreland (Progress Queens)

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Seeking to recruit disenchanted Democratic Party voters, Green Party candidates Jones and Jimenez visit to Queens

Overflow crowd greet Greens at Flynn's Garden Inn in Woodside

Green Party candidates Brian Jones and Ramon Jimenez photo 2014-10-12BrianJones-RamonJimenez-GreenPartyQueensFunction600LouisFlores_zpsed175022.jpg

Greens reach out to reform-minded voters turned off by Gov. Cuomo's neoliberal priorities

“A few months ago, there was a lot of attention around the Democratic primary,” said Brian Jones, the Green Party candidate for Lieut. Governor. “A lot of progressives were thwarted [when] top party leadership rallied around Andrew Cuomo.” Mr. Jones said that progressive voters, who want other options in the Democratic Party, have no candidate to support. “A lot of that energy is coming our way.”

Ramon Jimenez, the Green Party’s candidate for the state Attorney General, was asked about one of the leading issues in this year’s election season : government corruption. During Mr. Jimenez’s campaign, he has made prior remarks about the Cuomo administration’s mistake in bringing to a premature end the corruption-fighting work of the Moreland Commission. At the meet and greet function in Queens today, Mr. Jimenez said that he found fault with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s handling of the Moreland Commission’s demise. Mr. Jimenez noted that the commissioners serving on the corruption-fighting panel had been deputized by Attorney General Schneiderman, giving his office a special responsibility in seeing to it that the commission’s work was handled appropriately. “It was wrong for him to remain silent as the commission was disbanded,” Mr. Jimenez said, adding, “The attorney general has to be more aggressive in prosecuting government corruption.”

RELATED


In Queens, Green Party candidates Jones and Jimenez talk about issues, momentum (Progress Queens)

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Did de Blasio set back police reform by stalling meeting with city's District Attorneys ?

de Blasio finally agrees to meet with District Attorneys after seven months of stalling

The Brooklyn District Attorney won't prosecute low-level marijuana possession charges, but the other District Attorneys will, creating a conflict in the application of the law across the five boroughs

For seven months, City Hall refused to meet with New York City's five district attorneys, leaving the city's top municipal prosecutors to deal with arbitrary applications of the law. Police reform activists blame the mayor for on-going arrests for low-level marijuana possession that target Blacks 4.5 more times than Whites. Wasn't the mayor supposed to reform law enforcement by ending unfair policing tactics that specifically target minority communities ?

RELATED


By ignoring requests for meetings with District Attorneys, Mayor de Blasio has hampered law enforcement reform (Progress Queens)

NYC District Attorneys Finally Get Meeting With Mayor: Sources (WNBC Channel 4 News)

Mayor de Blasio defends 'broken windows' policing strategy after Eric Garner death (The New York Daily News)

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Financial irregularities at the Corona-Elmhurst Center for Economic Development remain enshrouded in a mystery

With seemingly endless public corruption scandals in Queens, one goes overlooked

The Queens District Attorney, the State Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorney for New York's eastern district all look away as half a million dollars go unaccounted for

A shuttered Queens-based non-profit, the Corona-Elmhurst Center for Economic Development, has never publicly accounted for its use of $500,000 in funding. The news Web site Progress Queens contacted various prosecutors, finding a wall of silence from local, state, and federal investigators. Are the political ties to high-ranking elected officials the reason no prosecutor wants to investigate the missing money ?

RELATED


The collapse of the Corona-Elmhurst Center for Economic Development, a nonprofit partly organized by State Senator Jose Peralta, remains a mystery (Progress Queens)

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Blogger Louis Flores debuts Progress Queens, a new Web site about news and politics

Progress Queens : News and Politics

The evolution of online news

The Internet has allowed for many Web sites to publish news online, but the avalanche of information fails to connect with people. One of the biggest reasons that people are disconnecting from the news is that the mainstream media never gives people the whole truth about how our government is run. Progress Queens was created to address this problem.

Progress Queens upends mainstream media

Whereas the mainstream media fails to make the connections to lobbyists, consultants, and outside contractors in the many corruption scandals that impact government and big business, you can count on Progress Queens to always make that connection for you.

Progress Queens is fighting for a truly progressive reform agenda based on the values that we should each of use economic gains to help those with the least and keep our elected officials accountable to voters at all times. Follow us on Twitter : @progressqueens.

RELATED


Progress Queens : News and Politics (ProgressQueens.com)

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Teachout Wu Cuomo Mark-Viverito Bratton Whistleblower Fired NYPD Eric Garner - Twawking Tweets Episode 2

Twawking Tweets - Episode 2 - Top NY political tweets on Twitter

New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito fires an NYPD whistleblower.

In this episode, the following issues were discussed :

  • Zephyr Teachout's possible endorsement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reelection campaign ;
  • Tim Wu criticizing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for having supported Leut. Gov. candidate, Kathy Hochul ;
  • Mr. Wu's announcement of his support of the Cuomo-Hochul ticket ;
  • Rob Astorino asks Preet Bharara to release information about the federal investigation into the Moreland Commission scandal before Election Day ;
  • New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito fires a whistleblower ; and
  • A reminder that Speaker Mark-Viverito denied that race was a factor in the homicide of Eric Garner.

Twawking Tweets is sponsored by the Twitter account, @InformedVoting.

RELATED


Twawking Tweets - Episode 2 - Top NY political tweets on Twitter (Progress Queens)


Flatiron Massage | Massage Therapist NYC

Michael Hayes, LMT, has practiced massage for more than 20 years as a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

Monday, September 15, 2014

In Jackson Heights, NYPD arrest and handcuff man, aggravating his injuries

Commissioner Bratton and Mayor de Blasio say we have community policing, but the police can't even speak Spanish to communicate with the community. And when I translated that the man's arm is broken, the cops put him in a impossible situation, and they painted the man as uncooperative. The man has an injured or broken arm ; he's handcuffed, but the cops complained that the man would not stand up. Before I started filming with my iPhone, I witness one police officer putting his foot on the small of the man's back to hold him down.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Mark-Viverito fires Council whistleblower for disputing Commissioner Bratton's stats on NYPD use of force

City Council aide ­Artyom Matusov was fired for exposing a misrepresentation by Commish Bratton that "implied the percentage of arrests in which force was used had dropped in recent years"

Speaker Mark-Viverito's War on Whistleblowers

A Harvard University Kennedy School of Government-educated City Council staffer was fired on Friday after he blew the whistle on inaccuracies in the official testimony provided by NYPD Commissioner William Bratton last Monday.

In the City Council hearing, on the subject of police use of deadly chokeholds, Commissioner Bratton testified that police use of force was declining, stating that police officers used force in about 3 per cent. of the time out of an annual arrest rate of about 400,000. After City Council staffer Artyom Matusov heard the testimony, he did some number crunching, and Mr. Matusov discovered that Commissioner Bratton's calculations couldn't hold water. According to statistics analyzed by Mr. Matusov, Commissioner Bratton's testimony was incorrect, because police officers self-reported arrests in which force was used at a rate more than double than the rate to which Commissioner Bratton testified. That doubled rate covered approximately only 10 per cent. of annual arrests, meaning the actual use of NYPD force during arrests could be extrapolated to be at a much higher rate.

Mr. Matusov claims that he was fired, "because Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito wanted to punish him for blowing the whistle on Mayor de Blasio’s police chief," The New York Daily News reported.

In an interview with The New York Daily News, Mr. Matusov claimed that speaking out about Commissioner Bratton's faulty testimony cost him his job, because Speaker Mark-Viverito retaliated against him to protect Mayor de Blasio from any political fallout from Commissioner Bratton's perjury.

Mr. Matusov noted how Speaker Mark-Viverito owes her political career to Mayor de Blasio, telling The New York Daily News that, “Remember, he appointed the speaker.”

RELATED


Council aide claims he was fired for disputing Bratton (Capital New York)

City Council analyst : I got fired by Speaker Mark-Viverito for saying Bill Bratton lied about NYPD's use of force (The New York Daily News)

City Council aide says he was fired for exposing Bratton’s bogus data (The New York Post)

Melissa Mark-Viverito Won’t Say Race Was a Factor in Eric Garner’s Death (The New York Observer)


Flatiron Massage | Massage Therapist NYC

Michael Hayes, LMT, has practiced massage for more than 20 years as a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Rousing 2011 #OWS speech reminds us of role of St. Vincent's Hospital on 9/11

Crucita Alvarado - Missing Person - Coney Island

Call 911 or (800) 577-8477

Tomorrow will mark one month since Crucita Alvarado was last seen. She has been missing since Tuesday, Aug. 12, and her family is searching for her. Ms. Alvarado is also known by her nickname, ''Lucy'' or ''Miss Lucy.''

RELATED : Grandmother, 73, Missing For More Than A Week From Coney Island (WCBS2 New York)

Ms. Alvarado, who is 73 years old, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and she is believed to have wandered off and gotten lost. If anybody recognises her, please call 911 or the NYPD tips line at : (800) 577-8477.