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1 By Hunter Walker 1/27 4:15pm

Big Man On Campus

Bill de Blasio (Photo: Facebook)

Bill de Blasio Joins Push For NYU’s Downtown Brooklyn Tech Campus

Public Advocate and likely 2013 mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio is the latest city politician joining the push to establish an NYU and Polytech applied sciences campus at an empty building owned by the MTA in Brooklyn. The Politicker obtained letters Mr. de Blasio sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota last Friday urging them to support the project.

"The proposed repurposing of the MTA’s unused building at 370 Jay Street to house the NYU Applied Science Center would be an integral part of the continuing revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn and would also help a New York City educational institutional increase its contribute to education and in technology in our city," Mr. de Blasio wrote in his letter to the Mayor. Read More

By Hunter Walker 1/20 6:15pm

Beef

TWU Local 100 President telling reporters the MTA engaged in "bad-faith bargaining" by negotiating in the press. (Photo: Local 11)

TWU Local 100 Accuses MTA of ‘Shocking Violation of Good Faith Negotiating Practices’

Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents the people who operate the city's subways and buses, has pulled out of contract talks with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In a statement released today about their departure from the bargaining table, Local 100 accused the MTA of "negotiating in the press" in "a shocking violation of good faith negotiation tactics."

"Negotiations were to resume on Thursday, January 19. That morning, an article appeared in the NY Daily News presenting givebacks that the MTA would be asking for at the meeting. This was a shocking violation of good faith negotiating practices and of a specific agreement with management to refrain from negotiating in the press," the statement said. "This move, the second time in three days that management had seeded the press with its claims, poisoned the atmosphere for negotiations. Local 100 presented its protest and then cancelled the remainder of the bargaining session in order to clear the air before negotiations continued."

TWU's statement didn't just accuse the MTA of planting the story. It also said the information contained in the story was inaccurate.

Read More

By Hunter Walker 1/18 7:51am

MTA

John Samuelsen speaking at the Local 100 rally Sunday night. (Photo: YouTube)

Transit Tango

As the Giants fought the Packers in the divisional playoffs Sunday evening, another battle was unfolding at the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown, where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority held an all-night session of contract negotiations with the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents the people who operate the city’s subways and buses.

Outside the hotel, the union held a raucous rally, where hundreds of members gathered in the freezing cold to hear their president, John Samuelsen, give a defiant speech about the contract talks. A pair of big-screen TVs broadcast the football game to the crowd. In addition to the winter chill and periodic cheers for the Giants, the threat of a crippling transit strike hung heavy in the air. Read More

By Hunter Walker 1/16 6:50am

Fighting Words

John Samuelsen speaking at the TWU rally. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

Transport Workers Union President Tells Cuomo To ‘Shove It’ at Contract Rally

As the MTA's contract with the Transport Workers Union Local 100 was set to expire at midnight last night, hundreds of workers gathered in the bitter cold outside the negotiations at the Sheraton Hotel in midtown for a raucous rally where they were joined by several local politicians.

"I've been bargaining for the better part of the last 48 hours," TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen said. "I'm going to go back into that hotel and I'm going to tell the chairman of the MTA, I'm going to tell the governor to take their petty demands and shove it." Read More

1 By Hunter Walker 10/27/11 9:01am

suggested reading

Morning Read: Mayoral Rap Sheets, Joe Lhota’s Wild Ride, Cuomo Gets Creative on Occupy Albany, Smoky Smugglers

Prospective 2013 Mayoral candidates Chris Quinn and Bill de Blasio would really like you to know that they've been arrested multiple times--for civil disobedience.

New MTA boss, Joe Lhota, had a rough time at a board meeting yesterday where he was confronted with angry employees and crazed subway riders.

Governor Cuomo made up a new curfew law to bust Occupy Albany protesters.

Cigarette smuggling is running rampant in New York.  Read More

By David Freedlander 8/15/11 3:35pm

Laws

Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Andrew Cuomo Gathers With Supporters On Election Night

Cuomo Bans Smoking on Train Platforms, Bus Stops

Don Draper is dead.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill today that would prohibit smoking at all Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North outdoor stations.

"It is important that commuters are not unwillingly subject to the dangers of second-hand smoke while waiting on train platforms,"  Cuomo said in a statement. "Exposure to second-hand smoke can lead to serious health problems for non-smokers and this law will make outdoor MTA train platforms, ticketing and boarding areas a cleaner, healthier place for all commuters. Read More