As Goes London, So Goes NYC

At least under Bloomberg policies. This city is becoming completely unaffordable even for many two income professional families.  I hope deBlasio is able to turn the tide a bit so working people can afford to live here.

Hollowing Out

It'll be quite interesting to see what London is like 10 years from now. It is basically unaffordable for almost everybody who didn't buy property awhile ago.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2013/10/hollowing-out.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FbRuz+%28Eschaton%29

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Krugman and Stewart > NPR and Washington Press Corps

Especially Ari Shapiro, worth less than nothing.

We wouldn't need the metaphors if the press would do its job, by @DavidOAtkins

"So you have this neighbor who has been making your life hell. First he tied you up with a spurious lawsuit; you're both suffering from huge legal bills. Then he threatened bodily harm to your family. Now, however, he says he's willing to compromise: He'll call off the lawsuit, which is to his advantage as well as yours. But in return you must give him your car. Oh, and he'll stop threatening your family — but only for a week, after which the threats will resume. Not much of an offer, is it? But here's the kicker: Your neighbor's relatives, who have been egging him on, are furious that he didn't also demand that you kill your dog. And now you understand the current state of budget negotiations."

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/we-wouldnt-need-metaphors-if-press.html

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Educational Idiocy

This is beyond stupid.  And it's just another grift - a way to funnel public money to private companies, in this case Pearson.  Who cares if our kids are hurt in the process?  There's profit to be had!

Shared from the Digg iPhone app:
Because of a tough new curriculum and teacher evaluations, 4- and 5-year-olds are learning how to fill in bubbles on standardized math tests to show how much they know about numbers, shapes and order. Teachers said kindergartners are bewildered. "Sharing is not caring anymore; developmentally, it's not the right thing to do," said one Queens teacher, whose pupils kept trying to help one another on the math test she gave for the first time this fall.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/kindergarten-tough-multiple-choice-tests-article-1.1481197

Voters From Another Planet

The Republican base is chock full of nuts.

Shared from the Digg iPhone app:
But bear in mind, as you read these letters: When I get mail like this, I laugh and I get fodder for an easy post. When Republican members of Congress get mail like this, they get scared. The people whose letters I'm printing below are literally the people Republicans depend on to re-elect them to Congress. Keeping these people happy is their job — which is why the Republican Party has become so inept and crazy.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-congressional-republicans-let-ted-cruz-lead-them-off-a-cliff-2013-10

An Update On Proposed 9th Street Men's Shelter

This whole process has been so shady it turns the stomach.  Glad that our elected officials are on the case. Of course, you can't forget that this is part of the legacy of Bob Scarano, who self-certified this illegally built structure in the first place.  The shelter plan itself is merely a plot device in a sordid tale of greed and wanton disregard for the community and the law.

Urgent Update On Proposed 9th Street Men's Shelter In Carroll Gardens

"Our last update addressed the Audit that DOB had conducted which raised a serious set of concerns about the approval to turn 165 west 9th st into a dormitory style accomodation for 170 men. We heard nothing all summer, but recently learned that the DOB dismissed all its objections to approve the building permits it had revoked. No elected official was notified, nor have they explained how the various egregious objections were completely dropped. Brad Lander, Velmanette Montgomery and Joan Millman this week sent a letter demanding more information from the DOB and requesting through the Freedom of Information Act all documents relating to this decision to see how the DOB waived its concerns. As yet, Brad Lander has received no response, nor ackowledgement, from Ira Gluckman, R.A., DOB Borough Commissioner, or John Gallagher R.A., DOB Deputy Borough Commissioner. Today we learned that the city will hold a public hearing on a proposed contract for a shelter at 165 west 9th st on October 17 from 9-5. The total contract shall be $29,987,257 dollars. The contract shall be from November 1 2013 to June 30 2018. With an option to renew from July 1 2018 to June 30 2022 (as detailed in the City Register)."

http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2013/10/urgent-update-on-proposed-9th-street.html

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Weekend Subway Work - Second Ave. Sagas

The local:

From 9:45 p.m. Friday, October 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 14, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the M line from 47th-50th Sts to Queens Plaza due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for the Second Avenue Subway project.

From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, October 12 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 14, Jamaica-bound F trains run local from Queens Plaza to Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Coney Island-bound F trains run local from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to 21st Street-Queensbridge due to signal modernization at Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike.

From 11:45 p.m. Friday, October 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 14, Jamaica-bound F trains run express from Church Avenue to Smith-9th Streets due to work on the Church Avenue Interlocking.

From 11:45 p.m. Friday, October 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 14, Court Square-bound G trains run express from Church Avenue to Smith-9th Sts due to work on the Church Avenue Interlocking.

And the big picture:

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/10/11/weekend-work-impacting-12-subway-lines-7/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondAveSagas+%28Second+Ave.+Sagas+%7C+Blogging+the+NYC+Subways%29

Typos courtesy of my iPhone

Janet Yellen, The Next Fed Chair And Antidote To Larry Summers, Hails From Bay Ridge

I was too focused on my visceral disgust for Larry Summers to realize that Janet Yellen is from Brooklyn:

Yellen was born in 1946 and grew up the daughter of a doctor on Ridge Boulevard, graduating from Fort Ham in 1963.
She went on to graduate summa cum laude from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, and got her PhD from Yale University. She taught at esteemed institutions like Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the London School of Economics. She served on the Fed’s Board of Governors — which oversees the central bank — and as the president and chief operating officer of its West Coast branch, based in San Francisco.

 Brooklyn is the nexus of all things.

I still can't get over the outrageous good fortune of September: (1) no Larry Summers nomination (2) no war with Syria and last but not least (3) deBlasio winning the Democratic primary.