Community Magazine November 2008

100 Community magazine *alternate side Parking: For snow and other emergen- cies call 311 to get an update of parking rules for a particular day **Garbage: Residents who are normally scheduled for collec- tion on the day of a holiday should place their trash out at curb- side on the holiday evening for collection. Some residents will ex- perience a disruption of on-time household collection service. recycling : Residents who are normally scheduled for recycling collection on thedayof theholidaywillnotreceiveservice thatweek.theyshouldplace their recyclables out at curbside the following week on their regular day of service. Occasion Day Date Alternate * Side Parking Garbage ** Collection Parking Rules Banks & Government Observance Sat November 1 Suspended Suspended Normal Open Election Day Tues November 4 Suspended Suspended Normal Open Veterans Day Tues November 11 Suspended Suspended Normal Closed Thanksgiving Day Thurs November 27 Suspended Suspended Holiday Closed Observance Mon-Wed December 8-10 Suspended Normal Normal Open Observance Thurs December 25 Suspended Suspended Holiday Closed New York City Municipal Schedule than 82,500 units funded to date, approximately 30 percent are for homeownership and 75 percent are affordable for low-income households. , The New York City Acquisition Fund – a collaboration among ten philanthropies, leading financial institutions and the City – levels the playing field for developers seeking to acquire property before permanent financing is secured. It provides low-interest capital at higher advance rates and lower recourse levels than are available from conventional financial institutions, and can respond faster than typical government funding cycles. With the withdrawal of banks from the finance market and possible decline of property values, the fund will likely play an even more essential role in creating and preserving affordable housing. – CORRESPONDENT DAVE GORDON Nets Arena Groundbreaking Delayed Six Months The $4 billion Atlantic Yards project was dealt a setback last month, as residents challenging the city’s use of eminent domain convinced a court to hear their case, according to Bruce Ratner, de- veloper and owner of the Nets basketball team. The setback will delay the groundbreaking for at least 6 months and push back the Nets’ move to Brooklyn until at least 2011. Four years ago, Ratner, chief executive of Forest City Ratner Cos., bought the Nets as a centerpiece of a 22-acre development on an old rail yard, indus- trial buildings and homes in Brooklyn. The megaproject, centered around the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, includes an 18,000-seat sports and entertainment arena, 16 skyscrapers with hotel, office and retail space, 6,400 apartments and 8 acres of open space. – CM STAFF Bloomberg Sues to Stop Illegal Cigarette Sales Eight businesses on Long Island’s Poospatuck Indian reservation were sued for illegal cigarette sales, Mayor Bloomberg recently an- nounced. An investigation documented nearly 24 million untaxed cartons of cigarettes sold by these businesses. The reservations’ residents are permitted to buy cigarettes tax-free for personal use, but the sales numbers exceeded the reservation’s population by thousands, indicating that the defendants purchased cigarettes tax- free, and then sold them to the public in taxable sales. The revenue losses from these sales amount to $525 million in State taxes and up to $195 million in City taxes. The $195 million lost by the City from these shops could have paid for the modernization of a pub- lic hospital, or a year’s salary and benefits for thousands of City employees, a press release said. It’s also nearly equivalent to three- quarters of the annual operating budget of the Parks Department. – CORRESPONDENT DAVE GORDON New York for Sale Forget about buying a Lotto ticket; soon you may be able to lease the whole operation. New York’s lottery, state highways, bridges, golf courses, parks, beaches and other state assets could soon be made available for lease to private enterprise, now that Governor David Paterson has commissioned a study to explore the concept. The idea of milking government owned property, which is intend- ed to help solve the government’s budget problems in the midst of a flagging economy, may also take shape in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration suggested earlier this year that the city might want to sell naming at major sites in city parks to corporations. Last month, Council Speaker Christine Quinn report- edly brought up the idea of new revenue from putting ads on the sides of garbage trucks and street sweepers. But experts estimate that the city could raise only about $10 million a year with this type of ven- ture – a drop in the bucket when considering the city‘s projected 2009 budget of $59 billion. – CM STAFF