Tag: Bill de Blasio

A Weimar-y Vibe

If you haven’t been following the situation in New York City since Saturday, things are getting tense. On Saturday, a gunman shot and killed two police officers at close range in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The murders come on the heels of weeks of protest in New York (and elsewhere) against the rampant lawlessness and brutality of the police. Instantly, the police and their defenders moved into high gear, blaming the murders on the protesters; NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio, who had been gesturing toward the need for police reform; and US Attorney General Eric Holder. Many have called for the mayor’s resignation. The police union and its head, Patrick Lynch, were the most forthright: “There is blood […]

Mayoral Candidate Bill de Blasio Calls on CUNY to Renegotiate Petraeus Deal

Bill de Blasio, who is running for mayor, has come out hard against the overpriced Petraeus appointment. In a strongly worded letter to interim CUNY chancellor Bill Kelly, de Blasio writes: General Petraeus’ salary of $150,000 could sponsor full tuition for 26 students. Similarly, $150,000 could fund needed books and supplies, estimated at $1,248 per year per student, for 120 students. … To spend $150,000 for an instructor who will teach just one class once per week that will reach just 15-20 students seems to be a misallocation of vital educational resources. I urge you renegotiate this salary with General Petraeus to a rate that matches other professors in similar teaching arrangements, and direct the remainder of the money into […]