Neil deMause: The Website

Another not-entirely-accurate headline by the crack editorial team at Metro NY - the issue with Coney Island is that the city is letting developers’ will take precedence over its own, which is symptomatic of a deeper problem:

Over the past week, details have begun to trickle out about the city’s revised vision for Coney Island — and if you prefer roller coasters to Chuck E. Cheese, you’re likely to be disappointed. Under the latest rezoning plan, the proposed “amusement district” would be trimmed to a 9-acre strip along the boardwalk (down from 15 acres in the city’s previous plan), while much of the stretch from Nathan’s to the Cyclone would be filled with stores and hotel towers.

The reason, explained city officials: Local landowners (read: developer Thor Equities, which has bought up much of Coney Island in hopes of building condos) wouldn’t go along with the original plan… [read more]

Or you can just read today’s Dilbert, which makes the same point in fewer words.

The three cops who shot an unarmed man to death in Queens in 2006 were acquitted of all charges this morning. If you don’t feel like reading through the mayor’s entire two-paragraph statement, here’s a haiku summary:

Bloomberg on Bell case:
This is what justice looks like
(So please don’t riot)

The city of New York has revised its ambitious rezoning plan for Coney Island, and some locals are starting to fear that the changes are a sellout to developers:

When the city Economic Development Corporation announced last week—via a New York Times article by Charles Bagli—that it was revamping its years-in-the-works rezoning plans for Coney Island, much was still unclear about the details, beyond that the zone reserved for outdoor rides would shrink (from 15 acres to 9) and more buildings would be allowed in the traditional amusement district between the Cyclone and Nathan’s.

A week later, Coney denizens have started to get more details on the EDC plan—and several now worry that the city is preparing to destroy Coney Island in order to save it… [read more]

My monster 10,000-word investigation of New York Mayor Bloomberg’s poverty initiatives is finally out today in the Spring issue of City Limits Investigates. To read it, you need to go to the City Limits website and either cough up $7.95 for the issue or $25 for a year’s subscription. I’ll give you a taste of my conclusions here, though:

Today, the city’s anti-poverty programs include some interesting and bold ideas, as well as long-standing efforts that have been rejuvenated by the CEO initiative. The mayor, as even many of his critics admit, deserves a great deal of credit for deciding to take on poverty after cruising to a commanding re-election victory.

There’s no question, though, that poverty was an obvious and pressing problem; for the mayor to ignore the city’s poor would be equivalent to turning his back on a population the size of Philadelphia. And whatever the good intentions of the CEO, New York City’s response to poverty remains replete with puzzling gaps and missed opportunities. For every aspect of poverty that Bloomberg is attempting to address with a new program, there’s another where the city is running in place—or moving backward… [order a copy to read more]

When my editor at Metro suggested I write my column this week about Earth Day, my first response was “What about it?” Then I remembered the bagel crisis:

Tomorrow is Earth Day, which means you’re likely to hear a lot of talk about low-energy light bulbs and taking shorter showers, roof gardens and alternative-fuel cars. You’re less likely to hear much about $1 bagels… [read more]

The Brian Lehrer Show has archived my appearance yesterday, debating deputy mayor Linda Gibbs on New York’s poverty policies; you can listen to the mp3 here. They’ve even helpfully broken up the archive into segments, so you can hear my interview without having to fast-forward through the preceding news item on the oral rape of children by bishops. (That oughta do wonders for my Google hits…)

I’ll be on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC in New York at 10 am on Friday, talking about my investigation of Mayor Bloomberg’s poverty initiatives in the soon-to-be-released Spring issue of City Limits Investigates. Tune in on 93.9 FM, 820 AM, or via the web stream to hear me answer the musical question: Two years ago Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed “a major reduction” in New York City poverty. Does his plan match his promise?

After a week off, I’m back in Metro today with a look at New York City’s best-kept secret for tax day:

With tax day coming up tomorrow, Judith Rubinstein is a bundle of energy, spreading the word about the tax rebate no one knows about. Called the city school tax credit, it’s an offshoot of the state’s STAR property-tax rebate. (It also has nothing to do with schools — welcome to Albany logic.) “When you do your taxes, there’s a box that asks, ‘Did you live in New York City for the last 12 months?’” explains Rubinstein, director of Connecting To Advantages. That’s the only requirement. “It’s the one stupid refund that you can get even if you don’t do the full tax form.”… [read more]

Also, as a special bonus for the text-messaging generation, I now offer the same article in haiku form:

Tax credit for all
Nobody knows about it
Bloomberg hates poor folk

I neglected to mention that I was going to be on Sports Byline USA’s overnight program on Friday, talking about the new edition of Field of Schemes, whether the Sonics will move to Oklahoma, and other sundry topics. As penance, I now offer up links not only to an mp3 of that interview, but of one I did for the same sports talk network last month.

And if you would have wanted to call in but couldn’t because you didn’t know about, all I can suggest is you try using Google Custom Time.