Top News Stories
The Future Of Puerto Rico's Independence Movement
Opinions are mixed about whether pro-independence political prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres should receive a hero's welcome when he was released from prison Monday.
NYC Mulls Subsidy To Union-Battling Reuters
Thomson Reuters, the news-and-information-services giant wants $24 million in sales tax breaks on office and building materials. The Newspaper Guild says the company doesn't deserve it.
Harlem Program Scrutinized, Obama Initiative Cut
Congress is contemplating a major reduction to President Obama's flagship anti-poverty program, as its model—the Harlem Children's Zone—faces new questions about results.
State Education Test Scores Take Nosedive
Elementary and middle school students statewide scored far worse this year on their annual state math and English exams. For New York City, it was the first year-to-year decline in at least four years.
City Conversations: Perspectives on Youth
Killing the Message?
Obama Must Make Youth A Priority
In this op-ed, an advocate says a multibillion-dollar federal initiative is needed to bring disconnected youth back into the mainstream—not just for their sake, but for ours, too. School Test Givers Face Their Own Test
Closing Schools Won't Fix Them
The city's Department of Education wants to close 19 more schools that aren't performing well. But will that help disadvantaged students?
The Economy
Report: Fraud Common Among Top Debt Buyers
Between January 2006 and July 2008 the top 26 firms operating in NYC collected more than $1 billion through court judgments, allegedly obtaining many of them fraudulently.
Bronx Museum Revisits The Civil Rights Movement
Two exhibits at the Bronx Museum of the Arts explore the civil rights movement -- one though iconic and obscure documentary photos, the other through contemporary multi-media produced by artists born after the movement.By Lauren Raheja
Justice
Bed-Stuy Sounds Off About Police, Paterson Signs Bill
About 150 residents gathered Wednesday evening to vent their frustrations with the police, in the aftermath of the stop-and-frisk scandal that recently surfaced in their precinct.
Overhauling The City's Juvenile Justice System
Two city agencies are working to reform the city's juvenile justice system, partly by putting more troubled kids into community-based programs and counseling.
Passing Judgment: Juvenile Crime Indicts Adults
The good news is that juvenile justice reform is underway in New York. The bad news, argues this op-ed, is that reform won't work unless we recognize the true causes of youth crime.
High Hopes For Paterson's Immigrant Pardon Panel
Government
MTA Cuts Mean Bigger Crowds, More Problems
Transit cuts don't just mean fewer trains. There'll be less room on trains that are running. And that could compound other problems underground.
Call To Charter Commission: Do More
At a hearing in Brooklyn, people called on the charter revision commission to take on a wider range of issues--from lulus to land-use--than its staff has targeted.
Pols Aim To Bridge Racial, Ethnic Divisions
Increasing diversity challenges New York City politicians, requiring them to build coalitions between various racial and ethnic groups, rather than rely on the city's traditional black, white and Latino voting blocs.
Education
Public Advocate: DOE Mishandling School Closings And Co-locations
Schools Across State Face New Testing Hurdle
Health & Environment
Electric Car Infrastructure Coming To NYC
New York got its first public charging station for electric cars earlier this month. More are coming, as industry analysts predict that soon the country will be demanding the cars.
New Bill Would Change HIV Testing Across State
Gov. Paterson is expected to sign a bill that would mandate that physicians routinely offer their patients HIV testing, a move that experts say would reduce the rate of infection.
Does Big Apple Have Best Swimming Pools?
Is the grass greener, the water bluer, or the pool less crowded in other major cities? City Limits did some research to find out.
EPA Hunts For Gowanus Canal Culprits
The Brooklyn canal's Superfund designation has triggered a hunt for the corporations responsible for more than a century of pollution.
Sewage, Cement And Staten Island's Future
Projects to upgrade a sewage plant and construct a cement facility open the next chapter in a complex—and controversial—industrial history.
Will The Gowanus Ever Be Cleaned Up
For nearly a year, residents, politicians, businesspeople and others battled over the EPA’s consideration of the 1.8-mile waterway for a Superfund listing.
Court Upholds Columbia Campus Expansion
Columbia University's use of eminent domain to build an additional campus in West Harlem is upheld by The New York State Court of Appeals
New York Looks to Board High Speed Rail
This article from the Gotham Gazette takes a look at the possibility for federal funding of high-speed rail initiatives that could connect New York City to other cities throughout the state.
City Selects 50 Senior Centers to Close
This article details the locations of the 50 planned senior center closings throughout New York City being proposed in Mayor Bloomberg's executive budget.
Adventure Playground: John V. Lindsay and the Transformation of Modern New York
Describes the role that the administration of 1960s New York City mayor John Lindsay had in re-shaping New York's vital film industry.
A Permanent Problem Requires A Permanent Solution
This report from the Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development finds that nearly 170,000 units of subsidized rental units are in danger of losing their rent caps by 2037.
A Month After the Deadline, State Budget Nowhere In Sight
This article from the Gotham Gazette looks at the still-unresolved budget situation in the state legislature in Albany.
Taser Timeout
* Taser abuse is rampant at the Jerome Combs Detention Center, an hour south of Chicago. More than 100 inmates were shocked by Tasers over a 28-month period, even though a quarter of the inmates were restrained at the time.
City Garbage Plan Falls Short of Goals
This article from Gotham Gazette finds that the city's solid waste management plan has failed to be fully implemented for nearly four years.
City Hits Major Affordable Housing Milestone
100,000th unit is completed; city on track for New Housing Marketplace Plan to create or preserve 165,000 units by 2014.
Crown Heights Community Mediation Center
The Mediation Center is a unique neighborhood institution that works to improve community problem-solving, collaboration, and inter-group relations in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Operating out of our storefront offices since 1998, the Mediation Center seeks innovative ways to promote community cohesion in our neighborhood, known for fragmentation. This includes providing residents with links to resources on issues like education, parenting, housing, and immigration; providing support to young people navigating the challenges of a community tainted by violence, drugs, and poverty; and galvanizing neighborhood, borough, and city stakeholders in order to improve the quality of life for all residents.
NY Convergence
NY Convergence, the only online news site exclusively covering digital media and tech industry developments throughout New York is now in beta. Content, updated throughout each day, is available via daily e-newsletter, Twitter, iPhone, Facebook, RSS and widget. Queries and feedback welcome:tips@nyconvergence.com.
The Bronx is Kickin'
A blog on soccer in New York City, and my time as a volunteer with South Bronx United.
nybefore6.com
A guide to daytime, weekday jazz and classical concerts and other cultural events in Manhattan.
Kenmore Hall Courier
A tenant blog for a Chelsea, NY S.R.O. This S.R.O. had a terrible reputation before new management took over; despite improvements, conditions are still far from ideal.
NYC You Are Here
Concert, Movie, and Book Reviews. Music and art Happenings around NYC.
Ditmas Park Blog
A blog about the neighborhood of Ditmas Park.
Hawthorne Street Blog
A blog about the neighborhood of Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Brooklynology
Brooklynology is one of the ways Brooklyn public Library's Brooklyn Collection shares the wealth of its collections with the public. It's a great place to announce new acquisitions and programs, follow up on an enthusiasm, or point out something we think is hilariously funny.
New York Herald
Arts, Culture, Dining, Neighborhood News centering around Williamsburg/Greenpoint.
