Uber Wins Battle Against NYC

Via USA Today:

A proposed cap on Uber and other for-hire vehicles in New York City has been put on ice after the $40 billion start-up agreed to "not flood the streets" until questions about the impact of its growth on traffic can be determined. A bill to limit Uber and other for-hire taxis had been slated to go to a vote before the New York City Council on Thursday. The cap was to limit Uber and other for-hire vehicles until city officials could study their impact on the city's already clogged streets. In March, the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) reported that the number of Uber cars in NYC had outpaced yellow taxis for the first time. At the time, there were There are 14,088 cars, including luxury SUVs, affiliated with Uber in the city's five boroughs, compared with 13,587 yellow cabs, TLC said. That raised concerns about congestion, pollution and street parking.

Tony Perkins Slams NYC Mayor De Blasio Over Muslim Holidays For Public Schools

"In New York City schools, kids are learning Rs: reading, writing, and Ramadan. Thanks to the far-Left priorities of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), city schools have added two Muslim holidays to the school calendar -- a concession that took even Big Apple parents by surprise. While the largest religion in the country fights to even be recognized, 'NYC schools will now close for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha -- making (it) the largest school district in the nation to recognize the two holidays on the official school calendar.' Although families already had the option of taking excused absences for these days, Mayor de Blasio took it upon himself to close school for 1.1 million students in the single largest display of political correctness the district has ever seen. The reality is, America wasn't founded on Muslim principles -- but Christian ones. That doesn't mean ignoring other religions -- but it also doesn't mean surrendering our identity to a small minority either." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

QUEENS: De Blasio Marches In The LGBT Inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio helped carry the banner at the LGBT-inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade in Queens. Last year De Blasio boycotted the main parade in Manhattan but has not yet said if he will again this year.

From The New York State GOP

Sharpton as Christian Grey, De Blasio as Anastasia Steele, and the New York GOP as the worst photoshop artists ever.

REPORT: Mayor Bill De Blasio To Boycott New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade

Via Irish Central:

It appears New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will again boycott this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Fifth Avenue because of the lack of an Irish gay group in the line of march, multiple sources have told the Irish Voice. A non-Irish gay group from NBC, OUT@NBCUniversal, will march. On Tuesday, City Council Member Daniel Dromm of Queens confirmed to the Irish Voice that a majority of council members, including Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, will not take part in the parade. The council formally boycotted and withdrew its banner from last year’s march in protest, and plans on doing the same for 2015, Dromm confirmed. “I won’t march until an Irish gay group can march,” Dromm told the Irish Voice. “And there will be no council banner in this year’s parade – of course there won’t,” he added. The decision by the parade committee to allow a gay group to march next month for the first time – OUT@NBCUniversal – came about for corporate reasons only, Dromm said. “It’s not acceptable to us,” Dromm added. “We’ve been struggling for 25 years to have an Irish gay group in the march and they still won’t allow us to march.”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, this year's grand marshal, has expressed support for the inclusion of the one corporate LGBT group, earning him widespread scorn on right wing sites. When De Blasio boycotted last year, Bill Donohue was thrilled.

RELATED: The LGBT-inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade takes place in Queens on March 1st.

De Blasio Announces New Ferry Service

Via Gothamist:

The East River ferry, launched by de Blasio's predecessor, currently shuttles passengers to a limited number of stops in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan along the East River, for $4 a ticket on weekdays and $6 on weekends. The new ferry service will be cheaper—Blasio promised yesterday that "new ferry rides will be priced the same as a MetroCard fare." The service will be operated by private companies receiving government subsidies. De Blasio said he plans to allocate an initial $55 million in capital investment for the first five routes (excluding the Stapleton/Coney Island routes), and anticipates an annual city subsidy between $10-$20 million to keep the whole thing afloat. If completed as envisioned, the expansion would likely be the largest municipal ferry service in the United States, in terms of passenger use.

According to a city study, there was an 8% increase in property values for locations within walking distance of the East River ferry stops created by Bloomberg, yielding $24M in new annual tax revenue for the city. Annual ridership for New York City's private ferry companies currently stands at about 10 million. The Staten Island Ferry, which is run by the city, has an annual ridership of 27 million.

Back To Almost Normal For NYC

Cuomo and De Blasio are making the rounds of local television this morning to defend last night's decision to close down the city. Via Gothamist:

Mayor de Blasio lifted the city-wide travel ban this morning after that devastating blizzard turned out to be just a bunch of stupid snow. There's about 7.8 inches in Central Park this morning—not the 24 inches or more that was expected—and current forecasts don't call for much more additional accumulation today. And there is certainly no reason to doubt those forecasts. The MTA is also resuming service system-wide this morning, but it's going to take hours for trains and buses to get back up to full speed. Staten Island Ferry service has resumed. Asked if officials overreacted to the storm, Cuomo reminded reporters of the huge snowstorm that crippled Buffalo in November—a storm that Cuomo said he underestimated. "You make big decision based on the best information you have," Cuomo said, adding, "I do not criticize weather forecasters."Cuomo also posited that taking the trains out of service and implementing a travel ban enabled the city to bounce back faster, because the roads were clear for plows to get through and trains weren't stranded. "If you tally it up, I don't know that this wasn't the most prudent course," Cuomo said.

Most people still have the day off, of course.

Sign Language Guy Steals Storm Presser

Bill De Blasio's super-emotive sign language interpreter stole the show at yesterday's conference on the blizzard, spawning a mini-meme on Twitter.

Mayor de Blasio took the impending blizzard seriously Monday — and so did his expressive sign language interpreter. Interpreter Jonathan Lamberton’s animated gestures and facial expressions got rave reviews on social media. “The sign language interpreter is incredibly animated . . . to the point where I am not really listening to de Blasio,” wrote Twitter user Laura Bedrossian. “De Blasio's sign language interpreter wins this press conference w/the best facial expressions ever.” Katie Halper chimed in: “You know who's NOT phoning it in? The sign language interpreter at @BilldeBlasio's Blizzard presser."

He's rather hypnotic.

De Blasio Urges Calm As Protests Over Garner Decision Are Planned Citywide

From his press release:

“Today’s outcome is one that many in our city did not want. Yet New York City owns a proud and powerful tradition of expressing ourselves through non-violent protest. We trust that those unhappy with today’s grand jury decision will make their views known in the same peaceful, constructive way. We all agree that demonstrations and free speech are valuable contributions to debate, and that violence and disorder are not only wrong – but hurt the critically important goals we are trying to achieve together. The grand jury is but one part of the process. There will still be an NYPD internal investigation. And we know the US Attorney is continuing her investigation. Should the federal government choose to act, we stand ready to cooperate."

Protests will take place tonight in Times Square, Union Square, and other areas with more planned for tomorrow. De Blasio has elected to skip tonight's tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center where the police presence has been "significantly strengthened."

UPDATE: A die-in is underway at Grand Central.

De Blasio On World AIDS Day

De Blasio's comment reminds me of what an AIDS educator once told me was his advice to gay men: "When asked if you are HIV+, for many of us there are only two possible answers: 'Yes' and 'I don't know.'"  From the SF AIDS Foundation:

There's a period of time after a person is infected during which they won't test positive. This is called the “HIV window period.” The window period can be from 9 days to 3-6 months, depending on the person's body and on the HIV-test that's used. During that time, you can test HIV negative even though you're HIV infected. You can still catch HIV from someone who is in the window period. In fact, there is evidence that a person in the window period is more likely to pass the virus on.

It should go without saying that the HIV window should always be kept in mind when you see personal ads trumpeting recent negative test results.

NYPD To Get Mobile Fingerprint Scanners

Claiming that the device will reduce the numbers that are held pending investigations, the NYPD is spending $160M on mobile devices that will allow officers to scan a suspect's fingerprints in order to check for outstanding warrants.

“You can literally, with this technology, take a fingerprint on a street corner in New York City,” Mayor de Blasio said. “This is going to speed the work of law enforcement. It’s also going to allow us to not have to bring as many people into the station house.” “It’s going to allow us to do more summonses and fewer arrests where appropriate. It’s going to simplify and make more efficient the work that people in law enforcement do,” he added. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said the mobile fingerprinting technology “will take some time” to roll out, but Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said that “by this spring, we anticipate the integration of fingerprint scanning, as well as enhanced data collection in the field.” Officials said the technology would come courtesy of 35,000 handheld devices and another 6,000 Panasonic “Toughpad” tablet computers that the city is buying for the NYPD.

It's not clear whether the fingerprints of those cleared of wrongdoing will be retained by the NYPD.

NEW YORK CITY: Doctor Isolated With Possible Ebola After West Africa Trip UPDATE: He Has Tested Positive

Via the New York Times:

A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea tested positive for the Ebola virus Thursday, becoming the city’s first diagnosed case. The doctor, Craig Spencer, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital on Thursday and placed in isolation while health care workers spread out across the city to trace anyone he might have come into contact with in recent days. A further test will be conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the initial test. While officials have said they expected isolated cases of the disease to arrive in New York eventually, and had been preparing for this moment for months, the first case highlighted the challenges surrounding containment of the virus, especially in a crowded metropolis. Even as the authorities worked to confirm that Mr. Spencer was infected with Ebola, it emerged that he traveled from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the subway on Wednesday night, when he went to a bowling alley and then took a taxi home.

Protests Rock NYC Metropolitan Opera Over The Death Of Klinghoffer Production

Hundreds of protesters swarmed Lincoln Center on Monday night to rage against the Metropolitan Opera's debut of The Death Of Klinghoffer, which is based on the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro and which detractors say is anti-Semitic and glorifies terrorism. Opposition to the show was spurred by right wing sites with Ben Shapiro's Truth Revolt leading the charge. The Death Of Klinghoffer was first performed in Belgium in 1991 and the Met's production is winning rave reviews:

The opening moments establish tribal rivalries between Palestinians, with green flags, and Israelis, with olive trees, in separate scenarios filled with soaring choral work. It sets the stage for simmering tension that is only occasionally interrupted. Performed by a superb cast, the production is anchored by Paulo Szot, who plays the captain. He brings great emotion to the role, in trying unsuccessfully to reason with the terrorists. Sean Panikkar, Aubrey Allicock and Ryan Speedo Green sing the roles of the terrorists with great conviction. Jesse Kovarsky is truly terrifying as the terrorist who pulls the trigger. The roles of Klinghoffer and his wife, Marilyn, are played by Alan Opie, who has a meditative aria following his murder, and Michaela Martens, whose final aria is filled with anguish and loss. She has the last word, and rightly so.

The protest spawned some sharp words between Mayor De Blasio and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who joined the crowd outside Lincoln Center on Monday.

Mayor de Blasio defended the Metropolitan Opera's right to show "The Death of Klinghoffer," and criticized predecessor Rudy Giuliani's protest against the controversial work. "I really think we have to be very careful in a free society to respect that cultural institutions will portray works of art, put on operas, plays, that there will be art exhibits in museum," de Blasio said Monday at an unrelated press conference. "And in a free society we respect that. We don't have to agree with what's in the exhibit but we agree with the right of the artist and the cultural institution to put that forward to the public." De Blasio hit Giuliani's record of cracking down on art he didn't care for. As mayor, Giuliani famously threatened to yank funding for the Brooklyn Museum over its display of an image of the Virgin Mary covered in elephant dung. "The former mayor had a history of challenging cultural institutions when he disagreed with their content. I don't think that's the American way. The American way is to respect freedom of speech. Simple as that," de Blasio said.

The Met posted the below trailer on Sunday.

De Blasio Courts DNC 2016 For Brooklyn

Today and tomorrow New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is hosting Democratic party officials who will tour Brooklyn's Barclays Center as the prospective location for the 2016 Democratic National Convention. De Blasio's bid seems to have dim prospects.

While no one puts on a show like New York, and hometowner Hillary Clinton may be the party's nominee, many top Democrats say it makes more sense to gather in Philadelphia or Columbus, Ohio -- the two cities bidding for the convention that are in swing states. "I see no reason why the Democrats would benefit from having it here," a party official told The News ahead Monday's visit by the Democratic National Committee's site-selection committee to evaluate de Blasio's Brooklyn-centric bid. "It doesn't get you anything. Why not have it in a swing state -- especially if Hillary is the nominee? It's like shoving New York down everybody's throats," the source added. "We're wonderful, but we're not the most popular people in the world for the rest of the country." The other two cities still in the running, Birmingham, Ala., and Phoenix, have drawbacks that make their bids long shots, Democrats say.

While Barclays is almost brand new and has facilities that are said to be better than the 2012 DNC venue in Charlotte, Brooklyn has but a fraction of the nearly 18,000 hotel rooms needed for the convention.  Some Democrats are complaining about the time they would spend shuttling between midtown Manhattan and the arena. That makes me laugh, as in 2012 the DNC assigned me to a hotel in South Carolina.

RELATED: On Friday the Republican National Committee unanimously selected Cleveland as its 2016 host city, setting up the possibility that both conventions will be in Ohio.

De Blasio Pays Off On Hockey Bet

De Blasio Leads Brooklyn Pride

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio was the grand marshal of yesterday's Brooklyn Pride parade, where he and his wife declared that they will never participate in events that exclude LGBT New Yorkers.

“When it comes to the question of parades, you will see Chirlane at this parade or me at this parade, but you will not see us at a parade that excludes members of the LGBT community,” he said. “That is not what we do in New York City.” In March, De Blasio boycotted the St. Patrick’s Day Parade — the first mayor to do so in 20 years — because organizers prohibited marchers from carrying signs identifying themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. De Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, led a group of city pols down Fifth Ave. in Park Slope as thousands of revelers waved rainbow flags and cheered wildly.

FBI Investigates Anti-Christine Quinn Group, Questions Donations To De Blasio

About this time last year Christine Quinn had a comfortable lead in the polls and many thought that she was a lock to become New York City's first openly gay mayor. Late in the summer of 2013 she fell to third place not long after the Anyone But Quinn campaign began running attack ads that accused her, among other things, of allowing the closure of a major West Village hospital. The FBI is now investigating the group behind Anyone But Quinn over donations made to them by a union with ties with now-Mayor Bill De Blasio. The investigation is centering on the continuing battle to ban the city's horse-drawn carriage trade, which Quinn opposed. Via the New York Daily News:

De Blasio came out against the Central Park industry after receiving campaign donations from the anti-carriage group, New Yorkers for Clean, Livable & Safe Streets.  NYCLASS supporters spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking Quinn shortly after de Blasio publicly embraced their cause. The “Anyone but Quinn” campaign blasted the Democratic mayoral contender who entered the race as the favorite to succeed former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Agents have zeroed in on $225,000 donated to NYCLASS by a union run by de Blasio’s cousin, John Wilhelm, and a key de Blasio fund-raiser, lawyer Jay Eisenhoffer, several sources familiar with the matter told The News. A spokesman for Quinn declined to comment Saturday, as did J. Peter Donald of the FBI’s New York office.  De Blasio, asked Saturday about the investigation, denied that the feds were looking at him.

RELATED: The Daily News opposes any ban on the carriage trade and has rallied its readers with a petition to De Blasio, who had vowed to eliminate the 156 year-old industry in his first week in office. De Blasio has suggested replacing the carriages with electric replicas of antique cars.

NEW YORK CITY: De Blasio May Freeze Rents On Rent-Stabilized Apartment

While campaigning for mayor, Bill De Blasio regularly vowed to freeze the rents of New York City's one million rent-stabilized apartments. When he first made the promise, howling teabaggers knuckle-walked to their Twitter accounts to shriek that De Blasio was an "avowed Marxist." Gothamist reports that De Blasio appears to setting the stage to come through on that pledge.

No mayor has utilized this before in the 45-year history of the Rent Guidelines Board but, with his four new appointees named to the Board this morning, Mayor de Blasio looks like he's pretty serious about this one. A rent freeze would halt increases in rent for one million New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments, which, contrary to popular belief, still exist actually exist somewhere out there in the gray void that is the NYC real estate market. And the newcomers to the Board are reportedly much more "tenant-friendly" than their predecessors under Bloomberg, most of whom were seen as landlord allies and Bloomberg devotees, enacting the highest increases in rent since 2008 just last year (4 percent for one-year leases, 7.75 for two-years).

In general, there are several requirements for a New York City apartment to fall under rent stabilization laws. The building must have been constructed between 1947 and 1974, it must contain six or more units, and the rent must be $2500 or less. Every year the Rent Guidelines Board sets the maximum percentage by which rents may be increased. 

RELATED: Contrary to what outsiders might infer from television and movies, only about 30,000 NYC apartments remain rent-controlled, as those rules only apply to tenants (or their "lawful successors") who have been in their units since before 1971.

NOTE: Don't bother trying to tell a teabagger that "avowed" means "said it himself." Obama, Biden, Gore, De Blasio - they're all avowed Marxists or avowed communists out there in Teabagistan.

Steve Buscemi Trains Mayor Bill De Blasio For New York City Inner Circle Show

Clip description: "The Inner Circle is an organization of NYC political journalists who hold an annual music theater show to poke fun at politics and raise money for dozens of local charities. In this year's 92nd show, 'Stuck With de Bill,' newly-elected Mayor Bill de Blasio will make his debut performance."

Bill Donohue: Gays Are Bent On Crashing The NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade

"It must be noted that the organizers of the parade, the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, do not allow pro-life Catholics to march under their own banners. Nor are NRA Catholics allowed. But just as gays can march, so can pro-lifers and NRA members; they simply must blend in like everyone else. No one feels victimized save for homosexuals. Besides the huge march up Fifth Avenue, there are many local St. Patrick's Day parades; they are usually held on the weekends prior to the big one. On March 2, Mayor de Blasio marched in the Sunnyside, Queens 'St. Pat's for All' parade, organized by gay Catholics. He looked lovely with his arm around Pandora Panti Bliss, an Irish drag queen. In one sense, this was a plus: It showed exactly what the goal of these gay activists is. They do not want to honor St. Patrick — they want to draw attention to themselves. Those who truly believe in diversity and tolerance love the parade for what it is — a celebration of St. Patrick and Irish heritage. That some want to deny Irish Catholics their constitutional rights, when no one is stopping them from having their own parade, is a sad commentary on the state of our culture." - Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue, writing for the right-wing site Newsmax.