Yonkers Tribune

New York Civic – The Budget: Is It a Piñata? By HENRY J. STERN

Budget Disputes Vary in Intensity Depending on Funds Available and Ambitions of Lawmakers

Like nature itself, city government deals with different matters in different seasons of the year. First is the season of the budget, which begins with requests for funds by agencies and advocates, most of which are politely ignored because there are insufficient resources to fund them. The word most heard at budget time is no.

New York Civic - Longevity: Blessing or Curse? By HENRY J. STERN

How Does Government Pay for Services People Want?

One recurring problem in government is the shortage of funds needed to meet reasonable demands for services by the public.

This situation occurs for a number of reasons. One, when payment is made by a third party demand for services increases substantially; the more that is provided, the greater the level of expectation for additional services. These demands, although costly are not inherently unreasonable. But the question is where to draw the line?

New York Civic: Liar's Poker By HENRY J. STERN

 

Truth is the First Casualty In Redistricting, as in War

political issue of the year in New York State is redistricting following the 2010 census. New lines for legislative and Congressional districts must be drawn in time for the 2012 elections. New York is on the path to being one of the slowest states to adopt new lines.

Henry J. Stern's New York Civic Launches Candidate College Web Series

Henry J. Stern is pictured.

NEW YORK, NY -- Morgan Pehme, executive director of New York Civic is pleased to announce that the first five episodes of our new, free informational Web series "Candidate College" are now online on their YouTube channel.

Produced in partnership with Common Cause NY, the Women's City Club of New York, Touro College, and New Roosevelt, Candidate College is designed to teach civic-minded individuals of all ages and party affiliations how to run for office.

Click here to watch a 3-minute trailer for Candidate College, featuring 5 great tips for any would-be candidate.

New York Civic: Defining Democracy Down By HENRY J. STERN

Cuomo the Conqueror;

Where Will He Take Us?

The agreement reached by Governor Cuomo and the legislative leaders of both houses on taxation is an achievement of sorts, in that it shows that somewhere, in some circumstances, and in some fashion, state government is capable of making decisions. 

This puts Albany far ahead of Washington, where partisan gridlock has so far prevented action on numerous issues, particularly the Federal government’s lack of financial responsibility, which has led to mounting deficits. The United States would be bankrupt today if it did not have the authority to print money.

This week’s tax package is essentially a victory for the supporters of more spending by state government, rather than sharp reductions in the budget.

It is better for the public-employee unions than tighter control of expenditures would be, which would result in reductions in personnel, by far the largest expense item.

New York Civic: Pension Reform Agreed Upon, But Will the Promises Be Kept? By HENRY J. STERN

The city's antiquated pension system has long been in need of streamlining and updating. The agreement reached yesterday (October 27, 2011) by Mayor Bloomberg, Comptroller Liu and leading labor unions provides hope that 2012 will be a year of pension reform, but such hopes have previously arisen and been dashed on the rocks of political reality.

New York City employees have different pension plans, all under the management of the City Comptroller: the Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS), the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), the Police Pension Fund Subchapter 2, the Fire Department Pension Fund Subchapter Two, and the Board of Education Retirement System (BERS). Each pension fund is financially independent of the others and has its own board of trustees, which include city officials and relevant union leaders. In general, the city and the unions have roughly equal authority over the funds.

New York Civic: Big Apple Turnover By HENRY J. STERN

Turner Tops Weprin;

Koch’s Intervention; and

Distaste for Obama Reflected in Vote

The election yesterday of Republican Robert Turner to Congress is significant for several reasons.

One is that the result will be widely perceived as a rebuke to President Obama and the Democratic Party, which it is. For some, the issue was jobs and the economy. For others, the administration's hostility to Israel is an important issue, which affected Catholic voters as well as Jews. The hostility of Muslim extremists extends to all other religions, and the Catholics were the original crusaders in the Middle Ages.

New York Civic Presents "Candidate College"

Next Sunday, September 18th, New York Civic will present "Candidate College," a free, all-day special event, open to the public, aimed at training citizens of all backgrounds, ages and political beliefs how to mount a serious bid for elected office. The event, which will consist of a series of nonpartisan, non-ideological panel discussions focusing on different aspects of campaign craft, is intended to inspire people to get involved in the political process in the most direct way possible: by becoming a candidate.

Water, Water Everywhere By HENRY J. STERN

Irene Drenches City – Winds Just Bluster, Nature Lends a Hand.

Mayor Back in Groove

Today we enjoy the calm after the storm. The sky is clear and we have a pleasant breeze. It is a perfect day to go outside and breathe air that is cleaner than usual. You can also leave your apartment windows open.

The contrast, of course, is with last week, when Hurricane Irene dropped millions of gallons of water over the Eastern Seaboard, starting with Puerto Rico, and heading north to Canada, finally dissipating over Quebec. Hurricanes have no regard for political boundaries. Landfalls slow them down but do not stop them.

New York Civic: September Surprise By HENRY J. STERN

Turner-Weprin Contest

Seen as Vote on Obama

The possibility of an upset in the special election September 13 to fill Anthony Weiner's congressional seat should cause Democratic leaders some anxiety.

Although Assemblyman David Weprin, the Democratic candidate, must be considered the favorite in view of the heavy Democratic edge in registration, the Republican nominee, Bob Turner, is running hard. In 2010, Turner opposed incumbent Weiner last year and won 40% of the vote in what had been considered a deep blue district. When Weiner was forced to resign June 16 as a result of a sexting scandal, Governor Cuomo chose September 13, primary day, as the date for an election to fill the remainder of Weiner's term, which would have expired January 3, 2013.

New York Civic: A Good Governor By HENRY J. STERN

Carey was Indispensable in City’s ‘70s Fiscal Crisis

The obituaries for Governor Hugh L. Carey stress a major achievement, bringing fiscal responsibility to New York City government after the financial crisis of 1974 and 1975. Here are some facts about the situation at that time and Governor Carey's critical role. 

Mayor Koch, who knew Governor Carey since they served in Congress thirty years ago, has written about Carey's achievements. Click here to read his commentary.

This article is a worm's eye view of the fiscal crisis and political events that surrounded and followed it. Back then, I was a City Councilmember at large, elected from the Borough of Manhattan. The City Council, at the time less powerful than it is today, had little to do with creating or resolving the city's near-bankruptcy. We offer some background and political history of the 1970's. Thirty-five years later, it is remarkable how many of these events have been forgotten, while the new generation of New Yorkers never knew them.

New York Civic: Clinton Suggested Obama Resist Threats of Default By HENRY J. STERN

Journalism is habitually critical of government officials and bureaucracy. Most people, when polled objectively, tell us that they hold public officials in modest regard. Traditionally, legislators rank substantially lower in public esteem than executives. Notwithstanding those sentiments, however, voters usually re-elect their local representatives, unless the public mood shifts substantially, as it did in 2010.

The popularity of the President, a governor or a mayor will vary during his term according to the course of events, and the way that elected officials respond to the challenges of the day. Governor Cuomo rose after his first six months as a result of his success in dealing with the legislature. President Obama, on the other hand, has lost public esteem in the wake of the dispute over the national debt ceiling, even though he acted responsibly on that difficult issue. 

New York Civic Suffer Little Children By HENRY J. STERN

Mattingly Leaves ACS, Presided Over Tragedies but Reformed the Agency.

Judge Richter is Successor.

John B. Mattingly is retiring as Commissioner of the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) after seven years in the trenches. At the age of 66, he will return to the child welfare foundation he headed in Baltimore.

His departure is in striking contrast to Jay Walder's jumping ship after 21 months at the MTA to take a far more lucrative position running a railroad in the Orient. Yet Walder may have performed a service by his surprise exit. His manner had alienated many of the people he had to deal with, and the financial chasm between receipts and expenditures had only widened, although through no fault of Walder's.

New York Civic: Jaybird Flies By HENRY J. STERN

Jay Walder is Not Casey Casey Jones,

Jumps from NYC to Hong Kong because MTA Nears Fiscal Crash

Jay Walder is no Casey Jones.

Unlike the iconic railroad engineer, who kept his hand on the throttle while his train plunged down curving tracks to disaster, and by doing so saved the lives of many people, the MTA chief Jay Walder did not even complete two years at the helm of the transit authority before he jumped ship for a more secure and lucrative berth in a private, profitable transit system.

Walder was not shanghaied in the dead of night; he is going voluntarily to MTR (Mass Transit Railway), a railroad colossus headquartered in Hong Kong. Any idea where they might bank?

New York Civic: Four Wheels Bad By Henry J. Stern

Bridge Tolls Ended A Century Ago Today,

Now Tax Raisers Would Reimpose Them,

Because MTA Overspends Consistently

Today, we are told, is the one hundredth anniversary of the removal of tolls from the East River bridges, which at the time ranged from one to ten cents.

One would think that such an occasion would be a day of celebration, people rejoicing at the freedom to travel from Manhattan to Brooklyn and Queens and to return without stopping to pay a toll to a troll. A bridge is a street over water was the prevailing philosophy when the city was young and growing.

For most of us, that is our sentiment today, but a cadre of transit activists insistently desires a return to the days of the toll collector on the bridge, as well as charging motorists to go from one neighborhood to another in Manhattan.