At NYC Pride 2011

By far the most popular person at yesterday's parade was Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose team had distributed thousands of placards reading "Promise kept! Thank you, Governor!" Hit this Gothamist link for lots more photos from the day.

PhoboQuotable - NY Sen. Ruben Diaz

"There is no just comparison between America’s struggle to overcome the evils of slavery and the promotion of the lifestyle of homosexuality. It is preposterous for Mayor Bloomberg to degrade and minimize the plight of African-Americans in this civil rights struggle by equating it with the effort to push to legalize homosexual marriage. Black Americans should not sit back and let Mayor Bloomberg compare the long struggle of their ancestors against American slavery to the current fight for a lifestyle choice.

"The effort to redefine marriage to include a man and a man or a woman and a woman can never be compared to the struggle against slavery. Before Mayor Bloomberg attempts to borrow from history for comparisons, he should take a look at the uncivil discourse that is taking place by those whose goals he has embraced. Black leaders should not allow Mayor Bloomberg or anyone else trivialize their suffering and their history!" - New York state Sen. Ruben "Reverend" Diaz, writing on his official state website.

Bloomberg's Speech On Marriage

Here's the full video of yesterday's pro-gay marriage speech by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. As noted by Andy Humm, we've got some major issues with Bloomberg, but it IS a damn good speech.

HomoQuotable - Andy Humm

"Bloomberg's speech today amounted to hollow words. He is the sole reason that Republicans are in the majority in the NYS Senate as he has propped them up literally with MILLIONS of dollars in just the last several years. And he has repeatedly said that he will NOT stop donating to Senators who oppose marriage equality--who also happen to be the ones who oppose GENDA, the AIDS bills we need, and virtually everything else of a progressive nature. Let Bloomberg put his money where his mouth is: Stop funding bigots. It is sickening to watch the gay establishment and average gay people fawn over him like some kind of hero when he is in fact the main reason we don't have marriage equality in New York." - Gay City News reporter Andy Humm, via email.

Quote Of The Day - Michael Bloomberg

"In talking to state legislators who do not yet support marriage equality, I can sense that many of them are searching their souls for answers – and they are torn. Like all of us, they have friends and family and colleagues who are gay and lesbian. They know gay and lesbian couples who are deeply in love with each other – many of whom are loving and devoted parents, too. They know those couples yearn to be seen and treated as equal to all other couples. And they often hear from their own families – especially their children – that this is a civil rights issue. I hope they listen to their kids carefully and make them proud with their foresight and courage." - NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking today at Manhattan's Cooper Union.

(Via - Freedom To Marry)

NEW YORK: Bloomberg Pressures GOP Senators On Marriage Equality

Gay City News reports that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn visited Albany yesterday to personally lobby GOP state Senators on same-sex marriage.

“Today I’ve been spending time talking to Republican senators,” Bloomberg said. “I’ve been reminding them marriage equality is entirely consistent with the GOP’s core values of promoting limited government and individual liberty.” Bloomberg said Senate Republicans — who ultimately get to decide whether a bill hits the floor for a vote — were Tuesday’s focus, but did not close the door on lobbying undecided Democrats, such as Joseph Addabbo and Shirley Huntley of Queens and Carl Kruger from Brooklyn. “If Chris [Quinn] or anyone else thinks it’s useful for me to call or visit, I am certainly not reticent to tell you what I believe or what I think is right,” said Bloomberg, who finished his day by meeting with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

Last week openly gay Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell introduced a marriage equality bill to his chamber. The Assembly has approved same-sex marriage three times in years past.

NEW YORK CITY: Bloomberg Taps Daniel Hernandez For Gun Control Campaign

Arizona shooting hero Daniel Hernandez hustled up from last night's State Of The Union address to join NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial gun control campaign.

“It is my hope that President [Barack] Obama and Congress will work together right away to reform our gun background check system so that all records of dangerous people are in the system and all gun buyers will have to pass a thorough background check,” Hernandez said in a statement. While Congress is unlikely to act on any gun control legislation given the Republican majority in the House, Bloomberg has repeatedly argued for such measures in the wake of the shooting.

RELATED: In 2006 Bloomberg formed the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, a group that once numbered over 500 members, but has since dwindled due to a letter writing campaign from the NRA. Bloomberg has raised the ire of out-of-state law enforcement agencies by sending undercover NYPD detectives to gun shows in the states funneling illegal guns to NYC.

NEW YORK CITY: Lawmakers Refloat Plan To Charge For Driving Downtown

Lawmakers are refloating a plan to charge drivers up to $10 if they want to drive south of 60th Street in Manhattan on weekdays. Bloomberg test-drove the idea back in 2008 to little support, but with the city budget in the shape it presently is, this time the idea may get some traction.

Driver fees could also reverse some of the MTA service cuts that eliminated two subway lines and 36 bus routes last year, and help plug the system's $10 billion long-term maintenance gap. They could also delay the 7% fare hike scheduled for a year from now, backers hope. While Gov. Cuomo has not taken sides on the idea, Bloomberg aides have been working on it behind the scenes for months. "The key is devising a proposal that would win broad support across the five boroughs, the entire region, and in Albany," said Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson.

Last time, the plan was largely shot down by outer-borough commuters who drive downtown and use the already sky-high parking garages.

RELATED: In 2003 London instituted a similar congestion charge in which weekday drivers pay £10 to enter the central part of the city.

Michael Bloomberg - It Gets Better

In his just-released It Gets Better video, Mayor Michael Bloomberg tells gay kids, "New York City wants you." Um, something something Ali Forney Center funding cuts, cough cough.

UPDATE: Ali Forney Center executive director Carl Siciliano responds.

"Two days after slashing support to homeless youth programs in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg has the gall to release a video telling LGBT youth that 'It Gets Better.' Mayor Bloomberg, your cruel and reckless cuts to the meager support system for homeless LGBT youth in New York City just made things for them much worse! On January 1st, Bloomberg cut support for outreach to homeless youth in half, cut most drop-in centers for homeless youth by a third, and cut support for the two LGBT homeless youth drop-in programs in half. In New York City there are over 1,000 LGBT youth suffering on the streets every night without access to safe shelter. The drop-in centers and outreach are their only support. Homeless LGBT youth are at incredible risk of suicide with 62% reporting that they have considered or attempted suicide.

The LGBT community needs to recognize these cuts as an attack against our most vulnerable youth, and against us as a whole. We pay just as much taxes as anyone, and there are far too few City-funded programs that support our most vulnerable youth. If we can be treated like this in a city with as strong an community as NYC, how will our youth ever get their fair share of the resources they need and deserve? I cannot speak strongly enough about what a horror it is to have LGBT youth who have been discarded by homophobic parents flock to us for help, and to have to counsel them to sleep in the subways because there are not nearly enough beds for them."

Ali Forney Center's Carl Siciliano Blasts Bloomberg's Cuts To Homeless Gay Kids

Michael K. Lavers reports at EDGE:

Juan Valdez literally remains out in the cold. The 21-year-old from Orlando, Florida, has been homeless since he arrived in New York City eight months ago. Valdez’s parents kicked him out of their home. And he told EDGE he now sleeps with what he described as "a whole bunch of ex-convicts" looking for sex. "I’ve been homeless the whole time I’ve been here," said Valdez. Valdez literally shivered alongside more than a hundred activists and elected officials on the steps of City Hall in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, Dec. 21, to protest Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed cuts to homeless youth programs.

Hit the link and read Lavers' full report. Then watch the clip and please consider making a holiday donation to the Ali Forney Center.

NEW YORK: Bloomberg Donated Almost $1M To Help Win GOP Senate Majority

Last week two hotly contested seats in the New York Senate were won by Republicans, giving the GOP a slight edge in the chamber and effectively dousing any hope of marriage equality for years to come. Yesterday the NY Daily News revealed that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated almost $1M to help make that happen. Which is strange because he actually campaigned for one of the Democrats who lost.

Bloomberg secretly gave $900,000 to a barely regulated "housekeeping" account for the Senate Republican campaign, two sources confirm. The account doesn't have to report its finances for another month, but the sources confirm Bloomberg pumped that cash in - an initial donation of $650,000, then $250,000 more to help push the GOP over the edge. "That's what's so weird," said one of Bloomberg's Albany allies. "He's campaigning for Johnson, but then provided some late help for us."

He sure did. The Republicans took back the Senate by a razor's edge - Johnson lost by 451 votes out of more than 85,400 cast - and the next time Bloomberg needs something from Albany, you can be sure he'll remind Dean Skelos how he got to be Senate GOP Leader. Bloomberg and Skelos are still taking each other's measure; they don't yet have the same warm friendship Bloomberg shared with the former Senate GOP boss, Joe Bruno. He pumped $1.1 million into the Senate GOP housekeeping account when Bruno ran it. But the $650,000 check Skelos received was among the biggest Bloomberg has ever written to any politician besides his own campaign.

Bloomberg gives a lot of lip service to marriage equality and frequently speaks on the issue before LGBT rights groups and at rallies. But clearly he has other priorities which outweigh the civil rights of gay New Yorkers.

Wal-Mart Wants New York City

Wal-Mart's years-long battle to gain a foothold in New York City has been ramped up a notch with their hiring of Mayor Bloomberg's former campaign manager, who will battle unions and community groups before the City Council next month.

Steven Restivo, a spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., told The New York Times in its online edition Sunday that the retailer is looking at sites throughout the city. "There is a business case to be made for our growth in large cities across the country," Restivo said. "We know we have customers there, and we know we want to make access to our brand more convenient." The company is looking at parcels in all five boroughs, including some far smaller than what it typically seeks for its stores, he said. Restivo said the company could help with the city's unemployment problems, and is focusing its real estate search on low-income neighborhoods where there is a lack of access to fresh food.

Earlier this year several other big-box retailers came to Manhattan with the opening of Harlem's East River Mall, which hosts Target and Costco.

NEW YORK CITY: Nine Arrested At Bloomberg AIDS Housing Protest

Nine people were arrested this morning outside of a breakfast meeting hosted by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a protest about the exclusion of indigent AIDS patients from a state housing program that caps the rent of ill people on public assistance at 30% of their income. More photos from the protest are here. Video is here. At Bloomberg's urging, earlier this year Gov. David Paterson vetoed a bill that would have brought indigent AIDS patients into the program. Paterson said it was the hardest veto he'd ever made. NYC doesn't have the money to help poor people with AIDS feed themselves, but they do have the money to change the fucking font on every fucking street sign.

Michael Bloomberg: Now That I've Had Three Terms, Let's Go Back To Two Only

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that it's time to go back to the old two-term limit. In 2008 Bloomberg backed changing the law which enabled his current third term. The New York Times blasts:

It was the latest installment in the story of Mr. Bloomberg’s ever-evolving relationship with term limits. An outspoken supporter of two terms, he once called Council members who proposed extending them “disgraceful.” Then, as his own time in office wound down, he reversed himself and advocated for three terms, saying they offered voters greater choice. “You can make that case for two terms or three terms,” he said at the time. “In this case, after listening to everybody, I’ve been convinced that three terms is right.” Now he seems to have settled on something of a compromise: three terms for him, and only him. Mayoral allies pointed out that Mr. Bloomberg had kept his word by bringing the issue back to voters, who originally passed the two-term limit in a 1993 referendum, only to watch it be dismantled by the mayor and the Council.

Bloomberg's expected successor in 2008 was openly lesbian City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who backed the three-term change, saying Bloomberg's leadership was needed during the Wall Street meltdown. But ten days before the November 2009 election, Quinn endorsed City Controller Bill Thompson, who ended up losing to Bloomberg by a mere four points. Quinn will doubtlessly run for mayor in 2013, but faces strong opposition by a faction of the LGBT community, some of whom show up to protest many of Quinn's public appearances.

Quote Of The Day - NY Sen. Ruben Diaz

"Mr. Mayor, will you please make up your mind? Last week, Mayor Bloomberg released a video wherein he stated his support for marriage equality ‘Because government shouldn’t tell you who to love or who to marry’. Today, Mayor Bloomberg sought permission from the Federal Government to prohibit New York food stamp recipients from using their food stamps to purchase soda and other sugary beverages. Mr. Mayor, will you please make up your mind? It is hypocritical to say on one hand that the government should not be involved. Today, however, that is exactly what you did. Either the government should or should not be involved in telling people what or what not to eat, drink, and smoke, or who they can or can’t marry. You can’t have it both ways." - New York's most infamous homophobe, NY Sen. Ruben Diaz.

(Via - Good As You)

Michael Bloomberg For Marriage Equality

No Smoking For NYC's Parks & Beaches

Today NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will announce a complete ban on smoking in city parks and on city beaches.

After months of considering the issue, Mayor Bloomberg will today announce that the city will institute a smoking ban in parks and on beaches, sources said. The new ban requires City Council approval, which seems assured since the mayor will be joined at the announcement by Council Speaker Christine Quinn. In the past, Bloomberg expressed concerns about the logistics of such a ban, mostly because of the size of the enforcement area. But Health Commissioner Tom Farley has been pushing for the ban for months. "[Bloomberg] was undecided, and now he's made the decision to go ahead," said a source.

Bloomberg banned smoking in bars early in his first term.

(Sort Of) Free Wifi For NYC Parks

New York City's parks are getting free wifi. Sort of.

Cable giants Time Warner and Cablevision have agreed to spend $10 million to provide WiFi service in 32 parks as part of a deal in which the city agreed to give a 10-year renewal of the companies' lucrative cable-television franchises. Under that deal, which city officials announced Tuesday after two years of stalled cable talks, anyone can have free WiFi in the parks for up to three 10-minute sessions a month - a total of 30 minutes per person. After that, the cable companies will charge you 99 cents a day to surf the Internet.

A buck a day doesn't seem bad, but park advocates are fuming, saying this is just another Bloomberg ploy to hand over public spaces to corporations.

"There should be totally free wireless in the parks," said City Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan). As head of the Council's Technology in Government Committee, Brewer has made the fight for free WiFi one of her signature issues. "This sounds like a joke," she said when told of the deal. "I don't understand how this works logistically. How will they track people's use and charge everyone?" "It's pure bait-and-switch," said Dana Spiegel, head of NYCwireless, a nonprofit group that has helped set up free WiFi at Bryant, Madison Square and a half-dozen other public parks.

(Tipped by JMG reader Reid)

Tea Party Founder Mark Williams Calls Bloomberg And Stringer "Judenrats"

In a new low for a movement littered with new lows, Tea Party Express founder Mark Williams has labeled Michael Bloomberg and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer as "Judenrats" for their support of Cordoba House. From Williams' blog:

How many times do I have to tell you…. the Ground Zero Mosque is a chest-beating pile of puke from the bellies of a savage, death cult culture, a throwback to the 7th century. Politically correct Judenrats like New York Mayor Michael Boomberg and Scott Stringer (Manhattan Borough President) and domestic enemies who are supporting the mosque – with open ties to Islamic Terrorist organizations and supporting states are doing nothing more than erecting a giant middle finger to be trust at the victims of 911… which includes all of civilized Mankind.

Wikipedia: "Judenräte (singular Judenrat; German for "Jewish council") were administrative bodies during the Second World War that the Germans required Jews to form in the German occupied territory of Poland, and later in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union."

Quote Of The Day II - Michael Bloomberg

"I said to David Paterson, I said, ‘You know, get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun. If there’s ever a great video it’s you standing in the middle of the New York State Thruway saying you know read my lips, the law of the land is this and we're going to enforce the law.'" - Michael Bloomberg, telling Gov. Paterson that he needs to crack down on Native-American tribes selling tax-free cigarettes.

Gothamist notes that the Seneca Nation is, uh, "on the warpath" over the historical insensitivity of the comment. Like in the rest of the country, New York's native tribes consider themselves sovereign nations and therefore not subject to state taxes. Both the city and the state recently increased the tax on cigarettes to the highest in the nation, sending city residents flocking to local Native-American websites and tribal outposts. In NYC a pack of cigarettes presently costs about $12-$13, with another increase due shortly. Bloomberg has stated that he wants to see cigarettes cost $20/pack before the end of his final term.