Mayor Signs Third Term Bill
Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday signed a bill that will allow him to run for a third term as mayor of New York City. The signing came after he introduced the bill amidst the country’s increasingly worrisome financial situation and the City Council narrowly approved it (29 to 22).
“The fiscal challenges we face in addressing the economic downturn are daunting. The great progress we have made in recent years is now threatened by turmoil in the financial markets that has carried echoes of the 1930s. This is the backdrop for the term limits debate,” said Mayor Bloomberg at the bill signing, according to a release. “Whereas a year ago, we could think of term limits in theoretical or ideological terms, crisis has a way of forcing us to put pragmatism first.”
Some New Yorkers have been trying to persuade the Mayor not to sign the bill.
In the final round of hearings, New Yorkers voiced their opinion before the signing of the term limits bill Monday morning at City Hall.
Kathryn Wylde, the CEO of the Partnership for New York City supported the bill, saying that “term limits turn a career in public service into a game of musical chairs.”
But others held that the issue is not about term limits but of democratic values—that voters had expressed twice that term limits should not be extended and that the Mayor is ignoring the will of the people.
Still others maintained that the city needs Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership in these tough times.
David Greenfield, who ran for City Council, considers himself part of a “small group of New Yorkers directly impacted by the term limits bill” but supports it anyway. “I'd rather be running a successful campaign than waiting another four years, but it’s best to put self aside in these difficult economic times,” he said at the hearing.
Water Main Bursts in Fresh Meadows
Fresh Meadows, Queens got a little fresher early Monday morning as an eight-inch water main burst in a residential area. The burst occurred a little past 6 a.m. at184th Street and 56th Avenue.
Twenty homes nearby were without water in the morning and some saw minor flooding. Maintenance crews have been at work repairing the main since 6:20 a.m.
Water has been restored some residents as of Monday evening according to NY1 News.
The cause of the break is still under investigation, according to Department of Environmental Protection press secretary Mercedes Padilla.
City Gains More Land in Willets Point
The City stuck a deal with Indian food distributor House of Spices to turn over their four acres. The City plans to redevelop the area. Including their new acquisition, the City now owns 40 percent of the 62-acre, 13-block industrial district in Willets Point, Queens.
The area is known as the Iron Triangle and is home to auto repair shops and junkyards.
The Mayor is planning a $3 billion development for the area, including “one million square feet in retail space, a hotel, and a convention center,” according to the PlaNYC website.
The City is working to make more deals before Wednesday, Nov. 12, when the Mayor’s Willets Point redevelopment plan is due to reach its final step in the approval process before it gets voted on in the City Council.
