Quinn announces a living wage deal; likely rivals do not object
Christine Quinn and Michael Bloomberg. Azi Paybarah via flickr
6:15 pm Jan. 13, 20121
The deal on the living wage legislation announced by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn late Friday afternoon was described initially as a "compromise" between business executives who thought the original version went too far and unions, which wanted to create a new salary-floor for workers at publicly subsidized developments.
The Wall Street Journal also points out that the deal will allow Quinn to position herself as a "moderate" in the upcoming mayor's race.
Her likely Democratic rivals all released statements this afternoon supporting the new legislation.
For the record: Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who was elected to his current office with an extraordinarily heavy assist from the Working Families Party, only came around to supporting living-wage legislation toward the end of last year, considerably after City Comptroller John Liu, another Working Families candidate, had gone on the record supporting it.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer up, until this morning, was taking a wait-and-see approach, but this afternoon, said he was glad a compromise had been reached.
As the Associated Press notes, the bill could be expanded in the future.
Some links:
Washington
"I remain firm in my intent to block consideration of the PIPA bill," a senator from Oregon said, which should delight New York techies. [Ron Wyden]
New York Tech Meetup is planning a protest outside Schumer and Gillibrand's office, over their support for the legislation. [Buzzfeed]
The bill has been tweaked. [@SenGillibrand]
2013
Daniel Squadron raised $133,000 for a run at city comptroller, public advocate or Brooklyn borough president. [David Freedlander]
Republican City Councilman Peter Koo didn't raise any money, but sent back $2,825 in contributions. [@nyccfb]
2012
A Republican state senator who provided a crucial vote to help pass same-sex marriage raised $425,399 in six months. [Joseph Spector]
State Senator Tom Duane raised $104,065 in the last six months. [NYS Board of Elections]
Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos has $1,810,010 in the bank. [NYS Board of Elections]
Assemblywoman Annette Robinson will retire. [David Freedlander]
Living Wage
"This is a significant change to the legislation." [Adam Wisnieski]
Stringer took a wait-and-see approach on the new legislation as of this morning. [Chris Bragg]
The legislation would only apply to "employees working for developers who get city tax breaks and not the retail tenants." [Reuven Blau]
The legislation could be expanded later. [Associated Press]
The bill helps Quinn position herself as a moderate in 2013. [Michael Howard Saul]
City Hall
Bloomberg used "softer" language to discuss his education goals, compared to yesterday's speech. [Wall Street Journal]
The mayor said he hoped to strike a deal with the teachers union, but would proceed if he didn't. [Reuven Blau]
A history of Bloomberg's education policy over ten prior State of the City speeches. [Fernanda Santos]
Employees at city agencies attended a "twitter workshop" today. [@RachelSterne]
Crime
Police responding to a complaint about a home invasion shot and killed a 26-year-old Brooklyn man who lived upstairs from the scene. Councilman Charles Barron said the cops acted wrongly. [Al Baker and Tim Stelloh]
Media
The executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition said Pat Buchanan should be challenged, not silenced. [Michael Meyers]
Video and pictures
Bill Thompson talks about Martin Luther King and new Americans. [YouTube]
State Senator Kevin Parker records a PSA. [Youtube]
City Councilman Eric Ulrich wore a bow tie to Bloomberg's State of the City speech. [Facebook]
Former deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff saw Bloomberg's speech. [Facebook]
And Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has a distinct ring and cufflinks. [Flickr]
http://youtu.be/jFlGUMcUqfY New Parody of Quinn comparing herself to Dr. Martin Luther King and Jane Jacobs standing infront of Ed Koch’s landlord the Rudin family’s new luxury HOSPITAL condos.