Tupper Knew! Park Administrator Objected to Goose Slaughter - Yet Said Nothing! by Stephen Brown - The Brooklyn Paper

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When they came for the geese, she said nothing.

Prospect Park’s top administrator Tupper Thomas opposed a federal decision to massacre close to 300 Canada geese in her park this summer, but she chose not to cry fowl because the program was orchestrated by Mayor Bloomberg and federal agencies, a spokesman revealed this week.

“Tupper wasn’t the one who gave permission, but she did know [the feds] were coming,” said the spokesman, Eugene Patron. “As for when and what time and how many geese [would be killed] — she was not in the loop.

“Personally, Tupper was not for the culling,” Patron added.

Thomas, who is retiring at the end of the year from running both the Prospect Park Alliance as well as day-to-day operation of the park for the city, faced a barrage of criticism in her silent response to the goose slaughter in July. Nine days after the operation, the under-fire Thomas finally issued a letter addressing the issue, though one that did little to quiet critics.

“A lot of people were angry about this, and she was silent,” said Tony Chiappelloni, the president of FIDO, a dog walkers advocacy group.

Chiappelloni added that the geese massacre had made Thomas’s final year as the boss of Prospect Park a difficult one.

“Look, she put her heart and soul into that park, she’s done a lot — but we didn’t know what was going on [after the slaughter]! I couldn’t say whether she authorized it or not, I didn’t know, I had no idea!”

Patron said that one of Thomas’s last major decisions before she retires from her job early next year will be to define a new wildlife management plan for the park and present it to the public.

“If successful it could be implemented elsewhere,” said Patron, who added, “I’m sure it’ll be called her ‘swan song.’ ”

'The Daily Show' Takes On The Education Crisis (VIDEO) - The Huffington Post

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Lewis Black came on "The Daily Show" last night to give another one of his spirited rants, this time on education in America. Black pointed out how every fall the media suggests we are going to do something about the education crisis, but no change occurs.

As an example of misplaced funds, Black cited a California school equipped with spectacular amenities totaling up to over half a billion dollars, none of which directly benefit the curriculum.

"Half a billion dollars on a school? Did they build Los Angeles a Hogwarts?" Black said. "I went to school in an empty carton of Pall Malls!"

Black noted that there are some options, such as charter schools like the one in the documentary "Waiting For Superman" that provide better education with the cost of a humiliating lottery process. Black said he supports charter schools "as long as the selection process is as public and cruel as humanly possible."

So what else is there to do? "Meet The Press" host David Gregory suggests walking into any school - even if your kids don't go there - to ask if they need any help. Black laughed at the idea of an unqualified person walking in to a school to teach kids, but then he remembered Tony Danza's new reality show where he teaches English.

"He isn't qualified to be an English speaker!"

Carl Paladino Says Andrew Cuomo “Should Be In Jail” « Alan Colmes' Liberaland

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On my radio show tonight, New York’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino told me that his opponent, Andrew Cuomo, “should be in jail.”

Alan asks New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino about controversial past, his anger at the media and his war with Andrew Cuomo

PALADINO: I’m pointing out crimes by my opponent. I didn’t commit any crimes. I’m pointing out crimes.

COLMES: You think Andrew Cuomo…

PALADINO: I’m pointing out Andrew Cuomo giving, giving Steve Rattner a pass. A guy gives a $88,000 bribe to the brother-in-law of a state worker.

COLMES: Should Andrew Cuomo be in jail?

PALADINO: Andrew, Andrew – he should be in jail, because he allowed Rattner to walk.

I then asked Paladino if he would have Cuomo prosecuted if he were governor.

COLMES: If you were governor, would you have him prosecuted?

PALADINO: For – for crimes?

COLMES: Yeah. Would you go – would you go after Andrew Cuomo? Would you have him prosecuted?

PALADINO: Absolutely.

As I pressed Paladino he walked it back:

COLMES: Not – but specifically Andrew Cuomo. Will you, will you seek to prosecute…

PALADINO: I don’t know. If you’ve got a crime to tell me about.

COLMES: No, you – you just said he committed a crime.

PALADINO: No, that was at HUD.

COLMES: Right.

PALADINO: That was at HUD twelve years ago, OK? That was at HUD twelve years ago.

COLMES: So you would not have the authority as governor to go after that.

But as it turns out, the matter for which Paladino thinks Cuomo “should be in jail” happenedmuch more recently than “twelve years ago.” Rattner’s immunity deal was reached during Cuomo’s tenure as New York’s attorney general, which did not begin until 2007. No word on how that might impact Paladino’s authority to prosecute Cuomo, if Paladino were to be elected governor.

Rare Manipur Bird Pops Up After ‘Wanted’ Lure - Hindustan Times

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A police ploy to catch criminals is believed to have brought a rare bird back from the dead.

The nongin or Mrs Hume’s bar-backed pheasant — Manipur’s state bird — is no felon. But wildlife officials in July announced a R50,000 award on its head with a twist in a police-style poster: wanted alive, not dead.

It was a long shot, for gastronomical hunters were suspected to have pushed the bird towards extinction.

Hope flickered last month when villagers from Soreiphei area of Ukhrul brought a male nongin to the Manipur Zoological Garden in the Iroisemba area of Imphal.

“The nongin is safe and under observation,” said A. Kharshiing, additional chief conservator of forests (wildlife), adding that some villagers reported seeing another male bird in the area.

Officials admitted they weren’t expecting the award scheme to work, not at least for the nongin that figures in the Schedule I list of endangered species.

But visitors to the zoo have been disappointed as the nongin has been kept in a secluded zone. “It’s too early for the bird to be put up for public viewing,” said R.K. Birjit, a bird specialist.

Officials plan to extend the award scheme by including the hoolock gibbon, Burmese green peafowl and serow (a goat-like animal).

Ridgewood Reservoir: Wilderness at the Edge of Bushwick by Katharine Jose | Capital New York

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The Ridgewood Reservoir. Photo by Katharine Jose

On a 50-acre piece of land on the border between Brooklyn and Queens is three-basin reservoir that was once part of the Brooklyn water supply system, and that hasn’t been touched in at least 40 years. Inside the chain-link fence around it is an impossible landscape: thick forest, wet meadows, a small lake ringed with reeds; the Ridgewood Reservoir has been restoring itself to its original ecology for decades. Standing in the right place on the 1.25 mile path, the place smells, sounds and looks like the marshes on the coast of New England. And it’s virtually unknown.


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Gillibrand Leads DioGuardi, 52% to 41%, Among Likely Voters - Home of the Marist Poll: Pebbles and Pundits

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Both of New York’s seats in the U.S. Senate are up in this November’s midterm elections. In the race between Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and her Republican opponent, Joseph DioGuardi, Gillibrand holds an 11 percentage point lead among likely voters in New York State. A majority — 52% — reports they support Gillibrand while 41% say they back DioGuardi. 7% are unsure.

Not surprisingly, there is a partisan divide among likely voters. 85% of likely Democratic voters plan to support Gillibrand while 9% say they will back DioGuardi. 80% of likely Republican voters intend to cast their ballot for DioGuardi while 14% say they will vote for Gillibrand. A plurality of non-enrolled voters who are likely to cast their ballot on Election Day — 46% — throw their support behind Gillibrand while 41% back DioGuardi.

81% of likely voters who are supporters of the Tea Party favor candidate DioGuardi while 14% are pulling for Gillibrand. 5% are unsure.

”The seat is leaning Gillibrand’s way,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “But, the contest remains competitive.”

Gillibrand is the clear leader among likely voters in New York City but not in other regions in the state. About two-thirds of likely New York City voters — 66% — support Gillibrand while 27% back DioGuardi. 7% are unsure. Voters in upstate New York and in the suburbs of New York City divide. Upstate, Gillibrand garners the support of 47% while DioGuardi nets 45% from likely upstate voters. 7% are unsure. And, in the suburbs, including Westchester County which is DioGuardi’s regional base of support, nearly half of likely voters — 49% — back DioGuardi while 45% support Gillibrand. 6% are unsure.

When likely voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate are taken into consideration, 54% report they plan to cast their ballot for Gillibrand while 42% state they will vote for DioGuardi. 4% are unsure.

Among the overall statewide electorate, Gillibrand nets 55% of registered voters’ support compared with DioGuardi’s 36%. 9% are unsure.

Strong Support for Gillibrand and DioGuardi

How strongly are likely voters supporting their choice of candidate? A slim majority — 51% — say they strongly support their pick while 35% somewhat support their candidate. 13%, however, might vote differently on Election Day. Just 1% are unsure.

“This could be an important factor in the contest. Nearly half of the probable electorate is still up for grabs,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

“They either somewhat support a candidate or might vote differently.”

A majority of likely voters who support DioGuardi — 54% — are firmly backing him. An additional 33% are somewhat behind him while 13% may change their mind. 1% are unsure.

Senator Gillibrand receives similar intensity of support. Half of likely voters who back her — 50% — report they are firmly in her camp. 36% are somewhat behind her while 14% might cast their ballot differently. Fewer than 1% are unsure.

Schumer with 21 Percentage Point Lead Over Townsend

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer enjoys a comfortable lead over his challenger Jay Townsend in the race for U.S. Senate in New York. Among likely voters statewide, 58% say they will support Schumer while 37% report they will cast their ballot for Townsend. 5% are unsure.

While most Democrats who are likely to vote in November — 86% — back Schumer, he also receives the support of one-fourth — 25% — of likely Republican voters. Seven in ten Republicans — 70% — pull for Townsend while he takes one-tenth of the likely Democratic vote. Among likely voters who are not enrolled in any party, Schumer has a 7 percentage point lead. 49% report they will vote for Schumer while 42% state they will back Townsend.

Townsend, however, is the favorite among likely voters who support the Tea Party. Most in this group — 79% — choose Townsend for senator while 18% want Schumer to represent them. 3% are unsure.

Regardless of region, Schumer outpaces Townsend. Schumer has the best early showing in New York City. Here, almost three-quarters of likely voters — 74% — support Schumer while 23% back Townsend. 3% are unsure. Schumer also receives majority support in the city’s suburbs. 51% of likely voters in this region plan to cast their ballot for Schumer compared with 44% who toss their support behind Townsend. 5% are unsure. Half of likely upstate voters back Schumer while 43% want Townsend to win. 7% here are unsure.

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Mayor Bloomberg Goes to Bat for Program That Studied Homeless People by Tina Moore

This man is so callous and heartless...

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Mayor Bloomberg Friday defended a city experiment that bars 200 struggling families from a taxpayer-funded program so researchers can study what happens to them.

"In the end, we are only going to spend money on things that work, so we have to find out what works," Bloomberg said on his weekly WOR-AM radio show with John Gambling.

The Daily News revealed Thursday that the Department of Homeless Services' study bars the randomly selected group from a homeless-prevention services program.

Another 200 families will receive rental assistance, job counseling and other services from the program called Homebase.

Researchers will track both groups to see what services they use and if they end up in shelters - a method some elected officials called "inhumane" and "cruel."

The Bloomberg administration has said the study only affects a small percentage of the 7,700 clients Homebase served in 2009.

Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) vowed to hold hearings on the study that she called "inhumane."

DHS' contention that the study is necessary to see if Homebase works comes one month after the Mayor's September Management Report dubbed Homebase a "highly successful model" that helped keep 90% of its clients out of shelters.

With Adam Lisberg

Officials Slam 'Callous' Dept. of Homeless Services Program That Uses 200 Families as Test Subjects by Tina Moore - NY Daily News

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Single mom Angie Almodovar, who lost her job in 2008 and is at risk of homelessness, called the program like 'Russian roulette.'

City officials called for a halt Tuesday to a "callous" Department of Homeless Services experiment that uses 200 struggling families as test subjects.

"Just when you think you've heard it all," said City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan). "It's inhumane. How cold-hearted and callous."

The Daily News revealed on Tuesday that the study randomly split 400 families in two groups - the "haves" and the "have-nots."

One group gets rental assistance, job training and other services through a one-stop program called Homebase.

The second group is barred from Homebase for up to two years and must find help on its own at other agencies. Researchers will track the families to see find who finds services and who winds up in shelters.

"It's bizarre. It's like they're being cast to the wind," said Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan).

The 400 people comprise about 5% of the 7,700 people who use the program every year.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer called for an end to the "cruel and heartless experiment," and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) promised to work with the Bloomberg administration to "ensure families are not placed at risk." She declined to say if the test should be stopped.

Councilwoman Annabel Palma (D-Bronx), who heads the General Welfare Committee, said she'll call for hearings.

DHS Commissioner Seth Diamond defended the experiment, saying it was needed to evaluate the program and is similar to one underway at the national level.

"There are some people who have questioned the effectiveness [of Homebase]," he said. "The city's [Independent Budget Office] said you can't tell with present data whether prevention programs are effective."

Sharon Lee, a spokeswoman for City Controller John Liu, said the study "practically screams for closer examination."

Homeless prevention groups are fielding an increasing number of calls from families in the "have-not" category, said Louise Seeley of the nonprofit group Housing Court Answers.

"While there are other resources for people facing eviction and homelessness, they are extremely limited and hard to reach," she said.

200 Families on Brink of Homelessness Being Treated Like 'Rats in Lab Experiment' by Tina Moore - NY Daily News

Mayor Bloomberg's New York isn't the New York City I grew up in...

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Angie Almodovar, with daughters Emerald, 8, and Jazlyn, 1, at home in Bronx, says Homebase program was her 'only chance.'

The city has told 200 families on the brink of homelessness to fend for themselves in an experiment that has cruelly turned them into virtual lab rats.

In an attempt to test how well a one-stop assistance program is working, the Department of Homeless Services split 400 struggling families into haves and have-nots.

The "haves" get rental assistance, job training and other services through a program called Homebase.

The other half wasn't so lucky.

Those people - chosen at random - were dubbed the "control group" and shut out of Homebase for two years. Instead, they were handed a list of 11 agencies and told to hunt for help on their own.

The city will still be watching them, but for a whole different reason.

For two years, researchers will track the separate groups by their Social Security numbers to see how each "uses city services ... such as shelter, public assistance, foster care," city documents state.

Some advocates for the homeless called the $368,000 taxpayer-funded analysis a study in callousness.

"These are real parents and children, not rats in a lab experiment," said Patrick Markee, a senior analyst with the Coalition for the Homeless.

City Councilwoman Annabel Palma, who heads the General Welfare Committee, said vulnerable New Yorkers "should never be steered away from the services and benefits for which they are eligible."

Starting in August, letters went out to 400 families and individuals applying to join Homebase, telling them they would be part of the study. Those picked make up about 5% of the 7,700 families that used the program last year.

The city defended the plan.

"We serve thousands of people through this program, and this study is only looking at 400 people," Deputy Homeless Services Commissioner Ellen Howard-Cooper said.

Researchers will watch both groups to see if the "control group" families find help through other agencies or wind up in shelters, officials said.

Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond said the study could reveal flaws in the Homebase program, which costs $23million a year. Improved homeless-prevention programs would, in the end, keep families or individuals out of shelters, he said.

"Not doing it would risk putting the city in a position where it's building shelters and condemning communities to building shelter when there's a better way to serve people," he said.

Single mother Angie Almodovar wasn't too pleased when she got the one-page form letter in August.

"It was like playing Russian roulette," said Almodovar, 27, who is pregnant and lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Mount Hope in the Bronx with her 8- and 1-year-old daughters.

She said she has called the agencies listed in the letter, and none could help.

Almodovar lost her job at an alarm company in 2008 and ran out of unemployment benefits over the summer. She went to Homebase in August while facing eviction because she owes $3,400 in back rent, she said. "Homebase was my only chance," she said.

Researcher John Mollenkopf, director of CUNY's Center for Urban Research, is managing the study. He said for the test to work properly, it had to be random.

"By doing the research, we learn something that's going to be extremely valuable for a much larger population," he said.

Twister's Toll on Eternal Rest Sites by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

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WHEN QUEENS was battered by severe storms and two twisters 10 days ago, neighbors banded together to help each other until the emergency crews showed up.

But what happens if your neighborhood covers more than 200 acres and is populated by the dearly departed?

Several cemeteries in Queens faced that problem last week as they struggled to recover.

City cleanup workers won't venture onto these properties unless the damage was done by a street tree.

"We had a lot of volunteer support, and we relied heavily on it," said Dan Austin, vice president of All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, where towering trees took down fences along with century-old memorials and headstones.

Students from nearby Christ the King High School helped clear some of the smaller branches so crews could more easily load them into woodchippers.

Austin started his own mutual aid program with Cypress Hills Cemetery, on the Queens-Brooklyn border, which agreed to lend him a woodchipper.

He still doesn't know how the cemetery is going to pay for the damage, which he says will exceed $1 million.

More than 96 trees were lost and about 200 headstones were smashed or toppled, he said.

"We are nonprofit, and we don't have money in perpetual care funds," he said. "We have people buried here who were born when George Washington was President."

Things were in such disarray at Mount Hebron and Cedar Grove cemeteries in Flushing that workers discovered a highway sign from the Van Wyck Expressway and a portable toilet.

"I'm not sure where it came from," Jerry Hass, president of the Cedar Grove Cemetery Association, said about the portable toilet.

"We're just lucky that it happened at 6p.m. and not 2 p.m. Anyone out on the grounds at that time would have been killed."

Hass said he was heartened to receive calls from administrators of other cemeteries offering help.

By that time, however, he had secured the services of a tree-removal company.

Trees at St. John's Cemetery in Middle Village took down sections of its fence, which went flying onto Woodhaven Blvd. in one tangled heap.

"The bad thing is that hundreds of trees are gone," said Richard Fishman, director of the New York State Division of Cemeteries, who surveyed the damage last week.

"The good thing is that whatever hit the area did not touch the ground. If it was a typical tornado, hundreds of gravesites could have been pulled up."

It's unclear whether cemeteries such as All Faiths, which is nonprofit, will be eligible for disaster aid.

Crews from the Federal Emergency Management Agency visited the cemetery grounds last week as they inspected storm damage in Middle Village and other hard-hit neighborhoods.

Austin said one of the inspectors was taken aback when he saw some of the ravages of the storm - a huge branch hanging precariously over a mausoleum, and another toppled tree that had cracked a red granite family memorial.

"I wanted to show him more; we were just getting started," Austin said. "But he said he had seen enough."

'Field' for Dreamers -Developers, Environmentalist Clash over Future of Floyd Bennett Field by Stephen Brown Courier-Life - NYPOST.com

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The battle between developers and tree-huggers is underway at Floyd Bennett Field, where builders want more recreational facilities and bird-lovers insist on bringing back natural habitats.

That became clear Tuesday night, when about 75 people met at the former airport to help write the Gateway National Recreation Area’s management plan, a document that will set the agenda for the national park over the next 20 years.

“Things like trails, walking along beaches and bird-watching have gotten short shrift for too long,” said John Tanacredi, a professor of Earth and Marine sciences at Dowling University, who noted that Floyd Bennett was no different than the Grand Canyon or Yosemite parks, where Mother Nature prevails. “There should be the same principles about preservation of the environment.”

Other, high-powered individuals envision a park that will cater to large quantities of people attending big attractions.

“I’d like to see Floyd Bennett Field used for more events, such as family reunions, cultural celebrations, bicycle rental facilities, kite shows and major trade shows,” said Borough President Markowitz. “How about a high-end antique fair? … Why not set up a drive-in movie? We could even use Floyd Bennett for the East Coast version of Burning Man!”

But using the park for a festival like Burning Man — which attracted close to 50,000 people to Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada in 2008 for a week-long party that culminated with the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy — or any other commercial endeavor would be difficult.

“The law [declaring it a national park] prohibits it from being a commercial space,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Sheepshead Bay), who called the meeting along with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-Brooklyn). The pair of pols also set up a blue-ribbon panel to help determine what should become of the park. “There’s got to be a recreational use, but open space doesn’t mean you have to build something there.”

For years, concessionaires and nature lovers have coexisted on the site where Amelia Earhart took off for her solo trip across the Atlantic and where, since 1972 when it became part of Gateway, nature has been allowed to take its course.

Despite the fact that viewing it using Google Earth clearly shows the man-made runways that intersect upon it, grassland birds like hawks, owls, meadowlarks and kestrels, along with amphibians like eastern box turtles and spring peeper frogs call the park home.

It is also home to the Aviator Sports and Events Center, a year-round campsite, trails, model plane runways, community gardeners, plus operating bases for the NYPD and the Department of Sanitation.

A plan to house a controversial charter school for at-risk youth at Floyd Bennett Field is already on the table.

The consensus may be that the park is in dire need of better funding and care, but some aren’t keen on radically changing its face.

“Don’t displace what is already there,” said Ida Sanoff. “The model-plane people, community gardeners, and environmental people have all peacefully co-existed here for a long time.”

Near Miss at New York's JFK Airport - ABC-tv News

An experienced air traffic controller speaks out about how bad the near-miss incident really was...