A thousand reasons to love Long Island City. Tips: Editor@LICtalk.com
THERE will be no packs of runners and fans on Vernon Boulevard this Sunday, nor a Halloween Parade/Haunted House/Fall Fest the day before, on what is traditionally the best weekend of the year in NYC. There will be an election on Tuesday, but I’m not sure that’ll be as enjoyable.
[Read more…] about October Ends, November Begins In LIC And The Nation
“ACCORDING to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, 15 candidates have filed so far to run for term-limited City Council member Jimmy Van Bramer’s (D-Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City, Astoria, Dutch Kills) seat in 2021.”
QueensCountyPolitics.com – Clarissa Sosin
Wow that’s some field, the only thing missing is a celebrity. What has spurred this civic call to action for a relatively minor position, the chance to make an impact? The seat does enjoy some considerable local oversight as well as fund dispersal, but with 51 city council members not much sway outside of one’s district. There’s a bit of prestige, more so here in District 26 than other locations, particularly Manhattan. A touch of hobnobbing, shoulder-rubbing, political clout, and a possible jumping off point for higher office. Oh, and the salary was upped to $148k from $112k a year back in 2016, that’s probably an added incentive for some of the candidates. It also comes with government benefits and a discretionary office budget. All-in-all not a bad gig.
[Read more…] about 15 Candidates Have Filed To Run For JVB’s Seat
Over the last two months various cheerleaders and detractors have stated their cases as to why they are for/against the Waterfront Master Plan. The latter group seems to be spearheaded by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer on behalf of various groups created during HQ2, aka the Amazon Naysayers. The cheerleaders are a seemingly disparate collection of voices looking to bless the Plan exactly as it is, let’s call them the Amazon Apologists.
Well Amazon isn’t coming to LIC, and neither is its 25,000 jobs. I think most would agree that the Naysayers are fully responsible for that. While that is a terrible shame, more now than ever, it is completely irrelevant in terms of assessing how much and what type of upzoning should be allowed now. It certainly does not mean completely unfettered approval of the full density, developer-friendly amenity package put forth in the initial Plan.
[Read more…] about The Apologists Vs. The Naysayers In LICSo ‘what do you think of the just-released Sunnyside Yards Plan?’ asked no one in particular. ‘However,’ as the foremost authority on this topic, I’ll share my thoughts, but first the salient details.
[Read more…] about Sunnyside Yards Plan Released With Vague CommitmentJimmy Van Bramer announced this morning that he is dropping out of the Queens Borough President’s race citing family reasons according to his twitter feed. In the announcement, he specifically mentioned his duties as a son and brother.
[Read more…] about Jimmy Van Bramer Dropping Out of Queens Borough President Race