Brad Lander
Councilmen to Sadik-Khan: Don't let the Park Slope community board stop you
Today, two councilmen sent a letter to the city's transportation commissioner urging her to move forward with planned improvements to Fourth Avenue, despite one community board's opposition. More
(4)Council liberals call Bloomberg's Boston comments 'degrading to our public dialogue'
On Tuesday, the day after two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line, Mayor Michael Bloomberg updated reporters on the attack's implications for New York City, and issued what seemed like a warning to his would-be successors about accounting for criticism in the formulation of security policy. More
Thompson explains his 'serious reservations' about Quinn's version of a police oversight bill
"As I've said, I support placing an inspector general inside the Police Department," said Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson. "But given what I've learned about the Council bill, I've got some serious reservations about it." More
Democrats support, oppose and muddle a police-oversight bill
A bill to create an inspector general's office for the New York Police Department has already driven a wedge between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his closest ally in the race, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. More
(1)The councilmembers who believe fast buses can be a hot political issue
Today, the City Council's progressive caucus mapped out an election-year agenda that includes congestion pricing and bus rapid transit. More
(2)Christine Quinn's Tu B'Shevat among the faithful
Here's City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at the Boro Park home of Orthodox Jewish political operative Ezra Friedlander this weekend for Tu B'Shevat. More
Transit advocates want countdown clocks for New York City buses
Bus riders who smartphones can use the M.T.A.'s new "Bus Time" app to find out when the next one's coming. More
The controversial landlord behind a mystery-shrouded Carroll Gardens shelter project
For more than a decade, he’s been one of the most active—and controversial—players in the industry surrounding the provision of beds to society’s most needy. More
(12)A new Carroll Gardens homeless shelter built on old relationships
Last week, Lander learned about part of it: a 170-bed homeless shelter, which could open within weeks, right in his district. More
(8)Bloomberg's aide will argue legal technicalities at public safety hearing
The bill redefining racial profiling has more than enough signatures to pass the 51-member Council. But what the Bloomberg administration is expected to argue is that the bills — regardless of their merit — are not constitutional under the City charter which bars the Council from setting policy for mayoral agencies.
"I kind of wish they would have taken the opportunity to show how harmful [this bill] would be," said Vallone, who has called it the most dangerous bill in the history of the City Council.
Bills to curb police activity will get very public airing
Four major pieces of legislation that could dramatically curtail the growing number of people frisked by New York police officers, will be heard at three public hearings next month, the New York City Council just announced. More
Desired skill for the next Brooklyn chair: wrangling Council freshmen
A fight to replace Assemblyman Vito Lopez as chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic organization could affect a handful of local races. It also has implications for the contest to succeed Christine Quinn as City Council speaker, and for the near-term future of the entire Brooklyn Council delegation. More
Working Families Party wants Vito Lopez to leave the Assembly, too
Resigning as chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic County Organization isn't enough. The Working Families Party -- a coalition of organized labor unions intent n pushing Democrats in a more progressive direction -- wants Vito Lopez to also resign his position as an Assemblyman representing Bushwick.
In a statement, the WFP's executive director Dan Cantor said "Good, effective government has no place for behavior like Lopez's. It's time for him to resign from the Assembly, for the good of our state."
One WFP-backed City Council member, Brad Lander of Park Slope and founding member of the Progressive Caucus, told me earlier he also was in favor of Lopez resigning from office. And Assemblyman Jim Brennan, a progressive Democrat from Ditmas Park, Brooklyn told a local reporter on Friday he wants Lopez to resign.
Here's the statement from the WFP's Dan Cantor:
"We join the chorus of New Yorkers calling for Assemblyman Vito Lopez to resign. His peers have found the very serious allegations against him to be credible. Assemblyman Lopez has forfeited his right and ability to lead and to represent his constituents."
It's no secret that we've had our political differences with Assemblyman Lopez in the past. But this is not about politics. It's about decency and respect. Good, effective government has no place for behavior like Lopez's. It's time for him to resign from the Assembly, for the good of our state. More
A bid to expand the bike and tourist-clogged Brooklyn Bridge walkway
Walking, or riding a bike across the Brooklyn Bridge is an elevating experience. But it's also a congested one.
Every day, 4,000 pedestrians and 3,100 cyclists jostle for space on the walkway, according to Department of Transportation numbers provided by the City Council.
Today, three councilmembers and the cyclist advocacy group, Transportation Alternatives, are proposing a solution to that problem: they want to double the width of famous wooden walkway. More
Council says more traffic accidents bear investigating, even when no one dies
Amid all the talk about gun control, City Council members today launched an effort to address violence of a more prosaic sort: car crashes, and what councilmembers described as the police department's inadequate methods of investigating them. More
