Extreme non-compliance

 

 PIX 11 News

With just one day left before they’re required to show proof of vaccination or lose their livelihoods, firefighters union members gathered outside of Gracie Mansion to protest.

While the mansion is the official home of Mayor Bill de Blasio, he wasn’t there during the mid-morning protest against his COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Instead, he was at City Hall trying to assure the city that it’s ready for potential problems that may arise if fire and police ranks are slashed by some 20%, as forecasted, due to vaccine non-compliance.

Andrew Ansbro, the president of UFA, the firefighters union, predicted that the situation will not be pretty if de Blasio doesn’t negotiate a testing option for his members.

“There’s gonna be a crisis in this city,” Ansbro said.

By Friday at 5 p.m., all municipal workers — including firefighters, police officers, EMTs, sanitation workers and others —have to show proof of vaccination, or be placed on unpaid leave starting Nov. 1.

The hundreds of protesters outside of the home where the mayor and his family live said that they’re not against COVID-19 vaccines, even though many people present indicated that they’re not going to be permitted to work on Monday, under the mandate. Instead, they said, they’re against the city requiring them to be vaccinated.

They also said that they resent that the mandate deadline did not provide much time for them to consider whether or not to get a shot. It was announced last week, 10 months after vaccines first became available for emergency use.

Jackie Martinez, the president of the United Women Firefighters affinity group, vocalized her concerns.

“Nine days is not enough time,” she said from a podium set up outside of Gracie Mansion, “for people who have mortgages, who have families, who have sick children to make a life-changing decision.”

Blissville rallies outside Gracie Mansion

From the Times Ledger:

Calling the city’s plan to open a third shelter in a seven-block area of their isolated neighborhood “a threat to the very fabric of our community,” Blissville residents rallied outside the Mayor’s residence at Gracie Mansion Monday morning.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) joined the dozen protesters from the newly formed Blissville Civic Association as they voiced their opposition to the population imbalance that will occur this spring when the city Department of Homeless Services moves 154 adult homeless families into the Fairfield Inn by Marriott on Van Dam Street in the next few weeks, bringing the number of homeless to more than 550 in a neighborhood with less than 475 permanent residents.

“Homelessness is a huge problem in New York and every neighborhood is being asked to do their fair share,” Maloney said. “But Blissville is being asked to do more.”

Maria Davis, the vice president of the Blissville Civic Association, said the population imbalance would be more like a saturation.

“This is not fair share equity, it’s a reckless and dangerous plan,” she said.

More proof that landmarking doesn't hurt property value

From the NY Post:

Manhattan’s last intact Gilded Age mansion is up for sale — and it’ll only set you back $50 million.

But you will have to get in line, because there are already six potential buyers champing at the bit to purchase the Fifth Avenue limestone town house, The Post has learned.

There is even a working stove from 1905, the year the home — built by the same architectural firm that designed Grand Central Terminal — was completed for its first owner, R. Livingston Beeckman, a stockbroker and later governor of Rhode Island.

“Everything is virtually intact,” said real-estate agent Tristan Harper, who listed the property on behalf of Douglas Elliman, and gave The Post an exclusive tour last week. “Whoever buys it will own a piece of New York history.”

Harper wouldn’t reveal the identity of the interested parties, except to say they are “all extremely high-net-worth individuals of different backgrounds.” He said they all want to maintain the property as a single-family residence.

Furnishings, as well as the artwork, murals and wall paintings, are all included in the purchase price.

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which landmarked the property in 1966, called it a “superb example of the French classic style of Louis XV.”

So there are people out there who will spend tens of millions of dollars to own an historic home and all the old knick-knacks inside it? Amazing!

De Blasio tells Maspeth where it may protest

From DNA Info:

Mayor Bill de Blasio called out angry Queens residents who protested against a proposed neighborhood shelter in front of Commissioner Steven Banks' Brooklyn home — accusing them of being NIMBYs and telling them to unleash their fury at Gracie Mansion instead.

The mayor, speaking with Brian Lehrer on his weekly call-in to WNYC, said it wasn't right for more than 200 protestors to disrupt Banks and his neighbors Thursday night.

"If you have a problem, come to my home," de Blasio said. "Come to Gracie Mansion, you can protest all you want. Come to City Hall. But leave alone decent public servants who are just trying to give people a place to live."

DeBlasio has illegal fence installed at Gracie Mansion

From the NY Post:

Mayor de Blasio failed to secure the proper permits to build his “privacy fence” around Gracie Mansion — and the Parks Department is now scrambling to file the paperwork after the fact, City Hall officials admitted Friday.

On Thursday, The Post exclusively reported that the mayor ordered the construction of a roughly 10-foot-tall fence inside an existing 6-foot brick wall to keep the public’s prying eyes out of his yard.

Officials couldn’t say whether any employees of the Parks Department, which handled the construction for the mayor, would be disciplined for building the barrier without first obtaining the alteration permits they needed.

City property owners are routinely levied hefty fines for such infractions.

Plans for the eyesore fence should have gone before the city’s Design Commission for review — but never did, a City Hall source also admitted. The job was finished in November.

Big campaign donor paid for DeBlasios' costumes

From the Observer:

Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray were decked out in Greek finery at Tuesday’s Gracie Mansion Halloween party, and they didn’t have to pay a single drachma.

The First Couple’s Halloween costumes were paid for by Broadway Stages, a Brooklyn company whose employees donated $25,000 to Mr. de Blasio’s campaign. The outfits were rented from Abracadabra for $350.

Broadway Stages, a film, television and music production facility, was responsible for the mayor appearing on The Good Wife in March.

The company also paid for the costumes of 100 children from city homeless shelters who attended the Gracie monster mash.

No conflict of interest there. Nah...

Times Ledger wants bridge name to stay

From the Times Ledger:

With respect to former Mayor Ed Koch, the proposal to rename the Queensboro Bridge is stupid. Known also as the “59th Street Bridge,” it connects Queens with Manhattan. Changing the name to the “Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge” is unacceptable. At best it is dumb; at worst it is an insult to Queensites.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg let it be known that he wanted to change the name of the bridge at an early 86th birthday party for Koch in December. That he came up with the suggestion is evidence of the mayor’s disconnect with the people living in the outer boroughs.

We agree with City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who said in a statement: “Mayor Ed Koch is truly a great man and deserving of an honor like this, but renaming a landmark so closely linked to our borough’s culture and history is not appropriate.”

The mayor would not think of renaming the Brooklyn Bridge. The people of Brooklyn would never let that happen.

Vallone suggested the city consider renaming Gracie Mansion, the residence of the mayor, the “Gracie-Koch Mansion.” This is dumb, but harmless.

Why are we naming anything after anyone? Place names are safe. People names are not.

Car buried for benefit of Bloomberg's staff

From the Daily News:

A Manhattan man's car parked across the street from Gracie Mansion was buried under several feet of snow by Sanitation workers clearing parking spaces for Mayor Bloomberg's staff.

John Connolly, 63, a veteran magazine reporter and ex-NYPD cop, said he stepped outside to clean his vehicle on East End Ave. a day after Wednesday's snowstorm dumped 19 inches on the city.

But instead, he found an army of trucks from the city's Department of Sanitation pushing snow to the side of the street where he parked his 2010 Honda Accord.

"They scooped up the snow from where the mayor's people park and they pushed it to the other side of the street," Connolly told the Daily News yesterday. "I care because my car is buried under that snow."

A Sanitation supervisor told him that a crew would be back to plow around Connolly's gray sedan, which was packed in a mound of snow more than 4-feet wide and nearly 5-feet high.

When no one returned, Connolly said he offered a few men some cash to help dig the car out. The men refused, saying it was too much work.

Hmmm, I thought the green mayor's staff took mass transit or rode bikes everywhere. This is truly puzzling.

Billionaires' breakfast

From NY1:

The mayor had a power-packed breakfast this morning, hosting the major players behind the Atlantic Yards development project at Gracie Mansion.

Bagels were on the menu for this morning's breakfast meeting between Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov, arena developer Bruce Ratner and Nets co-owner Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.

Prokhorov is in the city this week to take park in the NBA draft, after closing on a deal last week to buy 80 percent of the Nets and 40 percent of the arena, which will be called the Barclay Center. The arena is now under construction at the former site of the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn.

The Net's owner is making basketball history with his purchase of the team, as it is the first time there's an NBA team owner from outside of North America.