Will Christine Quinn's Legislation Create Citizens United in New York City ?

Will Quinn's Weaker Campaign Finance Bill Lead To Her Very Own Private Watergate ?

Finding loopholes to funnel unlimited amounts of unregulated campaign cash to influence elections was the scandal, along with the break-in and cover-up, that lead to Watergate and President Richard Nixon's resignation.

When given the chance, why does New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn fight progressive campaign finance reforms ? Why is less campaign finance regulation better ?In the aftermath of the dangerous Citizens United court ruling, which unleashed unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, why would Speaker Quinn want to go down that route ? What role does campaign money play in her political decisions ?

From The New York Times :

Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and an expected candidate for mayor next year, is supporting a change to New York City’s campaign finance rules that would significantly expand the ability of unions, corporations and advocacy groups to spend money on behalf of local candidates. ...

Critics said the measure, introduced nine months ahead of what is expected to be a closely contested mayoral race, would effectively outsmart the city’s stringent campaign finance system, which tries to rein in spending by interest groups and candidates alike. ...

[C]ritics of the legislation said it would create a new and weaker definition of “coordination,” a change that the Campaign Finance Board says would make it virtually impossible to prove that a mailing was illegally coordinated with a candidate. ... (The New York Times : Quinn Supports Loosening Rules On Campaign Financing By Corporations)

From The Wall Street Journal :

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a likely contender for mayor next year, has riled the agency that administers the city's public campaign-financing system by pushing new legislation that opponents contend would significantly expand the power of unions, corporations and other groups in local elections. (The Wall Street Journal : Quinn Lashed On Campaign Legislation)

Remember, Speaker Quinn is the one, who despite criticism, continues to use slush funds and lulus to thwart the democratic process in City Council.

Are self-serving choices, like supporting weaker campaign finance regulations, one of the reasons why Alec Baldwin said that Speaker Quinn is ''untrustworthy'' ?

New York Politicians Close Hospitals, Endanger Public Health

Update On Hospital Activism In New York City Following Hurricane Sandy Aftermath, Berger Commission Scorched Earth Campaign, and Medicaid Redesign Team Destruction

The latest article about the hospital closings in New York City caused by Hurricane Sandy shows that the irresponsible Berger Commission and Medicaid Redesign Team actions to close down hospitals is endangering public health.

The math is unforgiving: people get sick, and they now have nowhere else to go, a problem exacerbated by the shutdown of St. Vincent’s hospital in the West Village. Last year, emergency rooms at the city’s Bellevue Hospital Center and the private NYU Langone Medical Center saw nearly 150,000 patients combined, according to state Department of Health data. In November alone, the third busiest month for both hospitals, more 14,000 patients received care. And the lion’s share are now being cared for by Beth Israel. (The New York World)

Note : the closing of St. Vincent's wasn't only tied to the attitude up in Albany to close hospitals under the severe safety net-shredding Berger/MRT austerity budget cuts, but also due to the self-seeking motivations by politicians, such as New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Some of the St. Vincent's activists have launched a letter-writing campaign to newspapers ; Gov. Cuomo ; and to Dr. Shah, the health commish.

Urgent care needed
Manhattan: Rep. Gregory Meeks and Anthony Weiner’s guest column on the need for a hospital to serve the Rockaways, especially after Sandy, points up the need for a safety net everywhere (“The Rockaways, on solid ground,” Nov. 28). The lower west quadrant of Manhattan has had no hospital since St. Vincent’s closed. In addition, several nearby hospitals were forced to shut down temporarily because of Sandy. We need well-constructed, full-service hospitals in good strategic positions to serve communities and avoid storm damage. -- Carol F. Yost

Despite Public Health Risks Caused By Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo Is Still Dangerously Obsessed With Closing More Hospitals.

Meanwhile, given the dire hospital situation in Brooklyn (Interfaith Files For Bankruptcy ; Half of Brooklyn hospitals on life support), nobody knows if the healthcare money from Hurricane Sandy aid will be used to make sure that we equally meet the healthcare needs of patients across all five boroughs.

When Hurricane Sandy struck, NYU Langone was in the middle of fundraising for a $3 billion renovation/upgrade. Few hospitals have those kinds of resources.

But of the first $200 million in federal aid receive for hurricane relief, Langone received $114 million. (NY Daily News) * How are politicians prioritising which medical centers get funded ? Based on need, or based on the corruptive influence of special interests ?

No word yet on whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo will set aside some of the billions in hurricane relief aid to fund a healthcare system that will equally meet the healthcare needs of patients across all five boroughs of New York City, much less the resumption of operations at Bellevue and Coney Island hospitals.

Look for healthcare activists to escalate their protests, to push back on these irresponsible healthcare cuts that impact poor people. Research shows that because we do not have a truly universal, single-payer healthcare system, the network of fractured healthcare providers that we do have do not make available healthcare services to everybody, equally. One of the leading reasons that poor people rely on hospitals or emergency rooms for healthcare is because there are few physicians with medical practices in their neighborhoods, much less a true means for poor people to afford primary healthcare. Given that Gov. Cuomo is now targeting the less wealthy central neighborhoods of Brooklyn for hospital closings, the governor is gutting the few remaining safety net healthcare services still available to the uninsured and underinsured. How much can the governor cut healthcare before people start suffering for lack of emergency medical treatment ?

Bill Rudin, Marathon Organisers Hoarding 41 Generators Whilst NYC Still In Dark

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Mayor Concedes To Critics : Cancels Marathon : What Took So Long ?

Race organisers, including the Rudin Family, the New York Road Runners Club, and ING, used Mayor Michael Bloomberg to be the fall guy for criticism about the city using valuable resources to hold the New York City Marathon. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg was forced to cancel the marathon after The New York Post reported that at least 41 generators were being hoarded by race officials. Meanwhile, large numbers of New York City residents were rendered homeless with little to no resources for food, shelter, heat, health, or safety in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Many storm victims were outraged at all the resources, not just power generators, that were being hoarded by marathon organisers for the sole benefit of runners.

"Runners were set to dine on a lavish Saturday-evening pre-race meal that included lemon-thyme chicken with shallot jus, and autumn vegetable bow-tie pasta primavera with extra virgin oil and fresh herbs — which most storm victims would have killed for," reported The New York Post.

"More than 2,000 cops are typically assigned to work the marathon. About five years ago, the city started privatizing medical coverage at the event, although scores of city paramedics and EMTs are still assigned to the race," reported The New York Daily News.

Bill Rudin Hospital Evacuations and NYC Marathon Reality Check

Bill Rudin said that it would be safe to close St. Vincent's Hospital, which was the only Level I Trauma Center and full-service hospital in the Lower West Side of Manhattan. He and his billion-dollar real estate development company got easy building permits, zone-busting waivers, and approvals from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. At the time, Mr. Rudin and Speaker Quinn said that if people in Lower Manhattan became sick, or if there was a mass civilian trauma event, patients could be transported to Bellevue Hospital, which was the next closest Level I Trauma Center.

But the aftermath of hospital evacuations at NYU Langone and Bellevue Hospitals following destruction by caused by Hurricane Sandy expose the risks of the Rudin Condo Conversion Plan approved for St. Vincent's Hospital.

Note that the NYC Marathon would have three giant electricity generators, which would be used for the media tent, meanwhile, NYU Langone and Bellevue Hospitals had to be evacuated due to backup generator failures.

Watch this NBC News report about the hurricane destruction. Note that Mr. Rudin is a sponsor of the NYC Marathon, and he wants the Marathon to still take place this week-end, even though first responders haven't yet finished recovering all the dead bodies on Staten Island, or, for that matter, ensuring public safety or providing emergency care to the people rendered homeless by the tsunami of the storm surge and flooding.

Murray Hill Flooded Near Bellevue Hospital Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Hurricane Sandy Exposes Risks Of Closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Bellevue Hospital Without Power ; Backup Generators Failing Due to Floods ; No Level I Trauma Center Below Midtown Since St. Vincent's Hospital Was Converted Into Luxury Condos By Rudin Family.

Bellevue hospital can't get the generators running, 2 ft water in the basement -- FDNY scanner

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) October 30, 2012

The area near Bellevue Hospital in Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan is flooded. According to this Twitter posting, 34th Street and First Avenue is under water.

Unbelievable. Be safe friends. RT @shamir_kNot just lower Manhattan - this is 34th and 1st i104.photobucket.com/albums/m166/ow… (Murray Hill...)

— Emily Kuhn (@EmKuhn) October 30, 2012

Chelsea Building Collapse Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Across the street from 92 8th Avenue where building facade collapse just happened. (ok to use, plz credit me) twitter.com/MegRobertson/s…

— Meg Robertson (@MegRobertson) October 29, 2012

Fire and rescue personnel respond to a partial building collapse in Chelsea on Eighth Avenue, between 14th and 15th Streets. On local news reports, the building was shown to be missing the front façade of the building.

MAN 2-ALARM 92 8TH AVE, MULTIPLE DWELLING BUILDING COLLAPSE,

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 29, 2012

The building collapse took place less than five blocks from the former St. Vincent's Hospital. If people were hurt, they no longer have a Level I Trauma Center or full-service hospital at St. Vincent's since New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn approved the luxury condo conversion plan by the Rudin Family.

I see 8 fire trucks and many police cars and vans #sandy 14/8 twitter.com/gilgul/status/…

— Gilad Lotan (@gilgul) October 29, 2012

Fran Lebowitz Criticises Mike Bloomberg Over Hospital Closings

Read Also : Fran Lebowitz And Frank Rich At The Town Hall : A Review Of The State Of The Union Conversation

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At NYUFASP book launch, Fran Lebowitz slammed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill Rudin.

Fran Lebowitz denounced New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's record on hospital closings in a speech about the larger issues of mega, zone-busting real estate development deals that are destroying the social fabric of New York City

At 10:53, Ms. Lebowitz begins to speak about the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital. She describes Bill Rudin as one of the mayor's best friends.

When St. Vincent's Hospital closed, I said, "Where is that mayor ? Where's that health conscious mayor -- that mayor, who doesn't let Fran smoke a cigarette in a restaurant ? Where is that mayor ? Not a sound out of that mayor, when they closed the only hospital in the entire neighborhood. And I said, "Wait until you see, who ends up with that property, which is now way too valuable to use as a hospital. Billy Rudin is going to end up with that property," and he did. And he is one of the mayor's best friends. Okay, how many hospitals did this mayor close ? How many hospitals closed under him ? Public health is what the mayor is in charge of.

The purpose of her speech was the book launch of 'While We Were Sleeping : NYU and the Destruction of New York' at McNally Jackson bookstore in SoHo.

Make a pledge today to support Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn on Kickstarter.

John Sexton (A/K/A Robert Moses)

Years ago, a brave woman named Jane Jacobs stood up to Robert Moses, who planned to build a big highway right across Greenwich Village. Now comes John Sexton, pictured at left, the President of New York University, who wants to build luxury student housing in a broad swath across Greenwich Village. Sadly, Christine Quinn, the woman known to have corrupt morals, always finds a way to take campaign donations from major zone-busting real estate development projects in her district, like the billion-dollar Rudin luxury condo and townhouse development plan for St. Vincent's Hospital. Rumour has it that Christine Quinn will continue to enable the destruction of the fragile neighborhood fabric of Greenwich Village by approving John Sexton's Village-destroying expansion plan.

May Day Die-In St. Vincent's Hospital

#MayDay: Parts 1 and 2 : Die-In @ St. Vincent's Hospital

On May Day Healthcare for the 99% and members of the community participated in a March, Speak-Out, and Die-In protesting St. Vincent's Hospital being closed and replaced by condos.

Die-In : Part 1

Die-In : Part 2

Amanda Burden Approves Rudin Luxury Condo Conversion Plan For St. Vincent's Hospital

The controversial and scandalous Rudin Luxury Condo Conversion Plan for St. Vincent's Hospital was unanimously approved the New York City Planning Commission. The Planning Commission Director Amanda Burden said that she was pleased to see more and more luxury condominiums replacing social safety net underpinnings, such as community hospitals. Word on the street is that, after the luxury condo conversion hearing, Bill Rudin asked if Ms. Burden would like any campaign contributions the way that the Rudin family have made campaign donations to New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

St. Vincent's OWS Town Hall

Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center at 208 West 13th Street in the West Village.

With St. Vincent’s closed, the West Side still has no hospital beds below 57th Street. How can we bring a hospital back to our community ? How can we get true universal healthcare ? Come Join the Discussion ! RSVP at the Facebook page for the St. Vincent's Community Assembly.

This "town hall" is a consensus-based conversation facilitated by HEALTHCARE FOR THE 99%, an OCCUPY WALL STREET working group.

2012-01-31 St Vincents Community Assembly - Luxury Condos Cant Do CPR

St. Vincent's MLK Vigil Becomes A Medical Crisis

A man passed out on the sidewalk about 25 feet from a candlelight vigil outside of St. Vincent's Hospital tonight during a celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In this video, the political commentator and artist Suzannah B. Troy describes to us the scene of the medical emergency.

St. Vincent's closed in 2010. On Jan. 23, the New York City Planning Commission, headed by Park Avenue socialite Amanda Burden, is expected to approve the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, which will make billionaire real estate developer Bill Rudin over $1 billion in gross sales.

Earlier in the Day, activists for a single-payer healthcare system gathered at Union Square.

Activists advocating for a hospital to replace St. Vincent's, for example, joined in solidarity with the Physicians for a National Health Program, who held a speak-out on the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

Vigil at St. Vincent's Hospital

Bill Rudin Robber Baron

Bill Rudin is just another modern-day “Robber Baron.”

Updated (24-Dec-2011 - New York) ! Join us for a special Christmas Eve protest outside St. Vincent's Hospital tonight at 7 p.m.

The Rudin family head a lobbying group that calls itself the Association for a Bitter New York. They use it as political cover to portray their billion-dollar real estate deals as “civic-minded” projects. There’s nothing “civic” about closing a hospital in order to convert it to luxury condos.

In fact, St. Vincent's Hospital is under investigation by the Manhattan DA's office for allegations that the Rudin Management Company has been planning a real estate harvesting/luxury condo conversion plan of the shuttered hospital. In place of a Level 1 Trauma Center and full-service hospital, the Rudin family and their lobbyists and political enablers are pushing an urgent care center in place of St. Vincent's. Taking away from the 99 per cent. to enrich himself makes Bill Rudin just another modern-day “Robber Baron.”

2011-12-25 Bill Rudin Robber Baron Band-Aid Flyer

Rudin Surgeon General's Warning

Surgeon General's Warning : Closing hospitals in order to build luxury condos for the 1% causes serious risks to your health.

Christine Quinn Chewing Gum

Christine Quinn, All The While Chewing Gum, Tells New Yorkers To Drop Dead : ''We Don't Need St. Vincent's Hospital.''

The artist and political commentator Suzannah B. Troy deserves an Academy Award for her portrayal of Christine Quinn in this YouTube video.

Bill Rudin Confrontation Viral YouTube

St. Vincent's Hospital activist bird-dogs billionaire Bill Rudin over controversial luxury condo conversion plan.

Artist and political commentator Suzannah B. Troy confronts Bill Rudin on West 12th Street. Community anger towards Mr. Rudin has inspired many protests, including a sustained protest and vigil outside the sales office of the new luxury condos. Mr. Rudin has ruthlessly ignored the community’s need for a full-service hospital. Mr. Rudin paid pennies on the dollar to buy St. Vincent’s real estate, and Mr. Rudin now stands to sell luxury condos and townhouses that, once constructed, are expected to have a combined fair-market value of over $1 billion.

Bill Rudin Civic Leader ?

Please join the masses and flood the Rudin's phone and email this week, so they are aware of the growing wave of public disgust with them stealing a hospital from the community ! Be ready to hear the Rudin’s LIE TO YOU and tell you the Urgent Care Center they plan on putting in one of the St. Vincent's buildings will replace the full-service and trauma services that St. Vincent's provided.

CALL RIGHT NOW : John Gilbert, COO : 1-212-407-2400

AND WRITE AN EMAIL : jgilbert@rudin.com

Find us on Facebook : Hands Off St. Vincent’s

St. Vincent's Trauma Exercise

A Mass Civilian Trauma Exercise was held outside St. Vincent’s Hospital.

One of the participants at last night's "mass civilian trauma exercise" at St. Vincent' Hospital asked, "Where is Christine Quinn ?"

As part of the "mass civilian trauma exercise," many participants wore surgical masks and paper signs around their neck. The signs indicated what accidents, diseases, or emergencies they "have." Then, the "sick" participants "waited" for emergency medical treatment on the sidewalks outside St. Vincent's. No emergency help ever came, precisely because there is no longer a hospital in the Lower West Side. Some participants did not "make it." After the "mass civilian trauma exercise" came to an end, team of "survivors" marched to Grace Church, 86 Fourth Avenue, Tuttle Hall, to ask for help from Jason Mansfield, the chair of CB2's Environmental, Public Safety & Public Health Committee.