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New York’s City Council is considering limiting the number of artists selling their wares to two per block. Local artists are up in arms. They believe it’s their First Amendment right to be on the sidewalks with pedestrians. City officials believe their actions will reduce congestion. Who knew that "sidewalk traffic" was such a major problem for New Yorkers? Maybe the government will really look to help us by next banning pedestrians.IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog is a quick comment on an older New York City news headline. Unforeseen NYCo website development delays prevented it’s publication before now. For readership continuity, 100’s of older headlines are to be posted in chronological order until this blog is current. Though some of the stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of this site’s mention and viewer comments.
[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others! This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]
Ex-Staten Island Borough President, Guy Molinari sued Mayor Bloomberg in Federal court for pushing through his third-term mayoral run. Other plaintiffs include several City Council members and prominent New Yorkers. Molinari said, “This is a mockery of the word democracy. When I think back to the days when I was fighting with the Marines in Korea … people would say, ‘We’re here to defend our democracy.’” Molinari believes term-limits should be decided by the voters … not the City Council. Bloomberg ran and run… but Molinari was right.IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog is a quick comment on an older New York City news headline. Unforeseen NYCo website development delays prevented it’s publication before now. For readership continuity, 100’s of older headlines are to be posted in chronological order until this blog is current. Though some of the stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of this site’s mention and viewer comments.
[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others! This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]
The City Council voted 29-22 (26 votes were needed) to approve Mayor Bloomberg’s bid to extend term-limits. This actually gives all elected city officials the legal right to seek third terms. The question is, does this extension give voters "more choice" by permitting an incumbent to run or "reduce options" by enabling an otherwise ineligible candidate to rerun. Bloomberg believes this last-minute move gives voters a “fuller choice.” Opponents were quick to argue that voters turned down term-limit referendums in 1992 and 1996. This new bill circumvents what New Yorkers voted against. Interestingly enough, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg were also in favor of term-limits … until recently. No man should insist he’s “the only one” to lead us from economic darkness. Nobody should claim to be Moses or the Messiah. Those parts have already been played. New Yorkers are being played 2,000 years later. Mayor Bloomberg has done much for the city, but what might new blood do? The country voted “change” for President. In New York City, it seems the more things change, the more likely they will stay the same.
Former Public Advocate Mark Green believes enough is enough. He’s forming a group of labor and civic leaders to block any attempts by Mayor Bloomberg or his associates to change term limits. Green said, “After seven years agreeing to a two-term limit, Mayor Bloomberg’s potential flip-flop is outraging a lot of civic and labor leaders who I think will come together to oppose such a Putin power grab.” Green may still be smarting from his 2001 loss to Bloomberg. In that race, he was outspent $74 million to just $16 million. However, his opposition now may be something worth considering. After all, the people have opposed the end of term limits twice before. New Yorkers said “FUHGEDABOUDIT!” In the words of one of America’s greatest presidents, Thomas Jefferson, “The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.” Closed-door manipulations of the people’s will by City Council members or others should be recognized for what they are. An abuse of power. Maybe the Mayor should look into this.
The City Council passed rickshaw regulations over a year ago yet they’re not being enforced. Ongoing discussions between the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and a pedicab trade group are holding things up. The main debate is the city’s limit of licenses to 325. In the meantime, many pedicabs are doing business without proper driver identification, insurance, seat belts, headlights, tail lights or even set fare structures. Passengers, pedestrians and automobile drivers are all at risk. Accidents have already occurred and people have been injured. Mayor Bloomberg, who wants to green the city, needs to act before there’s more red blood in the streets.
The City Council says that last November, 86% of city food retail outlets that were studied were charging more that the state-mandated price for milk. That fixed rate is set each month by the New York state Department of Agriculture and Markets. The price overage averaged a whopping 40 cents per container! State officials argue they don’t have the resources to enforce the law. Current rates for New York City in June are $3.93 per gallon, $2.01 per half-gallon and $1.04 per quart. Milk isn’t a luxury for our children. It's a necessity. Mayor Mike and city officials should take immediate action to protect city kids and to stretch the family’s food dollar. Maybe stores that sell milk should be required to post their milk prices on their windows right next to the state's milk maximums for consumers. Cops could write tickets for lawbreakers. The city could put the fines they collect towards the school lunch program. Parents could then buy milk at the legal and one would think, lesser rate. They say "the cream always rises to the top." Let's hope our elected officials can do the same here.
Scavengers are stealing our garbage! So say city officials who claim that in 2007, New York City lost $150,000 in recyclable metals. We’ve prosecuted and fined those who were caught in our cans and impounded over 100 vehicles yet refuse robbery continues. Apparently, "one man’s garbage is another man’s gold (or other valuable scrap metal)." The City Council has raised fines from $100 to $2,000 to protect New York’s rubbish. Hopefully, this will slam the lid down hard on this sanitation problem.
The City Council passed Mayor Bloomberg’s “green carts” proposal 37-9. This plan calls for permitting 1,000 vending carts in 34 low-income neighborhoods to provide residents with fresh foods. By having more places to make healthier food choices, it's hoped that people's overall health will improve. It’s a noble/good idea, but a tough break for local grocers already struggling to do the same. Perhaps a tax break or other form of assistance can be offered to these local business people who'll be negatively impacted by the city’s good intentions.
A new proposal would require stores over 5,000 square feet to setup an in-store recycling program and to sell reusable bags. The bags would have a consumer reminder printed on them such as “Please return this bag to a participating store for recycling.” Recycled bags can then be used to produce new bags and a variety of other products, even furniture. If passed, the new law would affect some 700 food stores and retailers in the city. It still needs final approval from the city council and Mayor Bloomberg.
Years ago, we gave up our use of brown paper bags to save our forests. Paper bags were replaced by plastic ones. Environmentalists now believe it takes years for these plastic bags to biodegrade and that they pollute our soil and water. A more responsible “green” policy here would reduce that danger and the oil needed to make plastic bags by millions of barrels annually. Seems like an environmentally sound idea on many levels.
Other cities around the world have mandated these changes. New York City should too. I believe that swift passage of this bill is … in the bag.
