Tag: New York City

“There is certainly a through line from Michael Boxley to Sam Hoyt to Jeff Klein when it comes to tolerating and excusing sexual harassment and assault perpetrators,” Vladimer told City & State. “You have lobbying firms who care so little about this that they're hiring someone who has admitted to (sexual assault) and then, in the case of Klein, somebody still under investigation,” Crothers told City & State. No,” Simotas told City & State. Hearings, according to advocates, are another opportunity to bring some change to Albany’s culture. While the Democratic leadership in the state Senate may be supportive of the SHWG’s legislative agenda, most state legislators are unwilling to get behind its call for firms not to hire anyone accused of sexual harassment. But SHWG activists argue this kind of social sanction is where change really starts.“If a lobbying firm were to stand up and say, ‘We're not going to hire these (alleged) harassers, these alleged abusers,’ if an elected official would stand up and say ‘You know what, I'm not going to allow my staff to meet with these firms that hire these people,’ that's how the culture changes,” Vladimer said. “Do those who report sexual harassment or assault get job offers from lobbying firms?” Crothers asked. “It's not about if Jeff Klein should ever work again. “I'm not saying Klein should never get to work again,” she told City & State, “but, in the words, of almost every elected official when I first told my story – shouldn't we wait until the investigation is resolved? Victims have to figure out a new career path, they lose friends, and are retraumatized every time another story of harassment abuse or assault is made public – because men like Klein are just allowed to work again.” While Ramos said that her position as a state legislator meant that she had to keep her door open “to all stakeholders,” including Mercury clients, she did flatly say, “I will not meet with Jeff Klein.” While not addressing the question of boycotting Mercury clients, Assemblyman Dan Quar,t who wrote an op-ed with Vladimer calling for sexual harassment hearings, told City & State that “hiring Klein in the middle of an ongoing JCOPE investigation invalidates the stories of survivors and enables the pervasive culture of sexual harassment in Albany.

About 25 years ago I was in New York City doing a “behind the scenes” TV story on NBC’s Today Show. Back then Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric were the hosts and the show was mostly a news program then, not what we see pass off as morning news today. I’ve always had a love hate relationship with the brand. I’m one of those people who just wants to buy a product and be left alone. Starbucks made a decision to become a much more progressive company and they’ve put their money where their politics are in pushing those causes. The guys told them they were meeting someone, but the idiot manager called the cops. Instead of Starbucks just firing the idiot manager for racial-profiling and being an ignorant jerk, they required all Starbucks employees to get special training. Schultz announced he was looking at maybe running for president against Donald Trump in 2020. I don’t know if Schultz will run or even if he has a chance to win but I know for sure he has a right to run if he wants. Before we close this column, I’ve received several emails from people asking me my opinion on the new abortion laws in New York.

One man is in custody and two more suspects are at large after a gang altercation turns deadly on a subway platform in Queens. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as…

Video SPOKANE, Wash. - The leader of Spokane's catholic church is speaking out against recent policy changes which expand access to abortion. Bishop Thomas Daly sent a letter to the Diocese of Spokane Friday, in which he reacts to a law recently passed in New York. The Reproductive Health Act, signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 22, allows abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy if there is "an absence of fetal viability, or the abortion is necessary to protect the patient's life or health." In the letter, Daly calls the new law 'evil,' and condemns Cuomo for supporting it despite his previously publicized Catholic faith. Daly goes on to say any Catholic politicians who support access to abortion are "scandalous," and should not be allowed to receive communion unless they are "reconciled to Christ and the Church." The Church’s commitment to the life of every human person from conception until death is firm. God alone is the author of life and for the civil government to sanction the willful murder of children is unacceptable. Daly is not the only Catholic leader denouncing politicians who support pro-choice legislation. Get your weather forecast from people that actually live in your community. We update with short, easy-to-use video forecasts you can watch on your phone every day.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is about to get on the board in a big way at the Sundance Film Festival, near a deal on one of the buzziest documentaries to play Park City. Netflix is closing on Knock Down the House, the Rachel Lears-directed film that followed the campaigns of four progressive women who ran against incumbents in the elections last fall, shaking up the status quo and bringing fresh blood into Congress. One of the main figures in the film is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ran as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and was elected to New York’s 14th District and became at age 29 the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Ocasio-Cortez was expected to come to Sundance, but had to cancel the trip because of the turbulence of the government shutdown which was just coming to an end. The other progressive challengers whose campaigns are studied are Cori Bush, Amy Vilela and Paula Jean Swearengin, and the film drew raves and multiple bidders. Bush was a former nurse from St. Louis who was moved to run after becoming involved in protests of the murder of Michael Brown, and she challenged Rep. Lacy Clay, an old-school black Southern Democrat whose father held the office before him. Vilela was a chief financial officer in Nevada who took on Steven Horsford, a pol heavily backed by PAC-money interests. Vilela was moved to run after the death of her daughter, who passed away soon after a hospital refused to treat her when she couldn’t provide proof of insurance. Swearengin is a coal miner’s daughter who ran because she loathed seeing her community blighted by health problems and poverty created by the dependence on the coal industry in West Virginia. Cinetic Media brokered the deal.

Twitter What to watch for this week in New York politics: This week starts with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, which will include many commemorative events acoss the city and state. The week will feature a lot of action at the Democratically-controlled state Legislature in Albany, on Tuesday and Wednesday, as both houses continue to pass bills that have not moved in past sessions when Republicans controlled the state Senate, and at the New York City Council, where there will be a variety of committee hearings and one full-body Stated Meeting, at which new bills are first introduced and bills that have passed committee receive a floor vote. We're continuing to watch four other themes this week: next steps after Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State and budget presentation from last week; how the MTA Board is handling the change of L-train tunnel repair plans; what Mayor Bill de Blasio will do next in his rollout of his State of the City agenda and his pursuit of a national spotlight; and the race for New York City Public Advocate, with the Feb. 26 special election rapidly approaching. --The Committee on Land Use will meet at 11 a.m. --The Committees on Civil Service & Labor and Housing will meet jointly at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “Section 3 hiring requirements.” --The Committee on Cultural Affairs will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “arts, culture, and Stonewall 50.” At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform established by Mayor de Blasio and the City Council will hold its latest public meeting at 250 Broadway. Topics will include “social and public health issues affecting New Yorkers, including HIV/AIDS prevention and education, substance use, mental health, LGBT rights, and discrimination.” The forum will take place at the New School Auditorium in Greenwich Village. Thursday The City Council will hold a stated meeting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Speaker Corey Johnson will hold the usual pre-stated press conference at 12:30 p.m. Also at the City Council on Thursday: the Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to property taxes. At 9 a.m. Thursday, City & State will host the P3 Summit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, discussing public-private partnerships. At noon Thursday, the New York State Board of Elections will hold a commissioners’ meeting in Albany. E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: bmax@gothamgazette.com (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).

The White House announced that President Trump would make a prime-time address and then travel to the southern border this week. Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump unleashed an offensive on Monday to persuade Americans that a “humanitarian and security crisis” on the southern border must be addressed before a government shutdown can end, announcing a prime-time address for Tuesday and a trip to the border later in the week. Senate Democrats, for their part, were moving to halt legislation to pressure Republicans to reopen the government, starting Tuesday. On Capitol Hill, Democrats tried to use leverage of their own to force Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, to come to the table and pressure Mr. Trump. The House, under Ms. Pelosi, passed a package of bills on Thursday, the day Democrats took control of the chamber, to reopen the one-quarter of the government without funding Mr. Trump’s wall. “Unfortunately, President Trump keeps rejecting the bipartisan House-passed bills, which have already received strong bipartisan support in the Senate, to reopen the government,” Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer wrote. Mr. Trump’s request that the major networks broadcast his speech live set off a day of tense deliberations at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. But several network producers said privately on Monday that they were uncomfortable turning down the president amid a national event affecting millions like the government shutdown. “If what he has to say is clearly just in his self-interest and does not address the greater national interest, then the next time the White House comes around, I might not be inclined to offer it.” In the recent past, White House requests to interrupt prime-time programming on the nation’s broadcast networks were rare and usually reserved for moments of national import, like the death of Osama bin Laden, and networks usually granted the requests. On Monday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced Mr. Trump’s plans to travel Thursday to the border, which would be the 20th day of the partial government shutdown if an agreement between Congress and the White House is not reached.

The incoming congresswoman takes aim at 'fake news.' Reaction and analysis on 'The Five.' #TheFive #FoxNews FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number…

Former mayoral candidate and Durham City Council member Farad Ali, chairman of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport Authority, is heading to New York City. Ali, who was born in New York, is taking a job at the National Minority Supplier Development Council. He has been CEO and president of the nonprofit Institute, formerly the Institute for Minority Economic Development, in downtown Durham. Ali and The Institute completed a report this fall surveying minority-owned businesses in downtown Durham for Downtown Durham Inc., but that report has yet to be made public. #ReadLocal Ali said in a recent interview that he ran for mayor last year because “there is no government economic development on black Durham.” Farad Ali, president of The Institute, previously The Institute of Minority Economic Development, believes minorities in Durham have the potential to overcome a wealth gap to achieve "shared prosperity" if the city has a shared vision of the future. Or decreasing their wealth?” Ali moved to Durham from Brooklyn as a kid for his dad’s job at IBM, which is in Research Triangle Park. Lew Myers, board chair of The Institute, will serve as interim CEO while a national search is conducted. Other Durham leaders leaving Ali isn’t the only downtown Durham player on the move this month. Matt Gladdek, Downtown Durham Inc.’s director of policy and planning, is leaving to take a job next door in Chapel Hill. Related stories from Raleigh News & Observer durham-county African-American leaders want to see new Black Wall Street rise in Durham June 21, 2018 05:19 PM local Gentrification in Durham: The ‘it’ city’s downtown rise hasn’t led to a black-owned boom October 30, 2018 11:30 AM

Ayanna Pressley is the first black woman that Massachusetts has ever elected to Congress. In a tweet Monday afternoon, the 7th District congresswoman-elect announced that she’s getting the former office of Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in the country elected to Congress. Pressley, who has repeatedly called Chisholm her “shero” and inspiration for running for public office, said she got the late Brooklyn congresswoman’s space after trading House office lottery numbers with fellow Democrat and soon-to-be freshman Rep. Katie Hill. Wow! TY Mommy for the extra bday luck! We just learned my Congressional Office designation will be #ShirleyChisholm 's former office. How's that for divine intervention, AND the selflessness of my colleague @KatieHill4CA who drew a better lottery# but still wanted me to have it. She died in 2005 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. During her visit to the Capitol for freshman orientation last month, Pressley tweeted a photo of herself posing in front of the iconic portrait of Chisholm. #ChangeCantWait #vote pic.twitter.com/JtfhIBE76N — Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) November 6, 2018