McMahon: "Fiscal Restraint" Lacking

U.S. Representative Michael McMahon was one of 39 Democrats who voted against the historic health care reform bill passed by the House last week by just 5 votes.

McMahon was the only New York City representative  -- they're all Democrats -- who voted against the bill.

In a New York Times interview, McMahon called the health care bill a net negative for seniors, families and small businesses in his district -- the 13th.  McMahon's was the only district in New York City where John McCain beat Barack Obama last November -- when McMahon, a lawyer, succeeded disgraced Republican Vito Fossella to become the first Democratic representative since 1981.

McMahon said that, while he supports overhauling the health care system and favors the so-called "public option", he doesn't think the House bill does enough to restrain government spending, and that it would result in premium increases, increased costs for small businesses and Medicaid cuts.

The article from the New York Times.

Albany Running out of Money

The New York Times reports that Gov. David Paterson took the unusual step today of addressing an off-season joint session of the legislature to underscore New York State's deepening financial crisis.

Paterson, in grave language, urged lawmakers to make his proposed funding cuts and warned that the state is approaching insolvency.

Budget negotiations between the governor and the legislature must address social welfare, health care and education spending. New York spends more per capita on Medicaid and education than any other state in the U.S. -- well above the national average.

The governor has called the legislature into an extraordinary session tomorrow to take up his proposed budget cuts. The state faces a deficit of more than $3 billion by the end of this fiscal year, with unprecedented deficits looming in 2011 and 2012.

Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch described the state's taxation system as being at its "outer limits".

Education and health care advocates, labor unions and senate Democrats have pushed back against the governor's proposed cuts to Medicaid and education -- the state's two biggest expenditures.

But the legislature apparently has no responsible fiscal strategy to counter the governor's planned cuts.

State comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that everything would have to be on the table in the state's budget negotiations.

The article from the New York Times.

House Bill Prohibits Abortion Coverage

In an e-mail blast today, Planned Parenthood described yesterday's passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of a comprehensive health care bill as a "brutal" setback for abortion rights.

Despite a call-in campaign by hundreds of thousands of women's health care advocates, the bill passed by the House bans private abortion coverage for millions of women and prohibits abortion in the "public option".

The anti-abortion lobby has been emboldened by the House vote to bring the abortion ban to the floor of the U.S. Senate.

President Obama campaigned as an advocate of women's reproductive health care reform.  In great numbers, women who support reproductive health care reform voted for and contributed to Obama's campaign. Those supporters are now looking to Obama to reaffirm his commitment to them by demanding that the Senate refuse to pass any bill that eliminates abortion coverage.

You can take action by clicking here. 

Sign the petition.

Scandinavians and Dutch in Old New York

Five Dutch Days in Bay Ridge   

The Scandinavian East Coast Museum will sponsor a "Five Dutch Days" event at 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 12 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 4th Avenue @ 80th Street in Bay Ridge. 

Pascal Theunissen, author of a newly-published book, Nederlands in New York, will give a talk about Scandinavian New Amsterdam and some of its colorful Nordic characters. 

New Amsterdam was a melting pot of cultures and religions, in which Scandinavians were an important ingredient, yet most New Yorkers today know little about the city's Dutch and Scandinavian heritage. Thursday's event is intended to bring that history to light.  

Tickets are $20.00, and include a reception following the talk featuring Dutch and Scandinavian treats.

For more information, call 718-748-5950 or visit the East Coast Scandinavian Museum's website.    

Five Dutch Days in Manhattan 

In Manhattan, the St. Mark's Historic Landmark Fund, sponsor of the Neighborhood Preservation Center, will host its final series of annual "Five Dutch Days" events from November 12 through 16.   This series was organized by the Department of History at Columbia University, the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum and the St. Mark's Historic Landmark Fund. 

Five Dutch Days is a city-wide collaboration celebrating Dutch-American Heritage Day and the continuing influence of Dutch arts and culture in NYC. This year's event is also part of the year-long celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Henry Hudson's Arrival. 

Among the events at St. Mark's next week are: 

Peg-Leg Pete's Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 PM
131 East 10th Street 
Free Admission
Meet in front of the Stuyvesant vault in the East Yard of St. Mark's Church, rain or shine.
RSVP required: 212-228-2781 or info@smhlf.org.
 
The scavenger hunt, a family event, will take place at Peter Stuyvesant's bouwerie, or farm.  Participants will visit locations throughout the East Village and Gramercy Park that were part of the bouwerie. The person who completes the hunt first with the highest score on a related quiz will get a prize. The hunt is expected to take 2 to 3 hours. 

A self-guided tour of Stuyvesant's farm will be available on the web November 14.  You can download a PDF map of the tour.

St. Mark's Church Walking Tour
Sunday, Nov. 15th, 1-2 PM
131 East 10th Street 
Free Admission
Meet in front of St. Mark's Church.
RSVP required: 212-228-2781 or info@smhlf.org.

This historic tour of St. Mark's in-the-Bowery conducted by Associate Pastor Michael Relyea and Annette Hendrikse is available in English and in Dutch, and will focus on the cultural and architectectural history of St. Mark's church.    

For more information, visit the website. 

Public Hearing on Hydrofracking Tuesday

From the Campaign for New York's Future: 

On Tuesday, November 10, the State Department of Environmental Conservation is holding a public hearing in lower Manhattan to receive comments on its proposal to allow hydraulic fracture drilling ("fracking") for natural gas in the heart of New York City's watershed.

As The New York Times reported this week, "hydraulic fracturing has been implicated in a growing number of water pollution cases across the country."

The State DEC has agreed to give New Yorkers one more month to speak up about the hydrofracking proposal. 

Now, we need the DEC to ensure that no gas drilling will put the safety of our drinking water at risk.

Decision makers must see and hear from concerned New Yorkers at Tuesday's hearing.  Our drinking water must not be endangered. 

 Here's the 411:

• What:  the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hearing on its proposal to permit drilling for natural gas in the watershed that supplies 90% of New York City's water. This is your chance to speak up on the plan.
• When:  Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. Please arrive at least ten minutes early to go through security. 
• Where:  Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers Street, Manhattan, at the West Side Highway, a short walk or M22 bus trip from the 1, 2, 3, A or C Chambers St. subway stop. There is a bridge across the West Side Highway at Chambers. 

More on hydrofracking from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Unemployment Hits Double-Digits

U.S. unemployment rose to 10.2% in October, the highest rate since 1983.  This country has seen double-digit unemployment only twice since World War II.

The projected numbers for 2010 are even worse -- peaking at 11%.

President Barack Obama has signed a measure extending unemployment benefits and expanding a tax credit for homebuyers.

The article from WABC.

More from the AP.

Non-Voters, Fickle Democrats To Blame?

The New York Times reports that tens of thousands of New Yorkers, who took it for granted that Michael Bloomberg was going to win Tuesday's mayoral election, didn't bother to vote.

The New York Times article.

In the aftermath of Bill Thompson's near-victory over Michael Bloomberg in Tuesday, the Democratic Party is having second thoughts about abandoning Thompson in the stretch.

New York City, where there are 5 Democrats to every Republican, where unemployment is in the double digits, and where nearly half of black men are jobless, should be able to elect a Democratic mayor.

A Democratic state senator called it "disgraceful" that so many Democrats failed to support Thompson's candidacy -- or even bother to vote.  Other prominent Democrats took President Barack Obama to task for having done so little for Thompson in a "winnable" race.

Is a broken Democratic machine to blame?  Or was Bloomberg's narrow victory about the awesome power of money and spin?  The cash-fueled Bloomberg campaign machine effectively portrayed the mayor as invincible, and a lot of power players stayed out of the race because they believed the hype.
 
Maybe Anthony Weiner will have better luck next time. 

The article from the New York Times. 

More from Gotham Gazette's Wonkster.

Not Our Fault

Looking for somebody to blame for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 5-point squeaker against Democratic challenger Bill Thompson Tuesday night?  Don't look at Brooklyn.

Thompson got 49.8% of the Brooklyn vote.  Bloomberg got 46%.

Citywide, Bloomberg, who spent a record-breaking $90 million campaigning, edged out Thompson 50.6 to 46%.

Running as a Republican, Bloomberg did well in majority white neighborhoods like Bay Ridge, Borough Park, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill.  But Brooklyn's predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods, including Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Sunset Park, went for Thompson.

The mayoral race was the only close one in Brooklyn.

In the 43rd Council District, Democratic incumbent Vincent Gentile defeated Republican challenger Bob Capano with 60% of the vote.

Borough President Marty Markowitz trounced Republican Marc D’Attavio by 85 to 13.2%.

The article from the Brooklyn Paper.

Feeling the Pinch

The New York Times reports that both the new and the old immigrant communities in Bay Ridge, regardless of party affiliation, are unhappy with two-term mayor Michael Bloomberg, running for a third term on the Republican line.

Their main complaint:  Bloomberg is driving the middle class out of the city.

The article from the New York Times.

"Gingerbread House" for Sale

Brooklyn real estate blog Brownstoner reports that Bay Ridge's Howard E. and Jesse Jones House, at 8220 Narrows Avenue, is for sale.

The asking price is $12 million.

Mr. Jones, a shipping magnate, commissioned architect James Sarsfield Kennedy to design the Arts and Crafts house, which features uncut boulder construction and a simulated thatched roof made of multi-colored asphalt shingles, in 1916.

The house, popularly known as the "Gingerbread House" for its hobbity look, is a local landmark.

The article from Brownstoner.

More from the New York Post.