AfterDowningStreet.org has an amazing historical overview on why tomorrow there will be massive demonstrations and labor union strikes all across the country : 122 years of the 8 hour week and end of child labor, 5 years of "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq, 3 years since the discovery of the Downing Street Minutes, 2 years since the nation-wide immigration rallies of 2006, almost 2 years ago when Nanci Pelosi and Democrats in Congress and the Senate took the impeachment of George Bush for misleading the country to war, "off the table". Yet in one of the most mindboggling examples of the Bush Administration's information war against Americans, May 1st has been declared Loyalty Day.

And here's the thing : You and I know that when it comes down to it, the war against immigrants is a war against labor which is part of a larger attack from the only people who benefit from the other kind of corporate-led violence like the occupation of Iraq.

As my friend Roberto Lovato said earlier, paraphrasing ActUP, "Silence = Death". If you are like me, you hate marches but you go to them because you know that as a symbol of solidarity in dissent you need to go.

So dust off your walking shoes and get your arse to the streets and square tomorrow at 2 or 3pm.  read more »

In a city in which it is not a crime to shoot Sean Bell fifty times or Amadou Diallo 41 times, where black and Hispanic young men are stopped and frisked vastly in excess of their proportion of the population, it should not be a surprise that blacks & Hispanics are arrested for marijuana possession vastly more than whites (even though marijuana use is equal across ethnic groups). The surprise, as I see it, is that decent people don’t spit at Mayor Bloomberg and his police Commissioner. How often will NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Public Misinformation, Paul Browne, say things like the NYPD doesn’t engage in racial profiling without his nose growing from Police Plaza to City Hall? (I hate it when Mayor Bloomberg’s race policies make me write as though I were Al Sharpton.)

Rocco Parascandola of Newsday reports on a study released by the New York Civil Liberties Union:

The NYPD arrested more than 350,000 people for misdemeanor marijuana possession over the past decade -- a tenfold increase achieved by systematically targeting young black and Hispanic men and stopping them without cause, a report released Tuesday charges NYCLU,

The NYCLU press release, is here  read more »

Through dreary rain, late Monday afternoon, I dodged jammed Madison Avenue traffic to the Municipal Art Society office in exquisite remains of the Villard Mansion. There NYC’s Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan explained her strategic plan for “Sustainable Streets.” The wine flowed, the sushi, ginger & wasabi were fresh (even without soy sauce), the tabuli tangy, the tapinade, salty.

People packed shoulder to shoulder, making dancing to the swing trio impractical. Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler was there, as was NYPC Commissioner Ray Kelly (Kelly was so freshly dressed, so creased, so unwrinkled, so calm, he glowed. I’ll bet he didn’t cycle over.) The overwhelmingly white, suited crowd had a few cycling advocates mixed in: Transportation Alternatives’ Paul Steely White in his signature vest, Straphanger Gene Russianoff in cacki chinos, Karen Overton, formerly of Recycle-A Bicycle. But, for me the big news was who was missing: I saw no elected officials at all.  read more »

In the last short while, articles & news reports of outstanding brilliance have been published and disappeared from view. It’s happened to all of us – but don’t let it happen to these. Indeed, if you know of great stories sinking beneath the waves of sex and teen-age starlets, let's try to save them.

KGIA & Almontaser If you haven’t already, stop right now and read Pulitzer-winner Andrea Elliott’s brilliantly researched and written reportage on the Kahlil Gibran International Academy and its founding principal Debbie Almontaser It’s long, thoughtful, a must read. I have a ton of things to say about it but – in summary – wow! (Past Daily Gotham items on point here and here )

Pentagon Manipulated Iraq Coverage Of course, I believe that everything that Mr. Bush and his servants say about Iraq is a lie. They’ve lied about causes, they’ve lied about costs. But how about journalists and analysts? As it turns out, Mr. Bush has been turning them into Pentagon parrots.  read more »

As Bruce Ratner goes public admitting he has no intention of fulfilling the promises he made to New York regarding affordable housing in his Atlantic Yards project, even former allies like Bill DeBlasio are now questioning just why New York City and New York State are giving him so much taxpayer money. On Saturday, May 3rd a major rally will be held where opposition will coalesce against Ratner. Among those sponsoring and publicizing this event are former supporters of Ratner, politicians who have previously been lukewarm in their opposition, and opposition groups that formerly didn't work together. In other words, Ratner may have finally shown his hand and all those who believed his promises or who weren't ready to take a strong stand now are feeling betrayed and angry. Saturday may be the beginning of the end for Ratner because for the first time I have seen the names of politicians who had been solidly, blindly behind Ratner cropping up among the opposition.

From DDDB (and about a dozen other sources!):

Community Groups, Elected Officials To Hold Major Rally To Demand Governor Paterson Call “Time Out” On Atlantic Yards Project  read more »

There's going to be a lot of noise here in the next week to ten days. We're doing some major repairs and upgrades on the site that will fix the comment and posting problems we've been having in the last month.

And with that, I leave you with a time-lapse video of a construction site of 1 Bryant Park, on 4nd Street and Sixth Avenue.

Enjoy.

At Council Member Gail Brewer's great UWS brownstone, there will be a give-what-you-can (but they need a lot) fund raiser for an organization I like: Students for a New American Politics. Consider coming. The text of your invitation is after the jump. Remember to RSVP.

I am, I think, naturally attracted to this benefit. As a former student activist myself, as the parent of one former college campaigner and one possible future one, I like the idea of helping to field students to staff progressive political congressional campaigns. Further, I think that, whoever is elected President, we will need a much more progressive Congress to move our agenda.

Student’s for a New American Politics raises money and dispatches activists to key campaigns.

In 2006, campaigns which got SNAP activist help included the following: Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) , Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Diane Farrell (D-CT) , Joe Courtney (D-CT) , Julia Carson (D-IN), Lois Murphy, (D-PA), Ned Lamont (D-CT), Nick Lampson (D-TX), Patricia Madrid (D-NM), Paul Hodes (D-NH), Scott Kleeb (D-NE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

For 2008, they plan to place activists in the following campaigns: Tom Allen (D-ME), Darcy Burner (WA-08), Jim Himes (CT-04), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15), Tom Perriello (VA-05), Dan Seals (IL-10)  read more »

At Council Member Gail Brewer's great UWS brownstone, there will be a fundraiser for an organization I like: Students for a New American Politics. Consider coming. The text of your invitation after the jump.

I am, I think, naturally attracted to this benefit. As a former student activist myself, as the parent of one former college campaigner and one possible future one, I like the idea of helping to field student activists to staff progressive political congressional campaigns. Further, I think that, whoever is elected President, we will need a much more progressive Congress to move our agenda.
Student’s for a New American Politics raises money and dispatches activists to key campaigns.

In 2006, campaigns which got SNAP activist help included the following: Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) , Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Diane Farrell (D-CT) , Joe Courtney (D-CT) , Julia Carson (D-IN), Lois Murphy, (D-PA), Ned Lamont (D-CT), Nick Lampson (D-TX), Patricia Madrid (D-NM), Paul Hodes (D-NH), Scott Kleeb (D-NE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

For 2008, they plan to place activists in the following campaigns: Tom Allen (D-ME), Darcy Burner (WA-08), Jim Himes (CT-04), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15), Tom Perriello (VA-05), Dan Seals (IL-10)  read more »

Norm Siegel, candidate for Public Advocate, has a new website and a new Youtube video:

For those who aren't familiar with Norman Siegel, he has been defending the Civil Liberties of Americans decades. From his website:

Norman Siegel, raised in Brooklyn, has been an advocate for New Yorkers throughout his 40 year career. He has been a leader in the fight for freedom, justice, and equality for all, issues that have pulled at our city’s fabric for too many generations.  read more »

Recently I wrote a piece kind of throwing together the ideas of human evolution and personal genealogy, two things that clearly are ultimately connected because they both come down to simple genetics and who begat whom, but in reality are so separated in time that we cannot properly connect them. But those who accept genealogies and DNA tests for paternity have to accept evolution, because the concepts are the same. Ultimately genes work a certain way and we understand how they work quite well. Evolution is no great mystery or controversy. What is amazing is that Darwin, with no concept of genes, came up with a system that once genes were studied was found to fit very well how genes actually work. Genetics and Evolution started as separate fields, but amazingly the two separate fields merged almost perfectly. To me genealogy is simply what we can see up close of our evolutionary path. Once we get a few generations back, the branches of our ancestry become quite tangled and hard to see...but they are there. And their imprint is in our genes.  read more »

It's spring, the weather has been perfect and May (which starts Thursday) is Bike Month. Middle-aged folk like me (and Room 8's Larry Littlefield ) are looking for exercise, cheap transport and global warming solutions. Bike messengers, Critical Mass riders (like my Council Member Rosie Mendez), edgy fixed-gear fanatics and teens are already out there. Join us. (For a full list of Bike Month events, click here (For Jennifer 8 Lee's NYT Bike Month Round-up, including NYC DOT plans, click here ).

It's already too late to sign up for the biggest NYC pleasure ride the Five Boro Bike Tour on Sunday May 4 which filled up at the beginning of April. The 42-mile car-free ride through NYC's streets parks and highways is an odd mob scene with a cast of tens of thousands, lots of snacks, flat tires and sweat. Because the whole ride is done with no cars, you get a little of the feeling about what a car-free-NYC might be like. Pedaling on auto-free highways is a revelation. It is definitely not for those who want to be alone. If you're going, look for me there.

Three still-open May bike rides:

The 6th Annual Brooklyn Greenway Bike Tour on Saturday May 3, 2008  read more »

The Sean Bell verdict so stunned me; I’ve needed to let it simmer before taking fingers to keyboard . Can any New Yorker take this verdict as less than a license to Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Kelly’s police to kill black men with impunity?

The first thing I read was Justice Arthur Cooperman’s written verdict of acquittal. While the outcome, that the cops would walk, seemed possible to me, the vague, cavalier, conclusory judgment he issued, seemed to me a bob-and-weave slap in the face to all of us. Some thought and judgment may have gone into his decision, but none was revealed by his written work. Justice Cooperman, 74, facing mandatory retirement , did not grace those following the issues of this case with his analysis, did not explain what – if anything – he thought was unproved in the prosecution’s case. Errol Louis was as stunned as I by what felt to be the callously narrow character of the verdict .

The New York Times coverage of the verdict has been exemplary: Michael Wilson's articles here and here and the Editorial here should not be missed. Also check out Jim Dwyer’s column here .

Sally Goldenberg, in the Staten Island Advance, had a wonderful article comparing the reactions of Mayoral contenders William Thompson (outraged) with Christine Quinn (Time to move on) here . Is it too cynical of me to suspect that this means that Mr. Thompson hopes to hold the primary votes of black New Yorkers, while Ms. Quinn does not have great hopes in that area?  read more »

The three police officers on trial for killing Sean Bell were acquitted today.

As someone who had inside information during the trial of four police officers in the Amadou Diallo case, I was unsurprised by that acquittal eight years ago. I lack the inside information this time, but having followed the case in the papers I am again not surprised by the acquittal.

The problem here is that we have a built-in racism in our society. It does not help that the vast majority of so-called "progressive" organizations are all, or nearly all, white. It does not help that the few groups that consist primarily of people of color (oh, screw being PC -- make it "consist primarily of blacks or Hispanics") are portrayed in the media as violent or potentially violent.

It does not help that those relatively few cases when violence erupts are  read more »

I suppose I am type-cast to be attracted to this fund-raiser. It supports progressive students as they campaign for progressive congressional candidates. As a former student campaigner, as the parent of former and future campaigners, as a leftist who wants to leverage low-cost labor for progressive campaigns, this event is a natural. I'm going. You should consider coming too.

The organization benefited, Students For A New Politics has a great track-record. In 2006 they successfully campaigned for progressives all over the country. Help them do it again. Candidates endorsed so far for 2008 are Tom Allen (D-ME), Darcy Burner (WA-08), Jim Himes (CT-04), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15), Tom Perriello (VA-05) and Dan Seals (IL-10). .

Additional reasons for going: good company, great location: Council Member Gail Brewer breath-takingly pretty UWS home; A sliding scale; people who are broke, like me, can go for less, pay what we can .

Meet, Greet and Support Steve Harrison for Congress
(New York 13th Congressional District)

Joy and I are helping host this fundraiser along with Marjorie and Alan Gersten.
Sun., Apr. 27, 2008, 4:00 PM
Suggested Donation $50
Location: Willow Street, Apt 1, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Steve Harrison is against the war in Iraq, supporting a plan for withdrawal similar to those proposed by Bill Richardson and John Edwards. He supports strengthening port security as a better way of fighting terrorism than getting mired in Iraq.

NY Times Editorial Board endorsing Steve on his 2006 run:

"Mr. Harrison...is an attractive alternative to Mr. Fossella in his own right. Mr. Harrison has a presence in both sides of the district; he resides in Brooklyn, while his mother and sister live on Staten Island.  read more »

Today in Sunnyside, Queens, representatives of Western Queens Power for the People were joined by Assemblymember Richard Brodsky to announce a settlement with Con Edison stemming from the nine-day blackout in western Queens. Under the terms of the settlement, residents who were affected by the blackout will receive a $100 rebate in their August or September bill, along with a written apology from Con Ed. Businesses will receive slightly more.

The settlement is unprecedented. Never before has a public utility given out a rebate without the recipients being required to fill out a form, and never before has the rebate gone directly on to the bill. This rebate also comes with no strings attached -- any resident or business owner who feels he or she should get more can still sue Con Ed.

Some more details of the settlement:  read more »

They were giants among us. Although personally very different both Ralph DiGia and Grace Paley were firm anti-war activists much of whose work was done in support of the War Resisters League . Celebrate their lives.

Grace Paley at Judson Memorial Church Saturday April 26, 2008 2-5PM 55 Washington Square South. The life of poet, writer, leftist, tenant advocate, anti-warrior, has been honored and remembered by readings and demonstrations. This event celebrates “Her Political Life” includes Dan Berrigan, Dave McReynolds and a wonderful leftish chorus Harmonic Insurgence and others. .Click here for some good Grace photos and some more information.

Ralph DiGia at The Theatre For A New City Saturday May 10, 2008 2-5PM 155 First Avenue (9/10 Sts.) Karen DiGia and the Ralph DiGia Fund For Peace & Justice are celebrating Ralph’s life with music, movies schmoozing and memories. ( More info here)  read more »

Despite receiving the endorsement from Democracy for America, Jimmy Dahroug still doesn't seem to resonate with the state's Democratic Party leaders.

We've been through this before. A couple of months ago, a NY Times article listed Republican-turned-Democrat Christopher Bodkin as Caesar Trunzo's main Democratic opponent, and didn't even mention Dahroug. After seemingly solving that potential fiasco, it appears the state Dems are at it again. This time, they're back to looking at Brookhaven Supervisor Brian Foley.

Why? The answer is the usual answer to that question: Money. Foley has a lot in reserve, while Dahroug, despite raising a lot more than he ever has before, is still lagging behind Trunzo.

Of course, if the so-called "leaders" would stop looking like idiots and  read more »

Councilman Bill DeBlasio has seemed to have never met a developer dollar he didn't like. Rumor has it he has admitted as much. But it is certain that he by and large sides quite proudly with any developer who pays lip service, no matter how far fetched, to affordable housing.  read more »

One of my annual diaries (when I remember to do them) is honoring the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during WW II, which happened to coincide with Hitler's birthday in 1943. I happen to feel that it was a particularly good birthday present for Hitler: the defeat of his elite force by a bunch of half starved, barely armed Jews.

This year the anniversary is particularly poignant because, as in 1943, Passover began at sundown on April 19th and April 20th, the day the uprising took off, was the first day of Passover.

Last night, at the Seder we attended, the hostess compiled her own Haggadah for the evening. Within it she included something that seemed out of place and too modern...except that it was perfectly appropriate for a night that in 1943 was the Passover Seder, such as it was, just before the Warsaw uprising. In her photocopied Haggadah she included this (source unknown):  read more »

With the resignation of Councilmember Dennis Gallagher after pleading guilty in a sexual assault case, a special election for the 30th District seat (Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, Glendale, Richmond Hill) will be held on June 3. In a special election for city offices there are no primaries and no nominations, and all candidates are on the ballot as themselves alone, with no official party affiliation.

But...

Both parties have made it clear whom they are supporting. Of the three Republicans in the race, the party is supporting Anthony Como, a Board of Elections commissioner and aide to state Senator Serphin Maltese. Former Councilmember Tom Ognibene is running for his old seat (he was term-limited out in 2001). Also in the race is Joseph Suraci, who is pissed off at the party for passing over him for a Civil Court judgeship five years ago.

Read on for where it gets ugly...  read more »

Every year at Passover I write a diary focused on the origins of Jews. This year I have one new insight into the origins of Judaism, and it comes from a direction that isn't quite what I was expecting, and it both goes along with and maybe modifies what is in the bible. So if you have read this before, keep with it, because I caught on to one of the earliest signs of something new in "Israel" originating in Egypt...just like the Passover legend suggests.

Passover celebrates, supposedly, the escape of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. This escape is considered one of the defining moments in Judaism, perhaps THE defining moment. Into this event is placed the entirety of the ancient Jewish identity, supposedly divided into "12 tribes," as well as the defining of Jewish religious law. That is a lot to put into one holiday!  read more »

Vito Fossella (aka "Bush's Lap Dog") always claims to be "indepentent." In fact I had some Fossella supporters actually get angry and nasty at me because I called Fossella a Republican (his actual registration). They were telling people (falsely) that he was an Indepentent. And yet this so-called "independent" keeps bringing none other than Dick Cheney to NYC to fundraise for him. Well, this time a protest is planned to tell the big Dick that NYC does not approve of the failed Bush/Cheney/Fossella policies that have ruined America. From a Press Release from the Steve Harrison campaign:

Progressive groups protest Dick Cheney/Koch Industries’ Vito Fossella fundraiser

Truth 13 and other progressive groups are organizing a protest Monday morning [April 21] outside a fundraiser for New York City’s only Republican House member, Vito Fossella, organized by Vice President Dick Cheney and polluters Koch Industries (pronounced Coke)..  read more »

The Boss weighs in on this year's presidential election. You think his timing, right before the Pennsylvania primary, is deliberate? Could his endorsement swing some of those blue collar votes? I bet lots of those laid off Rust Belt workers blasted Born to Run in their day.

(picture from Classic Rock Legends)

You just don't get more American than Bruce Springsteen. America's working class icon and true blue American legend is endorsing Barack Obama. Bruce's letter says it all:

LIke most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.  read more »

Join Three Parks Democratic Club, Stonewall Democratic Club, Village Reform Democrats and Democracy for NYC in a forum to hear from candidates for the 13th Congressional District, a seat currently held by Vito Fossella. Both Stephen Harrison and Domenic Recchia have been invited.

The forum will be on Tuesday, April 15 (tax day), at 6:30 p.m., at the Lafayette Grill and Bar, 54 Franklin Street in Manhattan (nowhere near the district, I know).

Details are available on the DFNYC website.