Latest news with #BilldeBlasio
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
National Park Service to Close Dupont Circle in Washington During Pride Event
The National Park Service will close the park at Dupont Circle, a gathering place for the city's L.G.B.T.Q. community, during a major Pride Month event this weekend that is already grappling with cancellations and pulled corporate sponsorships. The event, WorldPride, is an international celebration of the L.G.B.T.Q. community that is held each June in a different city. Washington won the bid for this year's edition, which began in mid-May and runs through Sunday, in 2022. The Park Service will fence off the Dupont Circle park during WorldPride celebrations from Thursday to Monday as a 'public safety measure,' said Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the agency, in a statement first shared on Monday. The statement cited 'a history and pattern of destructive and disorderly behavior' in the park during previous Pride celebrations, including vandalism of the park fountain in 2023. The last WorldPride event in the United States, in New York City six years ago, was largely peaceful. 'Five million people, and there was almost not a single incident,' Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the time. The Park Service said it was closing the park in response to a request from Washington's police force, and that the closure was in line with President Trump's executive order in March to protect historic national monuments. Some L.G.B.T.Q. residents and at least one elected official responded on social media by calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is set to march in the city's Pride Parade this weekend, to open the park. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Residents against construction of nearly 300-foot jail in Chinatown
The Brief A nearly 300-foot-tall jail facility is being built in Chinatown, and residents are not enthused. Neighbors United Below Canal held a rally in Chinatown today to unveil an "alternative plan" to New York City's borough-based jail system. A New York City Council spokesperson said that "the contract to build the Manhattan-based borough jail at this site has already been signed and the work has already begun." CHINATOWN - Neighbors United Below Canal (NUBC) held a rally to publicly unveil their proposal for the city to relocate a nearly 300-foot-tall jail being built in Chinatown. What we know In 2017, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city would work to create a borough-based jail system – this jail system would take the place of Rikers Island, which was voted to shut down by the New York City Council in 2019. Click to open this PDF in a new window. Major construction of the borough-based jails began in June 2021. The four jail sites in the network are located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The Manhattan Borough-Based Jail Facility will be located at 124 to 125 White Street, on the site of the former Manhattan Detention Complex; the complex was demolished over a 12-month period. The project to build the Manhattan facility is currently slated for completion in 2032, five years after Rikers Island is scheduled to be closed. A video released by construction company Tutor Perini revealed the facility will be nearly 300 feet tall and will cost nearly $3.8 billion to construct. The other side Many residents in Chinatown, the neighborhood where the Manhattan jail will be built, are against the construction of the facility. NUBC filed a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court in 2020, saying that the city "underestimates the impacts of the Manhattan jail" on residential traffic, noise pollution, socioeconomic impacts and open space resources, among other areas. Click to open this PDF in a new window. The group won their suit, but the city filed an appeal, which it won in 2021. Another group, Welcome to Chinatown, joined NUBC's fight against the construction of the jail that same year. Together, both groups have created an "Alternative Plan," which primarily proposes relocating the Manhattan jail to the currently empty Metropolitan Correction Center, which closed in 2021. The plan also includes building new affordable housing and green space at 125 White Street in place of the facility. This proposal was revealed at a rally held in Chinatown earlier today, June 2 – Assemblymember Grace Lee and Councilmember Christopher Marte were both in attendance. This plan would require approval from both the city and federal government, but NUBC told FOX 5 NY's Morgan McKay that it has reached out to New York Senator Chuck Schumer's office regarding the issue. New York Mayor Eric Adams's office emphasized that the decision to build the Manhattan jail in Chinatown was a decision made under the de Blasio administration, and that any decision to move the location of the jail would have to go through the city council. "We continue to engage with community members on the project and implement other public safety improvements within our control," a spokesperson for Adams said. A City Council spokesperson said that "the contract to build the Manhattan-based borough jail at this site has already been signed and the work has already begun." The Source This article includes reporting from FOX 5 NY's Morgan McKay and statements made spokespeople for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Council, as well as information provided by New York City's government website and Neighbors United Below Canal.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo banking on far-left policy shifts to win NYC mayoral race
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ripping entire chapters out of the playbook of the Democratic party's far left faction in his bid to become New York City's next mayor, according to critics and a review of his positions by The Post Cuomo — who resigned in 2021 amid a barrage of sexual harassment allegations he vehemently denies — began soliciting key powerbrokers to support his political comeback last year — but began his leftward tilt as polling for the Democratic primary showed his strongest challenger is extreme left Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani . 'He knows his past positions are incredibly unpopular with Democratic primary voters, who he is trying to trick and fool,' said Bill Neidhardt, a former top aide to ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio who is now part of a political action committee trying to get Mamdani elected mayor. In 2014, Cuomo vehemently rejected avowed Marxist de Blasio's push to launch a universal 'pre-K' program in the NYC public schools, telling The Post at the time 'I don't think there is a rationale for it' and that it wouldn't be fair to other cities in the state to tax the rich so only de Blasio's constituents benefit. Cuomo, still the frontrunner in the race to unseat incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, did team up with other top state lawmakers that same year to provide $300 million to expand the city's prekindergarten program. He is now pledging as a mayoral candidate to make the pre-K and 3-K programs created under de Blasio 'truly universal.' 'He was one of the earliest opponents for universal pre-K, so for him to say he'd do anything to expand it is pure chicanery,' said Neidhardt. Other lefty policy shifts include: Pushing to add 100 to 200 psychiatric beds to the city's hospital system after reducing the number of psychiatric beds in state hospitals by 28% from 2011 to 2021 as governor. Promising all NYC residents access to 'affordable health care,' despite enacting measures in 2020 aimed at cutting $2.5 billion from the state's Medicaid program. Suddenly becoming noncommittal on expanding a cap limiting the number of charter schools statewide to 460 after avidly supporting the idea as governor, all while trying to score an endorsement from the powerful United Federation of Teachers, which opposes expanding the cap. Declaring just last week during a candidate forum that he supports the powerful UFT's campaign to roll the retirement age of 'Tier 6' public employees hired after 2012 back to 55 years old, when, as governor, he pushed through major pension reform raising the retirement age for these workers to 63. As governor, Cuomo had a long history of raiding the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget to offset other state spending, including famously cutting a $4.9 million check in 2016 to help bail out three upstate ski resorts suffering financially from warm weather. But two months ago, he released a campaign transportation platform that includes exploring the creation of permanent free bus routes pending a pilot program and expanding half-priced MetroCard access for low-income residents. The transit proposal sounded all too familiar to Mamdani, who successfully lobbied for a free bus pilot program serving all five boroughs that ended last year after state funding ran out. 'They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,' said Mamdani in a March Instagram post poking fun at Cuomo. '….Just call me next time—we've got so many more ideas I could share!' Cuomo as governor worked with his party's far-left faction to pass a series of controversial criminal justice reforms that he still supports – including eliminating cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. He also has a history of catering to the 'Defund the Police' movement. During the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests, he issued an executive order to strip future state funding from the NYPD and other police departments statewide that 'refuse[d] to commit to a wide-ranging plan for reform.' However, no funding from these agencies ever withheld. Cuomo also signed legislation in June 2020 sought by anti-police activists to repeal a section of state criminal law that shielded police disciplinary records from public view. And hehas come under heavy fire for calling the 'Defund the Police' movement 'a legitimate school of thought,' though his campaign has repeatedly claimed those remarks were taken out of context and that never supported the movement Cuomo also has a history of 'defunding' the New York State Police. During the fiscal year beginning April 2011, he cut the agency's operating budget by $45.8 million — or 6% — as part of across-the-board cuts in the state spending plan to deal with a $10 billion deficit. But with Adams, a retired NYPD captain, dropping out of the June 24 Democratic primary and opting to seek re-election in November as an independent, Cuomo is also trying to position himself as a law-and-order candidate. In March, he announced that if elected, he plans to increase the size of the NYPD's police force to 39,000 by reducing overtime costs and hiring 5,000 additional officers. 'A larger police presence is a deterrent to crime, improves response rates to 911 calls and gives the police the resources they need to solve crimes,' Cuomo said at the time. 'Andrew Cuomo fled to the Hamptons after destroying this city—catering to the 'Defund the Police' crowd by forcing communities to 'reimagine' policing, slashing psychiatric beds, giving us congestion pricing, gutting pensions for public workers, and unleashing chaos with his reckless bail reform,' said presumptive Republican mayoral nominee and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. Cuomo also now opposes the controversial $9 congestion toll to enter parts of Manhattan – after being a staunch supporter of the scheme when he called the shots in Albany — and is distancing himself from rent reform legislation he signed into law in 2019. 'Andrew Cuomo changes positions like a snake sheds his skin — every month or two, and purely for self-preservation,' said Monica Klein, a longtime political strategist for Democratic and Working Families Party candidates now assisting the mayoral campaign of state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn). Cuomo spokesman Jason Elan defended the ex-governor's record on pre-K, saying he expanded a statewide program prior to de Blasio taking office in 2014 and that as mayor he'll make sure pre-K 'is available in every corner of this great city.' Cuomo's cuts to the state's psychiatric system were for predominantly unused beds reserved for non-violent, mentally ill people, and any money saved was redirected to fund supportive services for mentally ill New Yorkers, said Elan. Elan also said Mamdani's criticism is 'rich coming from a silver spoon socialist who voted against his own measure to fund a free bus pilot in the state budget and then failed to get it extended.' 'There's been a ton of revisionist history and gas-lighting during this race, but these silly attacks aren't going to work,' he added. Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy, Carl Campanile and Vaughn Golden.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Bill de Blasio Agrees to Pay $329,000 to Settle Campaign Expense Dispute
Bill de Blasio, the former mayor of New York City, accepted blame and agreed to pay $329,000 to the city to resolve a conflicts-of-interest violation for bringing his security detail on trips during his failed presidential campaign in 2019. The Conflicts of Interest Board, which announced the settlement on Wednesday, had found that Mr. de Blasio violated the law by billing the city for his security detail to travel with him and his wife on 31 out-of-state trips, even after the board advised Mr. de Blasio in advance that the expenses were not allowed. The settlement, which reduced the board's fine from $155,000 to $10,000, was the board's first enforcement action against a mayor. The board said that Mr. de Blasio had already paid $100,000 of what he owed and would pay the rest in quarterly installments over the next four years. Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat who was mayor from 2014 through 2021, said in a statement that he had erred. 'I acknowledge that I made a mistake, and I deeply regret it,' he said. 'Now it's time to move forward.' His ill-fated presidential campaign lasted just four months. The city spent roughly $319,000 in travel-related costs for members of Mr. de Blasio's security detail to accompany him and his wife, Chirlane McCray, on campaign trips. The expenses included airfare, car rentals, overnight lodging, meals and other incidentals. The board — an independent body with five members appointed by the mayor, comptroller and public advocate — found in 2023 that Mr. de Blasio had to reimburse the city for the costs and pay the $155,000 fine. Mr. de Blasio had fought the case in court. On Wednesday, the board said that it agreed to lower the fine to $10,000 as part of the settlement because Mr. de Blasio said that his 'financial situation' prevented him from paying the full amount. After leaving office, Mr. de Blasio ran unsuccessfully for Congress and has worked in academia, teaching classes at New York University and the University of Michigan. He occasionally weighs in on local politics and appeared recently with Mayor Eric Adams at an event to promote funding for preschool for all, Mr. de Blasio's signature policy. Mr. de Blasio's improper campaign expenses were part of a report by the city's Department of Investigation, which found that he misused public resources for both political and personal purposes, including having a police van and officers help move his daughter to Gracie Mansion. He also faced a number of investigations into his fund-raising methods.
Los Angeles Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Ex-NYC Mayor de Blasio agrees to pay $330,000 for misusing public funds on failed White House bid
NEW YORK — Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed to pay a $329,794 fine to settle an ethics board's complaint that he misspent public funds on his security detail during his brief, failed run for U.S. president. The deal, announced Wednesday by the city's Conflicts of Interest Board, is the costliest repayment order in the ethics board's history. But it allows de Blasio to avoid an even steeper penalty of $475,000 that was previously imposed, a reduction the board said came in light of the former mayor's 'financial situation.' In exchange, de Blasio agreed to drop his appeal of the board's finding. And for the first time, he admitted that he received written warning that his out-of-state security expenses could not legally be covered by city taxpayers. 'In contradiction of the written guidance I received from the Board, I did not reimburse the City for these expenses,' de Blasio wrote in the settlement, adding: 'I made a mistake and I deeply regret it.' The payments concern the $319,794.20 in travel-related expenses — including airfare, lodging, meals — that de Blasio's security detail incurred while accompanying him on trips across the country during his presidential campaign in 2019. He will also pay a $10,000 fine. The campaign elicited a mix of mockery and grousing by city residents, who accused the Democrat of abandoning his duties as second-term mayor for the national spotlight. It was suspended within four months. Under the agreement, de Blasio must pay $100,000 immediately, followed by quarterly installments of nearly $15,000 for the next four years. If he misses a payment, he will be deemed in default and ordered to pay the full $475,000. The funds will eventually make their way back into the city treasury, according to a spokesperson for the Conflicts of Interest Board. An attorney for de Blasio, Andrew G. Celli Jr., declined to comment on the settlement. De Blasio had previously argued that forcing him to cover the cost of his security detail's travel violated his 1st Amendment rights by creating an 'unequal burden' between wealthy candidates and career public servants. Since leaving office in 2021, de Blasio has worked as a lecturer at multiple universities, most recently the University of Michigan, and delivered paid speeches in Italy. Offenhartz writes for the Associated Press.
