Results tagged “edskyler”

Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler gets a big NY Times feature, which kicks off with a tale of Skyler calling the police about a squeegee man in the South Bronx: He "ordered that the man be arrested on the spot and requested a copy of his rap sheet, which, as it happened...listed 50 prior arrests." Skyler is the youngest deputy mayor but "arguably the most powerful, managing the highly visible departments, like Police, Fire, Sanitation and Transportation." He also foiled a mugger in Midtown last month; fellow deputy mayor Kevin Sheekey tells the Times, "Ed is literally Batman. But most of Gotham doesn’t know how much he does as Bruce Wayne because he’s so purposefully inconspicuous." The Dark Knight aside, Skyler is actually a Star Wars buff; his friend said they went to the triology's re-releases on opening night, "We never dressed up in the costumes, but we were a few notches below that." Other fun facts: He told Bloomberg not to put forth the congestion pricing plan or try to overturn term limits.

Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler is being called a hero for breaking up a mugging in midtown last night. The Daily News reports that Skyler "tackled a perp who stole a woman's cell phone on a midtown street." He "wrestled with the teenaged thief on 48th St. and knocked the phone out of his hands."

Mayor Bloomberg's generosity has been noted from educational institutions (like his alma mater Johns Hopkins) and even city organizations (like the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation). He gave staffers on his re-election campaign payouts as big as $300,000-400,000. And when Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff announced he would leave City Hall to become president of the mayor's business, Bloomberg LP, it suggested that the Mayor rewarded staffers he trusts. Well, the NY Times now looks at how some Bloomberg aides' salaries have grown since taking the government jobs in City Hall.

Freaked out about the explosions in your neighborhood, only to find out via 311 that it's just fireworks? Or wondering about the fire around the corner? Well, the city actually does want you to know about what's going on in your neighborhoods and announced the pilot program launch of Notify NYC, which will deliver "emergency public information by email, text messages and reverse-911 alerts in four City community districts." The four districts are Lower Manhattan,...

Mayor Bloomberg has made a big deal out of municipal belt tightening--stressing that the flush budgetary times funded by Wall St. bonuses and record real estate transaction fees can not last forever. Earlier this year, the mayor sent out a memo to the heads of city agencies that emphasized that flush times should not be taken for granted:

As you are aware, the City's economy depends in no small measure on the profitability and success of Wall Street and the financial services industry. Recent events in the financial markets are, therefore, a subject of deep concern. Capital market losses mean fewer tax revenues for our budget and fiscal plan. A slower real estate market means fewer transaction tax revenues – again, hurting our bottom line.

When some Con Ed workers at Ground Zero found some human remains in a manhole last October, the city promised it would expand the search for remains (especially since it was revealed that the initial search for remains was more of a rush job). Now the city says that it will search under two more spots: West Street, in front of the World Financial Center, and Cedar Street, between Washington and West Streets.

Some Brooklyn residents and business owners are wondering if the nice weather means it's the "start of crazy time" given yesterday's two daytime shootings in Brooklyn. One incident occurred around noon near PS 256 - the Post reports that over 200 kids were outside during recess when a drive-by shooting took place at Marcy and Lafayette avenues - which is also near a park. Someone in a "light-colored sedan" fired at a Ford Explorer, killing the driver, 21-year-old Isaiah Jacob. The passenger, who was shot twice and is in serious condition, had escaped the Ford "before it sped down the block and smashed into a parked car."

Taking time out of his usual schedule running NYC and counting his money, Mayor Bloomberg appeared on MTV in (a taped segment) to hype the MTV Video Music Awards, which are back in NYC this year. Yup, that's why it's messy around Radio City Music Hall and that's why all these celebrities and "celebrities" (LC from The Hills, we're talking to you) are in town. Famous New Yorkers are asked who they think will win the Video of the Year Award - Pat Kiernan of NY1, Wendy Williams, the Naked Cowboy, Donald Trump. As Newsday points out, the Mayor was flanked by the "several young members of his staff" (like Ed Skyler?) and threw his support behind Shakira in a faux-deliberation in front of a computer:

"As mayor of New York, this really is a tough one. I could go with Christina; she was born in New York... I could go with Madonna; she made it big here in New York... I think I'm going to have to go with Shakira. Those hips don't lie."

Mayor Bloomberg's press secretary, Ed Skyler, was named a deputy mayor, making the 32 year old the youngest deputy mayor in quite a while. Skyler, whom The Politicker calls the "arch-maven of media, will be the Deputy Mayor For Administration, which means he will assist Bloomberg with managing agencies like the NYPD, FDNY, Office of Emergency Management, and Office of Labor Relations and actually oversee agencies such as the Department of Sanitation, Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and the Business Integrity Commission. The NY Times has various pundits discuss Skyler's appointment, but the fun fact is that Skyler is actually a Republican.

Gothamist loves stories about the eating habits of political candidates, because even if we disagree about the issues, at least we know we all like food. But the NY Times published a somewhat controversial story over the weekend about Mayor Bloomberg's new election year diet. He has cut out the following: Wine; bacon and eggs (or is he trying to woo more Orthodox Jewish votes?); saltines with cream cheese and salt; and his "favorite lunchtime fare," Chinese food. Cutting out Chinese food? Perhaps the most popular take-out in the city, this side of pizza? While the Chinese vote won't make or break his candidacy, perception is everything, especially when you think about how many Chinese people there are on this Earth and how many Chinese investors are looking to make their mark in New York; news like this would be like gold to the Asian tabloids. The NY Times followed up with some Chinese restaurant owners and diners. The owner of Joe Shanghai's said, "He is making big mistake," and added that Chinese people are always skinny. Perhaps "usually skinny" is a better term, Gothamist wonders if the Mayor is not drinking tea with his Chinese lunches, because one adage says the tea helps flush out the fats. Anyway, the Mayor's spokesman, Ed Skyler, tried to calm Chinese food enthusiasts by noting the Mayor is eating tofu and broccoli with oyster sauce for lunch and saying, "Having shared a lot of meals with him over the years, I can assure owners of Chinese restaurants across the city that this is a mayor who has and will continue to deeply love Chinese food." We should hope the Mayor's advance team is scheduling a trip to a Chinese restaurant stat!

Some other reasons why people might be obssessed with hats (besides early male pattern baldness): Two books we read as youths, Cat in the Hat and Caps for Sale. Plus Fashion-Era.com on why we wear hats.

More terror alert fun: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was in town, meeting with NY officials (like Commissioner Kelly, the Mayor, and Governor Pataki, above photo; the Times articles notes that meetings like that make the Mayor seem aligned with the Bush administration, which poses other issues for the Mayor's reelection effort), and he defended the terror alerts, which may have been outdated. Newsday on NYers dealing with "another day, another terror threat". And like many of the other NY politicians, Senator Hillary Clinton is asking Washington for more terror funding. Finally, check out the city's Office of Emergency Management site. Do you have a go bag?

Chambers Street.Not quite a major victory, but they do have a place to protest. And Gothamist does agree with commenters that greg.org's protest idea is powerful.

More about kayaking in the city. And Gothamist on the Manhattan Greenway.