State Senator Hiram Monserrate says he's coming home to the Democrats (until he decides otherwise). Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says he'll tell his members to go home this week if the Senate can't get its act together. As one observer put it, Albany is like "feudal Japan. There's a weak emperor (the governor) and strong warlords." Gotham Gazette details all of the key legislation in jeopardy, as Albany burns.
Mayor Bloomberg likes Shelly Silver's proposals for tweaking mayoral control of the schools. The assembly could pass the legislation by the end of the week. The Senate? See above.
After that accident at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge last week, the city is finally imposing new requirements for pedicab drivers.
The blog, "Lost City," really hates the "Recover New York Program", announced by the city's Economic Development Corporation. Lost City says the plan would "basically hand over those parts of the city (including Chinatown) that haven't yet been raped
by overbuilding to big-money developers in sweetheart deals."
The Obama administration's loan modification plan could help thousands of New Yorkers. But housing advocates say the program "is slow to get off the ground" here.
