"Christine Quinn is a sell-out !" was a common complaint by activists, who were locked out of the LGBT mayoral forum at Baruch College.
This video features a clandestine Christine Quinn campaign worker, who was pretending to be part of the private security. The woman, who did not want to identify herself, was ordering some of the activists around. Thankfully, the blogger and activist Suzannah B. Troy captured the woman in this video. Watch beginning at 1:15.
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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.
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.
OP-ED : After Rudin Management converts St. Vincent's Hospital into Luxury Condos, will the billion-dollar real estate empire next convert closed schools into more luxury condos ?
Since he has become mayor, Michael Bloomberg has waged a sustained campaign to layoff teachers and close schools. Once wonders why he is systematically attacking public education, which is such an important underpinning of our society.
Remember how New York University got away with demolishing the Edgar Allan Poe house to build a new mega-building ? Well, yesterday, word was received that St. Vincent's Hospital, which closed after mysterious back-room meetings last year, is being converted into luxury condos by the Rudin Family. Are we beginning to see a pattern ?
In the last 10 or so years, no public institution (not a historical landmark like the former house of the famous poet Edgar Allan Poe, not St. Ann's Church, not the fabled St. Vincent's Hospital, not even public schools, where children go for an education) has been safe from being condemned and closed down -- all in the name of more and more reckless real estate development.
It is time for people to wake up and see what is on the horizon : the time is going to come when children are going to be loitering in the streets, having nowhere to go, nothing good to occupy their time, and no future to create, after all the teacher layoffs and school closings. There will be less firehouses and fewer hospitals. What kind of urban design for a metropolis is Mayor Bloomberg creating ?
But according to the real estate development wet dreams of Mayor Bloomberg, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and other development-crazed politicians, that is exactly what they want. Their vision for a new ''partnership'' for New York must include closing down public institutions, like schools, firehouses, and our historical landmarks, to make room for more luxury condo conversions and mega-buildings.
What happened to wanting to live in an exceptional city ? Aren't we capable of being better than this ? We need to organize grassroots efforts to block the elitist urban-renewal projects of real estate developers, like the Rudin Family, who seem to be joining Mayor Bloomberg on a renewed campaign to destroy the fragile character and experience of our local neighborhoods. It's time to get organized and fight back !
