The phantom of City Hall
Four more years of the phantom New York City Public Advocate. There is a photo of her allegedly giving food out in Queens. Nice? WHAT THE F&*#K IS HER PROBLEM!
The Public Advocate should be voice of moral outrage of the people of New York. Handing out sandwiches is the best Gotbaum could do?
It utterly pains me to see how this woman has turned that post into a charade. I don't care if Bloomberg stripped the position of any actual governmental mandate. Then raise hell, use the media access you've got with the post and raise utter, raging hell. No media access? Then take it to the people. Take it to the streets.
There is no reason whatsoever for people in Queens to be in the situation they are at the moment.
Facilitating the implementation of alternative sources of energy for emergency situations like this ought to be the #1 priority of New Yok City, especially after the 2002 Blackout. And if it is not on the agenda of the mayor or City Council, then shame them publicly for their oversight.
The Public Advocate's office should also act as the conduit for networking the 8 million residents of the city. Fostering better communications between neighbors should be it's priority; especially if it means that out of the effort, alternatives to the non-existent Mayor's office emergency plans will be put together between the office and 'the people'.
Yes, Betsy Gotbaum earns brownie points for dealing with yet another victim of child abuse. But when it comes to be a watchful eye of urban development decay and renewal, Gotbaum should receive an F.
Gotbaum is a Public Advocate who's nowhere to be found as the voice of moral outrage for the people of the city. Under Betsy Gotbaum the Public Advocate's office has become a clueless ennabler of neglectful Republican energy and environmental policies that affect New York City.
Calling for a complete removal with no alternative is stupid. This means that it is on the hands of the people to create alternative platforms to make their voices heard. And believe me, if you think blogs are the answer you're delusional. Blogs are but a small part of all the work that lies ahead.
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2006 Queens Blackout | Catastrophes | Energy Resources | Environment | Heatwave | Politics | Utilities | Weather | New York City | Betsy Gotbaum | Queens
I would run against her just to be
Submitted by Liza Sabater on 2 August 2006 - 5:21pm.
the bane of her existence. I swear, I will do anything with the little influence I have to sqash that campaign.
Well...
Submitted by Bouldin on 2 August 2006 - 4:09pm.
Rumor has it she's not entirely useless; after basically ignoring poverty for ever, she's all over the Brooke Astor case. This because, I believe, Mrs. de la Renta is a friend of both Mrs. Astor and Mrs. Gotbaum, and got her on it.
Ordinary people? Not so much of an interest for Billionaire Betsy.
Geezuscristal
Submitted by Liza Sabater on 2 August 2006 - 5:23pm.
I mean, seriously. Elderly abuse is all of a sudden center stage thanks to Brooke Astor and she's all over it? That and abused dead children because they're soundbiteable.
Urgh.
Not to say
Submitted by Bouldin on 2 August 2006 - 7:12pm.
...that those are unimportant things to be talking about; I mean, Astor basically sustained the philanthropic sector in this town.
What grates is the selectivity, and that the ordinary day to day grind doesn't make it on to that woman's radar screen.
We should keep tabs on her; I totally forgot, truth be told, that this office even exists.
She needs to resign. A
Submitted by BF (not verified) on 2 August 2006 - 4:47pm.
She needs to resign. A disgrace that makes Mark Green look like God.
OMG!
Submitted by Liza Sabater on 2 August 2006 - 5:24pm.
You know, when I was writing this I actually was going to write something to that effect but kept it out. You're right. She does make Mark Green look like a god.
Has she had a single
Submitted by peter (not verified) on 2 August 2006 - 5:31pm.
Has she had a single substantial success in her position?
None that I know of. Sad,
Submitted by Liza Sabater on 2 August 2006 - 5:38pm.
None that I know of. Sad, isn't it?
Gotbaum's motives
Submitted by rwallnerny on 2 August 2006 - 6:20pm.
Gotbaum has close ties to Bloomberg, and what is one of Mike Bloomberg's stated goals? To do away with the Public Advocate's office altogether, as he and most other republicans view the office as a waste of bureacracy that only provides an opportunity for a democrat to be in citywide office.
Gotbaum is doing nothing whatsoever to make people see that a public advocate's office is necessary. I wonder if she even cares if the office goes away after she leaves it in 2009. I think the public advocate's office is extremely important, I would rather do away with the city council chairman's office instead. The public advocate, unlike the council chairman, is elected citywide and can speak for the people citywide. I say they should either make the council chairman's position a citywide elected position, like it is in other places, or do away with it.
It trickles Down
Submitted by xsingh (not verified) on 3 August 2006 - 10:47am.
I worked for a state senator a few years ago and tried to get Gotbaum's office to assist in initiating an investigation of Access-A-Ride and nobody returned my calls--ever! They didn't even attempt to placate me.
We need a public advocate to
Submitted by BF (not verified) on 3 August 2006 - 2:45pm.
We need a public advocate to advocate for us against the public advocate.
Betsy
Submitted by Advocate (not verified) on 3 August 2006 - 7:42pm.
My history in NY only goes back about 10 years. But Betsy's utter incompetence does make you realize how good you had it when Mark Green was out there advocating for you. Was he a good PA compared to those before him? Is Betsy really that bad or was Green really good?
Norman Siegel
Submitted by mole333 on 5 August 2006 - 9:44pm.
NYC had its chance to have a kick ass Public Advocate: Norm Siegel. Instead we elected the most useless politician I have ever seen: Betsy Gotbaum. One could argue that since that stupid mistake NYC deserves the crappy government it has been getting.
Developers prosper, the rest of us rot and see our civil rights slowly torn apart.
Gotbaum
I agree that Gotbaum's response to the situation in Queens has been pathetic. A true public advocate would have been all over that situation.
Believe it not, my understanding is that Betsy Gotbaum-- who is term limited in the public advocate's office-- intends to run for Mayor in 2009. She has already started raising money and indicated her intentions in campaign filings. If Betsy wants to be New York City's first ever female mayor, she needs to be doing a lot more than she's doing now, thats for sure.