CHatter
November 13th, 2007
Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión was the honorary ringmaster of
the Big Apple Circus Oct. 28, earning him his moment in top hat and
tails and a dance with Grandma the clown.
Bite of Bing
Schools and airports are often named after politicians, but a sizzling grilled beef patty topped with blue cheese and mushrooms? “The Bing Burger” at Jimbo’s Hamburger Place on First Avenue was named in honor of Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D–Manhattan).
The gesture was enough to remind Bing why he got into politics in the first place.
“I don’t think you’ve ever reached the true meaning of what it means to be in elected office,” he said, “until you’ve had a slab of meat named after you.”
FDNY Takes Bronze; Rivera Comes in at 31,296
Though the Yankees got knocked out of the playoffs and the Mets suffered their historic flameout, at least one New York team brought home some hardware this October. An All-Star team of the Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services staff captured the bronze medal in the 2007 World EMS Games, held in Australia. The FDNY team—James Fallar, Joseph Hudac, Eddie Perez and Joseph Fortis—was sponsored by the Masimo Corporation, which makes devices that detect a person’s pulse.
The games, sponsored by the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals and the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, are held annually to coincide with the International EMS conference. They are designed to challenge the participants’ knowledge and application of various EMS protocols and come aided by special effects produced by Warner Brothers Studios. No word on how the studio’s special effects masters simulated a 40-minute delay at the Lincoln Tunnel.
Meanwhile, in New York, City Council Member Joel Rivera (D–Bronx) took 5:09:24 to complete his first-ever marathon Nov. 4. Rivera, who is planning a run for Bronx borough president in 2009, will presumably try to be in the top 30,000 in that race. State Sen. Bill Perkins (D–Manhattan), who has run several marathons, did not compete.
No MetroCard in Paul’s Pocket
When presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R) swung through town last month, the Texas Republican said he was shocked to find hundreds of New Yorkers cheering for him.
“There’s always the temptation to stereotype. You think of New York City as first being very, very liberal and not open to constitutional views. And then you have a mayor that’s running for president who’s very, very much an authoritarian, close to the opposite of being a libertarian. And you have a Hillary Clinton who wants to totally socialize medicine,” he said. “And yet they’re elected handily in the city—you say, well, they don’t care. But there must be a lot of people who still do care, but obviously if they were in the total majority and they were organized, they wouldn’t be electing those kind of people.”
Still, though he said he loved the prosperity he saw in New York, he did not feel entirely comfortable in the Big Apple.
“I’ve been accustomed to small towns, so I’m not sure I could adjust very well to driving here,” he said.
Nor would the libertarian violate his principles to take alternative transportation. He has never, he said, been on the subway, either in New York or in Washington,
D.C.
“I’m not,” he said, “going to ride those subsidized roads!”
Donovan’s Pre-Election Day Victory
The most hotly-contested race in the city this year—for Staten Island district attorney—was not so hotly-contested after all, despite all the hype. Daniel Donovan (R) coasted to a landslide victory by a 2-1 margin over Michael Ryan (D), though Ryan had the backing of both Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) and former Donovan mentor Borough President James Molinaro (C).
Donovan’s victory is a relief for Republicans who might have worried over Democratic trends in the city’s GOP stronghold. But it also may come as a relief to the members of District Attorney’s Association of New York State, which had already elected Donovan their president earlier this year. He will take over from Saratoga County’s James Murphy.
By the Numbers: Iraq War’s Local Costs
With the cost of the Iraq War closing in on half a trillion dollars, the National Priorities Project, a non-profit that analyzes federal spending, has broken that amount down into state-sized chunks.
Amount New York State has put toward the total cost of the Iraq War:
$40,915,800,000
(approximately 8 percent of total)
Amount New York City has put toward the total cost of the Iraq War:
$15,237,500,000
(approximately 3.3 percent of total)
The costs are calculated based on how much each state contributes in tax revenues, according to IRS data. The local-level costs are based on the state costs and on relative population and income levels in each location.
Rising Stars Continue Rising
Three people who made this year’s list of “Rising Stars” have already received major promotions since the list was published in the September issue of City Hall.
Kizzy Charles-Guzman, formerly of WE ACT, has been hired by the Mayor’s Office for Long Term Planning and Sustainability to be part of the team responsible for implanting PlaNYC’s air quality programs.
The new chief of staff to the CEO of MetLife International is Ellie Juardo-Nieves. Juardo-Nieves moves up from government relations counsel she held with MetLife for the past four years.
Then, on Nov. 1, Errol Cockfield, Jr. was named Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s (D) new press secretary after just a few months as the downstate press secretary for the Empire State Development Corporation.
The crystal ball remains a proprietary trade secret.
By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Andrew Hawkins and Elie Mystal
Bite of Bing
Schools and airports are often named after politicians, but a sizzling grilled beef patty topped with blue cheese and mushrooms? “The Bing Burger” at Jimbo’s Hamburger Place on First Avenue was named in honor of Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (D–Manhattan).
The gesture was enough to remind Bing why he got into politics in the first place.
“I don’t think you’ve ever reached the true meaning of what it means to be in elected office,” he said, “until you’ve had a slab of meat named after you.”
FDNY Takes Bronze; Rivera Comes in at 31,296
Though the Yankees got knocked out of the playoffs and the Mets suffered their historic flameout, at least one New York team brought home some hardware this October. An All-Star team of the Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services staff captured the bronze medal in the 2007 World EMS Games, held in Australia. The FDNY team—James Fallar, Joseph Hudac, Eddie Perez and Joseph Fortis—was sponsored by the Masimo Corporation, which makes devices that detect a person’s pulse.
The games, sponsored by the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals and the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, are held annually to coincide with the International EMS conference. They are designed to challenge the participants’ knowledge and application of various EMS protocols and come aided by special effects produced by Warner Brothers Studios. No word on how the studio’s special effects masters simulated a 40-minute delay at the Lincoln Tunnel.
Meanwhile, in New York, City Council Member Joel Rivera (D–Bronx) took 5:09:24 to complete his first-ever marathon Nov. 4. Rivera, who is planning a run for Bronx borough president in 2009, will presumably try to be in the top 30,000 in that race. State Sen. Bill Perkins (D–Manhattan), who has run several marathons, did not compete.
No MetroCard in Paul’s Pocket
When presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R) swung through town last month, the Texas Republican said he was shocked to find hundreds of New Yorkers cheering for him.
“There’s always the temptation to stereotype. You think of New York City as first being very, very liberal and not open to constitutional views. And then you have a mayor that’s running for president who’s very, very much an authoritarian, close to the opposite of being a libertarian. And you have a Hillary Clinton who wants to totally socialize medicine,” he said. “And yet they’re elected handily in the city—you say, well, they don’t care. But there must be a lot of people who still do care, but obviously if they were in the total majority and they were organized, they wouldn’t be electing those kind of people.”
Still, though he said he loved the prosperity he saw in New York, he did not feel entirely comfortable in the Big Apple.
“I’ve been accustomed to small towns, so I’m not sure I could adjust very well to driving here,” he said.
Nor would the libertarian violate his principles to take alternative transportation. He has never, he said, been on the subway, either in New York or in Washington,
D.C.
“I’m not,” he said, “going to ride those subsidized roads!”
Donovan’s Pre-Election Day Victory
The most hotly-contested race in the city this year—for Staten Island district attorney—was not so hotly-contested after all, despite all the hype. Daniel Donovan (R) coasted to a landslide victory by a 2-1 margin over Michael Ryan (D), though Ryan had the backing of both Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) and former Donovan mentor Borough President James Molinaro (C).
Donovan’s victory is a relief for Republicans who might have worried over Democratic trends in the city’s GOP stronghold. But it also may come as a relief to the members of District Attorney’s Association of New York State, which had already elected Donovan their president earlier this year. He will take over from Saratoga County’s James Murphy.
By the Numbers: Iraq War’s Local Costs
With the cost of the Iraq War closing in on half a trillion dollars, the National Priorities Project, a non-profit that analyzes federal spending, has broken that amount down into state-sized chunks.
Amount New York State has put toward the total cost of the Iraq War:
$40,915,800,000
(approximately 8 percent of total)
Amount New York City has put toward the total cost of the Iraq War:
$15,237,500,000
(approximately 3.3 percent of total)
The costs are calculated based on how much each state contributes in tax revenues, according to IRS data. The local-level costs are based on the state costs and on relative population and income levels in each location.
Rising Stars Continue Rising
Three people who made this year’s list of “Rising Stars” have already received major promotions since the list was published in the September issue of City Hall.
Kizzy Charles-Guzman, formerly of WE ACT, has been hired by the Mayor’s Office for Long Term Planning and Sustainability to be part of the team responsible for implanting PlaNYC’s air quality programs.
The new chief of staff to the CEO of MetLife International is Ellie Juardo-Nieves. Juardo-Nieves moves up from government relations counsel she held with MetLife for the past four years.
Then, on Nov. 1, Errol Cockfield, Jr. was named Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s (D) new press secretary after just a few months as the downstate press secretary for the Empire State Development Corporation.
The crystal ball remains a proprietary trade secret.
By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Andrew Hawkins and Elie Mystal
