Are abstinence programs worth the money?
Upon learning that Mississippi now has the lamentable title of state with the highest teen birth rate, it surprises me to hear that the top three states (also New Mexico and Texas) are predominantly conservative. Is all the time and money focused on abstinence programs. Is worth it?
— George McCook, Woodside

Peace is easy and it starts in your home
Re Prudence Soobrattie’s letter, “Looking at Gaza from the other side,” Jan. 8: Soobrattie answered her own questions by first quoting President-elect Obama’s description of Palestinian terror, and the long list of nonviolent efforts used to get the Palestinians to stop their constant and ongoing reign of terror — to absolutely no effect whatsoever. Living in peace can be as simple as loving one’s children more than hating Israel — the rest is just a question of working out the details.”
— Larry Abramsky, Manhattan

Violence breeds violence
Even if Prudence Soobrattie's complaints about Israel are accurate, she’s implying that the appropriate, justifiable response by the Palestinians to shortages is violence.
Hamas launches an endless stream of rockets at Israel, killing people. Clearly, the Palestinian and their supporters have a deranged and twisted sense of proportion. Palestinians civilians elected Hamas. They watch each rocket launched, and do nothing to stop it. They are not “innocent” victims. Israel is doing the right thing by communicating with them in the only language they really understand: violence.
— Jon Volkel, Patchogue

By Jason Fink

As Wall Street continues its slide, dragging the city’s economy with it, analysts today projected unprecedented deficits that will likely mean more taxes and service cuts over the next year and a half.

A report released by the city’s Independent Budget Office predicted gaps of $7 billion in the fiscal years 2011 and 2012, some 40 percent higher than what Mayor Michael Bloomberg forecast in November.

“The city is looking at further spending reductions and/or tax increases,” said IBO Deputy Director George Sweeting.

The City Council has already approved a 7 percent property tax increase to close the current deficit and the Bloomberg administration has called for slashing the next two police classes, cutting the hours of fire companies and shutting down health clinics. In his November budget plan, the mayor also suggested raising income taxes.

Bloomberg will present a budget to the council on Jan. 30.

“The mayor has continually said that things have unfortunately gotten far
worse since he laid out the budget picture in early November,” said spokesman Marc LaVorgna. “We will have a full update of the city's budget outlook later this month when the mayor presents the preliminary budget.”

The IBO report projects that by the end of 2010, the city will have lost 242,700 jobs from its employment peak in early 2008.

The financial industry is poised to shed over 82,000 jobs, about 17 percent, by 2011, the report said.

Only a quarter of those jobs are expected to come back and the industry will look vastly different when the recession ends.

“The financial industry that emerges from the current crisis is likely to be smaller, less highly leveraged and less profitable,” the report said.

A reporter on the scene of a bird infestation gets a taste of the action.

By Jessica Troiano
Special to amNewYork

A little more than a month away from the digital transition and plenty of confusion remains about who will be affected and how to prepare.

New York City is not immune from the uncertainties and even controversies surrounding the switch to all digital broadcasts starting. Feb. 17.

City leaders have been trying to raise awareness for months about the change, which many say will disproportionately affect the elderly, low-income and non-English speaking people.

“Television is the place they get information, and for the seniors, it’s how they find out what’s going on in the world,” said Councilwoman Gale Brewer. She is the chairwoman of the council’s technology committee and has a new crusade calling on the federal government to pay for more coupons to help consumers switch to digital.

This week the federal government ran out of money for $40 coupons to help consumers buy digital converter boxes. Older television sets that receive signals over the airwaves — not cable or satellite — will need the converters.

Continue reading "Digital TV transition still causing confusion, surprises and even some outrage" »

Richard Batista at a news conference today at his lawyer's office. Photo by Howard Schnapp/Newsday

By Jason Fink

Every divorce lawyer knows breakups can get nasty.

But when one person demands a vital organ – as a Long Island man has done in asking for his wife’s kidney – the matrimonial battle reaches a whole other level.

“It’s left the courtroom and it’s entered the stratosphere of absurdity,” said Raoul Felder, a New York divorce lawyer not involved in the case. “He is going to come off as a moral monster.”

The man is Dr. Richard Batista, 49, who in 2001 donated a kidney to his ailing wife. Today, at a news conference, his attorney, Dominic Barbara, said his client wants it back – or at least its cash equivalent, which he said an expert determined is $1.5 million.

“As part of the litigation we are asking for the value of the kidney he gave his wife,” Barbara said. “In theory, we are actually asking for the return of the kidney. But of course he wouldn’t really ask for that.”

Continue reading "Divorcing man wants a piece of his ex — her kidney" »

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick (Getty)

By Julie Gordon

Well, Star magazine is at it again with the Sarah Jessica Parker/Matthew Broderick breakup biz. Last summer, the mag wrote that Broderick was having an affair; now, Parker allegedly visited a midtown real estate broker to find her own apartment.

“They’re essentially living separate lives,” a source tells Star.

But, really, midtown? Over the summer, SJP told us she loves her West Village neighborhood, even though the “Sex and the City” tour bus goes right down her street (she lives a block from “Carrie’s” pad). And we just can’t picture her giving up her West Village townhouse for the Lincoln Tunnel.

(Photo by RJ Mickelson)

For more with Henry Alford, click here.

Henry Alford is at Barnes & Noble Upper West Side on Thursday at 7 p.m.

By Scott A. Rosenberg

Wisdom is a nebulous term.

“There are nine million cajillion definitions,” says Henry Alford, author of “How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth).” ”I think William James nailed it when he said, ‘Wisdom is knowing what to overlook.’ That gets as close to it. It’s such a big squishy topic that it’s really hard to nail it down into a succinct definition. It’s like saying, ‘What is beauty? What is truth?’”

But that didn’t stop Alford, 47, from his search. For his book, he spoke with more than 200 seniors in an attempt to discern wisdom, including the famous - Edward Albee, Doris "Granny D." Haddock – and regular people, including his mother and stepfather, who become major players in the book.

Continue reading "Henry Alford: Nailing down an old age idea" »

Jewish mayor wouldn’t be safe with Hamas
Re Fardad Firooznia’s letter, “Did you forget about Palestine, Mr. Mayor?” Jan. 7: Israel’s actions are against the terrorist group Hamas — not the civilian Palestinian people. The attacks in Gaza are the result of Hamas’ unjustified rocket and missile attacks against Israel. Does Firooznia think it’s smart for the Jewish mayor to visit Gaza and risk being taken hostage or murdered by anti-Semitic militants? Does he really think Hamas leaders would have welcomed him?
— Mike Den, Manhattan

Looking at Gaza from the other side
President-elect Obama said, “If somebody was sending rockets into my house, where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that.” But what if somebody curtailed the amount of gas available for heat, cooking food and fueling power plants? What if your daughters had to suffer from cold and dark resulting from blackouts? What if you wanted to leave but you were forbidden to travel? What if you wanted others to know about your life but foreign journalists were banned?
— Prudence Soobrattie, Bronx

Fewer drinks, less sex?
Re “Sex on the rocks,” Jan. 6: The article highlights the health risks associated with promiscuous behavior caused by binge drinking. However, the article neglects to assess the corresponding risks one encounters while abstaining from binge drinking, namely having sex with fewer people.
— Dorian Anderson, Manhattan

Next time your car gets towed, make sure to give the driver enough cash to pay the extra toll.

"The Real World: Brooklyn" cast, from left to right, Devyn (holding dog Brooklyn), Sarah, Chet, Ryan, Baya, Katelyn, Scott and J.D. (RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Julie Gordon

After months of outrage among Brooklyn bars, speculation and talk, "The Real World: Brooklyn" is finally premiering (Wednesday at 10 p.m. on MTV).

amNewYork recently talked to the eight castmembers and took a tour of the giant Red Hook loft the roommates shared (and got completely lost in the relatively isolated neighborhood where it stands).

Click here to read interviews with the crew and see their photos, plus take a virtual tour of the incredible space the Real Worlders called home.

Click here to read about which roommates are staying in New York — and who is living together in Stuyvesant Town!

Click here to read a Q&A with the executive producer about why MTV chose Brooklyn.

By Jason Fink

Even as New Yorkers are facing the possibility of a smaller police force and reduced fire services, the mayor’s office is boasting some of the highest salaries of any city agency, with nearly one in five of its staffers pulling in at least $100,000 a year.

At $71,626, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office pays one of the highest average salary of any major department, according to a government watchdog, the Empire Center for New York State Policy, which yesterday posted online a database of city workers’ pay.

“What would be surprising is if in one year — when the situation gets dire, as it’s supposed to — their salaries are still that high,” said Lorenzo Deras, 43, of midtown.
Currently, the city spends $24 billion — including health care and pension costs — on personnel, nearly half its $60 billion budget.

The billionaire Bloomberg, who makes $1 a year, has already asked all city departments to cut 7.5 percent from their budgets and may seek another 7 percent. He has proposed drastically reducing the next two police classes, closing health clinics and scaling back the hours of some fire companies.

However, some wonder if slashing salaries — including the six figure ones — should also be considered.

“You can’t reduce the budget meaningfully without reducing payroll,” said Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn). “The entire city budget has gotten too big for the economy that we now have.”

A spokesman for the mayor, Marc LaVorgna, said the salaries in his office are deserved. “The mayor’s office, unlike other city agencies, is mostly managers who are responsible for overseeing all facets of city government,” he said.

Bloomberg has frozen manager pay increases for this year and vowed to cut his office’s nearly 600-member staff by 10 percent in the next 18 months.

Continue reading "Mayor's office paying big bucks to staffers" »

(Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan)

The No. 2 subway line is the same crowded ride this year as it was last year, according to a survey released yesterday.
Riders gave the line a C this year, the same grade it earned last year.
They judged the line in 21 areas and credited the No. 2 for lack of graffiti, availability of MetroCard machines and easy-to-use turnstiles.
They gave the No. 2 the lowest grade for crowding during rush hour, which was also riders' top concern for improvement.
(Marlene Naanes)

The MTA and the transit workers union reached an impasse during contract negotiations and will enter into arbitration, MTA and union officials said yesterday.
The two sides have been working for months toward an agreement for a contract that would begin on Jan. 16, officials said. Neither would say how successful negotiations have been or what issues are left unresolved, but the MTA said in a statement the impasse stemmed from “complications associated with today’s current economic climate.”
During contract negotiations in 2005, the union called an illegal strike, which crippled the transit system for three days.
(Marlene Naanes)

Did you forget about Palestine, Mr. Mayor?
How presumptuous of the mayor to express his unconditional and unequivocal support for Israel’s aggressions in Gaza and actions against the Palestinian people in his official capacity as the mayor of the city of New York and on behalf of all of its citizens. While the spokesman for the mayor has said “the mayor represents people who sympathize with both sides,” the mayor’s actions speak much louder and show that he only represents the pro-Israeli lobby. If he truly represented all his constituents, he would have also visited Gaza and would have condemned Israel’s aggression in Gaza as well.
— Fardad Firooznia, Sparta, N.J.

Israel is suffering, too
I am surprised how you report about the military action Israel is conducting in Gaza. You show Gazans as an innocent population offended by cruel Israelis. You have never shown that Israel was forced to protect its civilians. You don’t mention that Israel started military action as self-defense. You as mass media must present real situations and not discriminate by your prejudice against Israel.
— Alex Litvak, Brooklyn

Accidental shooting should be prosecuted
Re “Hunter pleads not guilty to accidental shooting,” Jan. 5: I’ll be expecting charges for Vice President Cheney any day now.
— LaTanya Hagler, Brooklyn

A prankster dressed as Darth Vader joined a procession of Lutheran clergy in Iceland, and his costume almost fit in.

Hekima Hapa, left, and Ngozi Odita dress a model for a fashion show that the boutique owners hosted in November at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Fort Greene. (Jefferson Siegel)

A huge thanks to Harriet's Alter Ego for re-energizing the Park Slope/Prospect Heights stretch of Flatbush Avenue with its offbeat fashions. But alas, it has become the latest victim of the "very sick" (President-elect Barack Obama's words) economy. Snap up the boutique's trends for as little as $20 or $30 before it closes its doors on Jan. 10.

-- Emily Ngo

Jefferson Siegel sends along this image of a Popeyes Chicken shop on Delancey Street near Essex Street. Notice the sign. Jefferson asks: What would Mao say?