The other day, Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton were thrilled with securing $18.55 million in funds to build an Army Reserve Center complex on Staten Island. However, today the Staten Island Advance reports it's improbable the complex will be built on Staten Island: "The Army Corps of Engineers has told the Advance that the three-building training complex for 300 Reservists likely will be built in Caven Point, N.J., in Hudson County, because there wasn't......

Still angry that a student accused of attacking a fellow student at Binghamton University is avoiding U.S. authorities by staying in Serbia, Senator Charles Schumer said the U.S. should withhold $50 million in aid to the county. However if Serbia turns over Miladin Kovacevic (pictured), it is welcome to the money. U.S. diplomatic officials had asked that Kovacevic, who allegedly beat Bryan Steinhauer into a coma in May, be returned to the U.S. by August......

After striking a deal to sell the federally-subsidized Starrett City complex--while keeping it affordable--there are now eight new bids for the 140-acre development of 46 towers. Previously, the owners tried to sell the development for $1.3 billion, only for the feds to block it. The NY Times says the bids are in the $700-900 million range, and many bidding groups have non-profit entities ("so the group can issue tax-exempt bonds"). Senator Chuck Schumer, who wants......

As the Serbian government tries to demonstrate it is serious about cooperating with the U.S. government in finding a Serbian citizen accused of beating another man into a coma in Binghamton, outgoing Serbian officials fired the head of the consulate. After a formal request from the U.S. Ambassador on Tuesday, the Serbian government emphasized that it would help the U.S. with extraditing Miladin Kovacevic, who had been attending Binghamton University and was playing on the......

Yesterday, the federal government formally asked the Serbia to extradite Miladin Kovacevic, who is charged with beating a fellow Binghamton University student into a coma. The U.S. ambassador met with Serbian officials in Belgrade, and now the Serbian government is "moving with laser beam speed," a Daily News source says. Kovacevic, a 6'9" 260-pound basketball player, allegedly beat up 5'6" and 135-pound Bryan Steinhauer in early May after Kovacevic's friends thought Steinhauer might have groped......

After outrage and questions about how the Serbian Consulate apparently helped a suspect in an upstate NY beating flee the country, Senator Charles Schumer now thinks the Serbian government will cooperate, telling reporters, "The new [Serbian] government has a different outlook in terms of the United States and the West. The old government was hostile. The new government wants to be very friendly and be part of the West." In other words, having the vice......

Over the past week, American officials have questioned why a Serbian student at Binghamton University was allowed to flee the country while he was charged with beating another student into a coma. Today, the Serbian Consul General Slobodan Nenedovic tells the Post, "I will think about resigning, absolutely." On May 4, Miladin Kovacevic (pictured), a basketball player at 6' 9" and 260 pounds, allegedly beat up Bryan Steinhauer (5'6" and 135 pounds), thinking Steinhauer groped......

Senator Charles Schumer, longtime critic of area airports, seized upon a study that shows delayed flights mean $4.9 billion is lost in the local economy. The Senate Joint Economic Committee's researchers released a report yesterday (working weekend!) which has some wild stats, like how delayed flights consume an additional 740 million gallons of jet fuel and how 20% of domestic flight time is wasted in delay. Also: "78% of flight delays in 2007 occurred before......

Photograph by streetstars on Flickr With the deal to develop the West Side rail yards on the ropes, Senator Chuck Schumer said that Mayor Bloomberg's plan for the West Side is the "goofiest thing I've ever seen." According to the Sun, Schumer was specifically referring to "the Bloomberg administration’s decision to include a mid-block boulevard," claiming that it was sapping funds from the much-needed 7 line extension. Mayor Bloomberg zinged back, "New York City......

Photograph of Hillary Clinton by HansPennink/AP, photograph of Michael Bloomberg by Tim Roske/AP If it's St. Patrick's Day, it's time for politicians to break out green accessories! At Governor Paterson's swearing-in, Senator Hillary Clinton wore a green shamrock scarf while Mayor Michael Bloomberg wore a green striped tie. It's unclear what kind of socks the Mayor was wearing, but he usually coordinates for March 17 by wearing green socks. But it was a mixed......

Some good news in the ongoing saga to save 1520 Sedgwick, better known as the Birthplace of Hip Hop. Today Senator Schumer, who has been lobbying on behalf of the tenants to preserve the building's affordability, announced that "the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development rejected the proposed sale to developer Mark Karasick because current rents could not be sustained if the sale had gone through." The move doesn't insure that the building’s owner......

Photographs of Spitzer, Sharpton, Dinkins and Bloomberg at Sharpton's National Action Network by Tina Fineberg/AP All over the city, events were held to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. One of the biggest events was the Reverend Al Sharpton's annual forum at his National Action Network in Harlem, which attracted Governor Spitzer, Senator Schumer, former Mayor Dinkins and Mayor Bloomberg. Sharpton hailed Bloomberg's efforts to make the city less racially divisive, "It is......

When Governor Spitzer announced he was dropping his controversial plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants yesterday, he was praised by his fellow Democrats. The NY Times notes that the decision won Spitzer "the kind of wide acclaim from elected officials that he could not win for the proposal itself." And that's gotta sting a little. Spitzer had first introduced a broad plan to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses, which caused outcry from......

On the Gothamist Newsmap: A large fight/stabbing at Church and Remsen in Brooklyn, a stabbing on 5th Ave. in Manhattan, and a home invasion robbery on Cruger Ave. in the Bronx. An early morning fire damaged four businesses in Inwood; the FDNY is investigating, but the fire may have started in a business that's been closed for months. Senator Schumer releases a statement about his support for Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey (the senior......

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......

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that President Bush had signed a "major disaster declaration" for Queens on August 8, the day the weather (including a tornado in Brooklyn and Staten Island) caused much of the city to come to a standstill. This means that Queens residents and business owners will be able to apply for disaster relief. Some New York residents had been angry that the President was taking so long to sign off......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A hazmat situation at 56th Avenue and Peck in Queens, a suspicious package at 110th and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, and lots of storm damage in Brooklyn Four NYPD traffic agents faked tickets to look busy; supervisors became suspicious when noticing a large number of tickets to out-of-town cars (city resident-owned cars get barcode tickets, but out-of-town tickers are handwritten). Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro had a heart......

Everyone is a little more aware of the city's steam system - and those steam vents on certain streets - after last week's Midtown steam pipe explosion. The NY Times reports that Con Ed "routinely checks manholes for vapor after rainstorms and pumps out water that reaches the height of the pipes." Hmm, maybe that's why the first lawsuit against Con Ed has been filed. The Post reports a 52-year-old Bay Ridge woman, Francine......

Sen. Chuck Schumer appeared in Red Hook yesterday to support the plight of the vendors that serve the people who come to watch and play sports at the Red Hook ballfields. The vendors have been cooking up ethnic food that appeals to their mostly Hispanic clientele for several years under a series of temporary permits from the city. The Parks Dept. wants to put an official vending permit up for bidding, and the current vendors......

Mayor Bloomberg headed to Washington D.C. to ask for more federal aid related to September 11 illnesses. The NY Times noted that Bloomberg was "surrounded at the hearing mostly by Democratic lawmakers from New York who have sought more aid for 9/11-related health problems" and "The two Republican senators present asked gentle questions." Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and a physician, said he did not doubt that there were “a lot of pulmonary problems......

- The confusing question of elected-to-the-City-Council- but-not-sworn-in Mathieu Eugene's residency persists. Over a week ago, he told Brian Lehrer he hadn't moved into the 40th District, but now his people say he's been living since February 1. The Politicker spoke to a campaign consultant for Eugene who claims he's seen "a lease whose term began February 1 for 40-46 Argyle Road. I've seen a check written to the landlord dated February 1." Oh, like no......

If you live in the 40th District, an area that covers parts of Crown Heights, Flatbush and East Flatbush, you can vote in tomorrow special election to the seat that used to belong to former City Councilwoman - now Congresswoman - Yvette Clarke. And there's another special election for a City Council seat in Staten Island as well, so South Shore voters, head to the polls. Clarke has given her support to Mathie Eugene, who......

The $1.3 billion deal for Brooklyn developer Berkshire LLC to buy federally subsidized Brooklyn housing complex Starrett City may be blocked by State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cuomo announced that his office will enforce an injunction barring the lead investor David Bistricer from completing "certain real estate for life and will not permit the conversion of any of the property to cooperative apartments." Cuomo's statement......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: victim down an elevator shaft on 59th Street, person struck by train at 33rd on the 6, and an "EDP in a vehicle" in LES. Attention terrorists: if you're using the internet at the Park Slope Tea Lounge, the cops may be on to you. F Trainer has a nice set of pix from the Greenpoint Terminal Market-- it's like the surface of the moon up in that piece.......

Last month, Representative Anthony Weiner released a report showing that 85% of registered sex offenders live within 5 blocks of NYC schools (here's a PDF of the report). Included in the report was a map illustrating this point; the report says, "Cartographers at the Library of Congress have plotted the location of every school and every sex offender in New York City on a map. Every sex offender is represented by a red dot,......

Mayor Bloomberg was in London yesterday, meeting with Sir Callum McCarthy of the Financial Services Authority. Last month, the Mayor, along with Governor Spitzer and Senator Schumer, declared that NYC's status as the world's number one financial center was slipping. One reason they cited that global business was shifting to places like London was because London only has on regulatory body - the FSA. The Mayor said, "The FSA is an example of the......

That Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall. Not only does she have to pay her hubby's DC rent (Senator Schumer rents from Representative George Miller), she has to explain to the City Council that they are wrong when thinking traffic is bad. amNew York reports that at a hearing, Commissioner Weinshall said, "You have SUVs, you got these minivans. I think the cars are getting bigger and there is a perception there is more......

Today, Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Schumer and Governor Spitzer announced a report that shows NYC may not be the world's financial center in 10 years if government regulations stay the same. Fearing that NYC will become a "secondary city," Bloomberg and Schumer's report shows London has been gaining ground in attracting foreign business. For instance, NYC has tougher immigration laws and a "complex and sometimes unresponsive regulatory framework," not too mention there's the lawsuit-happy atmosphere.......

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. City offices, post offices and other government buildings are closed today in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Public schools are closed, as well. Some offices are closed today, too, and there are a number of events to participate in. The Brooklyn Academy of Music has its 21st Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which includes a musical celebration and special guests like Senator......

Though canvassing is still being done in Virginia in the Senate race between Republican incumbent George Allen and Democrat challenger Jim Webb, the AP and other news organizations named Webb the winner, with his narrow margin of 7,000 votes over Allen. And the Democrats seized that news excitedly. The NY Times reports Senator Charles Schumer, who headed the Democratic campaign to take back Senate seats, as saying,"It is virtually 100 percent that Webb is......