New York, NY

Mayor: Bigger PBA Arbitration Award Could Bust Budget; Union Responds Angrily To His Linking Contract To Property Tax Break By RICHARD STEIER       Mayor Bloomberg explicitly linked his ability to continue a 7-percent reduction in the property tax rate to the pending Patrolmen's Benevolent Association arbitration during a May 1 press conference unveiling his $59-billion proposed city budget. More ... Thousands Rally Against Housing Authority Cuts; Local 237 Takes Initiative By MICHELLE FRIEDMAN       A rally organized by Teamsters Local 237 to protest the Bush administration's lack of funding for public housing drew several thousand people to City Hall Park May 1, where they called on the Federal Government to provide increased aid. More ... Press Mayor on School, Day-Care Funding Cuts; Council Joins Unions By MICHELLE FRIEDMAN       City Council Members Bill de Blasio and Robert Jackson announced April 30 that they had 45 co-sponsors for a resolution calling on Mayor Bloomberg to restore almost $540 million in proposed cuts to the city schools budget. More ... Farewell to 'A Good Soul' Mourn CO Murdered on Street By MIA GOLDBERG       Correction Officer Kenneth Duncan worked for 10 years at the Manhattan Detention Center, a place where the threat of violence was ever-present. Sadly, that violence found him on the street where he lived early on the morning of April 22, when he was shot and killed outside of his East Flatbush hom... More ... PSC Bolts CUNY Meeting; Protests Low Salaries, Stalled Talks By MICHELLE FRIEDMAN       Professional Staff Congress members walked out of an April 28 City University of New York Board of Trustees meeting to dramatize their push for a new contract with higher wages for university faculty. The most recent PSC-CUNY contract expired last Sept. 19. More ... NYPD Advocates Remain Divided on Air Monitoring; Modified Bill Can't Bridge Gap By ARI PAUL       The Police Department April 29 told a City Council committee that it had made changes to an administration-backed bill that would regulate air monitoring to address the concerns of labor and community groups, but activists and several lawmakers continue to oppose it. More ... Class-Action Status Sought in Suit Vs. Firefighter Exams By ARI PAUL       The black firefighter group involved in the Federal lawsuit alleging that the city's 1999 and 2002 written exams for Firefighter had disparate impact on minority candidates filed a class-action motion April 25 to include all African-American applicants who did not pass these exams. More ... City Will Honor Eight Cops Who Died After Ground Zero Work By MIA GOLDBERG       Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly will preside over a ceremony May 7 honoring eight officers who became sick after spending hundreds of hours inhaling toxic air while working at Ground Zero after 9/11. Their names will be added to the "Wall of Heroes" - a memorial for officers... More ... Name 4 Inspectors: 71 Dets. Among Promotees By MIA GOLDBERG       Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly named four Inspectors and five Deputy Inspectors among 156 uniformed upgrades - including 71 Detectives - in a ceremony held at 1 Police Plaza April 30. Mr. Kelly also promoted 39 civilian employees to various titles. More ... Mayor Wants To End Professional Criteria For Buildings Head By ARI PAUL       Mayor Bloomberg is pushing a bill that would eliminate the requirement that the Buildings Commissioner be a licensed engineer or registered architect. "This legislation would enable the Mayor to select from the widest pool of qualified candidates when appointing a Commissioner of the Department o... More ... Resume Demolition At Building Where Two Firemen Died By ARI PAUL       Demolition work has resumed at the Deutsche Bank Building, where two Firefighters were killed during a fire last August, raising questions about government oversight of the project. The Department of Buildings lifted the stop-work order April 30 after contractors revamped a fire safety plan. More ... EMS Unions Bound For Arbitration In Contract Stalemate By ARI PAUL       The two Emergency Medical Service responders' unions received confirmation April 30 that they will head to arbitration with the city after contracts talks stalled. More ... City May Go Electric With Pay Stubs For Municipal Employees By ARI PAUL       The City Council is considering a bill that would replace paper pay stubs with electronic ones for municipal workers, with its supporters saying that it will save the city money and help protect the environment. During a hearing of the Civil Service and Labor Committee April 28, administration of... More ... TWU Honors 2nd Worker Marks Anniversary of Death By ARI PAUL       Transport Workers Union Local 100 held an official memorial April 29 at a downtown Brooklyn subway station in tribute to Track Worker Marvin Franklin, who died on the job one year earlier. Nearly 50 Local 100 members turned out for the event at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn St. More ... UFT, DOE Feuding Over Class Size And Vet Teacher Report By MICHELLE FRIEDMAN       Tensions escalated in the ongoing battle between the Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers last week over a report by the New Teacher Project on Teachers with no permanent assignment and DOE's failure to reduce class size. More ... PASSING OF '371' TORCH:       Charles Ensley, who retired as president of Social Service Employees Union Local 371 of District Council 37 after 26 years in office, congratulates his successor, Faye Moore, following her election victory April 30. Ms. More ... Leadership and Its Dodges at Accountability Time; Bureaucrats, Hired Guns, Consultants By BRANDON WARD       Commissioners are the non-elected officials who are appointed by politicians to carry out the administration of government agencies. For the most part, in city government for example, the source of a Commissioner's leadership potency is the Mayor. More ... Paterson Taps Ward As PA Exec Director       Governor Paterson said May 2 that he will recommend Christopher O. Ward, the city's Environment Protection Commissioner during Mayor Bloomberg's first term, to be the next Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey after forcing out Anthony Shorris last month. More ... Plumbing Inspector Flushed Out After Taking $500 Bribe By MIA GOLDBERG       A Plumbing Inspector was arrested April 29 for allegedly soliciting and accepting a $500 bribe from a Staten Island plumbing contractor in exchange for falsifying inspection certificates, according to a statement by the Department of Investigation. More ... FOR THE RECORD       During his budget press conference April 30, Mayor Bloomberg offered his perspective on the funding scandal that has rocked the City Council for nearly two months, while also clearing up why one of his agencies hadn't alerted another one to alleged chicanery by two Council staffers. More ... 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