For college kids heading back to school in New York this Fall, don't plan on pulling all-nighters whilst chain smoking--or covering up your pot smoke with a Marlboro, for that matter. The Bwog just got word of a legislation, which was signed by Gov. Paterson in July, that makes smoking illegal in all New York college dormitories. They add that "a pair of RAs also noted that at least for Columbia, the mere possession of......

Republicans in the State Senate introduced a bill this week that would protect minors, particularly transgender students, from bullies. But no one will take credit for sponsoring the bill, and it may disappear as quietly as it was introduced. A spokesman for the Senate majority leader Dean G. Skelos would not comment on the proposed law, telling the Times, “We are focused on property tax relief.” Similar legislation has been passed in the Democrat-controlled Assembly;......

Last week, City Councilman Tony Avella introduced a resolution to urge the state senate to outlaw the force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras. A bill has been on the back burners in Albany, and Avella hopes that his resolution will move things forward. Ariane Daugin, head of D'Artagnan, the nation's leading foie gras purveyor, had a some strong opinions to share on the matter. Read more about her opposition (and see the......

Is that friendly server who just recited the evening's specials an ex-con? Quite possibly, and maybe even more frequently so if the New York State Restaurant Association has anything to do with it. The trade association is rallying behind a newly proposed bill sponsored in the State legislature by Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry of Queens. According to Crain's, current laws only allow businesses to "hire convicted felons who have either received an official pardon or been......

Outraged by the unstoppable deluge of delivery menus on your doormat and the inability of our elected officials to stem the rising tide? You are not alone! One man has decided to take matters into his own hands by designing a sticker for your apartment door to ward off unwanted promotions. I've decided to start promoting my own solution: a simple bumper sticker that uses a helpful diagram to warn trespassers that fingers will......

First responders gathered in front of the NYC Medical Examiner's office to protest how the ME has classified deaths seemingly related to Ground Zero illnesses. State Senator Eric Adams said he would introduce legislation making sure first responders who worked at Ground Zero will "get the same line-of-duty benefits" as September 11 victims. Recently, the ME's office has not named two rescuers, who worked at the World Trade Center site after September 11 and later......

After City Council member Simcha Felder announced he would propose legislation to ban feeding pigeons, bird lovers joined forces and, yesterday, held a rally at City Hall. Armed with posters like "Save Our Right to Feed Wildlife," "Have U Known Anybody Killed by a Pigeon?", "Pigeons are Beautiful Birds," and "Felder's Pigeon Bill is Poop!", the pro-pigeon protesters spoke out for their feathered friends. One demonstrator told City Room, "We are voices for the......

Who knew thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers would agree with presidential hopeful Fred Thompson on something? In this case, the former Senator and former Law & Order District Attorney was talking about Rudy Giuliani's reliance on touting his New York City credentials during a campaign stop in New Hampshire today. Thompson told a crowd at a gun store, Giuliani "relates everything to New York City. Well, New York City is not emblematic of......

City Councilman Simcha Felder's proposed legislation to fine people $1,000 for feeding pigeons has struck a nerve. Felder and other elected officials claim that pigeons' poop is harmful to New Yorkers and, therefore, various ways to limit pigeons' eating and procreating should be explored. But some pigeon lovers are unhappy with the level of vitriol directed at the city's unofficial bird. Hence the video from Animaniacs, "Goodfeathers" (it's 10 minutes, so settle in to......

After some City Council members were caught red-handed using public funds to distribute self-promoting ads to voters--even in election years, which is illegal--the council voted 48-1 in favor of banning the practice. The vote comes on the heels of the release of a report [pdf file] by Citizens Union that showed elected officials spent $1 million in paid advertising singing their own praises during the last five years. According to The New York Sun, city......

Citing the unsightly damage that pigeon poop does to the city, City Council Member Simcha Felder announced a bill proposal to fine people $1000 for feeding pigeons. Some of Felder's key remarks and findings: "Stop feeding pigeons!" "If people like pigeons... feed [them] in your house and let them crap all over the place in your living room." A pigeon creates about 25 pounds of poop annually. "[The pigeons] may go elsewhere. Let them......

Famed New York realtor Barbara Corcoran chimed in on a matter of public aesthetics and the nature of our city by advising that homeowners would be best served by tearing up their lawns and gardens and paving them over as a suitable place to park their cars. We'll let her speak directly on the subject, as it seems too insane to try to rephrase ourselves. From Friday's Daily News:Q. My wife and I have......

Brooklyn Councilman Simcha Felder is frustrated with Albany's politics and politicians for derailing his relatively simple bid to rid New York City of fliers and takeout menus. Back in April, Felder introduced a bill to the City Council that would have imposed fines on restaurants and businesses that dropped unsolicited materials on people's property. He was spurred to action after his mother was fined several times for having litter on her property––takeout menus that someone......

More and more cases of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), more commonly referred to as a staph infection, are being reported in New York State - four more were reported on Long Island yesterday. Senator Schumer is asking the President not to veto $5 million in emergency legislation to help stop the staph superbug and local health departments are urging people to exercise better hygiene habits. Staph infections have become more common outside of......

Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola is unhappy with Gov. Spitzer's plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. As an employee of the State, he has no legal discretion over whether he can ignore the plan once it's enacted, so he's filed a lawsuit to block the initiative in state Supreme Court in Albany. In a statement explaining his lawsuit. County Clerk Frank Merola alluded to a recent public opinion poll that showed......

As the NYPD Hate Crimes unit, as well as the FBI and Justice Department, investigates the noose found outside a Columbia professor's office, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly commented about the school's cooperation. Apparently the school only turned over surveillance videos after the NYPD provided a subpoena - three days after the noose was found on Teachers College Professor Madonna Constatine's office door knob. Columbia said that educational institutions require subpoenas, because they are dealing with......

For some reason, Norwegian comedians thought that City Councilman James Oddo would be a perfect target for their program, "Rikets Rost." Oddo, a Republican and the minority leader in the Council (he's recently supported legislation such as banning aluminum bats and giving the Department of Transportation the authority to name streets), apparently consented to the interview because the request was to discuss presidential politics. But the questions posed by Pia Haraldson were more of......

Gotham Gazette has a fantastic analysis of what happens to the hundreds of City Council bills that have been introducedsince Christine Quinn become the City Council Speaker. The article points out many interesting things. For instance, out of the 622 bills introduced, 68% of them are never heard of again. About 15% do get hearings, but are never voted on, and only 17% actually pass to become bills. The article also lists the top ten......

Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D, 51st District) wants to ban alcohol ads on buses and subways. The ads provide just $3 to $5 million of the $100 million in revenue the Metropolitan Transportation Authority gets from ad sales and the MTA has not taken a position on the proposed legislation. The state’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services did express support for the legislation calling it "consistent with our strategy of preventing alcoholism......

The Village Voice is questioning the merits of some top designers suing Forever 21 for "ripping off" their style. Over 20 designers in all are calling the store out for their fashion faux-pas, and they're led by Diane Von Furstenberg, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who has brought the case to Washington "attempting to get federal legislation passed that would make clothes-copying clothes a criminal offence." This isn't the first time......

Senator Charles Schumer's latest crusade? Trying to keep the national Do Not Call registry list extended so New Yorkers and other Americans won't have to deal with re-registering. Back in 2003, the government allowed people to request their phone numbers not be used by a telemarketers for solicitation. The do-not-call period is 5 years, and people would not be able to renew their do-not-call wishes until the period is over. And Schumer says there's a......

Governor Spitzer's plan to allow illegal residents of U.S. to get New York State drivers licenses by producing a valid foreign passport is generating widespread opposition. More than 80% of New York's DMV offices are supervised by county clerks and The New York Times reports that many oppose Spitzer's license plan and will resist processing applications that don't include proof of legal residence. Clerks in NYC, Westchester, and Long Island are agents of New York......

It's been six years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Chinatown residents are getting frustrated that a security measure to protect New York City's police headquarters has tied traffic in their neighborhood in knots. One Police Plaza is located on Park Row in Chinatown, a street that links the financial district with one of the oldest ethnic neighborhoods in the city. Park Row has historically been a major four-lane artery linking the financial district to......

A bill before the City Council would limit the hours Dept. of Sanitation agents can issue building owners tickets for having trash on their yards or the sidewalk in front of buildings. Brooklyn councilman Simcha Felder introduced a bill limiting the hours that DOS enforcement agents can ticket New Yorkers for having litter in front of their property, claiming that it is unfair to penalize property owners for litter that appears when they are away......

aboutmattlaw took this great photograph at the Ditmars Boulevard subway station stairs. It's a nod to Queens City Councilman Peter Vallone's proposed legislation to ban "non-sensual" peeping, with punishments like 90 days in jail and a $500 fine for first offense. Vallone said that his bill was prompted by some women's complaints that a "rather large pervert" was lurking under the Ditmars station's subway steps. Per the Queens Gazette, Vallone emphasizes, "These perverts use......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

The Post and Daily News have a number of editorials and columns about the Deutsche Bank building fire response and fallout. The Post continues to demand FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta's resignation and faulted Mayor Bloomberg for standing by Scoppetta. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez wonders why Bloomberg and Scoppetta have gone into "virtual hiding" and blasts Bloomberg for sending lobbyists to kill "legislation that would force tougher enforcement of safety laws by the city......

L.B. Jeffries would be screwed! City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. is proposing legislation to ban "non-consensual peeping with cameras to peeping with the naked eye" according to the NY Sun. The crime would be a misdemeanor, with a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. CityRoom has some of the legislation: b. Voyeurism in a private place. It shall be unlawful to deliberately view another person, without that person’s knowledge and......

A report tracking the rates of property foreclosures in New York state showed the the city was not impervious to the wave of distressed homeowners that is sweeping the rest of the country. Staten Island was the only borough that displayed a decrease in the rate of its foreclosures (6%). Leading the boroughs with foreclosure increases was Queens (126%), followed by the Bronx (56%), Brooklyn (51%), and Manhattan (12%). We published this map of city......

If you feel like you're being inundated with menus, fliers and other messages on pieces of paper that wind up in your building lobby or under your front door, you'll be relieved to hear that the people dropping those fliers off will be fined between $250-1000 per violation. A state law went into effect yesterday that prohibits the flier-ing of buildings that specifically say they don't want fliers. Assemblyman Mark Weprin made a good......