Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 23

Today, we're devoting the roundup to the living wage legislation, which was debated in a City Council Committee hearing yesterday.

Norwood News tweeted live from the hearing.

One of the focuses of a New York Times article is Council Speaker Christine Quinn's questioning of both sides, including her asking opponents of the bill if they'd support it if it were scaled back to only include gigantic developments like stadiums and airports. Maybe, they said.

As Azi Paybarah of Capital points out, today's Daily News covers all sides of the argument: Citing concerns of small businesses in her community, Councilwoman Inez Dickens of Harlem withdrew her support for the living wage bill in a column in the Daily News today. Juan Gonzalez supports the legislation, and puts the spotlights on Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. whose leadership in the battle that defeated a mall at the Kingsbridge Armory gave birth to the legislation. Meanwhile, the paper's editorial page states yet again its opposition to the bill.

Here's Diaz's testimony.

Gotham Gazette has a good rundown of the politics surrounding the legislation.

A Sojourners magazine contributor writes in favor of the bill on Huffington Post. 

In case you missed it, despite heavy union support for the bill, three trade unions came out against it.

Living Wage Battle Heats Up

In preparation for a long-awaited Nov. 22 City Council hearing on Living Wage legislation, which has its roots in the battle over the fate of the Kingsbridge Armory, supporters, including several Council members, are stepping up their p.r. campaign.

Vacca Holds Out On Living Wage; No Hearing Date Yet

City Councilman James Vacca is the only Bronx member of the Council who has yet to throw his weight behind the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act--the bill that would require developers of retail projects receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay workers $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without.

This week, his spokesman Bret Collazzi said the councilman is waiting for an official hearing to be held on the legislation before he takes a stance.

“He’s open to the idea, but he’s not there yet,” Collazzi said. “He’s met with both sides, he’s interested in it, but he won’t make a decision until the hearing.”

The fate of a hearing lies in the hands of  Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has said that she's opening to the Council having one. Quinn spokeswoman Maria Alvarado said nothing has been scheduled yet.

"No hearing date has been set at this point, but the committee is continuing to work on finding a date," she wrote in an E-mail.

The living wage bill has lingered in the Council for almost a year; it was introduced last spring by Council Members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, and has strong backing from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who led the effort to defeat the city’s plan to build a mall at the Kingsbridge Armory, mainly because the developer would not guarantee that retail workers be paid a living wage. [Corrected from an earlier version]

The bill currently has the support of 29 members, short of the 34 that would be needed to override a likely mayoral veto. Mayor Bloomberg has been vocal about his opposition to a living wage requirement on the grounds that it would harm small businesses and discourage development.

The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act would apply to any development project that receives more than $100,000 in tax breaks or city subsidies.

“We even exempted some small businesses to make sure we weren’t hurting small businesses that might not be able to pay these wages,” Council Member Koppell said at a rally for the legislation last month. “We worked hard to craft this bill so that there can be no exceptions [to it].”

Bronx Living Wage Campaign Heats Up

Text and Videos By JORDAN MOSS


Untitled from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.

The campaign that would require developers of retail projects receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay a living wage -- $10 with benefits and $11.50 without -- is heating up as advocates press for an April City Council hearing. Council Speaker Christine Quinn has said she would allow hearings on the bill, which has 29 supporters, including every Bronx member of the City Council except for James Vacca of the east Bronx. Vacca was very much on the minds and tongues of numerous speakers at a Living Wage NYC rally last week at the Bronx Pentecostal Deliverance Center on the anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.

The legislation was introduced by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., (see the video above) who led the effort to defeat the city’s effort to build a mall at the Armory, mainly because the developer would not guarantee that retail workers be paid a living wage. Council Members Oliver Koppell (speaking in the video below) and Annabel Palma are leading the charge in the Council.


Oliver Koppell Speaks At Living Wage Rally from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.

Mayor Bloomberg is on record opposing the bill, but with five more backers, the Council would have enough votes to override his veto.

Group Picked for Living Wage Study Accused of Bias

On Aug. 12, the city's Economic Development Corporation announced its decision pay $1 million to  Charles River Associates, a Boston-based consulting firm, to conduct a survey on the economic effects of a living wage law.

This week, a coalition of groups and unions that have been fighting for such a law are calling the city's selection "rigged," claiming that two of the economists chosen to work on the project are biased and have well-known anti-living wage sentiments. 

“Using consultants who have already made up their minds shows that the EDC is not concerned with the economic development of all New Yorkers," said Valery Jean, Executive Director of Families United for Racial Economic Equality, in a statement. His group is part of the Living Wage NYC campaign.

A press release issued by the EDC says that Charles River Associates was chosen through a "public, competitive process," and that the firm has a "strong expertise in economic and financial analysis."