The fallout from the City Council's defeat of the Kingsbridge Armory development deal. A reality check for mayor Bloomberg, says te Times:
…after years of largely unchallenged authority, Bloomberg 3.0 is
beginning to look like this: a mayor suddenly grappling with emboldened
opposition, limits to his influence, a city teeming with economic
frustration and residents who are distrustful, in some ways, of a
Manhattan billionaire.
Will Bloomberg do in the community boards?
The Post notices the raging controversy over Girls Prep's expansion plans: "Parents at a Lower East Side charter school are slamming the city for
pitting a slew of public-school parents against them in a battle over
scarce building space."
As we reported yesterday, the State Board of Regents wants the Legislature to raise the charter school cap to 400. The Senate appears to be amenable to the idea- prospects in the Assembly are far less certain.
Writing on Counterpunch.com, author Daniel Wolff has a few observations about the recent NYT piece explaining why hedge fund managers are so enthralled with charter schools:
Through
various real estate deals and cost-cutting practices (like paying
teachers less), these private/public schools have already shown
themselves to be potential money makers. One real estate trust recently
sunk $170 million into 22 charters. Said its CEO: “The charter public
schools offer lenders/leaseholders a dependable revenue stream backed
by a government payer. It’s a very desirable equation.”
Zoning hijinks at a Chinatown hotel?
Beat Box, Columbia J. School's web site, looks at the non-profits on the LES, battered by the recession and government budget cutting.
Roaches loves the LES.
The Bowery Boys on Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," no doubt influenced by his early years on the Lower East Side.
The New Yorker calls the Urs Fischer show at the New Museum "desperately ingratiating."
A great little video featuring the young rugby players at the Henry Street Settlement.
