Barack Obama's campaign organization is in hot water with Joel Klein, the NYC School's Chancellor, after it produced a short film (it runs about 13 minutes) starring Bronx public high school students and teachers discussing race issues and Obama's campaign. The video was distributed online to generate revenue for the candidate's campaign and the page where the video is located features a prominent "DONATE NOW" button. The teacher prominently featured in the film is......

Property owners are not holding their breath for a citywide ban on domestic smoking, like the ones barring lighting up in bars or restaurants, but non-smoking is increasingly becoming a requirement for renters in New York City. The Daily News reports that while the city's health department doesn't have hard numbers on the trend, more real estate companies are forbidding renters to smoke anywhere on the premises. It's not just rental properties either:Manhattan real estate......

After a year of widely publicized construction site deaths, New York City's Buildings Dept. is working to tighten up some work rules that may have fallen by the wayside or are no longer sufficient. DOB Commissioner Patricia Lancaster wants new rules and a strengthening of the enforcement of work licenses for contractors and concrete operators. Given the pace of construction in NYC over the past few years, three deaths since 2006 related to concrete construction......

Architect Robert Scarano, who has been charged with violating city building standards at 32 properties, has an ally at the Department of Buildings. The Daily News is reporting that Patricia Lancaster, the department's commissioner, hid Scarano's mistakes, signing a stipulation in which she promised not to report Scarano to any regulatory agency that could revoke his license. The News article is part of its I-Team Special Investigation unit. Reporter Brian Kates explains that Lancaster promised......

The NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal finally closed a loophole in rent regulations that would have allowed owners and landlords leaving government-subsidized housing programs to increase rents to market rates by citing "unique and peculiar" circumstances. According to the NY Times, some tenants' rents would have skyrocketed from $981/month to $4,500/month for a two-bedroom on the Upper West Side and from $1,000/month to $5,275/month for a three-bedroom, also on the Upper West......

Yesterday was the city's day to honor and remember veterans of the U.S. armed forces. The 88th annual Veterans Day Parade started with the Eternal Light Monument Ceremony in Madison Square Park, followed by a parade up Fifth Avenue to 56th Street. An estimated 20,000 gathered for the parade, and there were veterans from World War II, Korean War, and the Iraq War. Mayor Bloomberg said, "You should know that 70 New Yorkers have given......

Earlier today, the Reverend Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president, showing that the former mayor was able to win over an influential Christian conservative leader. Robertson explained,"To me, the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists.... We need a leader with a bold vision who is not afraid to tackle the challenges ahead." And he acknowledged Rudy's NYC history, "Rudy Giuliani took a......

With the original set of rules tossed aside, the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting (MOFTB) has focused in on levels of sidewalk obstruction when it comes to shooting photographs and film in the city. Juliana Luecking points out the ridiculousness of the new rules, which don't allow much space for shooting. There will be a public hearing about the new regulations on December 13th (details here), and you can address your comments prior......

After Brooklyn prosecutors decided to drop murder charges against ex-FBI agent R. Lindley DeVecchio, after the star witness's testimony was deemed questionable, the judge presiding over the case decided to scold the defendant. DeVecchio had been on trial for allegedly giving mob informant Gregory "The Grim Reaper" Scarpa information to kill other rival informants. Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach's four page ruling included turns of phrase like, What is undeniable was that in the......

New York City abandoned its attempt to rein in street photographers, videographers, and independent filmmakers by scrapping regulations that would have tightly regulated capturing public images of the city. As part of a settlement of a lawsuit challenging the regulations, New York will allow photographers and filmmakers to operate without a permit as long as they don't prevent use of public spaces or obstruct more than half of pedestrian walkways. The original permit plan called......

Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola is unhappy with Gov. Spitzer's plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. As an employee of the State, he has no legal discretion over whether he can ignore the plan once it's enacted, so he's filed a lawsuit to block the initiative in state Supreme Court in Albany. In a statement explaining his lawsuit. County Clerk Frank Merola alluded to a recent public opinion poll that showed......

Starting at noon, pedicab owners began a protest down Broadway to voice their opposition to a new city law that started today. Pedicab owners sued the city yesterday in state Supreme Court, claiming the Department of Consumer Affairs distrusted licenses for pedicabs unlawfully. A law passed earlier this year, which pedicab drivers protested, limits the number of pedicab licenses to 325 and preference was supposed to be given to existing pedicab owners before any......

High-ranking firefighters in the field are claiming that the regulations that are supposed to keep FDNY members and the public safe are simply not feasible and rarely enforced. In the wake of the deaths of firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino during the Deutsche Bank fire in August when a standpipe to provide water to firehoses was found disconnected, it became clear that the FDNY itself had not inspected the building properly as required by......

If Public Law 19 takes effect on its scheduled date of September 20, the number of New York City pedicabs will soon be capped at 325. Half of the pedicab drivers will lose their jobs, pedicabs will be banned from bridges and bike lanes, and small electric-assist motors will also be banned. The lottery to determine who in the industry will survive and who will be shut down is scheduled for this month. Earlier......

When the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting announced in June that they were proposing new rules for videographers, filmmakers and photographers - everyone who's ever seen an image of New York responded. The new rules that were met with opposition are summed up at the MOFTB website, which will also direct you to the 11 pages of single-spaced rules. Those 11 pages are now going to have to be rethought, as the MOFTB......

Seething over their many, ignored complaints about new construction at 808 Columbus Avenue, residents of Park West Village held a rally to demand an investigation. All 280 apartments at one Park West building, 784 Columbus, were evacuated when a retaining wall collapsed at the 808 site on Wednesday night. However, there were a number of calls to the Department of Buildings from 784 residents, complaining that the building was shaking as workers blasted in......

Last month Reverend Billy was locked up for reciting the First Amendment in Union Square. Tonight he returns with a troupe of others to speak out against the outrageous new law that would limit public photography and filming in New York. Currently there are 2,285,188 photos tagged "New York" on Flickr, and that's just one photo sharing site, imagine if the number stopped there and we lost future images of the city. A new group......

Senate Majority Joseph Bruno's and Governor Eliot Spitzer's epic Choppergate fight grows each and every day. Yesterday, Bruno demanded that investigations be opened to focus on Spitzer's administration and whether Spitzer staffers were engaged in trying to sabotage him. Bruno said, "A lot of people in authority think there was criminality in the executive branch... I want to know how much the governor knew ... This is not going to go away, not going to......

A new noise code will go into effect tonight/tomorrow morning when the clock strikes midnight, and that clock better have muffled bells. It's the first comprehensive overhaul of noise ordinances in about 30 years and was proposed by Mayor Bloomberg three and a half years ago. It's mostly oriented towards bars and clubs, where a growing nightlife presence in neighborhoods like the Lower East Side has left many residents sleepless. The New York Times notes......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a found grenade(!) at Sedgwick Ave. and Depot Pl. in the Bronx, a child abduction on 8th Ave. and 150th St. in Manhattan, and a person struck by a train on 103rd St. and Roosevelt Ave. in Queens. A New Jersey State Police report concluded that the unauthorized use of flashing emergency lights by his driver didn't cause Governor Corzine's near-fatal crash, but it did contribute significantly to the......

The Mayor's Office of Theater, Film, and Broadcasting, which coordinates film and television production and issues permits around the five boroughs, is considering rules that could potentially severely restrict the ability of even amateur photographers and filmmakers to operate in New York City. The NY Times reports that the city's tentative rules include requiring any group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more......

The New York Times has a story today on the required unveiling of NY Sen. Hillary Clinton's investments, which were previously held in a blind trust jointly owned with her husband and former President Bill Clinton, but needed to be disclosed as Sen. Clinton is now running for President herself. The trust was liquidated in April after the Clintons learned that their holdings included potentially politically damaging investments in military contractors, oil, pharmaceutical companies, and......

Recipe for a Cuban Molotov cocktail: Michael Moore, Harvey Weinstein, a documentary about U.S. healthcare and a federal investigation. No need to mix, because it'll stir into a frenzy on its own. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and his distributor, Harvey Weinstein, appeared at a press conference yesterday to question why the government is investigating Moore's trip to Cuba for his upcoming film, Sicko. The film, which premiered at Cannes and is scheduled to open......

Sen. Chuck Schumer appeared in Red Hook yesterday to support the plight of the vendors that serve the people who come to watch and play sports at the Red Hook ballfields. The vendors have been cooking up ethnic food that appeals to their mostly Hispanic clientele for several years under a series of temporary permits from the city. The Parks Dept. wants to put an official vending permit up for bidding, and the current vendors......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

Elliot Spitzer has a whole new attitude about the financial companies inhabiting Wall St. now that he is governor. At one point in time and as state attorney general, Spitzer was a relentless critic, and his mere mentioning of a company's name was enough for tens of billions of dollars of market capitalization to disappear in a few hours. Spitzer strong-armed industry reform by threatening companies and individuals with prosecution while he was the state......

While the city has spent the last few years making life difficult for bar owners in a fixed location with a vested interest in maintaining good relations with its neighbors, the State Liquore Authority has been passing out temporary liquor licenses like refills at an all-you-can-drink affair. According to the New York Post, the SLA issued 2,899 temporary liquor licenses in the city during 2006. That's 13% more than in 2005 and a 55% increase......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a double shooting on St. Johns Pl. in Brooklyn, a collapse on Grant Ave. in the Bronx, and a barricaded emotionally disturbed person on 102nd St. in Queens. Like Robert Moses in reverse, Mayor Bloomberg wants highways to give way to housing by covering roads like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, as well as rail yards, and constructing housing above them. New York's own Big Dig? Ricki Lake's documentary, which is......

For the second year, Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled the New York City Card, which serves as a list of the qualities he is looking for in any politicians, be they Republicans or Democrats. And therefore, those with the money to put behind politicians can use the card to see if the politician's interests line up with what the city needs. Bloomberg said, "The City Card is not about conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat -......

With NYC's three major airports near full capacity and flight delays rising due to overcrowded runways and increased security regulations, Mayor Bloomberg is concerned that the city's lack of speedy entrance and egress by travellers to and from the city will start to stifle economic growth. Of the many proposals put before him, the mayor is apparently putting his weight behind one that would turn the city's waterways into runways by allowing seaplanes to land......