New Weekly Newsletter
Saturday, 14 April 2018
Welcome to the debut issue of C'est Vrai : Week In Review, a weekly newsletter. C'est Vrai is the name of a transparency reporting app that is the backbone of a new investigative journalism Web site, Progress New York. "C'est Vrai" is French for, "It's true." With C’est Vrai, it just takes a few clicks to collect fact-based, sourced information on relationships between two individuals or entities, helping journalists write articles about the role of money in politics in New York and eventually beyond. As this newsletter evolves, it will draw on information from C'est Vrai to give context to the week's news.
This is a complimentary issue, being provided to you as an early preview of the newsletter. This newsletter was a service we promised to donors of our recent Indiegogo campaign. In the future, the C'est Vrai : Week In Review newsletter will be available by subscription to supporters, who provide financial support on Patreon for the benefit of Progress New York.
C’est Vrai : Week In Review
- Daniel Dromm : New York City Council
- Finance committee chair Daniel Dromm will be part of a new contingent of Councilmembers to reportedly negotiate a tougher budget with the de Blasio administration. In Response to De Blasio Proposal, City Council Sets Stage for Tense Budget Negotiations [The Gotham Gazette]
- Yet, a few weeks ago, Councilmember Dromm appeared with the controversial de Blasio administration official, Alicia Glen, for a photo-op at a school event in Queens, raising questions about how challenging -- or accommodating -- Councilmember Dromm will be to Mayor Bill de Blasio. Second-graders from four Queens schools submit winning entries in ferry-naming competition [TimesLedger]
- Activists have been demanding more housing for New Yorkers, who earn low incomes. Consequently, activists have been protesting the neoliberal housing policies of Mayor de Blasio and his deputy mayor for housing and economic development, Alicia Glen. Housing Advocates Vow Sustained Protest of de Blasio Aide [The New York Times]
- Rory Lancman : New York City Council
- Early Closure of Rikers Island : "Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest), who serves as chairman of the Committee on the Justice System, said this plan can work, but only if de Blasio commits to expanding supervised release, improving the mechanics of paying bail, and investing in the criminal justice reforms proposed by both public defenders and district attorneys." Report: Rikers can close ahead of schedule [TimesLedger]
- Queens District Attorney Richard Brown does not support city’s plan to close Rikers Island [TimesLedger]
- Donovan Richards : New York City Council
- "Three months into his new role as chair of the public safety committee, Donovan Richards has taken to publicly bird-dogging the New York Police Department and has gathered the committee six times." New Public Safety Chair Puts NYPD in His Sights [The Wall Street Journal]
- Despite Councilmember Donovan's claims of oversight, the City Council has empowered no Municipal authority to truly hold the NYPD accountable for officer-involved homicides. Schneiderman to investigate Brooklyn police involved shooting death [POLITICO New York]
- And gentrification, which some activists blame on the never-ending approval of zone-busting development and neighborhood rezonings by the City Council, is being blamed for playing a role in the over-policing that leads to officer-involved homicides. Saheed Vassell : Killed by Gentrification ? [The Indypendent]
- Paul Vallone : New York City Council
- In an era of school shootings, Assemblymember Edward Braunstein and Councilmember Paul Vallone are pressing the Department of Education to adopt a controvesial measure that calls for locked school and classroom doors to improve school safety. Parents push for locked entrances at city schools [nypost.com]
- Jimmy Van Bramer : New York City Council
- "LIC Coalition, a community group, will rally in front of City Hall at 11 a.m. on Tuesday along with groups such as the Court Square Civic Association, LIC Climate Coalition, Hunters Point Civic Association and elected officials like Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, state Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan." Long Island City residents to take fight against planned waterfront development to City Hall [QNS]
- At a prior rally, dozens of rally participants appeared unaware that the Municipal legislature in New York City has power and authority to regulate the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Elected officials, with power to regulate land use and real estate development, appear at rally to decry unregulated real estate development [Progress New York]
- After Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen revealed that the Brooklyn-Queens Connect, or BQX, was not going to be able to pay for itself through a controversial value capture tax scheme, Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer said, "I was surprised to hear about the need for federal funding." City says BQX now needs federal funds [The Queens Chronicle]
- Open records requests, filed under FOIA and FOIL, seek information about the proposed BQX project. A series of open records requests aims to discover information about BQX project, and its impact [Progress New York]
- Robert Holden : New York City Council :
- "Madison Realty Capital hopes to build a sizable two-tower residential project at 69-02 Queens Boulevard in Woodside, Queens, according to documents filed with the Department of City Planning last week. ... Securing the rezoning will involve getting approvals from the local community board, the City Planning Commission, the Queens borough president and the area’s newly elected City Council member, Bob Holden. If it doesn’t get the rezoning, Madison Realty could still build a 12-story, 289-unit building with 58 below-market units on the site." Madison Realty Capital Plans 500-Unit Resi Development in Woodside, Queens [The Commercial Observer]
- Joseph Crowley : US House of Representatives
- WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley left the door open to running for House Speaker – but not until Nancy Pelosi steps down. Crowley may run for House speaker if Pelosi steps down [nypost.com]
- Scrutiny of activities of Democratic Organization of Queens County now includes Council speaker race : source. Growing Federal law enforcement interest in Queens County politics [Progress New York]
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