Monday, April 26, 2010

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.  Washington Square Park in New York and Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia are parks used by lots of different kinds of people for entirely different reasons at different times of the day. What does Jane Jacobs think of this?
a. Having different kinds of people and a diversity of uses is the only way to create a successful park.
b. It’s a planning problem because children, young adults and senior citizens often clash over how the park should be set up.
c. It’s bad for public safety because cops can never be sure who’s supposed to be in the park at any given time.
d. Both parks are examples of outmoded thinking about providing recreation for children.


2.  When Jane Jacobs talks about the importance of "trust" on city streets, she's talking about citizens believing that
a) the police will come if called
b) other people on the street will come to one's aid if a crime or accident happens
c) there's a good chance you will know the people sitting near you in a restaurant
d) other people in the neighborhood will share your ethnic and class background


3.  Why does New York, like many states, use public authorities to finance major projects like roads, bridges and tunnels?
a. Many politicians personally hate spending government money on big projects.
b. Public authorities can borrow the money needed to pay for big projects, which often require more than local cities and states and pay all at once.c. Public authorities do not pay taxes, making them cheaper and more efficient when it comes to building large-scale projects
d. Public authorities do not have to open their books, making it easier for crooked politicians to hide funds from the press

4.  Why is the use of eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards project causing controversy?
a. Poor planning caused a building collapse at the project site last week
b. The government is planned to seize property from one private owner in order to turn it over to another private owner
c. Many people in the area are opposed to having large towers built
d. Some fear that traffic in the area will become even more dangerous

5.  According to Jane Jacobs, how do you know when a neighborhood is too dense?
a) Neighorhoods cannot be too dense.
b) City Hall sees the area as a problem.
c) When diversity suffers.
d) When schools, trains and sidewalks are too crowded.

6.  Jane Jacobs says neighborhoods fail when they are too big. She also says they can be too small, because
a) A small neighborhood always lacks diversity.
b) Without a lot of people, there won't be enough consumers to support local stores.
c) Small groups of people often bicker and cannot agree on important matters.
d) A district must be big enough to fight city hall.


 7.  What is the importance of Dillon's Rule?
a) It is a way to measure statistical changes in population.
b) It is the legal doctrine that controls city planning decisions.
c) It is the legal doctrine that explains why state government, laws and politics trump local considerations, and often control even basic city functions.
d) Dillon's Rule is not important.

8.  When reporting on fights over planning issues, an important place to begin is
a) Community Planning Boards
b) The Legal Aid Society
c) The Hall of Records
d) The City Planning Commission

9.  Generally speaking, the purpose of NY's zoning and land use rules is:
a) To ensure that buildings go up as soon as possible
b) To create checks and balances that allow many different voices to weigh in on proposed changes.
c) To generate as much tax money as possible.
d) To allow the maximum amount of light and space into neighborhoods.
Schedule Through End of Semester

NEXT WEEK
Meeting in Manhattan

Our final class will  be a meeting at Hunter College, 68th Street &Lexington Avenue, Hunter West Building, 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room.

Event is
The winners of the the 2009 James Aronson Awards For Social Justice Journalism.
The winners in attendance will be:

May 10

FINAL EXAM

Newspaper Circulation as of March 31, 2010 and percentage change

1. The Wall Street Journal 2,092,523 +0.5%
2. USA Today 1,826,622 -13.58%
3. The New York Times 951,063 -8.47%
4. Los Angeles Times 616,606 -14.74%
5. Washington Post 578,482 -13.06%
6. Daily News (New York) 535,059 -11.25%
7. New York Post 525,004 -5.94%
8. San Jose Mercury News* 516,701 N/A
(1/1/10 To 3/31/2010)
9. Chicago Tribune 452,145 -9.79%
10. Houston Chronicle 366,578 -13.77%
11. The Philadelphia Inquirer** 356,189 N/A
12. The Arizona Republic 351,207 -9.88%
13. Newsday 334,809 -9.07%
14. The Denver Post*** 333,675 N/A
15. Star Tribune, Minneapolis 295,438 -7.71%
16. St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times 278,888 -1.49%
17. Chicago Sun-Times 268,803 -13.88%
18. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland 267,888 -8.14%
19. The Oregonian 263,600 -1.83%
20. The Seattle Times*** 263.468 N/A
21. The Dallas Morning News 260,659 -21.47%
22. Detroit Free Press 252,017 -13.31%
23. San Diego Union-Tribune 249,630 -4.45%
24. San Francisco Chronicle 241,330 -22.68%

WSJ launches NY edition as circulation gains

 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100426/FREE/100429877

Executives insist they didn't launch the new section, which drew new advertisers and covered the Upper East Side, just to pick a fight with The New York Times.

By Matthew Flamm

Published: April 26, 2010 - 2:09 pm

The Wall Street Journal launched its “Greater New York” section Monday to the fanfare of good news about the overall paper's circulation and a breakfast at the Plaza for advertisers.
Journal executives promised that there would be more to come in the way of local editions around the country, and insisted that the New York edition had not been launched just to pick a fight with The New York Times.

“We decided to do what we've done because it's good business,” said Les Hinton, chief executive of parent Dow Jones & Co. and publisher of the Journal, at the breakfast.

He added that “there are other big markets where people who want serious information feel” underserved by their local newspapers, but said that the focus for now would remain on the New York edition.

Circulation for the Journal rose 0.5% to 2.1 million copies in the six months ended March 31, making it the only major newspaper to post a gain during the period, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations figures released Monday.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Complaint Against Pedro Espada

Espada Complaint                                                            

Monday, April 19, 2010

ASSIGNMENT due April 26 

Select an insight from The Death & Life of Great American Cities. Go to a place in New York City that demonstrates a place that works or does not work, based on the author's insight and write a description of the place and how it illustrates a point from the book.

Include a photo of the place and write 500 to 1,000 words. Email the photo and description to me BEFORE class next week.

Complaint Against Goldman Sachs

comp-pr2010-59                                                            

Monday, April 12, 2010

How the Daniel Almond Interview Turned Out

Listen to the full interview here.
Schedule Through End of Semester


Week 12 (April 19)

Reporting on Civic Life, Pt. I

Readings:

Week 12 (April 26)





Reporting on Civic Life, Pt. II
Readings:


Week 14 (May 3)

Meeting in Manhattan





Our final class will  be a meeting at Hunter College, 68th Street & Lexington Avenue, Hunter West Building, 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room.

Event is




The winners of the the 2009 James Aronson Awards For Social Justice Journalism.







The winners in attendance will be:





May 10

FINAL EXAM



Monday, April 5, 2010

Interview Prep

Guest: Daniel Almond
Mission:
The mission of the “Restore the Constitution” rally is that it be held at a firearms carry-legal location as close to DC as possible and that it attracts as many participants as possible in order to underscore the seriousness and urgency of a simple message: Restore the Constitution!


Topic: Armed March to Virginia

When: 9AM-5PM, April 19th, 2010 (monday)
Where:
Ft. Hunt National Park, Northern VA
What: "Restore the Constitution" rally/ Muster Outside D.C.

Details: Staging area will be
Ft. Hunt National Park, located about 12 miles south of DC. Participants will gather there, and a speaking program will be provided. From there, participants will be able to travel in small convoys up to Gravelly Point Park so they can "step up to the edge." Gravelly Point Park is right on the Potomac, about a mile from the National Mall in DC.



A Story Based on FOIL Info

http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printVersion/1709367

 Bloomberg: The Movie (At Your Expense)

From L.A. to Bali, city workers film mayor touting himself at your expense

By Tom Robbins

Shortly after his re-election in November 2005, Mike Bloomberg decided to raise his national profile several notches. He began traveling widely, making speeches and accepting awards. We later learned this was mostly about setting the stage for a potential run for president. He ultimately passed on that race, without giving up hope that he might get lucky next time. But one of the interesting features of this publicity push was that—despite his own fabulous wealth—the mayor wasn't shy about using city resources to promote his image.

FOIL Basics

All government information is presumptively public. The law specifies exceptions and how agencies must respond to lawful requests.

Generally speaking:

* You must begin with an informal inquiry

* The agency must have dedicated personnel and procedures to handle such requests

* The actual request need not be formal, but should not be too broad

* They must respond within a reasonable period, sometimes specified by law

* A stonewalling agency may require legal action or the threat of legal action to secure compliance


What is a Public Authority?


Public authorities are corporate instruments of the State created by the legislature to further public interests. Each public authority is governed by a separate board of directors. While public authorities are generally legally and administratively autonomous from the State, they vary in their degree of fiscal autonomy.

Some public authorities are completely self-supporting, while others rely on State grants to fund their operations. Much of the long-term debt for which the State is responsible has been issued by a variety of public authorities with a contractual promise from the State to fund the debt service payments.

The benefits of public authorities include their ability to finance public improvements without increasing taxes, to assess fees on users to cover the costs of construction or operation, to avoid the use of broad-based dedicated revenue streams, to finance the public takeover of private enterprises, to avoid improperly politicizing public services by removing certain entities and associated operations from the direct control of elected officials and to provide a more flexible management environment than is typical of government.


http://www.osc.state.ny.us/pubauth/data/index.htm


Main Index
Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund
Albany Port District Commission
Battery Park City Authority
Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority
Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority
Capital District Transportation Authority
City University Construction Fund
Community Facilities Project Guarantee Fund
Development Authority of the North Country
Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
Environmental Facilities Corporation
Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority
Erie County Medical Center Corporation
Executive Mansion Trust
Hudson River Park Trust
Hudson River-Black River Regulating District
Industrial Exhibit Authority
Long Island Power Authority
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Long Island Rail Road Company
Metro-North Commuter Rail Road
Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority
MTA Bus Company
NYCTA & MBSTOA
Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority
Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority
Municipal Assistance Corporation for the City of NY
Municipal Assistance Corporation for the City of Troy
NAR Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center Operating Corporation
Nassau County Interim Finance Authority
Nassau Health Care Corporation
Natural Heritage Trust
New York Convention Center Operating Corporation
Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
NY Wine/Grape Foundation
NYS Archives Partnership Trust
NYS Bridge Authority
NYS Energy Research & Development Authority
NYS Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation
NYS Housing Finance Agency
Homeless Housing Assistance Corp.
Housing Trust Fund Corp.
NYS Affordable Housing Corp.
NYS Job Development Authority
NYS Local Government Assistance Corporation
NYS Olympic Regional Development Authority
NYS Project Finance Agency
NYS Sports Authority
NYS Theater Institute Corporation
NYS Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund Corporation
NYS Thoroughbred Racing Capital Investment Fund
NYS Thruway Authority
Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Port of Oswego Authority
Power Authority of the State of New York
Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation
State of New York Mortgage Agency
State of New York Municipal Bond Bank Agency
Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation
State University Construction Fund
United Nations Development Corporation
Urban Development Corporation
Westchester County Health Care Corporation